Hana - A Popular Japanese Restaurant in Pagsanjan, Laguna
After spending a refreshing night in this exclusive "private island" in Cavinti, Laguna, we decided to gracefully end the trip by feasting on a great lunch the following day. We checked some good places to dine-in along the way, and we ended up learning about this popular Japanese restaurant called Hana.
The interior is very much simple, with everything revolving around the basics. Well, unfortunately, I found it too simple to positively influence the dining experience. Maybe, it didn't feel any Japanese at all by just looking at the interior.
I also observed that there is only one staff manning the entire restaurant, which isn't bad since the maximum number of people that can dine there is probably just around 30 to 40. Unfortunately, there was not much warmth from the service which then again didn't help make up for the neutral ambiance.
Now, let's dig into what you can find here in Hana Japanese Restaurant. Let's start off by having some drinks!
Rootbeer Float || P80
There's nothing much about the root beer, aside from the fact that's it's Mug with a scoop of ice cream. I guess, you won't be able to infer anything about the restaurant with just this root beer, so let's move on to the next!
Salmon Sashimi || P308
As evidenced by its vibrant color, the salmon was indeed fresh, and something highly satisfying for the mouth!
Tempura Maki || P220
This dish lacked the same vibrance as the earlier dish, and I wasn't able to personally try this, so I'll just be mum about it. *wink*
Gyoza || P176
The gyoza was interestingly fine by the way it was prepared. It also had generous ground meat as evidenced by the bulkiness
Shime Saba Sashimi || P264
This mackerel was certainly fresh like the salmon, which gave me confidence about the quality of the ingredients used here in this restaurant.
Shoyu Ramen || P215
I wasn't able to personally try this ramen, but I'm sharing with you how it looks for you to have an idea.
Kitsune Soba || P237
Alright, I have to admit that I wasn't able to personally try many of the dishes we ordered, but my friend who had this said that she found it "okay".
Salmon Onigiri || P105
Okay, now it's really my turn, because this is what I personally had for lunch. I was really craving for onigiri since my last trip to Japan, and I thought I would be able to satisfy it that time. However, that bubble popped when the texture of the rice suddenly caused distraction. It was a downer for me.
Chicken Teriyakidon || P264
Tonkatsu Bento || P330
This tonkatsu was one of the satisfying ones I tried during this dining experience, but it still wasn't really as impressive as it may be, especially when you compare it to Yabu or similar restaurants. Still, the katsu featured a good crunch and the sauce that went with it was great.
Hana - Overall Ratings and Summary
Note: Unshaded stars are equivalents of half-stars. The ratings apply solely to this dining experience.
Place ★★★
Taste ★★★
Service ★★★
Value for Money ★★★
Budget: at least P300 each for a moderate dining experience for a group coming in 4
I am not entirely sure what happened, but based on this particular dining experience, I was far from being impressed. The place was okay. Service not much. The food so-so. The ingredients were fresh I have to admit, but the overall taste of the dishes were... hmmm, let's just say they could have been better. Overall, the experience was leaning towards mediocre, but if you have an idea of what possibly went wrong (i.e. probably on dishes ordered), I'd be happy to hear from you!
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Hana
Location: Laguna National Highway Sampaloc Pagsanjan Laguna
Contact No.: (049) 501 0064
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