Me and Amanda were making an AsianFoodGrocer.com wishlist on Amazon using the universal wishlist button…We were bummed out to find that the Melon Pan (bread) was out of stock. I guess that means I will just have to start making it on my own, unless they get it back in stock…But I would still like to try making my own. So I searched the net and found a recipe that sounded like the Melon Pan we had been buying (there are different ways to make it). Then that lead me to find more recipes of things I thought we should try. Hmm…I seem to be on a Japanese food and snack kick, thanks to Amanda.

Below are the links to the recipes I thought we would try…A lot of them come from the same site, I was quite happy to find that site, very convenient to find a lot of the stuff that we wanted to try in one place!

Melon Pan (bread)
Kushi-Dango (skewered sweet dumplings)
Oyakodon
Curry Rice
Tonkatsu (pork cutlet)
Gyudon (Beef Bowl)
Yakitori
Omurice
Nikuman (steamed pork buns)
Anman

Of course I am not going to make all those at one time. They are just things I will try out from time to time! Can’t wait to start making them! The only things I have ever made before were very basic things, such as Tamagoyaki and Onigiri so I look forward to new foods to make, as does Amanda (she likes to cook too).

Great, this post made me hungry…My tummy is grumbling. heh

November 25-28, 2009

We spent Thanksgiving holiday this year in LA together with Prisci’s parents. Since we were in LA, we went out to try several new restaurants. The followings were the places that we went in chronological order.

Thursday, November 26th, we ate lunch at Janti Noodle and Bakmi Parahyangan inside Hong Kong Plaza, in West Covina. Janti Noodle wasn’t really new to us. Bakmi Parahyangan was a relatively new food stall. We ordered the mushroom chicken noodle from Janti Noodle and the fried wonton (pangsit goreng). From Bakmi Parahyangan, we ordered the parahyangan noodle and the batagor (fried tofu-meat ball). Both noodles were still with great taste. I was amazed with the batagor. It was crispy with a well balance taste of the sweet soy sauce and peanut sauce.

Janti's Chicken Mushroom Noodle

Batagor

Bakmi Parahyangan

Friday, November 27th, we ate lunch at Shin Sen Gumi Ramen place in Fontana. This was one of the well known ramen place. This restaurant had many branches. Some served yakitori, while some others served robata (grilled food). The place that we ate only served ramen and robata, however, the robata dishes were served for dinner only. When we arrived at the restaurant, there were already people waiting in line. Fortunately, the turn around time was pretty fast so we were seated just within minutes. We ordered two combination of ramen. I ordered the Hakata ramen with gyoza while Prisci ordered the same Hakata ramen with onigiri (rice ball). I also added a bowl of fried onion. The onigiri came with shredded chicken and soy sauce. Prisci liked the onigiri. The gyoza was ok, even though a little bit small. The ramen, however, were below our expectation. From the crowds, we were expecting a great ramen, but we ended up with a disappointing one. The broth didn’t have any special taste while the noodle were so regular.

A bowl of fried onion

Gyoza

Hakata Ramen

Onigiri with shredded chicken

Friday night, we ate dinner together with my brother, his wife, and his new baby at Furaibo, City of Industry. This was a Japanese tapas restaurant with a well-known tebasaki chicken. This was not new to us either, but we’re always satisfied with the food, especially the chicken. As you’ve expected, we ordered four orders of tebasaki chicken (fried chicken wing), another fried chicken leg-and-tigh for the kids, several yaki onigiri, a pot of nabe (hot pot), buta kakuni, gyutan (as always ), chicken skin yakitori, chicken heart yakitori, duck and hamachi kama. The tebasaki chicken was still the best (we hadn’t found any restaurant in Bay Area that have similar quality of tebasaki chicken up to now). They also had the best yaki onigiri. The rice was perfectly grilled. The gyutan, buta kakuni, and the hamachi kama were also great. The chicken skin, however, was a little too plain.

Yaki Onigiri

Tebasaki Chicken

Nabe

Buta Kakuni

Duck

Chicken Heart Yakitori

Chicken Skin Yakitori

Saturday, November 28th, we ate lunch at another Shin Sen Gumi restaurant in Monterey Park. This time, the restaurant served only yakitori and shabu-shabu. Since we’d been hunting for a good yakitori place, we’d definitely ordered some yakitori. This place was rather brand new and we arrived at the restaurant couple minutes before they opened. Even though they hadn’t opened yet, there were already couple of patrons waiting (including us). Our original focus was their yakitori, but after finding out that they have a special shabu-shabu meal, we decided to try one as well. We ordered one shabu-shabu set, which turned out to be the Australian Kobe beef set. They gave us quite a lot of meat, which was worth the price paid.

Shabu-shabu pot

Australian Kobe Beef for Shabu-shabu

Besides the yakitori and the shabu-shabu, we ordered two appetizers, the fried sweet potato and beef tar-tar. Both dishes were really good. The sweet potato came with butter and had the right tenderness. I really liked the beef tar-tar. It was a raw shredded beef with some chopped apples, raw egg, pine nuts and possibly onion. It was so good that I would definitely order it again when we come back to this place.

Fried Sweet Potato

Beef Tar-tar

For the yakitori, we ordered gyutan (as usual), chicken skin, pork intestine, enoki wrapped pork belly, quail egg wrapped pork belly, chicken cartilage, and pork feet. All of the yakitori came out good. The quail egg was much better than Sumika since it was wrapped with pork belly. The chicken skin and the pork intestine were exceptionally good. They had the right crispiness and the right taste. They were definitely the stuff that we’re going to order again (and possibly the reason why we will go back to this restaurant again).

Chicken Cartilage, Gyutan, Wrapped Enoki, Wrapped Quail Egg, Pork Intestine

Chicken skin yakitori

Sea Cucumber with Green Vegetable

Fish Maw Soup, Shrimp with Walnut, and Tofu with Bamboo Fungus

Saturday night, we went out for dinner with Prisci’s parents at New Capitol Seafood in Rowland Heights. We ate at this restaurant before and this was a well known Chinese restaurant with lots of patrons. When we came in, there were lots of people waiting for their tables. We waited for about 30 minutes before our table was ready. The food that we ordered was pretty much regular Cantonese dishes. Each dish that came always had lots of food so we ended up had to bring some of them home. This restaurant was well known to give some free food. This time, we got a free lobster with ginger and onion dish. Even though the price was a little bit high, but considering the quantity of food and the free dish, it was well worth it.

Stefanus

Während sich halb Wien dieser Tage zum After Work-Date auf den zahlreichen Christkindlmärkten tummelt, haben die Lieblingscousine und ich beschlossen, zwecks „gemeinsam in Urlaubserinnerungen schwelgen“ ins Hidori japanisch essen zu gehen.

