Naga City, Philippines - Magsaysay Avenue is known to be the city's entertainment and dining destination. This avenue is home to restaurants, bars and cafes of various kinds with local, national and even international brands. But let's bring the "various-ness" (if there's such a word) in just one restaurant alone called "Iro Iro" which is a Japanese word meaning "various". Iro Iro offers a fusion of Japanese, Korean and Mexican dishes. But wait, it's actually a MULTI-CUISINE restaurant since we also had sisig. Read and find out why.
Location: At the
back of Kinamon Restobar, Magsaysay Avenue. While some are not that familiar with the place, the nearest landmark that we can perhaps use is Bob Marlin. Kinamon is right across Bob Marlin. The first branch of Iro Iro is at Mayon Avenue and I haven't been there yet.
The entrance to the restaurant is actually a lobby with artistic murals both on the left and right wall. Unlike any other restaurant, you will not actually see the main dining area because the restaurant has the shape of an inverted "L".
Store Hours: 11:00 am to 10:00 pm
Price: P150 + per person for meals
Notice the chairs? They are customized and recycled crates / drums. Thumbs up to this!
According the owner, these murals were painted by students. As you enter enter the restaurant, the dessert bar will be the first one to greet you. This is where the Kakigori is prepared. "Kakigōri (かき氷?) is a Japanese shaved ice dessert flavored with syrup and a sweetener, often condensed milk." It is similar to the with the Korean dessert called Bingsu which is a Korean version of shaved ice dessert with sweet toppings such as chopped fruit, condensed milk, fruit syrup, and Azuki beans. Just to give you an info, this is also relative to the snow cones which is also popular in Hawaii and United States.
I remember, I saw a Korean cafe at Ayala Malls Legazpi in Albay called Kaz Korean Cafe where they serve Bingsu.
Across the dessert station is now the main dining area with a stage at the center for live entertainment performances. If you can notice, the restaurant is an open area with quite a high ceiling. I just hope it doesn't get too warm during day time. I guess that's why they have the insulators placed on the ceiling to at last keep the area cool. I just hope they also separate the area for smokers and non-smokers. I mean, although it's an open space, at least, do not allow direct contact of smokers to non-smokers. Personally, I want to enjoy my meal without me having someone beside me smoking a cigarette.
*Prices may vary without prior notice.
They also have fresh sea food ready for cooking. This will actually mean a little bit of waiting time for you if you want to order freshly cooked sea food.
Fresh sea food for sharing starts at:
Crabs at P20 to P650
Squid at P200 to P250
Lapu-Lapu at P350 to 650
Prawns P400 to P650
Shrimp at P280 to P800
This is near the bar, every corner is just so artsy, even the ceiling. Since the restaurant offers a variety of cuisines, expect a menu with so many options that sometimes it would be hard to choose. You could always ask the servers for specialties and recommendations.
As a starter, they offer soup starting from P300 to P350, good for sharing.
Appetizers like Pork Sisig, Calamares Crispy Tuna Tail and others start at P140 to P180.
They also serve Pasta starting from P250 to P280.
Japanese and Korean style burgers start from P149 to P159.
Pizza starts at P190 to P250.
Now let's start with the Japanese food.
Iro Iro offers Bento Lunch served with rice which starts at P55 to P130. They actually have a lesser price at around P10 to P20 less from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm. To name a few, they have Gyoza, Tonkatsu, Teriyaki Chicken, Gyudon, Katsudon, Karaage, Omurice and a lot more!
They also have Yakitori (grilled chicken) starting from P20 to P30. In layman's term, Yakitori is a chicken on a barbecue stick.
Takoyaki starts from P80 to P110 with 8 pieces per serving. I know you are familiar with takoyakis being sold in kiosks in malls, Iro Iro's Takoyaki is way beyond that in terms of the size and flavor.
TAKOYAKI
Yakisoba starts at P99 to P130 per serving. This can be actually good for sharing of at least two persons if you will still order other dishes.
YAKISOBA
Ramen starts at P130 to P180 depending on the flavor. My personal favorite would be the Korean Hot & Spicy Ramen. Other flavors are Sho-Yu, Chasu, Kuppa, Miso Corn Butter, Korean Soft Tofu and Hiyashi Cold Noodles.
RAMEN
*Prices may vary without prior notice.
Korean Hot & Spicy Ramen
They also serve Okonimiyaki, is "a Japanese savoury pancake containing a variety of ingredients. The name is derived from the word okonomi, meaning "how you like" or "what you like", and yaki meaning "grill".
Iro Iro also serves Rice Bowls, Grilled Chicken / Pork / Sea Foods, Sukiyaki and Indo. They offer rice for single serving or for sharing with a size of medium to large.
GYOZA
"A Japanese dish consisting of wonton wrappers stuffed with pork and veggies".
To be honest, I'm not a fan of this dumpling. But you might like it though. It's just me.
MEXICAN
They offer Taco, Nachos Burrito from P89 to P130 in Beef or Chicken. They also have Mexican Taco Pizza, Teriyaki Pizza and Hawaiian Pizza. Surprisingly, they also offer French Fries, which means we can add up American in the list.
BURRITO
NACHOS
Pork Sisig at P140 and Gambas at P260. I personally liked the gambas, it's spicy and flavorful.
DRINKS
Drinks start at P35 to P45. Photo below is a blue lemonade at P40.
Now time for Dessert!!!
I lovedddd the Mango Kakigori! It starts from P130 to P140 and is actually good for sharing. But if you have a sweet tooth, you can actually have it on your own haha.
Notice the white round thing on the side? It's actually like our "hulog-hulog".
So there, with the various offerings of Iro Iro, one visit is not enough. Share us your Iro Iro favorites too so that the next time I visit, I would also try your recommendations.
Iro Iro Magsaysay
Contact No. 0917 947 7117
