OOMA Japanese Rice Bar by Chef Bruce Ricketts
Last Friday, we finally got the chance to try the new hip and bold Japanese restaurant in the Metro, Ooma, which is located in SM Megamall's Fashion Hall.
Ooma is the third restaurant by Chef Bruce Ricketts, after Sensei Sushi and Mecha Uma, which I have yet to try. I've been a fan of Chef Bruce Ricketts ever since I got to try Sensei Sushi in BF Paranaque for my birthday last year and it has been one of my favorite go-to restaurants in the south for a quick Japanese fix.
I had been nagging Pat, my boyfriend, for the past weeks to dine here due to my perpetual craving for Japanese food and during the long weekend our schedules finally aligned and we drove all the way from south just to check what hype is all about.
We arrived past lunch time and got seated after 30 minutes of waiting in a queue. After the waiters handed us the menu, we seriously couldn't decide what to order since everything looked really good. It was a good thing that few of my friends already got to try some of the dishes and gave us recommendations.
For starters, Pat had the Uma Viche while I got two sets of different rolls for the both of us.
Uma Viche - fresh lapu-lapu, pickled carrots, pickled red onion, sesame seed, scallion, kangkong tempura, ceviche dressing
Ebi and Kani Aburi Maki - ebi, kani, cream cheese, aligue mayo, tempura crumbs, ginger, house tare
Soft Shell Crab Taco-Maki - open-face temaki wrap, crispy soft shell crab, aligue mayo, tobiko
This dish was a winner. Bursting with intense flavors in just one bite!
My boyfriend brushing some Ooma's secret sauce onto his taco-maki
Uni Udon - fresh uni, shrimp, onion, fresh mushrooms, nori crumbs, scallion, uni cream sauce
This was the highlight dish for me. Think creamy carbonara with uni on top.
I've been a big fan of Uni or sea urchin ever since my boyfriend introduced me to it back when we were still dating so I knew I had to try this dish especially since they tossed in white truffle oil and nori crumbs. Heaven in every bite.
Hanger Steak - Sous-vide hanging tender, sautéed mushrooms, white truffle oil, sweet potato mash, crispy baby potato, pickle dressing, ponzu butter
This dish was my boyfriend's personal pick. He enjoyed it too much that he almost finished it by himself, along with a free bowl of Japanese rice. After almost two years of being together and going on foodtrips, Ooma was actually the first restaurant that made my him say the words, "Sobrang sarap." This dish did the trick!
We inhaled everything and didn't leave any for take-aways. The hype was real and it's worth lining up for thirty minutes or an hour. We definitely recommend all the dishes we had, but make sure not to miss the taco makis, aburi makis, and uni udon.
We already can't wait to go back and try the other dishes.
Mmm, craving for Ooma right now! lolll :-)
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