Bei uns beiden hatten sich in den letzten Tagen und Wochen schon schwere Entzugserscheinungen breit gemacht und so freute ich mich schon die ganze letzte Woche auf diesen Abend.

Bevor ich noch die Speisekarte aufgeschlagen hatte, juchzte die Lieblingscousine schon auf, weil sie bei den Desserts Matcha Eis gefunden hatte, neben Matcha Latte eine unsere großen Urlaubs-Obsessionen.

Darüber hinaus entschieden wir uns für eine Kombination aus all jenen Gerichten, die uns an unsere Japan-Reise erinnerten: Edamame, Pickles, roher Fisch und – die Spezialität im Hidori – Yakitori (gegrillte Spieße mit Fleisch und Innereien, wobei ich Letzteres weggelassen habe).

Das Gute beim japanischen Essen ist, dass man traditionell viele verschiedene kleine Portionen bestellt, die man dann in die Mitte stellt und dann kann sich jeder von allem nehmen, wie er möchte. Für Leute wie mich, für die jeder Restaurantbesuch in Entscheidungsstress ausartet, ist das wie das Paradies. Und das Essen war großartig und stand dem, was wir aus Japan kannten, um nichts nach.

Das einzig Negative, das es zu berichten gäbe, ist die offene Küche, die zwar auf den ersten Blick sehr charmant wirkt, aber dazu führt, dass man das Lokal verlässt und riecht, als hätte man neben einer Friteuse gecampt. Aber das angenehme Ambiente und das hervorragende Essen machen dieses kleine Manko bei weitem wieder wett.

Bildquelle: Die Presse, © Julia Stix

Seconda puntata con “Sybelle e i suoi deliranti racconti sul cibo giapponese“.
Il punto è che quando parlo o scrivo di qualcosa che rientri nella categoria “mangereccio” mi appare un sorriso ebete sul volto. Anche in questo momento, quindi, sembro folle.

Takoyaki
Nei manga e negli anime si vedono spesso questi spiedini con due o tre polpettine.
Se vi siete mai chiesti cosa fossero ho la risposta: sono takoyaki, ovvero polpette ripiene di polipo impanate e o fritte o cotte nel forno. Qualcosa che rimetterebbe al mondo chiunque.
I giapponesi, come ho già avuto modo di dire, sono decisamente avanti rispetto a chiunque altro: dove mangiare i takoyaki con tranquillità se non sul treno superveloce Shinkansen?
Le stazioni giapponesi sono come gli autogrill: parchi divertimenti ben più simili ai nostri aeroporti. Lucenti, splendenti, perfette, puntuali e con tanti negozietti di bento, souvenir e, appunto, cibo.
I takoyaki sono un classico cibo giapponese d’asporto.
Nel vedere i nostri occhietti brillanti e pieni di stelline Okasan (… devo ben definire il grado di parentela tra me e la madre della moglie di mio cugino, se un grado di parentela esiste) ha preso l’iniziativa e ci ha comprato alcune scatole di takoyaki. Manco i bambini dell’asilo, però provate voi a ordinare una ventina di spiedini in giapponese e poi ne parliamo.
Deliziosi, ustionanti, soddisfacenti.

Yakitori
Credo che gli yakitori siano il cibo che più ho mangiato in Japan dopo gli onigiri: questi spiedini di pollo sono straordinariamente buoni.
“E vabbè, è pollo” direte voi.
“Oh, il pollo giapponese deve essere diverso”, risponderò io.
Eccellenti in qualsiasi versione: con salsa, senza salsa, solo con sale, impanati, da mangiare in numero imbarazzante (i giapponesi poi mangiano poco. Penso d’aver traumatizzato qualche cuoco con tutti i piatti che continuavo a ordinare).

I dolcetti di riso
Ahahah.
Ora veniamo al bello, ovvero a cosa non mi è proprio piaciuto.
A quanto pare questo post parlerà solo di spiedini perchè, infatti, sto per parlarvi dei famigerati spiedini di mochi, ovvero riso fermentato fino a farlo diventare colla, aromatizzato in varie versioni, appallottolato e infilzato.
Okasan ci raccontava che a Capodanno ci sono dei casi di morte a causa di questi dolci: gli anziani e i bambini ne sono così ghiotti che si soffocano mangiandoli (ebbene sì). Fortunatamente non corro questo rischio in quanto non li ho esattamente trovato di mio gusto.
Eppure in Giappone li vendono ovunque e sono apprezzatissimi come regali: se vedete delle belle scatole decorate vi assicuro che sono proprio loro, i mochi.
E’ come masticare enormi chewing gum. Mangiarli in estate con trenta e passa gradi e un’umidità del 90% è stato pressapoco avventuroso.

Sezione “spiedini” conclusa.
Alla terza puntata, allora.

It was not part of the plan…we did not follow the script in fact we had to improvise but in the end I think we came up with some pretty impressive scenes all things considered.

After a fairly tolerable Italian dinner at a place neither of us had ever been too my friend and I headed out of Isetan Kaikan in Shinjuku and by chance I caught a glimpse of row after row of street vendor tents lining the side-walk just outside Kabukichou.

Intrigued, off we went.

The line of vendors for food, beer and all sorts of “lucky” talismans led us down a crowded path into a park next door to Kabukichou and then into a Shrine type area.  Many people were lined up to go into the shrine and get their worship on and generally there were bodies everywhere. It was totally packed.

We passed on the Shrine and moved into the maze of tents and people.

The charms and baskets of leaves with little plastic golden owls peering out at you surrounded by husks of wheat and fat little smiling geisha looking dolls all of them further surrounded by green leaves and glitter and cards with Japanese writing were visually very intriguing.  I had to ask one of the older vendors what all this was about and simply put he replied beaming, 2 front teeth missing, his face a red glow from the sake he and his co-workers were happily consuming in copious amounts, “LUCKY!” he says, “BIG LUCKY!”

Ahhh…lucky…well thats pretty simple.  I paid 3,000 yen and purchased myself a lucky talisman.  A free service they preformed was to put a 5 yen coin inside a small envelope and add some additional Kanji seals  to the handle of the voodoo stick that is the same size as a ping-pong racket but with a whole collection of charms and gear on the flat face.  The additional seal apparently as much as ENSURES my financial success this season.  I hope so, it cost 30 bucks.

As we continued on through the huge maze of bodies and beer and steaming grilled fish and meat and soups and more beer and more lucky talisman vendors it became clear that some people were really getting into the spirit and taking things to the next level.

Mine cost 3000 and is the size of a ping-pong paddle, this fellas is the size of a battle-axe and god only knows how much he dropped on it. Have fun on the train with that guy.

