Me and my family came here after my sisters graduation at PICC. It was roughly about 3 pm, it was busy but we were seated right away. The restaurant had a really cute Japan theme with super cute decorations! The food was really good and different. We ordered the Gyoza (php 180), Chicken Karage Caesar Salad (php 190), Hakata Ramen (php 340) and the Cheese Ramen (php 350). The item that stood out to me was the Cheese Ramen, at first I thought that it wouldn't be good and I would get tired of it cause its just cheese and noodles. I ended up liking it because the cheese that they used wasn't overwhelming as I thought it would be. The Hakata Ramen was also really yummy and not too salty. Total ~$20

Ramen with a cheese sounds odd but the taste is surprisingly good. The ambience resonates vintage Japan. Hanging lanterns and signages creates an authentic feel of eating along the streets of throwback Tokyo. I came from Asia Pop Comic Con in SMX and it is better to dine outside MOA to avoid the hassle. It was a long, tiring day and a bowl of Ramen is the only thing I have in mind. Good thing there's a branch of Mitsuyado Sei Men in blue bay walk. Tsukemen means "dipping noodles", the art of eating ramen with a separate broth and soup to dip the noodles. The regular bowl of cheese tsukemen is a contention of a savory soup and thick sauce cheese. The taste is confusing on the the onset but I easily acquired the taste. I also ordered ebi tempura don. I have the urge that I deserve to eat noodleas and rice at the same time. The pacing of the service is slow. There's a refillable service tea but they don't serve glass of water. You can also bring home pastries and bread from Yamato Bakery conveniently connected at Mitsuydo Sei-Men. The original branch is located at Jupiter street in Makati City.

Its the first time I've had Tsukemen or imo Japanese pasta and I'd say its was a great experience. What I got to try were the following: Aji tama curry, Karashi, Jumbo Char siu, Curry cheese and Miso tsukemen in the order or best to least liked (I did like all though). I also had a few appetizers in no particular order: chawan mushi, gyoza, black pepper chicken and tempura. Definitely would come back but not too often due to the extreme richness of flavours.

Mitsuyado looks pretty cool. Compared to the dime-a-dozen ramen shops around Manila, this place has much more character - the interiors give it this feeling of eating at a street market in old Japan. Pretty nifty, but that's not the only surprise that this restaurant has in store for the discerning foodie. The restaurant takes pride in their tsukemen (a type of ramen dish where the noodles are separated from the broth. The broth is made deliberately richer and thicker as it is meant to be used for dipping rather than sipping). This was one of the first places in Manila that served the dish, and as such holds bragging rights for it. There have been others that have followed, some arguably much better, like the great Mendokoro in Salcedo Village. But this place has held its quality since it first opened. Another easily overlooked dish to try out is their Japanese fried rice, or chahan. Seriously, this thing is addicting. Flavorful and really porky. Sometimes I come here for the rice and not the ramen.

I already had many opportunities to try out Mitsuyado-Sei Men in Bluebay, but whenever I see it I just go to another restaurant. I feel that I have been to so many Japanese restaurants already that Mitsuyado-Sei Men isn't really that different. I was so wrong! When my friend was suddenly craving for pork gyoza, we decided to head to Mitsuyado-Sei Men to satisfy his cravings. The moment we walked inside, we noticed that the whole restaurant looks just like a Japanese market place (which is really cool). Mitsuyado Sei-Men even has food carts, which make the place look different from most Japanese restaurants out there. Since the place is known as a noodle house, I ordered their Karashi Tsukemen, while my friend decided to have the Pork Gyoza. I was given a bowl of cold noodles with a red dipping sauce. It had the perfect mix of spicy and sour. The gyoza also tasted really good. The bottom part was slightly crispy, while the inside is juicy and soft. I wouldn't mind going back to this place again to try out other good stuff from their menu.

Despite sharing the love for food and the nightlife, my Dad and I still have different preferences when it comes to food. Though naturally, all (fair) relationships must have some form of give and take or compromise. Thus, our trips to Mitsuyado. My Dad LOVES the deconstructed ramen, specifically their Yuzu Tsukemen. The whole process of taking noodles, dunking it onto the dipping sauce, slurping it in, taking half a spoon of the sauce and adding a bit of soup wari before sipping that all in. Of course, I unsurprisingly took after him. Though more than the Cheese Sauce Tsukemen, I like the Karashi Tsukemen better because it's being spicy balances the regular or expected oiliness of the sauce. I think what I appreciate most about Mitsuyado is that they make every effort to make it seem as if you are transported to Japan as soon as you enter the restaurant. They even have a small standee that looks like an authentic ramen stall, and what's best is that you can actually take a seat in that stall.

Let me just take this moment to tell you about Mitsuyado and their cheese sauce tsukemen. For now let's pretend like I can easily skim over the fact that this place looks like an adorable Japanese side street that the owners put a roof over. Let's pretend like the fact that it's beside a Japanese bakery (with matcha EVERYTHING) isn't too important. Never mind all that. But imagine this for me: cross pollinating the best parts of Mac n' cheese, with the best parts of shoyu-based ramen noodles. Does it sound weird? I'm not going to lie; it is. But doesn't it also sound like the raging college hybrid food of your dreams? BECAUSE IT IS. With every serving of Mitsuyado's cheese sauce tsukemen, you get a plate of unassuming noodles flanked on one side by a small cup of concentrated shoyu soup, and on the other by a cup of glorious cheese sauce. Do you see where this is going? By whatever expert method you choose, you dip the plain noodles into either the soup or the sauce or both before gobbling each bite up in an experience of utter, immature joy. It's fantastic. And I know. I KNOW that the cheese in that cup is probably processed and came from a jar or a squeeze bottle but it's so good (and my feelings are valid, ok?!). Long story short: visit Mitsuyado to get a taste of everything your dorm food could have been and should always be.