Motto Motto: Serendra’s Friendly Neighborhood Japanese Resto

Update 12/21/2018: As featured in 10 Best New Restaurants in Manila (2019 Homegrown Edition)!

Motto Motto, meaning “more more” in Japanese, is a Japanese comfort food restaurant with an extensive menu to cater to both locals and Japanese ex-pats alike.

It’s another winning concept by the Raintree group after Friends & Family to replace the Chelsea concept in Serendra. They also partnered with a homegrown Tokyo bakery concept from Salcedo to provide Japanese pastries.

I like how it still gets that younger Chelsea ambiance conducive to conversation while offering more affordable or unique Japanese food options.

Motto Motto
Ground Floor, Serendra Piazza, Bonifacio Global City.
Opening Hours: 8.00 am to 11.00 pm

First Things First

Motto Motto is in a prime location at the center of Serendra Piazza where Chelsea used to be located.

The menu is quite extensive, and you can get easily overwhelmed by the choices.

It has a great ambiance for casual dates, family lunches/dinners or team meetings.

Sushi & Sashimi

You can enjoy different kinds of sushi—nigiri, gunnkan, hosomaki, uramaki—all freshly made in house.

Nigiri Omakase (6 pcs. – ₱350). Salmon, Bluefin Tuna, Squid, Meat Fish, White Shrimp poached in Prawn Broth, Egg

Order assorted sushi paired with your make-your-own soy sauce art.

Dynamite (₱320). Bluefin Tuna, Salmon, Spicy Mayonnaise, Cucumber & Avocado

The dynamite is a safe bet to satisfy your maki cravings.

Motto Motto Roll (₱450). Two Kinds 12 pieces. Tamago, Oboro, Mango, Crab Sticks, Tobiko, Tempura, Unagi Sauce, Pickled Yellow Radish, Cucumber, Black Sesame, Spring Onions

To break away from the usual, order their signature roll with 2 kinds of sushi served by Ms. Pikachu.

Kouhaku Carpaccio Zuke (₱525) Soy Marinated Fish “Carpaccio”

We wanted something different, and this marinated sashimi was our personal favorite.

Shiokara Squid (₱275). Fermented Squid with Radish Served with Nori.

This felt a bit yucky at first because it was fermented, but it turned out to be quite good, eaten with a bit of ginger and radish to stimulate your appetite.

Filipino Japanese Comfort Food

Kuruma Ebi Tempura (5 pcs. –₱520). Prawns

Properly done tempura with crispy batter and the right amount of prawn.

Spicy Tuna (₱195). Topped with Tempura Flakes & Mayonnaise Served with Nori

A classic Filipino favorite—tuna with mayo, crunch from tempura flakes served on top of nori.

Shake Teriyaki (₱450). Salmon Teriyaki

For something healthy—salmon, asparagus and a sweet teriyaki sauce.

For the Kids

Tori Teriyaki (₱195). Motto Chicken Teriyaki

Boneless dark-part of chicken served with a sweet teriyaki sauce that makes you want to order extra rice.

Cheese and Curry (₱395). Hamburger Steak with Cheesy Japanese Curry

This was a kid pleaser with hamburger topped with cheese soaked in curry sauce.

Mentaiko “Carbonara” (Solo – ₱350). Hot Creamy Pink Cod Roe “Carbonara” Udon

Like a carbonara soup with fat udon noodles to absorb the cod roe sauce.

For Something Different

Chicken Nanban (₱380)

Instead of karaage, order this chicken marinated with a crispy batter and an addicting tartar sauce.

Teba Gyoza (₱320). Boneless Chicken Wings Stuffed with Gyoza Pate & dipped in Pepper Sauce.

Instead of gyoza, opt for this stuffed boneless chicken wings with gyoza filling.

Okinawa “Taco Rice” (Solo – ₱175). Taco Beef Rice topped with Cabbage, Tomato Salsa & Mayonnaise

Instead of chahan, go for this taco flavored beef fried rice mixed with mayo and avocado.

Soba

Tempura Soba (₱385). Tempura Moriawase & Classic Soba

This was a complete meal in itself starting with vegetable tempura and the soba noodles that you dip in the sauce.

Mix the soba sauce with raw quail egg and chives in the container before dipping the soba noodles.

Seafood Chan Chan

Seafood Chan Chan Nabe Set (₱1,420). Seafood, Miso Butter and Shabu Shabu. Norwegian Salmon, White Meat Fish & Shrimp Shabu Shabu with Miso Flavored Japanese Soup and served with Ramen

They didn’t have ramen but this was the closest—seafood shabu shabu finished with noodles.

Put the vegetables in the boiling soup first then cook the seafood next. After eating, put the noodles into the soup flavored with butter and corn.

Wagyu Bento

Special Gyudon Wagyu (₱650). Sliced medium-cooked Beef Slice & Egg Yolk with Dashi Broth

This was hands down the best food among everything we ordered, and everyone was raving about it.

Rice topped with wagyu beef slices mixed with raw egg yolk and gyudon sauce with dashi broth. So good!

Souffle Pancake!

Souffle Pancake (₱195). Matcha Butter, Maple Syrup, Whipped Cream topped with powdered sugar

To end, imagine a fluffy souffle served ala pancake style with matcha butter, maple syrup and red bean.

We had to fight over this and it was literally gone in 60 seconds.

Tokyo Bakery

Check out the different Japanese cakes and pastries made by a Japanese homebaker selling in Salcedo Market.

Check out Tokyo Bakery menu.

Final Thoughts

This is actually a perfect concept in Serendra where you can just meet up with friends in a neighborhood resto where you know the food is good, the ambiance is perfect for conversation and the service is friendly.

Highly recommended: Kouhaku Carpaccio Zuke, Chicken Nanban, Special Gyudon Wagyu and the Souffle pancake! Budget about ₱500/head + drinks.

A great place to bring the family for a lazy brunch or to have a holiday reunion with friends where you know everyone will enjoy the food without breaking the wallet.

Congratulations to Chef Kalel and the Raintree team for a job well done with the Motto Motto concept!

Motto Motto
Ground Floor, Serendra Piazza, Bonifacio Global City.
Opening Hours: 8.00 am to 11.00 pm

Live an Awesome Life,

Founder, www.OurAwesomePlanet.com

Disclosure: Our meal was courtesy of Chef Kalel Chan. I wrote this article with my biases, opinions and insights.

P.S. This feels like the Japanese version of Friends & Family with a Chelsea ambiance. It’s not like Ooma which is edgier with its combinations nor Tokyo Cafe which is more of the fast food type.

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P.P.S. These are the things that we did not like from our taste test session in Motto Motto. Anything with the sesame dressing and the drinks were a bit sweet.