Zakoya Japanese Restaurant

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Posted on 20 December 2007 by Blogie in Restaurant | 4180 views, 11 today

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The first leg of the Davao Food Trip was a success! There were supposed to be ten of us, but only eight bloggers were able to make it: Dominique, Christian, Andrew, Ria, Eric, Dennis, Winston, and me. Fortunately, we were joined by my cousin, Ria Lu, who doesn’t blog yet but is very much present on the Internet.

We were graciously welcomed and treated to a feast yesterday evening by our host, Yokoya-san, the master of Zakoya. (In Japan, proprietors or shop owners are called “Mastah” by the patrons.) As requested by some of the bloggers, they reserved the traditional tables for our group.

The buffet at Zakoya is amazing. For only P375 per person, you’ll get your fill of all sorts of Japanese food: from appetizers to main courses to desserts. Personally, I love kimuchi, Japanese-style — the flavor is slightly different compared to the Korean variety, and is less pungent. I also go back for more of the black seaweed (I should’ve asked, but I suppose it’s wakame).

There are three buffet tables: one long stretch for the sushi, sashimi, tenpura, and other very traditional Japanese preparations. One delightful discovery for me is their yaki ninniku: lightly grilled garlic cloves basted in miso sauce — for garlic lovers like me, it’s pure ecstacy! Then there is the main area where they serve the main courses for the day. The third is the dessert and coffee/tea station, which also has a small freezer for ice cream. Yes, that’s included in the P375.

The main buffet features about 6 to 7 courses, with miso soup or the egg concoction that tastes like balut. Mainstays are the kamameshi, black wakame (seaweed) and chicken teriyaki. Too bad they didn’t have anything with tofu last night. But the beef dish (forgot the name!) was excellent.

Yokoya-san tells me that they do not use MSG in their cooking. This should be good news to those who are conscious about healthy eating. Also, their food is as close to authentic Japanese fare as you can get in Davao. This is most probably why there are quite a number of Japanese nationals who are regulars at Zakoya. Plus, the level of customer service is, more or less, what you might expect in a well-run Japanese restaurant.

They’re open all week for lunch and dinner. Since they also have a bar in a separate room, they close at around 2 AM. There’s also an open-air area out front.

The restaurant is located at Door #3 DavCon Autoville, Torres St., Davao City. It’s beside Coco (formerly Regine’s) and the Davao Convention and Trade Center. Tel.: (82)227-7760.

Thanks to tianx for the photos!

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Tags: buffet, Japanese, sushi

13 Responses to “Zakoya Japanese Restaurant”

cool_iceman9

19 Dec 2007

great taste.. hmmm…

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Benjie

19 Dec 2007

Hey! This is so nice! Alam mo ba may grupo din kami dito sa Manila – yung pinoyfrugalchowhounds. Ginagawa din namin yung ginagawa ng grupo mo – but we look for the best foods at the cheapest prices possible although there are times na quality pa rin ang consideration at hindi ang price. Atsaka we cater to the dining experience all over the Philippines! Bigay ko ang link ng blog mo sa grupo ko. You could be our source person dyan sa Davao! Sali ka na rin! pinoyfrugalchowhounds@yahoo.com

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Jehzeel Laurente

19 Dec 2007

syettttt ang sarap sana kasama ako dyan.. hahaha!

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Dabawenya

19 Dec 2007

aargh, i missed it, blogs. natagalan ang pictorial shoot ko with the Indian clients, umabot ng 9pm. sayang, didn’t get to bond with the group.

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richard

20 Dec 2007

pwede makisali? hhehee.. libre na kasi ako next week.. hhahhaa!

nice google shirt kuya blogie!

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cool_iceman9

20 Dec 2007

@bloggie – been to zakoya on 12-20-2007 last night.. heheheh, so many choices to choose from, ate everything i saw, hehehe. got my stomach bloated.. hehehe.. (burp…)

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cool_iceman9

25 Dec 2007

hahahah…. (perfect meal…) sana we’ll see each other soon, if time permits.. heheheh.. busog ka sa sarap at saka healthy pa.. hehehe

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Jim

30 Dec 2007

Zakoya looks yummy — I will definitely give it a try when I visit Davao in a couple of weeks. Thanks for the info!

OT, but I recalls hearing about a Japanese restaurant in Davao City that has all-you-can eat sushi 2 nights a week. Can anyone enlighten me?

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bEb

9 May 2008

been there several times (thanks to the sponsors hehe) and i must say they food satisfy every stomach!

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crystal joy

25 Nov 2008

where is this restaurant located?here in davai city

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Blogie

25 Nov 2008

@crystal joy — Yes, in Davao City.
The address is posted at the end of the article.

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Tom Martin

1 May 2009

I frequent Coco’s and have wanted to try out the Japanese restaurant, but it sits way back off the road and the area leading up to it is not paved. Since I did not know what was back in the area I avoided it. Some friends ask me to meet them there one Sunday evening recently and I truly enjoyed the food. There was several buses of young Korean students that came in and I thought we had picked the wrong night to come, but I was wrong. They were well prepared the food tables were kept full and the staff was able to handle the crowd without difficulty. The staff was friendly, food great and price reasonable for what you got. They had some thinly sliced beef, served rare and it melt in your mouth. I believe it was the best piece of meat I have gotten in the Philippines. I have to admit I went back two weeks later just for the beef, but they did not serve it that evening. This place is a keeper.

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- Blogie
  
  1 May 2009
  
  I’m glad you got to like Zakoya, and I’m happy to hear that their food’s still good. Been a long while since I last ate there… The owner is a very friendly Japanese guy, and when I was talking to him sometime ago, I could see that he’s very passionate about his restaurant.
  
  Reply to this comment