Motto Motto: Serendra’s Friendly Neighborhood Japanese Resto

Update 12/21/2018: As featured in 10 Best New Restaurants in Manila (2019 Homegrown Edition)! https://flic.kr/p/2dDQ8JR 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 https://flic.kr/p/2cxVVUy Motto Motto is in a prime location at the center of Serendra Piazza where Chelsea used to be located. https://flic.kr/p/PTFwnF Motto Motto Menu: Nomimono Cafe Beverages | Breakfast & All Day Brunch | All Day Teishoku Set Menus | Go! Sashimi | Sushi & Maki Aburi | Nigiri and Snacks | Salad & Okosama Special | Tempura | Sizzle Sizzle & The Meat & Fish Kitchen | Hamburg-O-Rama & Nabe and Shabu Shabu | Soba & Noodles Ya | Motto Motto Donburi | Sizzling Rice | Tokyo Bakery 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 https://flic.kr/p/2aTgC27 You can enjoy different kinds of sushi—nigiri, gunnkan, hosomaki, uramaki—all freshly made in house. https://flic.kr/p/Rw1GLf 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. https://flic.kr/p/2dzj9Bs Dynamite (₱320). Bluefin Tuna, Salmon, Spicy Mayonnaise, Cucumber & Avocado The dynamite is a safe bet to satisfy your maki cravings. https://flic.kr/p/Rw1NLb 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. https://flic.kr/p/PTGfTn Kouhaku Carpaccio Zuke (₱525)  Soy Marinated Fish “Carpaccio” We wanted something different, and this marinated sashimi was our personal favorite. https://flic.kr/p/Rw2g39 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 https://flic.kr/p/2dDPoW6 Kuruma Ebi Tempura (5 pcs. –₱520). Prawns Properly done tempura with crispy batter and the right amount of prawn. https://flic.kr/p/Rw1MFW 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. https://flic.kr/p/2cgcD14 Shake Teriyaki (₱450). Salmon Teriyaki For something healthy—salmon, asparagus and a sweet teriyaki sauce.   For the Kids https://flic.kr/p/2aThq73 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. https://flic.kr/p/2dDQeMn Cheese and Curry (₱395). Hamburger Steak with Cheesy Japanese Curry This was a kid pleaser with hamburger topped with cheese soaked in curry sauce. https://flic.kr/p/2dDPPQV 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 https://flic.kr/p/Rw1JS9 Chicken Nanban (₱380) Instead of karaage, order this chicken marinated with a crispy batter and an addicting tartar sauce. https://flic.kr/p/2dDPyGP 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. https://flic.kr/p/2dzk1aW 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 https://flic.kr/p/PTGhZg 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. https://flic.kr/p/2dDTgGP Mix the soba sauce with raw quail egg and chives in the container before dipping the soba noodles.   Seafood Chan Chan https://flic.kr/p/2cgcoR2 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. https://flic.kr/p/2aTmFkS 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 https://flic.kr/p/2dDQ59K 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. https://flic.kr/p/2dzjQaL Rice topped with wagyu beef slices mixed with raw egg yolk and gyudon sauce with dashi broth. So good!   Souffle Pancake! https://flic.kr/p/2dzk4mL 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. https://flic.kr/p/2aThPsS We had to fight over this and it was literally gone in 60 seconds.   Tokyo Bakery https://flic.kr/p/2aTgyF9 Check out the different Japanese cakes and pastries made by a Japanese homebaker selling in Salcedo Market. Check out Tokyo Bakery menu.   Final Thoughts https://flic.kr/p/2cy1CCE 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.  Pin it. If you like this post and you have a Pinterest account, don’t forget to share or pin this for later! 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.  https://flic.kr/p/2cxWx8Q Seafood Yakisoba (₱180). Sizzling Fried Thin Noodles with Seafood https://flic.kr/p/2cxX4F3 Shake Yukhoe (₱175). Salmon in Spicy Sesame Oil Served with Nori https://flic.kr/p/2cxWmiU Spicy Sesame Chicken Salad (solo – ₱95). Mixed Geens, Steamed Chicken Breast, Red Onions, Fried Glass Noodles & Spicy Sesame Dressing https://flic.kr/p/2aTgR4Q Strawberry Guava Yakult (₱150) and Tiramisu Coffee Jelly (₱225)