Beauty Hot Pot - now in Manila!
A few weeks after our Chibo Okonomiyaki experience, my friends and I found ourselves in yet another Japanese restaurant at S Maison - Bijin Nabe by Tsukada Nojo, which is known for their Japanese Beauty Hot Pot. We heard that their signature Golden Collagen chicken stock can give you beautiful skin and a better health, so there, we went.
But before getting to the collagen, we first ordered a couple of their appetizers.
Maximum Fried Eggplant (P180)
fried eggplant seasoned with "maximum" spice and sweet chili
This is a good way to get your kids to eat vegetables. It's not too oily and goes really well with the sweet chili sauce they paired it with!
Chicken Nanban (P295)
Juicy chicken chunks in tartar sauce!
Assorted Nikumaki (P105-P115 per piece)
Original, Cheese, Yuzu-Mayo, Spicy
I highly recommend the ones with melted cheese and Yuzu pepper and mayo!
Finally, the Bijin Nabe!
The Bijin Nabe is a combination of the freshest vegetables, seafood, and chicken cooked in their Golden Jidori Chicken Stock. The collagen used is regularly transported from their farm in Japan and is stewed for more than 8 hours - until the chicken bones are fully dissolved. Eventually, chicken stock turns into a smooth and silky collagen pudding.
It costs Php 750 per portion, which I thought wasn't bad at all, considering all the logistics and preparation needed to serve it (and of course, let's not forget the health benefits!)
The Bijin Nabe consists of the Golden Collagen chicken soup, sunflower sprout, red radish, lettuce, prawn, chicken, tori tsukune, fresh black fungus, zucchini, enoki mushrooms, baby sweet potato leaves, baby corn, lady's finger, and deep fried tofu. But they don't put it all in one go.
The server begins preparing the Bijin Nabe by melting the frozen collagen in a hot pot bowl. They had us try a couple of spoonfuls of the pure collagen broth once it melted and it was just heaven on earth! It was so thick and creamy, all I could think of was how much I wanted more of it!
Next, they added the vegetables and gave us some of that as well. I noticed the flavors became lighter with the leafy greens. You can notice it from the color of the broth too.
Soon it was time for the prawns and the noodles. Again, the flavor profile has changed due to the seafood. Personally, the best part was the last few spoonfuls because most of the remaining liquid has already evaporated so you're left with a thicker, more flavorful soup!
This whole experience is something I'm certain my parents will enjoy, so I'm planning to bring them here real soon!
