saboten

this is the first zomato gold partner we've tried and we were absolutely floored. if you buy one dish (except for the specialty and sharing sets), you'll get the second dish at no charge! if there are more dishes to be ordered, they will take the second highest amount out of everything, and that's what's free! thank you, zomato for making it easier on our pockets to dine out and enjoy good food outside our homes :)

now for the review.

bias aside, we really favor saboten above all else. we just don't eat here as much as we'd like because prices are a bit high - for two, you'd spend a thousand at least. with zomato gold that won't be a concern anymore!

we got the shrimp and tenderloin set (p595) and the saboten special set (p565) and we were three people eating (imagine that!). the shrimp and tenderloin set contains 2 pcs of deep fried shrimp and 2 pcs of tenderloin cutlet at 30g each, while the saboten special set has 1 pc of deep fried shrimp, 1 pc tenderloin cutlet at 30g, 1 pc loin cutlet at 65g and 1 crab cream croquette (yum!). unlimited cabbage, pickled veggies, miso soup and rice - what else can you ask for! the rice wasn't so spectacular but we don't eat rice anyway so it's not really a big deal. try their sesame salad dressing - that was just the 💣

will be back real soon!

while it is one of the pricier options in terms katsu in manila, food is quite good and worth the try at least once. sets come with the usual cabbage, rice and miso soup (cabbage is served in a communal bowl for the whole table to share though).

service is quite good, specially for a friday night. waiters are very attentive and eagerly asked us if we wanted refills for cabbage / rice / soup.

they also have other items apart from katsu, like a personal shabu-shabu set.

what we ordered: hana set, katsu skillet, grated radish katsu, shabu-shabu.

zomato gold process was seamless 👍

my friends and i decided to have tonkatsu for lunch so we headed over to saboten in serendra. we opted to have the tenderloin set large size, for 450 php. it comes with unlimited miso soup, unlimited japanese rice, and unlimited salad. when i have tonkatsu, i always request for the yellow horseradish sauce so i was happy to see that they had it on every table. it adds another dimension of taste to the tonkatsu sauce.

the pork tenderloin itself was crispy on the outside and tender inside. it wasnt oily, but sealed in the flavors of the meat in each bite.

thanks to zomato gold, we were able to get 2 at the price of one. the staff was also aware of the promo so we had no trouble redeeming it. definitely a steal. will be back again soon.

love the food and the service! i checked the reviews and decided to order yuki snow and im over satisfied with the taste and hefty serving. zomato gold made it more special because of the 1+1 👌

saboten is like a big brother version of yabu. they have this package deals which will surely stuff you and you wouldn’t leave the place regretting on making those orders. i personally loved the yuki and snow set. ✨

the best and authentic japanese restaurant for me. the food was great, the staff were very accommodating and the we also love the ambiance. #authenticjapaneserestaurant #recommendable

saboten philippines supports action against hunger to fight against child malnutrition in the philippines. for every order of chicken salad a portion is donated to restaurant against hunger campaign.

best paired with your favorite katsu! 🥢🇯🇵

#ilovetoeatph 😃❤️

raintree restaurants food crawl
2nd stop: saboten

saboten is one of the restaurants who are participating in the restaurants against hunger campaign by action against hunger.

from october 1 to december 1, participating restaurants offer dishes from their menu which are tagged as 'dishes that feed more'. every time a customer orders the chosen soliditary dishes, a portion is donated to the restaurants against hunger campaign.

the chosen dish for saboten is the
chicken salad with bang bang chi dressing (p275.00) - it was very light and hearty. it's a good starter and a complement of their tonkatsu. i just find the chicken strips small.

we also tried their special sharing set (p1,080.00) -
i like the cheese rolled cutlet. the meat was fork-tender and the crust was crispy as you can imagine while seeing their menu.

they also have shredded cabbage. the dressing for the shredded cabbage was just tasty.

the service is okay. the place is quite big and it is cool inside. it's one of the restaurants to visit in the metro if you're looking for katsu!

