JoEd's Lutong Hapon: Affordable Japanese Food in Cebu
Craving for some CHEAP Japanese food here in Cebu? I suggest you try JoEd’s Lutong Hapon in Mabolo.
I first read about this small eatery on Carla's blog which was also what an office colleague also mentioned in random. I was able to check a thread of this store in a local forum on how you can really find value for your money because of how affordable the prices are.
JoEd's Lutong Hapon in Cebu
I’m not a big fan of Japanese cuisine but I like to try out different food places when they're new; most especially when they’re cheap. So during our lunch break, my officemates and I headed to Juan Luna Extension from Asiatown IT Park.
California Maki - 65 Php per plate
When we got there, we were lucky enough to find some seats available as the place was packed with other customers.
I talked to the owners, Joan and Edgar (Hence, the name of the mini restaurant) and they said that they've been operating for over a year already. They’ve been very busy as the couple are hands-on in their business venture.
Sukiyaki Don – 95 Php. Shogoyaki – 75 Php
Please be advised that the food takes time to prepare because aside from the number of customers versus the number of staff, they will only cook when an order has been placed. “Japanese food requires patience.” Edgar said. This is good since it’s guaranteed fresh. So when you drop by this Japanese eatery, please be warned that you should have some extra time for the food to be served.
Besides, there were other customers waiting and I understood that there were only a few staff available.
menu
I asked them why the relatively cheap price and they explained that they were able to cut down on costs as it is their house that they’re using. They converted it to an eatery which means they don’t have to pay anything for space rent.
Ebi Tempura - 120 Php
Despite the price range, one can’t put this small place down. Just like Cebu’s High Blood Station, people driving high-end cars flock to this dining shop in order to taste what the restaurant can offer. Parking space is a challenge so better leave your wheels behind; else you want to take the risk.
Katsudon – 65 Php
So how’s the food? I’m pretty lame when describing the taste. I can’t really distinguish between the types but I have a couple of colleagues who are fans of Japanese cuisine and they gave the thumbs up sign when I asked them about it.
digging in
I saw how tired Joan and Edgar were from all the food preparations. But it’s nice how they work hard to cater to every customer’s order. The couple said they hardly get enough sleep considering the number of customers who drop by especially during peak hours.
Directions to JoEd’s Lutong Hapon Carenderia:
you can’t miss the elevated basketball court in Mabolo.
Restaurant Hours:
Open Monday to Saturday 12 noon to 2am
Sunday 6pm to 2am
Check out their Facebook account here: facebook.com/joedslutonghapon
Telephone Number: (032) 413-8343
UPDATE: JoEd's Lutong Hapon has moved to a newer location near Sacred Heart School for Girls in Capitol.
New address is below:
Don Jose Avila St., Capitol Site, Cebu City
Tip: Beside Sacred Heart School: Hijas de Jesus
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soloflightEd.com is a travel blog by Edcel Suyo. He enjoys performing headstands and crazy stunts during his trips in the Philippines and the rest of Asia. He just started his backpacking trip across Southeast Asia in order to live a life of a digital nomad. Read more about the beginning of his delusions of grandeur here.
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We ate sukiyaki don and shogoyaki. It was good but dali lang na sum-ol.
Unsay lain dish ma recommend ninyo? Aron maoy orderon namo sunod hehe.
wow! gigutom nuon ko dah!
will definitely check this place out soon. thanks for blogging bout this ed! 
mangaon nya ta diri nila wena!
kakaiba xa ha! paraang kaarinderya pero mga Japanese foods ang sine-serve, asteeg! same here, i'm pretty lame in describing the taste, kain lng ako ng kain, tapos pag-masarap, thwo thumbs up!
Those Tempura looks so many times better than the ones here in Manila. O_O Mukhang matino ang pagkaka-deep fry. Dito nakakainis eh.... kakarumpot na shrimp tapos 70% breading na.
And offtopic, dun sa last pic, medyo matagal tagal akong napatitig bago ko na-realize na may salamin pala. Wahahaha. Akala ko nung una ang dami niyo lang. Office outing? Hahaha.
wow! kaon nya ko diri hehehe :]
agi-agi lang ko. nice blog
wow! joed is now so popular. lol... thanks for mentioning
happy holidays, ed...more travels to come next year!
california maki, thought its a sushi.. haha been tried eating in fancy restaurants.. Rai-Rai Ken and the only thing i order usually, its their sushi, quite expensive but i love the taste. lami man gud.. mahal lang..
