The Creative Dork

As far as I can remember, I haven’t been a fan of eating healthy food until I went to Sagada and ate fresh veggies. After that I’ve been more open to eating more greens for my diet but have yet to try eating veggie meat. Well, that changed when my friends and I planned dinner at Wabi-Sabi Noodle House at The Collective.

I know I’ve been posting a lot about the shops at The Collective but that place is just sooo cool. Anyhoo, Wabi-Sabi is this quaint Japanese Veggie restaurant that also functions as a vegetarian grocery of some sort. I have to admit that it was my first time at a veggie place because I heard that Vegan restaurants tend to be more expensive that regular restos. BUT what’s great about Wabi-Sabi is that the food is very affordable cause for P 150, you can already have a filling meal.

They don’t have a lot on their menu but I don’t think it really mattered that much. The only have 3 kinds of noodles: Shoyu Ramen, Miso Ramen, and Viet Pho. Aside from that, they have Pot Stickers (Gyoza) and Banh My, a Vietnamese sandwich with veggie meat substituted for real meat. And they also have the pulutan Vegetable Cracklings which I sorta did not enjoy because it was hard. Everything is scribbled old school on a chalk board above the counter. You shouldn’t miss it cause it’s right in front of the entrance.

I ordered Shoyu Ramen and thoroughly enjoyed it.  For less than a hundred pesos, I was already full before I even got to finish it. The taste of the veggie meat was interesting. I don’t hate it but I won’t be drooling over it either. It was okay. But the broth was really good

Pot Sticker. Yummy yummy!

Miso Ramen

Shoyu Ramen

Banh My

My other friends got the Miso Ramen and I didn’t really like it. I’m not a fan of anything miso in general so it’s not really the restaurant’s fault. As for the Viet Pho, unfortunately didn’t get to taste it. Bit between the 2 ramens, I would obviously recommend the Shoyu.

The pot-stickers were delicious! I don’t like dumplings but their gyoza was very tasty and I wanted to hoard all of them for myself. Their Banh My was also very good as I believe it’s a major major plus when a resto can make me eat vegetables and like it. The combination of the veggie meat and actual vegetables were really good. Adn I found it hard to believe that I’m actually eating veggie meat on this one. You also have the option to order half or whole Banh My sandwich. For me, half was already enough. Also, having milk tea in the menu is always a plus point for me.

The atmosphere inside was really cozy and it felt like an authentic Japanese resto for me. Okay. I haven’t been to any actual authentic Jap restos for comparison, but it felt legit to me, okay? The wooden furniture and warm lights stand out from the other stores in the area.

According to Wiki…

Wabi-sabi represents a comprehensive Japanese world view or aesthetic centered on the acceptance of transience. The aesthetic is sometimes described as one of beauty that is “imperfect, impermanent and incomplete”.

K.

Would I come back? Definitely, just to try the Viet Pho and other things on their menu. Would I still come back after? Still a yes! This is probably my fave restaurant inside The Collective.