Fried Tempura

After eating multiple breakfasts, lunches and a dinner at an eat-all-you-can buffet, we finally capped off our second day in Tarlac with a light Japanese meal. Somehow, eating Japanese food manages to soothe any harried day. Japanese cuisine is renowned for its penchant for using fresh ingredients such as undulating fish and seafood, sticky japonica rice, and vegetables of varying hues, colors and flavors. The delicate flavors of the fresh foods are wonderfully accompanied with the pungent sauces, including the notorious wasabi. For the uninitiated, a dose of wasabi on soy sauce is like an unwelcome vapor that courses through the nose. But as the sharp whiff and taste mingle and get inhaled in my nose, a sensual awakening happens; a warm yet chilly explosion occurs that fades as fast as it came.

Chef Nolan Lecaroz, who rose from the ranks and learned from the masters while working in many Japanese kitchens, brings credence to the forefront in Cowan Grill. While we were there, the place was swarming with Japanese expats, whose presence is a mark that the restaurant dishes out authentic Japanese cuisine. The place is also frequented by Tarlaqueños who have developed a taste for healthy Japanese food.

As we eagerly waited for the dishes that they had prepared for us, they served an appetizer of blanched cabbage, carrots and bean sprouts topped with sweet-spicy fried dilis, sprinkled with sesame seeds. As all appetizers are meant to do, the combination of the sweet and spicy flavors put our taste buds on overdrive. Next came a bowl of kimochi, the tamer Japanese version of the fiery hot Korean kimchi. Our palates were waiting for more.  And we were not disappointed as a wide-array of authentic and exquisitely-prepared Japanese dishes were served to us one after the other.

Scrumptious Chicken Teriyaki and Izakaya Cowan’s Fried Gyoza

Salmon Sashimi

Izakaya Cowan Grill is located at Plaza Luisita, McArthur Highway, San Miguel, Tarlac City, Tarlac.

More fab dining places in Appetite’s August 2010 issue!

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