'Ka ni Kim

Working full-time doesn’t always afford me (and I’m sure, many others who enjoy cooking) the luxury of preparing a nice meal at a slow pace. So there are nights when dinner is whatever leftovers I can find in the fridge, haphazardly thrown into an omelette. I’ve always thought of it as “low-effort” cooking, but there is a type of much more sophisticated omelette you can now enjoy in Baguio.

Chef Ray – whom you may recognize from Agara Ramen – and his team recently launched Omu Philippines, the first of its kind in the country. Months of intensive training went into preparing the kitchen staff for not just preparing different kinds of omu rice, but serving them with flair.

For the uninitiated, what even is omu rice? Chef was kind enough to give us a crash course. Omu rice originated as a meal for kids – simple flavors, fairly quick preparation, and totally okay to smother it in ketchup. In modern Japanese cuisine, the once humble omu rice has been elevated with a wide variety of sauces and toppings.

Omu offers two kinds of sauce: a lightly sweet and deeply umami demiglace, and a bolder curry with levels of spiciness depending on your taste and tolerance. Meals with demiglace are served with fried rice; those with curry are served with white Japanese rice.

The team has an infectious energy. They’re friendly and more than happy to help you out if, like me, you’re indecisive. I told them I preferred the demiglace and they recommended the Double Grilled Cheese Hamburg. All of their beef options use Australian beef, with just slightly less seasoning on the inside to really highlight the texture. The outside is grilled to perfection and retains that nice smoky flavor, even when smothered in two layers of cheese. The first layer goes on while the patty is grilling, the second is heated up separately then laid on top.

All that said, the star of the show is the omelette. The “performance” is part of the experience, from seeing the egg hit the pan and get mixed aggressively, to watching it get meticulously rolled up, to having it placed on top of the rice then (the big moment!) sliced down the middle. The omelette opens up and spills over to cover the rice like a blanket, then the toppings are affixed and it’s ready to serve. It’s a soft, runny egg, and a big part of the reason why the meal is so filling.

If you’re up for something a little extra, get the otoshi sampler. It’s a three-component appetizer best enjoyed from left to right. First, silken tofu topped with bonito flakes. It’s served cold, which means sadly, the bonito flakes don’t dance as they would on takoyaki. They still have that wonderful fishy taste, though. Next, beef tendon – a nice introduction of more savory flavors after the very light tofu. Then finally, a few pieces of pickled cucumber to cleanse your palette before digging into the main course.

In addition to the omu rice and otoshi sampler, their Complete Set comes with a glass of mugicha tea, which you can opt to have sweetened or unsweetened. I prefer mine unsweetened, but it’s refreshing either way.

If you’re not in the mood for beef, it’s always a good idea to give their pork cutlet a try. They fry it until it’s a beautiful golden color (people who love fried food know what’s up). Pair it with curry sauce for a classic Japanese katsu curry, with a little Omu twist.

Next time you’re in the mood for an omelette, treat yourself to a hearty meal with a side of theatrics at Omu!

Omu rice meals range from Php348 to Php768, +Php188 for a Complete Set. The Double Grilled Cheese Hamburg Complete Set goes for Php786.

Omu Philippines is open every day from 11am-10pm, with a kitchen break from 3-4pm. Find them at North Drive, Engineer’s Hill, next to Maybank. For more updates, follow them on Facebook and Instagram.