ombu is located at the ground floor of sequoia hotel along mother ignacia avenue in quezon city. it’s a “casual fine dining” restaurant with cozy interiors and soft lighting to match.
although “ombu” may seem japanese, it’s actually the name of a tree as a nod of sequoia hotel. ombu serves “modern filipino” fare – half of the restaurant’s menu is a take on filipino classics, and the other half is filipino comfort food we may have grown up with.
we started off our dinner with house blend ice tea and shrimp lumpia. the ice tea was refreshing and fruity, while the shrimp lumpia was succulent and light. although the shrimp lumpia was appetizing, the side of fresh tomato and mango salsa needed tweaking. the pieces of fruit and vegetable were cut too big. so much so that the flavours tasted disconnected, and seemed to be thrown on the plate as if an after thought.
soon after we had our appetizers, our mains came. one of the dishes that impressed the people at our table was the crispy tadyang. the big chunks of fried beef were a hit because they were tender and flavourful. the tart dipping sauce that came with it further enhanced the sweet-savoury taste of the beef.
another dish that everyone seemed to enjoy was the crispy glazed chicken - a batter-fried chicken glazed with sweet garlic sauce that the restaurant proudly calls its “best seller”. most people liked the dish, but i personally thought the flavour was singular. the glaze on the chicken was nothing but sweet.
gising-gising is a ground pork and green bean dish cooked in coconut milk and shrimp paste (bagoong) to enhance the flavor. its name literally means “wake-up, wake-up” because it is supposed to beextra spicy. ombu’s version of gising-gising was not spicy at all. although the dish was rich and complex because of the coconut milk, it lacked the extra spice-kick that makes gising-gising familiar and comforting.
ombu served us two dishes that night that were not yet on the menu: the litson sinigang and litson kare-kare. these dishes are still in their development phase as of writing.
both the litson sinigang and litson kare-kare were my least favourites.
my first taste of the kare-kare actually made me think that it was prepared with pre-mixed powder. the unsavoury broth/sauce fundamentally lacked the nutty flavour that all kare-kare dishes should have. some people from the group also mentioned that the pork litson didn’t work with the dish, as most still would’ve preferred beef in it.
the sinigang was flat and tasteless. although the litson meat was tender and well seasoned, the lackluster broth was just indefensible.
dessert was delicious, and i’m glad to have ended dinner on a high note. the frozen brazo was great to say the least. it had lovely layers of ice cream, yema, and meringue that cleansed the palate quite well.
having some things to improve on doesn’t mean ombu isn’t worth visiting. if what you’re looking for is good food, cozy ambiance, and a little privacy, this restaurant might be worth checking out.