It’s clear though that this was a really happening event. Lots of smiles and people talking to people they didnt even know.  It was something I dont often get to see in Tokyo, a city well known for cold shoulders and stoic masks accompanied by stone silence.

We were just kind of hanging around a corner of the festival near a Yakitori tent and I was having a beer and we were commenting on how cool and fresh all this was when apparently, the girl working seating who had thought we were in line for a spot tapped me on the shoulder and motioned for us to pop a squat at the grill counter.  Fumi (my friend) and I exchanged looks and then sat down.  grilled fish, veggies and some other goodies I honestly could not identify were ordered and we found out that all the staff including our grill master “Hiro” were all college kids working this part time gig.  All of them slamming beers and clearly having a good time.

The atmosphere at this sort of event is really enjoyable.

Hmmm….Beer was consumed.

Hey! These arent all mine….ok…they are.  But EVERYONE was drinking like their livers would grow back and everyone was fairly well lit.

Beer….ummmmmm

At one point, for some reason or another Fumi struck up a conversation with the couple sitting next to us.

They had met 2 years ago, at the very same festival and had since married.

The man was 53 and the woman 31…I can say only two words: well done.

He was so insanely drunk that he was trying to convince me to trade Fumi for his wife but “only for tonigt so its ok!” and it took me about 10 minutes to realize that he was, in fact, serious.  How little does he know about Fumi, she could likely kill him with her bare hands.

But they were very fun to talk to. His wife was very vocal and enjoyed slapping him directly in his nose repeatedly which I found amusing and finally they were just buying us drinks (that I really didnt need) and it was a good time.

I was then subsequently befriended by these Yakuza guys that were both dining, drinking and harassing young women right behind us.  If you dont believe me contact DEAN, he can attest to it: Yakuza guys like me.  I dont know why and whats more I have yet to meet a Yazzie I didnt like.  Anyway it took some doing but I convinced this guy to put his shades on.  Then his ex-girlfriend or one of his hookers or his wife, who knows, came stumbling up to us wearing skin tight stone washed jeans with a tear in the knee and another right below the left butt cheek, a pink halter top and a black leather jacket, her hair a style so complex I almost got a headache, with half of it up in the air the other half in corn rows on the side of her head and finally she was holding a bottle of Gilbys vodka in one hand and red bull in the other, both open. Both half empty.

She then proceeded to hand me the vodka and the red bull and ridiculously attack this guy.  It was comical.  He simply moved around the stool he and his buddy had been using as a table and she did not have the sober coordination left to catch him.  Then he looks at me and smiles and says in English “Drunk Japanese Bitch!” Then in Japanese “Too much trouble.”  and this, he and his friend and the drunk old man with the wife and the drunk girl all thought was hilarious and began howling with laughter.  Then I was forced by said drunk girl to help her pour the remainder of the vodka, like quarter of a bottle into the red bull that was 75% gone and we slammed that in turn.  Horrid.

All in all a very interesting evening.

Read more about Japanese Fall Harvest Festivals here

Pretty sure the old timer that sold me this thing did not expect it to be so employed. Damn that girl with her vodka!

Met up with Doolahin last week and we ended up grabbing a bite to eat @ Bincho.
Bincho is actually a type of slow burning, no smoke Charcoal that the food is grilled over.
The Grapefruit and Sochu cocktail is a problem. As was the belly pork. I love this place!!
Thanks Stinks!!!

Sorry for the lack of updates lately. I’m just too tired to blog after work nowadays …*lame excuse

oh. I had some friends visiting me last weekend so I brought them around Tokyo a little bit. Wanna know where we went?

1st day

Well. I meet up with them on Saturday and we started our day at Tsukiji fish market.

Tsukiji fish market

++++        Had sushi for breakfast.       +++

Sushi at Tsukiji fish market

Then we walked to the Kabuki theatre at Ginza and watched a Kabuki play.

168 days, counting down to the last performance at Kabukiza. They are going to demolish & rebuild it.

After that we walked around Ginza.

It's quite unsual to see those Japan flags hanging around the streets of Ginza.

After Ginza, we walked to Yurakucho station （有楽町）and took the train to Tamachi　（田町）. Had tempura don for lunch and took a walk at Keio University （慶応大学）.

The old library building of Keio University, designated as an Important Cultural Property by the Japanese Government.

Then from there, we took the 100 yen community bus to Roppongi （六本木）. My friend is a big fan of “Doraemon”, so I brought him to see the big Doraemon statue in “TV Asahi“　（テレビ朝日）building in Roppongi.

Doraemon at TV Asahi, Roppongi

After Roppongi, we headed to Tokyo Midtown（東京ミッドタウン） to see the Xmas Lights.

Xmas Lights at Tokyo Midtown, Roppongi

After enjoying the beautiful Xmas decorations and lights in Tokyo Midtown（東京ミッドタウン）, we decided to go to Shinjuku（新宿） as it was still early.

After arriving at Shinjuku station, we walked to Shinjuku Metropolitan building （新宿都庁） where you get to see Tokyo’s night view for free. Sorry, my photography skills sucks…The view from there is much nicer than this photo.

Night view from the 45th floor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building (都庁)

After that, I was planning to bring them to Kabuki cho （歌舞伎町）but we accidentally wandered into this small alley called “Omoide Yokocho” （思い出横町） crammed with lots of yakitori stalls.

Yakitori at Shinjuku Omoide Yokocho （新宿思い出横町）

Amazing place yah!? We end up eating here and I enjoyed it so much. A highly recommended place where you can eat and chat with the locals. definitely want to go back there again.

Places covered on the first day :

Tsukiji fish market – sushi – kabuki theater – Ginza - Keio University – Roppongi - Tokyo Midtown – Shinjuku metropolitan buiding - yakitori

2nd day

On Sunday, after meeting at Tokyo station, we started our day at  the Imperial Palace. There was an exhibition going on commemorating the 20th Anniversary of the Enthronement of His Majesty the Emperor.

Rolls Royce on the left were used on the occasion of the Ceremonial Procession of Celebration.

After having a brisk walk around the palace, we headed to Yasukuni Shrine （靖国神社） and saw a lot of cute Japanese kids dressed in their traditional clothing celebrating  ”Shichi-Go-San” （七五三）. Sichi-Go-San is a Japanese traditional festival held annually on November 15, celebrated by three and seven year-old girls and three and five year-old boys.

Three generations, grandmother, mother & daughter

After Yasukuni Shrine we took the subway to Omotesando （表参道） and explored Ura Harajuku（裏原宿） and Harajuku（原宿）. Harajuku was crowded as usual.