saboten is one of the katsu restaurants i really go to here in the philippines. what makes this restauramt unique is that they actually serve tuna sashimi katsu and oroshi katsu which other katsu restaurants doesn’t have. i also love how cold and crisp their cabbage is! best enjoyed with their sesame dressing! one drink that stood out when i went there is their watermelon wasabi shake! it absolutely blew me away! besides the food, i fell inlove with their ambience! very clean and relaxing! the staff are polite! i will defenitely come back! 😊❤️

saboten was our second stop for the raintree restaurants foodcrawl. 🇯🇵

saboten is a japanese word which means cactus in english - a plant which thrives in hardest condition. the cactus can be seen in some of the small details inside. this restaurant, alongside with other raintree restaurants, is also participating in action against hunger - an organization that supports against child malnutrition in the philippines. for saboten, the solidarity dish is chicken salad with bang bang ji dressing.

a generous amount of this salad was served to us. the chicken meat was tasty. i loved the lightness of the salad; ingredients were indeed fresh. other dish that was offered was the special sharing set - deep fried shrimp, loin cutlet, crab cream croquettes, and rolled cutlets. this set was meant for sharing because of the serving size. it also comes with cabbage, miso soup, and steamed rice. i loved the crispiness of the katsu in every bite, not too oily, and very flavorful. i also had melon yakult for drinks - a combination of melon fruit shake with yakult. i would recommend this one if you want something new to refresh. yakult was dominant with the overall flavor.

saboten has japanese interior with zen feels. the warm lights create a relaxing vibe inside. you can also dine outside if you want a different view.

by the way, if you want to know more details about actions againts hunger, kindly visit www.actionagainstshunger.org. ♥️

if you love to help, the restaurant against hunger campaign is the right outlet for you to help.

raintree group of restos tied up with action against hunger and started a campaign called “restaurants against hunger”. the campaign is to fight against child malnutrition. for every order of participating dishes, a portion is donated to the restaurants against hunger campaign.

saboten was among the restos that is part of the campaign.

we sampled their chicken salad with bang bang ji dressing, and special sharing set which includes shrimp tempura, loin cutlet, crab cream croquettes, rolled cutlet with cheese.

all were delicious. my fave was their rolled cutlet with cheese.

by the way be sure to order their chicken salad to help in the campaign.

we had a quick visit to saboten. it has plenty of space, relaxing, and nice staff. serves complimentary house tea.

chicken karaage (php275) - bit oily but good, soft
agedashi tofu (php195) - we liked this
melon juice (php175) - really good

went here for dinner with friends. love their curry katsu.                        
ambience was nice and happy about our visit here, staff was great too.

saboten is a japanese restaurant located at the heart of serendra. they're known for their delectable katsu dishes that not only satisfy your japanese craving, but also bring you that full on japanese experience.

my sister and i decided to have our late lunch here at saboten, since we've always wanted to try the place out. once we entered, we were immediately approached by the friendly staff. they escorted us to our table and offered us their simple yet interesting menu.

as i browsed their menu, the dish that really caught my attention was their "mixed katsu set" which included, deep fried shrimp, tenderloin 30g, and a crab cream croquette. i thought that it was a good mix of meat and seafood so i decided to go for it.

the service was quite slow during our visit especially for the place being almost empty due to the end of lunch hour. however, we were given the pickled vegetables and cabbage that came with the set in advanced, to satisfy our hunger while we wait. after waiting for almost 30 minutes, our food finally arrived and so far these were my thoughts.

〰 mixed katsu set 〰 (440 php)

- "upon seeing the dish, i thought that the serving size was smaller than i expected, but i didn't mind since the other elements that came with set were unlimited. whenever i eat at katsu restaurants, the number one thing that i look forward to is the perfect coating, and i believe that the set i had, achieved that. the katsu was light, and evenly crisped all over just how it should be. my favorite part i would have to say was the "crab cream croquette". i enjoyed it's crisp exterior together with the warm oozing filling which reminded me of hot takoyaki when i was in osaka, japan.
all in all, every element of the dish was good, but nothing really special. it was an enjoyable meal though and that's what i think what matters in the end".

overall, i believe that saboten was worth trying out for the first time, but i think it wouldn't be a place wherein i would come back for when i crave for katsu, since the price of their sets are a lot more expensive with other competing katsu restaurants that are as good as well.

saboten is one of the katsu places to try out in manila.

like the other katsu restaurants, saboten’s katsu set comes with cabbage, pickles, and rice and miso soup. we ordered the tenderloin set.

the katsu was juicy and had crispy breading. the miso soup was also okay.

they do not serve the set with fruits unlike other katsu we’ve tried but the set was practically fine and can make one full.

the sides are also reffilable.

the eatventurers