A 30-year-old Pangasinense chef has opened a small restaurant here where he serves a fusion of Japanese cuisine and Filipino flavor to its lomi (noodle soup) at a very affordable price.

German Roa, the owner of K&S Lomi Overload in Barangay Poblacion West, said he used to work as a Japanese cuisine chef, particularly making sushi in Metro Manila, but decided to go back to the province even before the pandemic.

“Nag start ako online selling ng mga sushi kaso parang hindi kilala ang Japanese cuisine dito sa amin kaya naisip ko pagsamahin ang Japanese at Pinoy flavors. (I started online selling of sushi but Japanese cuisine seems is not known in our town so I thought of fusing Japanese and Pinoy flavors instead),” he said in an interview on Thursday.

Roa decided on making lomi, which is known as a comfort food of Filipinos and popular in Pangasinan, just like ramen in Japan.

According to the Public Information Office of Asingan town, the restaurant that opened the first week of July became a hit because of its overloaded ingredients, delicious taste, but at an affordable price of PHP40 per bowl.

Roa said he makes sure that the presentation of the lomi to the customer is also taken into careful consideration.

“Japanese cuisine is also about the presentation of the food, not just its flavor. We wanted to present as much as possible in person what is being advertised in the pictures,” he said.

He added they also maintain the freshness of the food hence, they cook as the customer orders.

Roa said he is not after a huge return from his food business as he understands the situation of the people amid the pandemic.

“Okay na sa amin yong sapat na ma provide pangangailagan ng pamilya. More on passion ko kasi ang pagluluto kaya kunting kita okay na. Pandemya ngayon kaya nakikisimpatya na lang din kami since walang pera ngayon, lahat tinitipid kaya yong isang bowl kaya na seguro mapakain ang maraming tao. (Little income is okay with us, just enough to provide the needs of the family. Cooking is my passion so a little income is enough. We are in the midst of a pandemic so we sympathize with the others since money is scarce, everything is carefully budgeted so a bowl of our lomi can already feed a lot of people),” he said.

Roa is being assisted by his wife and other family members in the business.

They are now selling an average of 70 to 80 bowls a day as the restaurant is open from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m.

“Siguradong matatakam ka sa lomi nila na kumpletos rekados mula sa malapot nitong sabaw, malinamnam na noodles, at nag uumapaw na toppings, tiyak babalik balikan mo. (You will surely love the lomi with all the complete ingredients from its thick soup, tasty noodles, and overflowing toppings. For sure, you will keep coming back for more),” said Romel Aguilar, Asingan town information officer. (PNA)