Sumo Sam Gateway Opens in a Great, Big Way Today

SumoSam... Champion Eater... Legendary Fighter...

The legend of SumoSam began one spring when the finest Sumo Wrestlers in all of Japan awoke to the vigorous resonance of migrating cranes flying high towards mighty Mt. Fuji. As the legend says, the champion fighter Sumo Sam always received a grand banquet in his honor every time he fought with other Japanese Sumo Wrestlers. He is known as the Champion Eater, Legendary Fighter.

He is the icon that is carried by the Sumo Sam, the Japanese Restaurant that desires its guests to feel like champions by combining different techniques and elements of international cooking and integrating it to Japanese Cuisine. 

And today, the legendary fighter finds a new home in Gateway Mall. It has now opened its doors at the 2nd floor of The Gateway Mall, in Cubao, Quezon City.

Salute to the 3 great minds behind Sumo Sam: Mr. Raymund Magdaluyo; Mr. Ricky Laudico and, celebrated actor and restaurateur Mr. Marvin Agustin. Together with renowned chefs: The Chef of the stars - Chef Florabel Co-Yatco; Chef Nikki Nicolas, pioneer batch of CCA and Chef Benjamin Gonzalez, this young and determined group of business entrepreneurs has already achieved a total of 11 Sumo Sam stores all over the archipelago, and is still rapidly growing the business, and will close 2012 with over 20 branches.

The hands-on restaurateur and Sumo Sam owner, Mr. Marvin Agustin, with SumoSam's fab, indefatigable Marketing Manager and pole dancer extraordinaire, Miss Tina Andrea Papera.

Instead of the usual ribbon cutting ceremony, the cutting of the ginormous tuna sushi led by Mr. Marvin Agustin, marks the grand opening of Sumo Sam Gateway. Sumo Sam offers Japanese food with a Western flair. Hmmm.. talk about creating Japanified American food or maybe some Americanized Japanese food. Either way, it's yummy!

So long, you can tell the Sushi Chef put in a lot of effort to make it.  :)

Ready, set, slice! 

           
 I admire how cool and talented Marvin is. Ah.. and handsome as always. :)

On to the highlights of the event... Food tasting! :)

Spoon and fork ready... Chopsticks ready!

After the ceremonial cutting of tuna sushi, everyone had a bite. 
It's definitely a great sushi and one BIG bite to remember.

Attack of the orange sushi rolls! 

Attack! :)

Sumo Sam Gateway Branch boasts of ever-so-popular selection of grilled seafood and steaks, rolls, sushi, tonkatsu, with its top 3 best sellers such as ebi tempura, beef teppan, and chicken teriyaki, providing a high quality, Japanese dishes in a generous Western serving.

For Yori-Kiri Starters, I've tried the Fried Gyoza and Vegatable Kakiage.

Fried Gyoza with  dip
It's slick, it's yummy, it's tasty, but most of all, it's heaps of fun.

Vegetable Kakiage

This one is surprisingly good! I really love these crispy vegetable fritters. Kakiage is a tempura dish with mixed vegetable strips that were deep fried well and  absolutely delicious when paired with the dipping sauce provided. 

Then immediately following the Yori-Kiri Starters were tasty, yummy dishes like Chicken teriyaki, Ebi tempura and Japanese Fried rice.  

Chicken Teriyaki.
The sauce is delicious and the meat is tender, very tasty and satisfying.

Ebi tempura
It is tastier and bigger than most of us would get at similar Japanese restaurants. Love it!  

Japanese fried rice
This fried rice is one of my personal favorites! 
Definitely the best fried rice I've had in the metro... very delicious!

Bacon Dory

One of SumoSam's grand champions where you can taste the authentic Japanese flavor. Winner!

Yakisoba
So yummy, it's so easy to slurp down. 

SumoSam's Pride Salad

This is really good, although I would have liked it to have more mangoes just because I love mangoes to bits! Haha The flavors worked well with each other and the mango gave it a very nice sweet taste that complemented well with the lettuce, tomatoes and some nuts. 

A great plate of  assorted Tuna and Salmon Sashimi with some fresh lemons and wasabi on the side. 
Fresh and flavorful!
For serious sushi eaters. That's the way to go... 


They also have a plate of assorted sushi and sashimi mix. 
So what did Sashimi A say to Sushi B? 
Wasabi! (Wassup B?) :)
Har. Har.

I'm not a sashimi or sushi eater, or maybe I just don't like sushi. I love Jap food for its simplicity, uniqueness and art. Nothing raw though. But according to my blogger friend who loves sushi, it is as fresh as it gets, as if its fresh taste just jumps out at you!

The Gateway branch has a 100-seating capacity dining area. I love the funky yet swanky, classy interiors,  and upbeat ambiance.  Lighting on the warm and soft side, with Asian-themed walls and cool Japanese artifacts. It's a comfortable feeling and for some reason,there's a kind of quaint and romantic feeling to me. So yeah, it's a great first date place! Also, the lunch menu has lots of different options to gorge yourself on. Their food on a large, ceramic plate  is beautifully presented and will easily feed two or three people. 

For the service, Sushi chefs are all smiles, just like the rest of the staff. It'll make you feel  like you can come here and feel like they'll remember you forever. The staff is always attentive without being bothersome... which I really like.

My verdict?  Everything is pretty good. Taste and quality are unsurpassed and lest I forget, it's one of the most authentic-tasting Japanese restaurants I've been to. Now I know why the owners were not afraid to pick such a busy and popular location like Gateway. They really have something to brag about!  Yes, it's a bit pricey and a tad bit more expensive compared to the other budget sushi restaurants in the area, but such is the price for awesomeness and authenticity. It isn't the cheapest, but I don't mind indulging every once in awhile. On the other hand, it isn't the most expensive either and for the quality and quantity of their food plus excellent customer service, the price is quite reasonable! 

The last time I had a dinner at Sumo Sam Shangri-la, I was expecting to fork over at least a half more than I did, and I was pleasantly surprised. Quite frankly, it was the best and most affordable Japanese food I've had so far. I would overall rate this between Very Good and Incredibly Yummy, leaning more towards Incredibly Yum. 

Would I recommend? That's a deep-fried YES. :)

Here's what we munched on at Sumo Sam Shangri-la:

I thoroughly enjoyed our meal. I love their Tonkatsu and California Rolls. Best of all, the Salmon Ankake is every Champion's ultimate reward. God bless the Japanese! ;)

Gahhh leee... my tummy's rambling while I'm blogging this. Amazing Kani rolls and Spicy Tuna Salad would be nice right about now. 

So guys, there's still plenty of time go get your grub on at Sumo Sam. For more information on new offers, visit the Facebook Page Sumosam.