Look at the amount of people pouring out from the station.

We walked to Shibuya after Harajuku coz’ I insisted in showing them the scramble crossing in Shibuya *silly me*

An accidental out of focus photo of Shibuya

After Shibuya, we took the train to Tokyo station and I send them off to take the Shinkansen to Kyoto.

Places covered on second day :

The Imperial Palace – Budokan Stadium – Yasukuni Shrine – Omote Sando - Ura Harajuku - Harajuku - Shibuya

Well, this is a summary of what I did last weekend. I’ll blog about it in more detail later.

oops.. it’s pass 1am already, way passed my bedtime. I need to get my beauty sleep. That’s all for today. Good nite everyone.

Beef, veggies, quail eggs

The last time I came here was 11 years ago. But, as a birthday present, one of my friends took me here for some good yakitori and sake. Man, it was so good. It was like falling in love all over again.

So, I’m sure everyone knows what yakitori is. It’s the Japanese take on skewers. It’s a little pricier than what you would expect for skewers (especially outside of Japan), but the quality of ingredients is excellent.

Being Japanese, she naturally knew all about sake. To celebrate, she ordered a bottle of Hakkaisan sake, which cost $40 at the restaurant. It was the perfect amount of sake for 2. Wow, that sake was so amazing. It was smooth, and had character, and even gave off a different type of buzz. Like a clean buzz. Whereas most alcohol will just make you feel muddled, this allowed me to retain clarity. Absolutely, the sake was not cheap. But when you think about it, a glass of wine will run you $9-15. And this was $40 for a whole bottle.

Hakkaisan Sake

Anyways, onto food. For the skewers, the stand-outs included the pork belly and bacon-wrapped okura. Of course, at yakitori you always have to get chicken hearts and chicken meatballs. And Nanbankan has really great renditions of those. They also do several non-yakitori dishes really well. The line scallops, cooked on the shell, were great. The soup on the shell was so clean and flavorful. Knowing it was unclassy, we took the shell up to our faces and finished the soup down to the last drop. It really was that good. Their black cod is really nice…not overly sweet like a lot of other places. Their quail? Succulent as hell. And then their Wagyu slider was an excellent, hearty ending.

So, this is a good place to celebrate a special occasion. It’s not cheap, but I think it’s actually got good value. For an equally fulfilling experience at a Western restaurant, you would have to pay more, I believe. It’s a place to sit down, eat slowly and drink slowly, and enjoy the good things in life.

Chicken balls - figuratively, I think.

Dinner at Birdland.  Very good – rather small place  specializing in chicken yakitori…  We were seated at the counter, so we got to watch the busy chefs at the grill.   And nothing goes to waste, as was evidenced by being served heart, gizzard, liver and skin.  I ate everything – though I didn’t manage to finish all five of my chicken hearts – but Chris ate all of his.  I finished all my livers, though, which Chris did not… The chicken breast and meatballs were delicious, as was the special house sake.

Kampai!

We made another attempt to find Advocates, the gay bar we’d heard about.  We took the subway to Shinjuku Sanchome, which we knew was pretty close – and we had a map.  Rather than try to find it on our own, we hailed a taxi right outside the subway station.  The driver apparently attempted to explain that our destination was essentially across the street, but we didn’t really understand what he was telling us – so he drove us two-and-a-half blocks to the bar… The place was tiny, but convivial – mostly gaijin hanging out.  After a few drinks there, we also stopped at Arty Farty and Dragon, two other nearby gay bars.  All the bars were pretty quiet, but it was nice to hang out with some other gays…  Also, I was plastered – yay!

Slept in a bit, had a Western-style breakfast at our hotel and then walked over to Isetan, a department store nearby. Chris bought some fancy floral underpants for me – they are super-cute and sexy…  Just not when I wear them.  But I love them nonetheless… Then back to the hotel, where met up with Takako-san, our Tokyo Free Guide. She was friendly, kind and knowledgeable – a very nice lady.  She took us first to Asakusa for a visit to the Sensoji Temple, as well as the nearby market – originally the location of the post-WWII black market.  Besides giving us a bit of history as we walked, she was answered our questions, which were far-ranging and various – though many were along the lines of “What’s he saying?” and “What’s that for?” – though we also asked and learned about some of Japan’s history.

Chris-san and Takako-san

From there we headed to Ueno Park, a huge and lovely green space in the heart of Tokyo. We visited a Toshugo shrine, modeled after a similar shrine in Kyoto, which was very pretty.  At another shrine in the park, there is a memorial to those killed in the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki – an eternal flame, taken from wreackage of a home after the destruction.  The memorial is quite dignified and very moving…

Hiroshima & Nagasaki Memorial, surrounded by origami cranes.

Walked around a large pond that was filled with giant lotus plants, before heading to the Tokyo equivalent of a dollar store – retail shops here are endlessly fascinating.  Stopped for a quck bite – I had my first rice ball, which is my new favorite snack…  A slightly warm ball of rice, stuffed with a bit of tuna and mayonaise wrapped with a bit of nori…  Delicious.  Takako-san then took us to Akihabara and bid us farewell outside of the world’s largest electronics store.  Chris and I were weary, so we didn’t explore too much – we just went up to the fifth floor to admire the vast array of electronic toilet seats.  Seriously, I am getting one of those for our apartment back home – a plain old toilet seat feels downright uncivilized after using the automatic ass-washing variety…

Prayers

Had a little lie-down at the hotel, then went for dinner at Tsunahachi, a tempura place recommended by one of Chris’ clients.  It was delicious – probably our favorite meal so far. Shrimp were amazing; Chris declared his scallops the best he’d ever had (and I have to agree – I like scallops, but I seldom swoon over them…  These were pretty swoon-worthy); and I had some kind of crazy autumn mushroom that was out of this world.

Just after we started eating, my friend Kenneth showed up – he’s a colleague who happened to be visiting Japan at the same time we were.  I’d emailed him the name of our restaurant and was very pleasantly surprised that he tracked us down…  We enjoyed the rest of our dinner together, then walked over to Ni-Chome again, for more drinks at the gay bars Chris and I had finally found the night before.  Had a great time – hung out with a Canadian fellow at Dragon, who is touring Japan with a choral group; met a couple of peculiar Australian gentleman; and watched in horror as a super-drunk Japanese lady did a face plant walking into the john…  I really expected to see her teeth scattered all over the floor, but she was helped up and had nary a scratch.

Chef prepares tempura.

