Nagomi, a Japanese fine dining lunch service on 10 March 2026, the invitation said. It was to be held at iChef Restaurant on the ground floor of the Institute of International Culinary and Hospitality Entrepreneurship (iChef) along De Jesus Street downtown.
The lunch service’s executive chef, Anna Paullina S. Valencia, said it was a lunch service by second-year students of BS in International Culinary Management of the institute as a simulation of real-world restaurant service and kitchen operations.
First off, it’s not your usual Japanese spread, except for the Miso Soup and tempura, but they managed to bring out a savory experience with the Japanese flair.
The menu was arranged as it should be: appetizer, Hors D’Oeuvres, soup, main course, and dessert, but the soup and Hors D’Oeuvres came before the appetizer. Maybe there was a sneaky intent there…
The Miso soup had silken tofu in dashi (the clear soup stock), dried wakame, and a sprinkling of onion soup. Very subtle flavors blend beautifully together. Shrimp tempura came next, the Hors D’Oeuvres. The tempura sauce was more flavorful than what I usually get in restaurants. I liked it. Then the appetizer came, Chawanmushi. This is something I’m not familiar with. It’s made up of egg, dashi, shiitake mushrooms, chicken bits, chicken skin, ebiko (capelin roe), and fresh spring onions. The assigned server, however, was quick to spirit mine off, as I had earlier indicated I am allergic to shiitake; he replaced it with one that didn’t have shiitake. Great! They remembered!
The highlight of the appetizer was that small bit of crisp chicken skin that gave your appetite just the boost it needed. Honestly, masarap. But it’s just an appetizer, so, bitin. (Woe is I!)
Finally, the main course: Kakuni. It’s braised pork belly with pickled vegetables, dashi gel, fried spring onions, and microgreens. It was a big uh-oh moment for us on the table made up of my college classmate Agatha Salanatin Valencia, the EC’S mom, her dad, Dr. Philip S. Valencia, and Agatha’s brother, Mar Salanatin. We have all removed pork from our diet. Ooops! It’s okay; it’s not a religious prohibition anyway. One lunch will not take us down (I just blessed it and extracted negative energy), as we’re all out there supporting the unica hija.
The braised pork was again flavorful; these kids know how to season their food. Flavors just pop out with every bite. The braised pork was not jiggly like humba, but tender enough to bite into and savor. Verdict? Bitin ulit!!!
Dessert was Japanese Soufflé Cheesecake, and yes, it’s everything you’d expect. Not as dense as cheesecakes are, it’s a soufflé, it’s light, with strawberry compote on a bed of crushed cones topped with Malagos Vanilla Bean Ice Cream. This Malagos vanilla bean ice cream is something to explore. The vanilla bean is supplied by Malagos Produce, the latest product of the Puentespina family in Davao. Exciting times ahead, indeed.
Final verdict: Well thought out and prepared. The whole meal worked so well together; these kids deserve all the praise. They were able to blend the flavors and let each stand out without overpowering the taste buds. Subtle was the word of the day. But, again, bitin. Hehehehe!
So it’s time to take a bow.
Back of House, or the people in the kitchen aside from EC Anna, were:
Sous Chef - Glad F. Ubas, and Pastry Chef - Joseph Ryan P. Candelaria.
Chef de Partie: Zeus David E. Baylon - Main Course; Prince Gabbro L. Abala - Main Course/Soup; Angel Fernandez - Appetizer; Danica Allyssa P. Pactol - Appetizer; Zylquelynne Faith D. De Pedro and Cyrus Hanes - Hors D’oeuvres; Ellen Mae T. Lopez and Cassandra N. Tolentino - Dessert.
Front of House, or the ones we welcomed and served us throughout lunch, were restaurant manager - Pablio John Coscos, head server - Andrei L. Kaslani, and servers - David Franz T. Matabia, Nymes Suyo, and Marie Shamia Deniega.
These students were under the tutelage of Chef Ramon Abalos, the chef advisor, and Chef Niño Runas, the guest chef instructor. Congrats!