10.084
30 (Sat) March 2019
TERSAP 2: Tuna Sashimi Pizza
2.5
at Isogi by Kai
-San Antonio Plaza, Makati-
with the family
TERSAP. Try Every Restaurant in San Antonio Plaza. The family recently moved to Dasmariñas Village in Makati. Just beyond the gates on the northeast side lies San Antonio Plaza, a small shopping center that includes four restaurants. 2.5 km door to door, they’re the closest proper eateries in our new neighborhood. We shall try all of them.
- La Nuova Pastaleria (10.079 Due Gusti Pizza) – wouldn’t mind going back.
- Isogi by Kai – wouldn’t mind going back.
- Kashmir – TBC
- Maple – TBC
The Tuna Sashimi Pizza was okayish. Grilled tortilla had nice crisp, with a wisp of smokiness. Sprouts were nice. But too much mayo on top and too much of some kind of tangy sauce on the bottom, completely drowning out the tuna itself. Would never order it again – as I said to the boys: “Enjoy it now, because you may never see it again in your lifetime.” – but don’t regret this once.
- TERRP (…Restaurant in Robinsons Place) — complete (85) (5.247 KFC : Original Recipe Fried Chicken…)
- TEITY (..Item at Tao Yuan) — complete (36) (6.095 DONE)
- TERNWPPD (…Restaurant in New World, Pan-Pacific, Diamond) — complete (10) (6.081 Lobster, Baby.)
- TERSK (…Restaurant in St Kilda) — complete (6) (5.339 Roasted Squid)
- TEKREM (…Korean Restaurant in Ermita/Malate) — complete (45) (6.207 Dok + Ok)
- TEIBR (…Item at Bistro Remedios) — cancelled (10) (6.359 Kangkong Lechon)
- TETRITSA (…Thai Restaurant in the International Terminal of Suvarnabhumi Airport) — cancelled (4) (see previously 6.069 Spicy Stir-Fried Shrimp & Seafood with Basil)
- TERSP (…Restaurant in Serendra Piazza) — complete (23) (2.257 Strawberry Shortcake)
- TEKASM (…Korean Air Special Meal) — cancelled (9) (7.200 Vegetarian Jain Meal)
- TERSAP (…Restaurant in San Antonio Plaza) — in process
“Sushi pizza” is ubiquitously present on menus in the multiple Japanese fusion restaurants here in Canada, though it’s altogether a different beast than this version, being a deep fried rice patty topped with chopped tuna, salmon, etc, bound with mayo, with tempura crumbs. Apparently a Torontonian invention. No idea what it has to do with pizza, apart from being cut into slices.
reading your description, something just occurred to me. people within a culture tend not to fusionize their own foods, sticking to the traditional. i think it’s because the culture took so much time and effort to develop that tradition, and now having perfected it – why mess with it? but people from outside that culture don’t have that investment, so they feel free to do whatever they want.
like sushi, after centuries of trial and error, the japanese finally decided that a simple cut of raw fish on a bite-sized piece of vinegared rice with a touch of wasabi and shoyu is as good as it’ll ever get. but now, others are like, “it can’t be that easy – let’s add mayo!”
i think i’ll write about this in a featured post.
I think the bastardization of “ethnic” food stems not so much from an increased sense of liberty to experiment (though that definitely plays into it; sushi is certainly much less revered as an artform and more as a trendy foodstuff in the West) but more so to gain acceptance from the culture into which it is introduced. You see a common trend in any translocated food, in that generally the adapted version tends to up the salt, sugar, fat, and is likely deep fried in some sense. Indian curries and Chinese stir fries are ridiculously sweet here in the West, while I’ve found versions spaghetti sauce, bread, etc to be similarly eerily sweet in Asia. It’s much easier to accept foreign flavours and ingredients when it taps into your primordial predilections for sugar and grease. Not to mention the decreased cost to tastiness ratio.
In my home province (New Brunswick), there is a curious creation known as “donair sauce,” a bizarre yet addictive concoction of sugar, condensed milk, and garlic powder. It bears only the faintest resemblence to the original garlicky condiment hailing from Turkey, having replaced nearly all the ingredients with cheaper shelf stable substitutes and gaining a candy-like sweetness.
Personally, i find it delicious.
While I would agree that newly introduced food is adapted to suit local palates, I was referring more to outright fusion dishes, which seem to come a bit later, after the “traditional” stuff gains some initial traction.
Wondering if donair sauce derives from doner sauce, the garlicky white sauce that comes with Turkish doner kebab sandwiches.