Home at a semi-reasonable hour, though we still didn’t get going today until about 11:00 for our trip to Disney Sea. Got there by noon and had a really fine time.  The place was rather crowded, but people-watching was good.  Some great rides, too – notably Journey to the Center of the Earth and Storm Rider, both unique to Disney Sea. Chris-san seemed to enjoy himself too – though I know he’s just indulging…  One of the many reasons I love him…

Decided to make it an early night – we have another tour tomorrow starting at 10:00, so we’re hoping to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.  Sayonara!

October 28, 2009

This week was my turn to pick a place for our date night dining adventure. I decided to try another izakaya place even though we’ve been to one last week. This time, we went to Sumika, another small Japanese tapas bar in downtown Los Altos. Originally, I thought it would be quite a drive from where we were, but it turned out that the place was only about 20 minutes away from the Sunnyvale Cal-train station. So we arrived at the restaurant 10 minutes early before their opening time for dinner.

Sumika Salad

The place was not big, but it was the average size of a regular Japanese izakaya restaurant. We were greeted by the waiter and seated next to the kitchen. The choices of yakitori were not that many, but there were several dishes that captured our interests.

We started with a small Sumika salad. It was a mixed of shredded cabbages, mizuna, and cherry tomatoes topped with peanut taste dressing. Even though we ordered a small size salad, the portion that came out was surprisingly pretty big. It may be good enough for 3 or 4 people. The salad was ok in the beginning, but the taste became better and better later on. I guess it was due to the sauce that started to get mixed with the salad.

Chicken Skin in Ponzu Sauce

We ordered another appetizer which was Torikawa Ponzu, a shredded chicken skin in ponzu sauce. Interestingly, this dishes came in a clear shrimp cocktail glass. The chicken skin was steamed and dipped in ponzu sauce, then garnished with some shredded ginger and a small ponzu jelly. This dishes was, as I said earlier, interesting. They used organic free-range chicken for all of their chicken dishes, so the chicken skin was not as fatty as if it was a regular chicken.

Mentaiko Gohan

The next dishes that we ordered was Mentaiko Gohan, a steam rice with spicy cod roe and seaweed. This was delicious. I guess you could not go wrong with spicy cod roe.

We ordered two chicken dishes, the chicken karaage (fried chicken) and the teba yaki (grilled chicken wings). The chicken karaage was surprisingly good. It was cooked to be so crispy on the outside yet juicy on the inside. It had a balance flavor, not too strong nor too weak, and you can still taste the seasoning even in the meat inside (which usually was pretty bland for a regular fried chicken). The chicken wings were also good but it tasted a little bit too regular for us (not something that stand out).

Chicken Karaage

Now, the best part: yakitori. We ordered Tontoro (pork cheek), Kawa (chicken skin), Ebi (angel shrimp), enoki mushroom rolls, and quail eggs. Let’s start from the worst to the best.

Quail eggs: it just boiled/grilled quail eggs on a skewer with some sprinkles of sea salt. There were nothing special with this, just plain quail eggs.

Enoki mushroom rolls: enoki mushroom that were rolled with a thin slice of pork belly. The pork wrapper was soft and tasty. The mushroom, well … regular enoki mushroom taste. But overall this was one good dish to have.

Angel shrimp/ebi: surprisingly they used a large sized shrimp for this and it wasn’t a regular shrimp, but more like a sweet shrimp. The meat was tasty and sweet, not dry.

Tontoro, Chicken Skin, Angel Shrimp, and Quail Eggs Yakitori

Tontoro: what we expected from a pork skewer were usually hard/chewy and dry, but this was not the case at all. The meat was tasty and juicy (maybe because it has high percentage of fat because it was the cheek). This was definitely one of the dishes that we will order again.

Kawa: the top of the list on our yakitori dishes of the day was the grilled chicken skin. This was definitely one of the best grilled chicken skins that we’ve ever tasted in Bay Area (on par with the one from Sumiya). We’ll definitely come back more for this.

Stefanus

Paratissima 5.2, evento off di Artissima, è una mostra collettiva dedicata a oltre 300 artisti e creativi nei settori dell’arte figurativa, pittura, scultura, fotografia, del design, performance teatrali e musicali, in più di 100 location espositive disseminate nel quartiere di San Salvario.

Dal 6 all’8 novembre’09, YAKI, ospite nel dehor del Ristorante Scannabue, proporrà cibi di strada multietnici cucinati con i prodotti di Aziende agricole locali a conduzione familiare.

Domenica 8nov, dalle 12 alle 14.00, il produttore Giovanni Rava de La Casaccia propone una degustazione dei suoi vini, in abbinamento ai cibi di Yaki

venerdì 6 dalle 18.00 alle 22.00, sabato 7 dalle 12.00 alle 22.00 e domenica 8 dalle 12.00 alle 15.00.

i traipsed down to kichijoji today in all my resplendent finery. very proud of my bow, i was. the effect is rather different from what the dress was designed to look like, but i really like what i did with it here.

kichijoji is somewhere to the west of tokyo, about half an hour from shibuya, and the terminal station on my train line. it is one of those up and coming suburban areas with adorable little streets, lots of good food and al fresco dining, and interesting shops – just the kind of place i like to spend an idle afternoon in, popping in and out of vintage stores, having a leisurely tea, and trying to take good pictures. or clearly, not.

inokashira park, one of the best places for viewing sakura blooms in spring, is also located close to the station. the route i choose to take to the park always brings me past this ancient yakitori place. i am not sure if the place is really old, or only made to look old, but smoke from the grill clouds the streets nearby, and on sundays when they do a roaring trade, it really gets into your hair and clothes. but i still might enter one of these days, just to experience being served by young men in muggy white t-shirts and towels around their necks.

and my prize find today – a pair of old iron scissors for my dad. i remember these from my childhood. like the manual sewing machine that mum still uses… all the things that feel as if they belong only in yellowed photographs. can it be that i am only just approaching 30?

- outfit details –
dress: some shop in new york. the village…?
denim jacket: gap
tights: tutuanna
black patent pumps (not in pictures): payless

Okonomiyaki - Japanese seafood pancake

October 21, 2009

After skipping last week’s Wednesday Date Night due to a weekend full of gourmet food of wagyu, lobster and scallops, foie gras and crabs, truffle, wine, and champagne, we resumed Date Night today. I was truly looking forward to Date Night tonight spending time with my hubby while eating good food. This time we ended up going to Izakaya in San Jose. Izakaya specializes in small plate dishes better known as tapas. The name of the restaurant itself is interesting, as the word “izakaya” in Japanese means just that, a place that serves small plate dishes. I’ll devote a separate post just for izakaya in general.

