Of water and Japanese cuisine

I’VE always been fond of Japanese food, and even as I consider myself a mere dabbler in the culinary arts, a dilettante if you will, I feel that Japanese cuisine is among the most fascinating in the world. So, sucker for Japanese food that I am, I accepted an invitation to dine at Mizu Restaurant, at the main level of Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino.

Chef Ken Imamura prepared a special sampler menu for our party, showcasing the delicious Japanese dishes available at Mizu.

We started with a spicy tuna roll, which people might recognize as tekka maki. It’s different from the regular tekka maki though, being a bit spicier. It also tastes great: there’s no fishy smell and the nori (pressed algae sheets) has no rubbery taste. Obviously, Mizu uses the best ingredients. This particular dish would probably be a great introduction to Japanese food for people who’ve always been afraid to try it.

It was followed by cha soba juri salada, a dish made from green tea noodles topped with fresh tiger prawns and red bell pepper dressing. Don’t be surprised when you take your first mouthful: this dish is served cold, but it actually tastes great.

The strips of red bell pepper and ginger enhance the taste of the dressing. An explosion of sweet, tart and slightly spicy flavors fill the mouth with a unique taste seldom found in ordinary noodle dishes.

Nankin manju fukaheri-an was served next. The pureed pumpkin and the puffed rice coating gave contrasting textures, with the asparagus adding a bit of crunch to the dish. The scallops and shark’s fin sauce provided extra life to the already enjoyable concoction.

Three dishes came all at the same time, making it difficult to determine which was the main course. Individually though, each dish presented a different aspect of Japanese cuisine: grilled food, deep-fried dishes and soup.

The grilled ika, or squid, came wrapped in foil and was served with aromatic mushrooms. Unlike the usual grilled squid most Pinoys are used to, Mizu’s ika yaki is saucy. The squid’s flavor is retained, and overall, the dish is subtly reminiscent of adobong nokus.

Ebi tempura lovers will definitely enjoy Mizu’s ebi yuba age. Instead of being coated in batter, tiger prawns are wrapped in tofu sheets and then deep-fried. Different, but just as satisfying.

Besides being a lover of Japanese food, I also enjoy beef dishes; put the two together and you can be sure that sukiyaki is among my top ten favorite dishes.

Mizu’s sukiyaki, made from high-grade sirloin in sukiyaki sauce combined with enoki mushrooms and fresh vegetables then simmered in an iron pot, is an absolute must-try. The sirloin was very tender, the mushrooms, vegetables and noodles cooked perfectly. I almost didn’t want to stop eating.

We had tempura ice cream for dessert. The concept of fried ice cream may seem weird to some, but it’s really very simple.

The ice cream is wrapped in pastry then deep-fried for a few seconds, giving it a very crisp outer covering. Bite through the crisp crust and you’ll be rewarded with a soft and cold mouthful of bliss. Think of it as Mizu’s version of cake ala mode.

“Mizu” means “water” in Japanese. Mizu the restaurant in its own way seems to evoke the finer qualities of this particular element. The restaurant’s interiors instill a sense of calm in the diner, much like a placid pond deep in the middle of a forest.

The food at Mizu, on the other hand, can be likened to water’s many forms. The cha soba juri salada may be a thunderstorm, bursting with flavor yet ending up with a sense of serenity very few dishes can give. The grilled ika and ebi yuba age are as fantastic as the seas and oceans they came from, the tempura ice cream as refreshing as a mountain stream, and the sukiyaki, as impressive as a beautiful waterfall.

This is what makes Japanese food very fascinating, the subtleties and complexities of each dish teasing and pleasing one’s taste buds. And with Mizu’s insistence on making everything as perfect as it can be, the experience of feasting on Japanese cuisine is made even more fascinating.