Every payday, i usually treat myself to a fancy restaurant.
Ed, asa pa nice ma kan-an diri?
have tried almost all the fancy restaurant sa Ayala, SM parkmall haha wew..
niiice!
i love little home-type of japanese shops. 
minsan kasi mas experimental din sila sa sushi nila kaya astig. 
at saka mukhang masarap naman yung food 
@Metz: Try the teriyaki.
@doi: no prob. let's eat there one of these days!
@gael: haha, onga. although we need to learn how to describe them better, i guess it's a work in progress.
@robbie: haha, you should drop by this place once you visit here! yeah, it's a mirror. we went out of the office during our lunch.
@jb: kaon jud! thanks for dropping by!
@carla: thanks to your entry! merry christmas!
@frox: i've no idea where to eat some more. I haven't finished eating in those fancy restaurants in the malls here. maybe when budget permits
@smarla: yeah, home-type talaga which is why masrap kasi di mahal din! hehe.
mouth watering barato pa dyud!
natutuwa ako sa mga pangalan ng mga resto these days ang kukulet but makes sense, lutong hapon---double meaning---parang hapon or PM sa Pinas. at akalain mo ba namang sa isang ganyang ka simple-looking na lugar e me mga sushi and all. nice, nice
@lily: bisita nya diri lily!
@anton: haha. yeah yan din ang akala ko na hapon talaga -- coincidence din na they open at 12 noon so hapon pa rin. hehe. you should check this out kasi it's cheaper alternative
Uy okay yan ah! Will take note of that para masubukan pag balik ng Cebu!
@nina: haha. go go go! sarap talaga dito lalo na kasi mura! hehe
I won't be going there as not going to Asia any time soon however that food does look scrummy. I would love to try something new and different like that.
@natalie: indeed, the best thing is that it's cheap!
We've been there..too bad we didn't get to eat california maki...I will go back just to try it...
i'd like to try this out!
thanks for the post!
@glee: yeah, the food is good. no prob!
good food just try it 30 minutes ago...:) Modloaded Kris here
awful customer service. it takes forever to eat here. waited almost 2 hours last night to get served.
@kris: thanks for dropping by!
@dissatisfied: sorry if it took forever for you to eat there. they take time to prepare because there's only a few staff available and it's not advisable to go there when you're in a hurry. but how was the food minus the late serving?
We dropped by the place last night and thanking this site for featuring the Joed`s Lutong Hapon. So happy that the man in the house is one of my dear friend Edgar, haven`t heard him for about 22 years. A long conversation and not minding the wee hours for the great Japanese foods were served and excellent to our taste buds. Congrats Egay.
I saw it in TV .. I will bring my family here tonight ...
hai im a fan of japanese food so for those who didnt try it!!!!!!!!!!
i saw it in a tv station, thats why i search it and good thing i find it here.. for sure il look for it, and bring my friends..actually their excited when i showed to them the website.
@LZL: no problem! glad to promote the place!
this is a great place to hang out in the wee hours definitely!
@raffy: take time to drop by their carenderia
@toymatz: yes, this is definitely recommended especially for those who want to get a good Japanese food fix without pay too a lot!
@lyann husain: thanks for dropping by and leaving a comment! bring your friends to the japanese eatery in Cebu!
i wanna try these kind of food there,!
i knew this from a show in GMA 7 regional every saturday.
sad to say, they didnt mentioned the name and where to find this japanese carenderia.
and Thank god, no sweat, i got it.!
cant wait to taste these all ! hehee!
thanks for blogging!
kaon nya ko didto
[...] a friend of mine suggested that we go to Joed’s Lutong Hapon. I then remember stumbling upon Edcel’s post about the place. Another friend of Robbie claimed that the place is in a Carinderia setting, but [...]
yay, thanks for blogging this.i missed eating sukiyaki. i can remember the days when i'm still in japan
Where is this place located now? I know it was in Mabolo before...