Tofu Steak

Izakaya is located near San Jose Japan Town. The establishment is so small that we could easily miss it. We found that the entry was actually located inside Genji, a much larger Japanese steak house restaurant which was right next to it. I just thought that’s interesting. The place itself was so tiny; I’d say at most you could only fit up to 30 people. And I made a note that it’s not child friendly. Our table was so minuscule in size that during the course of dinner we ended up placing some of the dishes on the nearby counter. How small is small? Imagine a box of Costco’s pizza. Now put your plate, cup, etc on top of it. It’s your table. Yup. That small.

Salmon Skin Salad

The place wasn’t that crowded and there were some empty tables. We were early perhaps? Possible as this is one of the restaurants that actually opens late till midnight. Now that’s something I don’t find often in San Jose. This is a good find indeed. Let’s move on to the food shall we? Since we knew Izakaya is an izakaya, we planned to order a plethora of dishes. Okay several.

Salmon Skin salad – I loved it. Crispy salmon skin with radish and onion. This was refreshing and a good opener.

Gyutan Shio – This was one of the best. Tender and juicy with just the perfect touch of spice and salt.

Gyutan Shio

Tofu Steak – Another highlight for the night. The tofu was soft, but it’s all about the sauce. The sauce was so good a perfectly balanced mix of different ingredients.

Tori Kawa – Grilled chicken skin on a stick. Savory. Salty. I liked it but not as much as Sumiya’s chicken skin with sauce. But once I dipped it on the sauce from the tofu steak. Yummo. It’s good. I guess I just prefer sweet savory sauce compared to just simple salt seasoning.

Teba Shioyaki – Grilled chicken wing. Okay this was nothing special. I can make better chicken wings. It’s too ‘blah’ for my taste. A disappointment for the night.

Tori Kawa (Grilled Chicken Skin)

Okonomiyaki  Osaka style- Japanese seafood pan cake. This was another highlight for the night. I like this dish. It’s perfectly cooked and seasoned. The only downside was that the portion was too large. Okay that didn’t come right. It’s just that we’re so ready to order more but the size of the okonomiyaki didn’t allow us to do that. Oh well.

Izakaya is definitely a gem,  a small establishment that offers huge selections of Japanese tapas. I’ll definitely come back. The service was friendly, and I liked that. Their portions were generous. I love the fact that now when we’re in the mood for okonomiyaki, we don’t have to drive all the way to SF Japan Town. And the complimentary jello dessert to end the dinner just makes it even better.

Priscilla

We both love going and eating at izakayas. We love Japanese food, and we love variety and trying new things. Eating at izakayas gives us the opportunity to experience all that, as we can order more than 2-3 small dishes without getting too stuffed up and too broke. It’s a good thing that San Jose and its vicinity has a lot of izakayas. That way we don’t need to spend an hour to drive to SF just to get our izakaya’s fix.

From wikipedia: An izakaya (居酒屋) is a type of Japanese drinking establishment which also serves food to accompany the drinks. The food is usually more substantial than that offered in other types of drinking establishments in Japan such as bars or snack bars and may be compared to Spanish tapas.

It’s funny that if you look at the definition, izakaya is mostly a drinking establishment that serves food with the main purpose to accompany the drinks (typically shochu). However for us a lot of times we didn’t even bother ordering anything more than tea or water, but instead we’re there for the food.

Here is the list of izakayas that we like (not in any particular order):

1. Gochi, Cupertino -  Best: variety- their menu is so vast, and the food quality is excellent. Cons: Pricey and long wait.
2. Saizo, Sunnyvale -  Best: crispy chicken skin in ponzu sauce – chicken skin. ’nuff said. Cons: Pricey and their menu selection is very limited.
3. Tanto, San Jose – Best: yakionigiri – the best I’ve had so far in the Bay Area.
4. Sumiya, Santa Clara – Best: chicken skin grilled and fried – how can you refuse a plate of crispy, tasty ,savory chicken skin? Also their menu selection for yakitori especially is quite impressive. Cons: their yakionigiri are too plain.
5. Kaita, San Jose – Best: Toro – freshest I’ve had in restaurants. Cons: I could get a top quality toro from Mitsuwa at a fraction of their price.
6. Izakaya, San Jose – Best: variety – their menu selection is rather extensive but not as extensive as Gochi’s. Okonomiyaki – a rare offering. Cons: Tiny place.
7. Furaibo, Los Angeles (Downtown, Santa Monica, La Puente) – Best: yakionigiri and tebasaki – their tebasaki (chicken wing) is unbeatable. I’ve yet found anything that comes even close to their extra yummilicious, finger-licking delicious fried chicken wing. Their menu is also considerably extensive. Cons: LA. If only I could convince them to open one here in San Jose.
8. Kappo Nami Nami, Mountain View
9. Sumika, Los Altos

Priscilla

Torikomachi’s jidori tsukune

Well it’s been a while since I’ve posted any local restaurant reviews and I’ve been thinking it’s high time. So let’s take a look at Torikomachi, my favorite neighborhood spot for yakitori. You can find Torikomachi just south of Maebashi Station on the same road that leads to Keyaki Walk (the Kinokuniya entrance). Although you can find Torikomachi in Tokyo and other cities around Japan, the sign next to the grill says that they use Joshu jidori (Gunma-raised free-range chickens).

Torikomachi’s bar

If you come with a group you can get a table, but on busy nights, singles and couples usually sit at the bar. If you sit on the far side from the door you can watch the grill-master at work.

If you’re feeling hungry and not wanting to try picking and choosing from the Japanese-only menu, you can choose one of the two set courses in the back of the menu (for two). The “Ume” course includes chopped cabbage, jidori tsukune, one sumi-yaki chicken half to share, yaki-onigiri, tebasaki to yasai nikomi and vanilla ice cream or chicken soup. The “Take” course is all of the same items, except that you get an order of the hitsumabushi rice dish instead of the yaki-onigiri. The set courses are a good variety, but it’s certainly a lot of food, so if you’re not starving, you might want to put together your own selection from the menu.

If you’re ordering a-la-carte, here’s what I’d recommend: first thing after you sit down, order one stick of the jidori tsukune (above) for each person in your group. The jidori tsukune is basically a chicken meatball that’s been slowly grilled and then served with a sweet soy sauce and a raw egg yolk that you can use to paint on another layer of richness on top of the sauce. It’s like a yakitori take on “oyako.”

Sumi-yaki jidori half

While you’re at it, order the sumi-yaki jidori half or whole. Order it right when you arrive because it takes about 30 or 40 minutes to cook. This is one of the best roast chickens that I’ve ever had. It’s slow-grilled over charcoal. The skin is delightfully crispy and seasoned with salt and garlic and the meat is nicely flavorful.

