Z Compound is a small area in the Maginhawa street part of Quezon City. It’s a place we’ve been hearing about since last year, but since it’s a little far from where we live and our work schedules are often times different, we hadn’t had the time to go.
Timmy is one of the owners of Samu Eats, a Japanese restaurant hidden at the far end of the Z Compound. Samu Eats opened on April 28, 2014, and was supposed to be a burger joint, but since someone was already selling burgers and Mexican food at Z compound, Timi and her 2 other partners decided to go with Japanese food instead. During our conversation, Timmy told us that everything on their menu is something that they would eat and since they all love Japanese food, we were sure that the food would be great – and it was.
Ahi Poke (P140)
The Ahi Poke is superb. The Ahi Tuna is fresh and the sauce, which is made of sesame oil and soy sauce, is flavorful. If you don’t like spicy food, you can also request for the chili peppers to be removed. Timmy says that most of the gym buffs who visit their restaurant usually go for this. According to Google, a serving of Ahi Poke only has 149 calories.
Spicy Tuna (P140)
Their Spicy Tuna is another health buff favorite. It’s dressed in Japanese mayo dressing and chili powder. A serving of this only has 184 calories, so if you have a friend who is on diet, they no longer have an excuse not to go with you because Samu Eats has diet-friendly food on their menu.
For the main course, Timmy decided to serve us their bestsellers.
Spam Musubi (P120/8 pieces)
Unlike other places where Spam Musubi usually exists of a huge cut of spam relaxing on a bed of rice while wearing a belt of seaweed, Samu Eats’ version is literally spam sushi. The reason for this is that Timmy and her partners feel like it would be more presentable to serve it looking like traditional Japanese sushi. We highly recommend this if you ever eat here because they do not skimp on the ingredients and the taste is superb.
Chicken Teriyaki Bowl (P140)
If you are on a diet, break it for this and go jogging the next day. This is heaven in a bowl. Their Chicken Teriyaki is something that we have never tasted before. The chicken is moist on the inside and crunchy on the outside. The taste is buttery and light. We would rate this a 10/10 because it’s not your typical teriyaki bowl.
Beef Teppanyaki (P170)
Their beef teppanyaki is made of high quality beef, so you will not encounter too much fat in this. Plus, there’s no need for rice since it has a handful of veggies per serving – perfect for carb-sensitive folks.
Japanese Tofu Bacon (P140)
They say anything is better with bacon and that is a fact, especially with this Japanese tofu bacon. We usually don’t like eating tofu, but we love this one. The tofu is crispy, but not dry and the bacon adds so much flavor to the tofu itself that you don’t even have to eat the bacon to taste it, but hey–who does not want to eat bacon, right?
Their 2 bestselling ramen flavours: the Seafood Ramen (P220) and the Samu Ramen (P180)
Their Ramen comes in four variants, but these two are their bestsellers. The Seafood Ramen has a soy milk base and comes with two pieces of chunky tempura drenched in buttery batter. The Samu Ramen, on the other hand, has a miso-based broth with minced pork and bacon. Bacon is not something that you usually see in ramen, but it makes a world of a difference because it gives the broth a different but yummy taste.
The Katsu Bento with miso soup and red iced tea (only Php120)
Timmy said that this particular meal is a big hit with students and budget foodies. If you are a student on a budget or a budget foodie, you have two options for this bento meal set. You can choose from either Chicken or Pork Katsu. The meal is cooked the same way as the chicken teriyaki, but it doesn’t come with the same sauce as the teriyaki. Instead, it comes with a homemade sauce inspired by the grocery staple, Bulldog.
If you and your friends want bang for your buck, Samu Eats is the place to go because, even though their food is cheap, the quality and taste is comparable to those of bigger and more well-known Japanese restaurants.
Samu Eats
The Zone, 33A Malingap Street, Teachers Village, Quezon City
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SamuEats
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