Jollijeep or Jolly-jeep? If you hear this word and you know what it means then it’s a tell-tale sign that you work in Makati City, Philippines. It is actually a licensed food cart that are scattered around the city which is the meals source of the working class because of the location convenience and it is inexpensive. Anyway, aside from Jollijeep there are actually a lot of hole-in-a-wall restaurants in Makati that are serving delicious, authentic cuisine that will not hurt a working class’ pocket.
I started to developed this penchant to discover hole-in-a-wall resto near my office. My work is at 6788 in Ayala and of course there are a lot of restaurants in the vicinity however there are times that I wanted something different and original cuisine.
So one day while leisurely (why stress myself if there are so many interesting stuffs to look at) walking at Dela Rosa Walkway and was at the parking building, I looked down and saw this Japanese Restaurant signage across. The mini-resto (yep mini, coz i reckon it’s only 5mx10m ) is called Tan Tan Men, I was curious so checked it out but it was full of customers.
After couple of weeks, I encouraged my colleague to go there after office hours. We arrived at around 5:45pm and there are tables unoccupied, cause it’s quite small they only have 9 tables that can sit 2pax per table but a 3rd person can be squeezed in, I think they can do something about it.
So, I checked the menu and they offer Ramen and Tan Tan Ramen, Gyoza and drinks! That’s about it. The options are lean but don’t worry Tan Tan Men will not disappoint you.
Here’s their menu, quite affordable right????? My mind is boggled actually, how can they offer this cheap, whereas other Ramen House or pretending to be Ramen house offers it double the price!
Other Ramen choices, cause I don’t actually eat meat and am a fan of Shoyu based soup, I ordered Shoyu Ramen and of course my favourite Gyoza, I requested to reduce the meat in Gyoza and replaced with more vegetable, unfortunately they cannot. My colleague ordered Tan Tan Men which is their house specialty.
My Shoyu Ramen, it was delicious and the soup was perfect, even the noodles it was fresh, long and taste like homemade which I love. Oh my, the egg is organic and so creamy, how i wish they also placed the other half 😂
My colleague’s Tan Tan Men was also deliciously, I tasted a spoonful of soup, it was perfect unlike in other Ramen House, this one is perfect not overly rich, I can still distinguish other flavour at the tip of my tongue.
The appetising Gyoza, it is thick and full.
The interior of the store, love the wall decor with the description of what Tantanmen is, quite informative for those non-Japanese food eater or new to it.
After consuming our ramen, not only were our stomachs and tastebuds very satisfied but also our wallet!!!! Yes, my wallet was like saying… “Arlyn are you sure about this? You are only spending Php170.00 for the Ramen and Gyoza??? Very unusual, you used to spend not less than Php500!!!” Now my wallet and I are both satisfied, so I will be back in this hole-in-a-wall Japanese Resto which is walking distance from my office.
Oh lastly, if the space is full you can take out the food they open at 11am up until 11pm weekdays, on a weekend up until 9pm only.
Cheers, guys! If you were convinced that this resto is good and tried it, leave a comment, cause I would be very happy to hear that I was able to spread smile and happiness by sharing my stories.
Niceties Of Life 