One of the best modern izakaya spots in Manila is in a place you probably won’t just happen upon. So let us give you a couple of reasons to make the trip over to the tiny Guijo Street in Makati to find 12/10. They’re renowned for their unique and modern play on Japanese fusion dishes. On our last visit, we got to try their tasting menu together with a couple of cocktails. Their current tasting menu — designed for two people — is comprised of a full, 9-course meal. Namely, our menu included; oyster, uni toast, salmon, cauliflower, eggplant, mackerel, Mayura wagyu, onigiri, and capped off with their homemade faux Twix.
For us, the star of the show is their Mayura Wagyu – it’s a special type of wagyu because, during the cow’s lifetime, it’s fed with chocolate which supposedly makes for an extra soft and tender meat that’s packed with flavor and has a butter-like consistency. We also added a couple of dishes that according to their friendly staff was a must-try like the mushroom salad and their katsu sando. We paired our food with the Crying Lighting, a shaken cocktail with 3 types of rum (Chairman’s reserve, O.F.T.D plantation, and Sailor Jerry) mixed with Kwai Fei lychee, orgeat, and garnished with lime. It’s on the sweet and nutty spectrum and made for a pleasant after-dinner drink.