Tajimaya's Unlimited Japanese Grilling at P650 Only
In celebration of my mom’s birthday, my younger brother recommended his personal favorite restaurant – Tajimaya. He learned about the unlimited meat promo several months back, and he wanted all us to experience it. In this blog post, I’ll be sharing with you how it went.
A long queue to bear
Due to the place’s growing popularity, there has always been a long queue. Upon registry, the server told us that we were 9th on the list. I guess people are really fond of “unlimited” and buffets. Anyway, it took us probably about an hour just to be seated. Hence, when you dine (especially weekend dinner), expect a long queue.
The question is, was the experience worth all the wait? Well, you’ll see in a short while. For now, let’s check out the place.
Uncomfortably warm and foggy
The first thing that hit me upon entering was the warmness of the place, the smoke from all the grilling and the intense meaty aroma lingering in the air (that will definitely cling on to your clothes). The heat was undoubtedly coming from the burning charcoals, and since there were no exhaust tubes present, the heat and the smoke freely escape which envelop the entire place. It was at that point where I was feeling intrusively uncomfy. I was just shrugging it off because it was a night of celebration and good vibes. Also, thankfully, my body somehow adjusted to the heat -- somehow it became bearable.
Aside from this, things turned out smooth across the night.
“Unlimited refills” – is it truly unlimited?
Honestly, the term unlimited here may be misleading. Just like in Urameshi-Ya’s Unlimited Wagyu (read more), the unlimited refill is timed. For the case of Tajimaya, you’ll have 1.5 hours to refill which will begin after the initial set of orders are served. Don’t worry, based on our experience, it’s just the right time you need! Plus, there is no limit as to how many refills you’ll request. The only catch is, you should be able to consume everything that you ordered or else you'll pay P200 penalty each. So, order wisely.
You may also dine in ala carte without availing the promo, but my brother told me that’s it’s usually more sulit to avail the promo. The only exception is when your entire group has a low eating capacity.
The promo includes unlimited refills of appetizers (e.g. kimchi-like lettuce salad, kimchi and toge), lettuce, rice, marinated beef, pork, chicken, squid, shrimp and special sausage. The rate for this is P650 net per person.
Interestingly, the sauces here are different from the usual. There are three variety to choose from (i.e. hoisin-like bean sauce, chili-bean sauce and mashed garlic), and you can freely produce your personal concoction by mixing them up. Our favorite is to do 5 parts of mashed garlic, 3 parts of bean sauce and 1 part chili.
The chicken's my mom's favorite. It had a savory sweet marinate
The beef has this tenderness that creates a mouthful of experience. The fat portion, although sinful, is something that produces great flavors!
A pre-birthday celebration for my mom!
Prawns for the seafood lover!
The pork surprisingly had a thinner layer of fat compared to the beef. Plus, you can make "bacons" by really frying 'em up
One technique to control the heat of your charcoal-lit grill is to put ice on top
That's basically everything. It was truly a night of foodgasm, and all of us felt bloated afterwards.
Tajimaya - Overall Ratings and Summary
Note: Unshaded stars are equivalents of half-stars. The ratings reflect my personal experiences on the times I dine here.
Place ★★★
Taste ★★★★★
Service ★★★★
Value for Money ★★★★
Budget: at least P650 each for an unlimited refill of beef, chicken, pork and seafood grillings
No. of visits for this particular restaurant/branch - 1 || Date of last visit - November 26, 2017
Despite the uncomfortable ambiance, Tajimaya is still something you really may want to try due to its delicious choices of grillables and high-quality lettuce. Also, the sauce collection is really something you may look forward to (especially those fond of garlicky taste).
I’m giving this restaurant a thumbs up because the experience was different from your typical unlimited Korean samgyupsal. Happy kid!
Tajimaya
Location: Veranda, SM Mall Of Asia, Main Mall, Bay Rd., Pasay, Metro Manila
Operating Hours: 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM daily
Operating Hours: 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM daily
Service Charge: 10% before VAT
