Restaurant Review: Sambo Kojin

I have always enjoyed Japanese and Korean Cuisines and it was such a treat to find both in one place, eat all you can! Yakiniku is definitely the new craze among food lovers in Manila!

For food hunters, Sambo Kojin in Eastwood, Libis is definitely a must try. The selections are delectable and the price is just right. Best of all, the grill is smokeless! So yes, it could be a dinner date venue although do not expect the ambiance to be romantic because the place is well lighted with big tables to accommodate big groups and errr yeah, it's a self-serve-eat-all-you-can-buffet ... so, your date would see how much you can gobble in one seating but at least, you won't smell like grilled meat afterwards and still be fresh for your next stop after dining.

GFFs :)

I met up with some girlfriends to check out the place one Friday. It was jam packed that night. Good thing that one of us was clever enough to make a reservation. How nice to have a well organized friend around!  They have provided a comfortable waiting area on the first floor which was very appropriate because people do really wait to dine at the place. Anyway, we were still waiting for one friend to arrive when we were ushered to our reserved table on the second floor because the place that night was really swarmed! The get-together was actually a treat from a very close friend revisiting home from Sydney, Australia.

With my beautiful friend from Sydney, Australia

I was not disappointed at all. However, I enjoyed more the non-grill selections because it was a cook-for-yourself-or-don't-eat-at-all scenario with GFFs LOL! I especially liked the Blu Marlin Tuna and Pink Salmon Sashimi (fresh raw meat), I swear it could have been half a kilo of raw fish I ate that night! Ugh! Their Kimchi (fermented vegetables with spices) recipe was also good, it was not too tangy or spicy with just the right tinge of sweetness. The Sushi selection was okay, although the sushi-meshi (Japanese rice vinegar preparation) was a little less tacky for my taste. I also hoarded my favorite ebi (shrimp) and Kani (crab) Tempura (battered and deep fried) with complimenting dipping sauce. The dessert table was a feast to the eyes... too bad they didn't have blue berry cheese cake that night, I was craving for it. It could have also been more complete if they served free house tea like the other well-known Japanese/Korean restaurants. The only real issue was the restroom, it was not given much attention when it comes to cleanliness.

All in all, Sambo Kojin is a good place to spend your money. We enjoyed the food and company so much that we did not realize it was already closing time and we were the only group left, the last to leave the place that night and probably the heaviest and happiest food buddies! :))