Japanese Carbonara? Only at Koku

Whenever I see Bambi Meer and Michelle Meer, I can’t believe they have five children. Aside from the five children, they have two other babies: Chef Samurai in Subic and their newly opened Japanese restaurant, Koku. People have been requesting for Chef Samurai to open in Manila and finally their wish has been granted.

Koku is a winning combination with a bit of Chef Samurai, which was conceptualized by chef Bruce Ricketts, plus chef Edo San of Sakura Alphaland. So you can imagine the talent at this restaurant and it can only mean the food is delicious. They have a wide variety of dishes to choose from so there is something for everyone. The bonus is it’s value for money and you will never leave the place unsatisfied.

“Koku is a unit of measure of rice that’s enough to feed one person for one year,” says Michelle. “So for us it means abundance. In Koku, when you leave the place, you’ll never feel like you didn’t get full or satisfied.”

There is one dish, Japanese Carbonara, that is my favorite (aside from the salmon Aburi sushi), not only because it is so good, but also because it is only available in Koku since it was concocted by Bambi and his mom. Bambi told me the story about this delicious dish: “The Japanese Carbonara evolved because I wanted an uni cream pasta on our menu. I asked my mom for help. After several tries on the uni, I could not get that umami taste that I wanted. So I started from scratch. I wanted the umami of bacon, so I merged the fried salmon skin and the fried wakame. That’s how the Carbonara was born.”

Bambi is the general manager of the Meat Plus family (Meat Plus Specialists Philippines) owned by his parents, Spanky and  Apples Meer, Toti,  Vilma and chef Chiloy Santos, Bob Tenchavez and Paquito and Pinky Tanjangco. Now with three Tender Bob’s, four Kettles and two Firesides, with one more soon to open, I am looking forward to more branches of Koku and more food concepts by them!

Koku just opened last month so come on over and try it.

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Koku is on the ground floor of Two Central, 109 Valero Street, Salcedo Village, Makati. For reservations, call 625-5197.