Kikufuji...Still A Taste of Japan?

There is a part of Pasay Road that is commonly and fondly referred to as "Little Tokyo".  There are a number of Japanese restaurants and stores frequented by Japanese expatriates, visitors, and residents, a rule of thumb that purportedly proves a Japanese restaurant serves authentic cuisine.

On this particular Saturday morning, closer to 11 than noon, I found myself in Izakaya Kikufuji.  I had been here once before, a few years back, brought by a friend who swore by the taste of the food and more important, the value of the meal, to be the ultimate satisfied customer experience. 

When I first went, years ago, it was full because it was a weekday lunch, and executives of the country's financial district flocked to the place, it had such great price performance.

This time, it was Saturday, the financial district is more like a ghost town, yet the restaurant was so full, I was directed to the smoking area in back. (A smoking area in Makati? Within the premises? Was this regulation?)
The smoking area was actually also the drinking area, composed of low tables and seat cushions.  You could tell drinkers frequented this part of the restaurant because there were several bottle keeps filled with varying types  of sake, with the rare bottle of scotch standing out like an eyesore.

The lunch menu was a two page laminated affair, and boasted popular lunch dishes at very popular prices.  The shrimp tempura, the tonkatsu, the beef rice topping, the gindara, the makunochi bento or lunch box filled with a sampling of all Japanese culinary goodies from sashimi to tempura to grilled fish.  All these dishes came with the requisite appetizer of pickled vegetables and braised tofu, miso soup, steamed Japanese rice, and salad.  Even traditional Japanese dishes not found in the menu could be ordered and served, like the chawanmushi, or egg custard.

Except for the chawanmushi which tasted of too much sake or rice wine to be the fine, smooth elegant dish I knew it to be in Japan and the gindara which was chewy, most of the dishes were of a good size, but only passable quality.

The food was only the first disappointment. The cleanliness or lack of it in the premises was the bigger let down.  True, open since 1998, the furniture and furnishings showed their age and state of overuse.  However, I felt that it could still have been old, but clean, which it was not.  The cushions looked grimy.  The toilets did not flush.  The accouterments showed spiderwebs of dust, age, and disrepair.  Lastly, the attendants were clumsy and noisy and slow.  They were not the silent, efficient servers I had experienced in Tokyo, Osaka, or Kyoto restaurants, both big and small.

This was definitely NOT an authentic restaurant comparable to the small eateries in Japan.  It was dirty, grubby, loud.  I had to ask myself if Izakaya Kikufuji was still a good taste of Japan.  My answer, all things considered, was an unequivocal "no". 

Never mind that it remained popular and full almost all the time, the majority could not be so wrong about it.  Never mind that it was so reasonably priced at lunch, it was worth a little inconvenience and dirt.  Never mind that the attendants were ineffective, what mattered was the sushi chefs.

Never mind the never minds.  Ultimately, a restaurant such as this was not really a good value because the customer experience was marred by so much  imperfection in the name of mediocre flavors.  A restaurant such as this was an insult to the Japanese and Filipinos alike.  It did not represent even a fraction of the delightful and spotless Japanese eateries that was the norm in their country.  And it seemed to laugh at the Filipinos' inability to stand up for a standard that they have since been exposed to and deserved, especially with the recent relaxation of entry barriers to Japan.

I am told that Izakaya Kikufuji has a premium priced dinner menu, of specialties that are considered a little too high for regular working stiffs.  Be that as it may, even if the dinner bill of fare is excellent, it does not change the fact that the setting leaves much to be desired.  I am not talking about the much ballyhooed ambience.  I am referring to the basic restaurant criteria of hygiene, sanitation, service, that are equally important as the food.

If anyone knows the management of Izakaya Kikufuji, please let them know this poor wretch's perception, in case they did not realize how their physical set up has deteriorated, before it detracts completely away from the gustatory merits of their cuisine.