John and Yoko Invades Alabang Town Center
If you’re hankering for Japanese food and you’re somewhere in the south of metro, try dining at John and Yoko Cosmopolitan Japanese in the newly opened Garden Wing of Alabang Town Center. This cosmopolitan Japanese restaurant serves the usual Japanese fare and more in very generous portions. Here are some of the remarkable dishes they have on the menu:
Shrimp Enoki Pizza
The Shrimp Enoki Pizza (Php 368) is a crunchy, thin-crust pizza topped with shrimp, enoki mushrooms, cheese, and spring onions. The sauce tasted like teriyaki sauce but I am not sure about it. This is one of my favorite items on their menu.
Sweet and tasty Japaella
I know no other restaurant that serves Japaella (Php 589) other than John and Yoko. As you probably guessed, this is the Japanese recreation of a Filipino favorite, the Paella. Instead of using tomato sauce, they used teriyaki sauce — or something like that — giving the rice a sweet flavor. It’s topped with shrimps sliced in the middle. This dish would have been another hit with me if it had more shrimp or seafoods in it. As it was, it appeared to be an overpriced fried rice topped with shrimp.
Sizzling Gyudon - Hot!
The Sizzling Gyudon (Php 348), pictured above, is seasoned perfectly. The thinly sliced beef is tender and I love the sprinkle of spring onions on top of the rice and the scrambled egg. However, the taste of this dish and that of the Sizzling Katsudon (Php 348) pictured below is very similar to the same dishes served in Sumo Sam. I found out later that the same restaurateurs are behind John and Yoko and Sumo Sam.
John and Yoko's Sizzling Katsudon tasted very much like that of Sumo Sam's
Ambiance
The John and Yoko branch in Alabang Town Center is a whole lot smaller than its counterpart in Greenbelt 5. Yet both branches carry the “cosmpolitan” Japanese theme that is the concept of the restaurant. The interior appeared lush and opulent. Someone with a gold class ring would be at home in such a setting.
Customer service
The waitstaff at the ATC branch accommodated our requests promptly. They were also vigilant about clearing our tables of empty plates and glasses. I observed the same vigilance with the waitstaff in the Greenbelt 5 branch. However, my dear friend and I were both annoyed that the waitstaff at Greenbelt 5 kept looking over our shoulders while we were still choosing from the menu and even while we were eating. We felt the no compunction in leaving right after we finished our meal and having dessert somewhere else.
About John and Yoko Alabang Town Center
John and Yoko Cosmopolitan Japanese is located at the Lower Ground Floor of the New Wing of Alabang Town Center. It’s open from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m from Monday to Friday. The branch opens at the same time during the weekend but closes at 10:00 p.m.