From the grill (clockwise from top left): yaki-onigiri, chicken liver, hanpen-cheese, aspara-maki

After you order your sumi-yaki chicken you have some time to check out the rest of the menu. There is a great selection of yakitori and kushi-yaki skewers. In addition to the usual chicken or negima skewers, don’t overlook the sunagimo (gizzards) and liver, which are nicely browned and smoky tasting around the edges and tender in the center. Mmm… I also like the hampen-cheese skewers (steamed fish cake with melted cheese), aspara-maki, and meat-stuffed shiitake mushrooms. There’s also a full-page list of flavored tsukune, but I think that the classic jidori tsukune is the best.

The yaki-onigiri is browned and crunchy on the outside and topped with a salty-sweet sauce. The charcoal grill gives it a little smoky flavor too.  You might be thinking, “oh, it’s just a grilled rice ball,” but trust me, it’s a darn good grilled rice ball.

ume-jiso sasami

One of the yakitori items that you shouldn’t miss is the sasami. These are chunks of the chicken tender that are seared on the outside but rare in the middle. They’re juicy and delicious. My favorite is ume-jiso sasami.

close-up view of ume-jiso sasami

Side-dishes (clockwise from top left): tebasaki to yasai nikomi, marinated okra (otoshi), hitsumabushi , torikomachi salad

Finally, why not try some delicious side dishes? You will get an otoshi (starter) when you sit down: it’s a small side dish of vegetables or sometimes spicy konnyaku. The best side dish (I think so anyways) is the tebasaki to yasai nikomi. It’s a stew made with long-simmered chicken wings in a miso broth with vegetables. The chicken wings are so tender that the cartilage is like gelatin and the broth is super thick and rich. It’s fantastic! The torikomachi salad is made with slices of barely seared chicken with Italian dressing. It’s pretty good, and when you’re eating so much chicken it’s nice to have some greens. If you didn’t get the yaki-onigiri and you’re craving some rice, the hitsumabushi is made with crispy chicken skin, slices of chicken, takuan, green onions and chile threads. First you stir it up and eat some, then you can pour the hot chicken broth on top and eat it like rice porridge.

Torikomachi is open every day except Sunday. There is another Gunma location in Isesaki.

We went to my favourite Japanese bar/restaurant as part of Miss Warwick’s early birthday celebration, and had Sashimi, Yakitori, Beef teppanyaki and Sake. Miss Warwick and Lady Baba also had Asahi beer.

The thing about this Japanese bar is that you get to watch the Japanese chef roasting the Yakitori if you sit in the main shop unit. The pros of this includes the fact that you can see if it’s the Japanese chef who is on duty, preparing your Yakitori. The cons includes the obvious fact that you’re sitting in the same room where the roasting is being performed. I don’t recall this being so bad previously, but the smoke did overwhelm us on this night. At one point, Miss Warwick went “smoke gets in your eyes, E?”

Smoke gets in our hair, more like it.

I’m on volunteer duty at the SPCA tomorrow morning, which means I have to be up at 8 (and will pay dearly for having indulged in this whim to type this entry, the inspiration came suddenly as I was brushing my teeth). Due to the early hour, and the fact that SPCA duty is definitely very dirty work – first task in the morning involves picking up a whole night of dog poo (let me detract to say that my Big Boss made a face when I described to him what I have volunteered to do on a fortnightly basis), I made the decision to wash my hair only after I got back from SPCA.

Which is something I might come to regret. The smell of smoke lingers strongly in my hair. I would count myself lucky if I manage not to dream of myself on fire tonight.

I first heard about Sushi Bistro Masa from a Japanese student I worked with, whose name coincidentally was Masa. He told me it was his favorite Japanese restaurant in Columbus and I promised to try it, even though I thought he might just be smitten with the name.

Why in Columbus do the suburbs have the best sushi? One of the reasons that it took me so long to try it, is that if I am going to drive (all the way) out to Dublin, and spend a good chunk of change, I want a guaranteed good experience. It is therefore tempting to stick with the tried and true, Kihachi and Kikyo. Now I can add Sushi Bistro Masa.

There is a lot of chat about where to find the best sushi on Columbus Underground and Kihachi is often mentioned. While I rate Kihachi as one of my overall favorite restaurants in Columbus, they are not a dedicated sushi restaurant so their daily offering of sushi, whilst excellent, is limited. Sushi Bistro Masa (as the name suggests) has a much wider range of sushi and sashimi, and I would nominate them as a strong, if not top, contender for the best sushi in town.

Sushi Bistro Masa has a frequently changing specials menu (Japanese on one side English on the reverse) and we ordered entirely from that. There were many more tempting offerings than we could eat in one visit. We started with seaweed salad. AD chose the traditional green seaweed with sesame dressing and I had mozuku. Our server was worried that I would not like it, but she needn’t have feared, it was delicious, ugly, but delicious. It is true that the appearance and texture could be a little off putting: brown, slimy and gelatinous, but the taste was surprisingly complex and refreshing with a complement of finely grated fresh ginger and scallions.

Yakitori is not common enough in Columbus and we couldn’t resist sampling some of the skewers: pork, beef, negima (chicken with scallions) and the more unusual but very tasty mirugai (geoduck).

Ankimo (monkfish liver) is the foie gras of the ocean with the same creamy texture but a pungent musky flavor redolent of the sea. At Sushi Bistro Masa it was served as two generous slices in a light ponzu based sauce. Until now, I would only have expected to see such an exotic Japanese delicacy on the Kihachi menu.

We had been watching sushi Chef Akio at work and our expectations were high. We ordered four of the sushi options from the daily specials list: fresh Pacific saury, shima aji (striped jack), aji (Spanish mackerel) and kanpachi (amber jack). It was so good that we couldn’t resist more and we ordered some toro (fatty tuna) and asked Chef Akio to pick one  - he chose charred tai (red snapper).

The quality of the fish and skill of execution were impeccable. Both of the jack fishes were buttery-melt-in-the-mouth wonderful. The toro was even more sumptuous, almost decadently fatty. The mackerel and saury, both topped with ponzu, were beautiful tender bites that made it harder to pick a favorite. Charring the tai (Chef Akio wielded a blow torch) added both an interesting flavor and textural dimension to what is otherwise a very mild fish. This elevated a fish we had dismissed as a boring choice to perhaps our favorite nigiri of the night.

Sitting at the sushi bar (our preferred spot in any sushi restaurant) allowed us to watch Chef Akio in action and also gave us the opportunity to chat with him later in the evening. Although he has only been in Columbus for a couple of years, he spent 13 years working in Los Angeles, mainly at a restaurant in Venice Beach. Initially reserved he was happy to answer questions and we found him quite genial. Our server was also knowledgeable about the specials.

