Yakumi serves up 80-100 Japanese dishes for brunch

Credit: Video by EJ Bonagua

Assorted sashimi and sushi (Photo by Solaire Resort)

Yakumi’s famous Japanese dessert bento (Photo by Solaire Resort)

The pandemic is disrupting holiday travel, just as it has life in general. Japan holidays seem nowhere near our future (mine included) for Japan borders remain closed to foreign tourists.

So—we grab the next best thing to traveling to Japan, and that is eating Japanese food. Solaire’s flagship Japanese restaurant, Yakumi, is back with its Yakumi Sunday Brunch: The Art of Shun, a welcome treat for someone like us who wish for two stomachs every time we’re in Japan and want to try all the new things to eat.

Behind the Yakumi Sunday Brunch are Chef Norimasa Kosaka and his team of skillful chefs whipping up over 80 to 100 Japanese dishes enough to make this Japanophile happy. A large amount of the ingredients, especially seafood, are flown directly from Japan.

Since health and safety remain top priority at Yakumi, the luxe Japanese F&B outlet doesn’t do self-service buffet. You only have to point at what you want and the chef in the open kitchen does your choice sashimi or sushi like maki, temaki, and uramaki, or the famous nigiri sushi that melts in your mouth; the delectable treats are brought right to your table.

One of the more popular setups is the teppanyaki station where you can get your rib eye steak, chicken and fish fresh off-the-grill. You can watch them prepare your dish behind the safety of the plexiglass.

Another popular station is the teppan, for savory flavors such as Okonomiyaki, fried rice and sautéed vegetables, or the tempura live station. These rooms allow only two persons at a time.

Aside from the eight-station buffet, you can choose from the a la carte menu which includes ramen, soups, sukiyaki and shabu-shabu. All are part of the Sunday brunch package.

Dessert bento has 10 types of treats, from mochi to matcha cream puff

For things sweets and kawaii, dessert is served in a birchwood bento box. One dessert bento has 10 types of sweet treats, from the mochi of the day, a yuzu berry mille-feuille, a strawberry matcha cream puff, a green tea and azuki bean roll, and even fresh fruits.

If this isn’t enough, there’s another novel attraction to end your sugoi Sunday brunch—a candy trolley of various jars of different types of Japanese candies for you take home in candy paper bags.

Beverages range from special cocktail to Hokkaido’s Brew mixes and refreshing Sapporo beer with a tinge of sweet and zingy notes. Umami Fizz highlights the botanical taste of Roku Gin, a more complex blend of sweet and sour with a hint of tartness. Fukumi Navel enhances the mild but unique taste of shochu with fruity and almond tones with a touch of tang.

Home-made non-alcoholic drinks made from matcha, aloe, red bean and coconut are also available.

Yakumi Sunday Brunch: The Art of Shun is served from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. every Sunday.

Php2,988+ per person. For more details and reservations please call 8888-8888 or visit https://www.solaireresort.com.