With all the new restaurants opening up in Manila, it is so easy to be blinded by the flashy and trendy. But seriously, why place all your bets on untested places where the likelihood of good service and great food decreases?

I have my staples for certain cuisines, and my default Japanese restaurants are often in Makati, with the exception of a few in the South. Hanakazu, in particular, is phenomenal—a gem that is as good or better than any restaurant of its kind in the Metro. And with a recent revisit, there’s proof that nothing has changed.

While the Japanese chef and patron is no longer manning the sashimi counter after succumbing to a liver condition, his wife and son run a tight ship in his honor.

IMPORTED platter of Japanese sashimi that includes hotate, engawa, otoro, uni and amaebi. The produce is flown in from Japan weekly still, making the quality and price of its fare unbeatable with its more expensive Makati counterparts.

A sashimi platter will set you back, indeed, but compare your serving and your bill to something in the Makati’s central business district and you will be very, very happy. Otoro is a pleasure, all marbled until it is almost white, and melts immediately on the tongue.

Hotate is fleshy and sweet, capturing the essence of scallop. Amaebi is a clear favorite, with the shrimp head clearly absent of funk, so sucking on the shell is like sipping from the most concentrated shellfish broth. Engawa, a white fish whose texture is a cross between squid and clam, is cool and fresh. The flavor of the uni is more crisp than briny, and the fat orange lobes are smooth instead of grainy. This is the best imported Japanese sashimi platter you’ll get in the city.

They also have a display of tiny crablets on the counter, still moving, that you can have flash-fried. These miniscule crabs become incredibly crunchy and only need a sprinkling of salt and a squeeze of citrus to transform into the incredible dish that they are.

Everything else on the menu, from staples like tempura, to soba, to yakitori are done with such a deft hand that there is no one best thing on the menu. Even though it’s impossible to make recommendations, I think you should get the tongue, served on a smoking hot skillet that comes with ponzu on the side. It’s tender and delicious, and has amazing texture. The liver, cooked with sweet leeks, mushrooms and a tiny bit of soy, is far from the metallic, gritty thing it becomes when overcooked. It’s succulent and cooked perfectly.

JAPANESE melon. Even dessert is flown in from Japan—they have that infamous, grossly expensive melon that comes at P800 for half, but it is juicy and has an unmatched, candylike sweetness.

Instead of gambling on uncharted territory, revisit your neighborhood staples, especially the delicious ones that deserve all your attention. After ignoring Hanakazu for other places for years, a quick trip back made me realize that it is still truly one of Manila’s best.