We finished the meal sated but hungry for more of Sushi Bistro Masa. We are already plotting to return for an omakase dinner. While excellent sushi is never cheap, we felt that the individual items were reasonably priced and that Sushi Bistro Masa was good value for the quality of the food.

6395 Perimeter Drive
Dublin, 43016
614 336 8855

I also want to recommend a couple of sushi websites I found: one of the  more comprehensive sushi glossaries I have found and  Sustainable Sushi where you to look up sustainability by fish and also explore alternatives.

Within the realm of skewered and grilled things, pakshun favors cartilage. It is fortunate that Kazu’s grilled sticks of cartilage passes his exacting standard, not only to provide a satisfying crunch but also taste like smoky, juicy meat, not half burnt plastic.

For everyone else whose tastes lie towards the more conventional (or whose teeth are not what they once were), Kazu, one of the best known yakitori joints in town can furnish you with a meal of chewy gizzards, tender meatballs and even super-luxe foie gras and wagyu on sticks. I appreciate that unlike lesser joints, the meat is flavorful without being oversauced by cloyingly sweet teriyaki. Feeling less carnivorous? A page full of grilled vegetables, albeit overpriced and not quite as delicious as the meats, awaits you. The best vegetable dish happens to be complimentary, a dish of fresh green cabbage with an addictive miso-based dip on the side, the savoriness taking the raw edge off the vegetable without masking its sweet crunch.  And when you get sick of smoke and char, the rest of the menu is expansive, and the quality uniformly good even when they are not the restaurant’s specialties. The servers, experienced Singaporean ladies who whilst a little lacking in Japanese grace and elegance, steer us well. A martini bowl of home made yuba skin had the quality of velvet on the tongue, and the housemade tofu, served cold and chawan mushi style possessed a concentrated taste of the sea, no doubt a result of the bonito stock. Sashimi was also pristine and fresh, surprising for its non sushiya status.

Dinner was of course followed by dessert, and even in the dessert arena did Kazu try to overwhelm us with choices. In the end, we settled for a marvellously ripe peach, its $18 price tag justified, if not by its juicy nectar then by the elaborate design it was displayed to us in. Ice cream then consume, me making a foolhardy choice away from the stalwart black sesame and green tea to opt for tiramisu, the combination of savory cheese, tart mango and salty bits of rice crackers a little too left-base, even for me. Next time, it is cartilage to start, green tea ice cream to finish.

Kazu, with its yakitori specialist title and  generalist ambitions is trying to cater to all tastes, and by and large, it succeeds.

Kazu Sumiyaki Restaurant

5 Koek Road (Cuppage Plaza), #04-05

Tel: +65 6734 2492

Crispy Chicken Skin with Octopus Salsa

2 Colors Agedashi Tofu

Saturday night we went back to Sumiya in Santa Clara. And once again, Sumiya delivered and didn’t disappoint.This time we came back with a few of our friends. And let’s just say the appetizer, crispy chicken skin with octopus salsa, was a hit. This time around, we skipped carpaccio, takkomi, and yakionigiri and instead opted to order two colors agedashi tofu, which was so yummy, and focused on the yaki skewers (kalbi, duck, chicken hearts & gizzards, wing, tongue, thigh). Unfortunately, the one thing that I was looking forward to, chicken skin yakitori, was out. I was (and so were Ming2 and our friends) so utterly disappointed as I was planning to order 2 just for myself Oh well. I guess we’ll just have to come back again. All in all it was an excellent dinner, delicious food, fun time, and our friends couldn’t argue with us on that. Sumiya truly delivered.

On Sunday, I wasn’t feeling well and felt that I was coming down with something. This was no surprise, seeing as our youngest one, Nathan, was coming down with a cold. We then decided to stay home and eat in. After a brief brainstorming, we decided to cook the king crab legs that we purchased from Lucky earlier. And, we chose Chinese style for simplicity. I left the crab cooking part to Ming2 as crab was usually his specialty and instead I was in charge over cooking the veggie. “Simple and quick”, that’s my motto. I stir fried bok choy with enoki and button mushrooms with plenty of cooking wine and was done in less than 15 minutes. Ming2 took longer as he needed to marinade the crab first. The recipe that he used was: Crab with Ginger and Onion, his specialty. Only this time, instead of using dungeness crab, he used Alaskan king crab legs. The verdict: delicious, hearty home cooked meal. The succulent crab legs meat were so juicy and tender, and the ginger and onion sauce was a nice combination that worked well to accentuate the overall taste of the dish. The chef had done a marvelous job. Excellent work indeed, hun

Priscilla

Steps prince and moi went for late dinner after a 3-step board, triangle formation class.

Here’s what we had,
Tsukune in tare – 一押し！ Good!

Pork shabu salad – moi lurves the peanut and miso flavored dressing!

Potato fry with curry powder – very special combi and extremely yummy

Karaage

Negi-wrapped yakitori

I was a sophomore in high school when I went on my first “real” date. A very nice boy invited me to a Homecoming dance and I happily obliged.  Before the dance, a group of us went to a fancy steakhouse for dinner, and I was so nervous, I could not eat. A sizzling plate of filet mignon was starring right at me and I could not bring myself to eat in front of my date!

Thinking back, perhaps what intimidated me the most about that dining experience was having to cut the steak with a knife and fork, and even though I knew how to use my utensils properly, the idea that I might cut the piece too big and having to chew it for 10 minutes before I get to swallow (and what if I had to cough while chewing?) scared the life out of me.  Silly, I know!

If I could relive my first date experience, I will definitely find myself in a yakotiri joint, like Shinsengumi in Monterey Park, where appetizers like fried oysters and tofu salad, as well as meats and vegetables on the skewers come in small, edible bite size. Seriously, how cute and romantic is it to share a plate of toriniku (white chicken meat), negima (chicken and green onion), tsukune (ground chicken meatballs), and perhaps some jalapeno skewers with your date? And there would be no embarrassment of  food cut too large, or pieces flying all over the place.  Sure, izakaya and yakitori restaurants may not be the first choice for your first date, and you might also risk stinking up your fancy wardrobe from the charcoal smoke from the grill but who cares when you’re having fun by actually being able to eat on the date!

In addition to the traditional yakitori selection, this location of Shinsengumi offers shabu shabu and other colorful array of delicious one-plate dishes. One of my favorite dishes here is ochazuke, flavorful dashi broth poured on top of white rice, which provides a great finish to a wonderful izakaya-style dinner.

It’s funny to think how nervous and embarrassed I was to eat in front of a guy back then, but after I left the restaurant leaving my food virtually untouched, I promised myself that I would never let my nerve get in the way of a perfectly fine piece of steak (or any food) ever again! Even after 15 years, I still think about that filet mignon and weep!  And so far, I’ve been good with the promise (except for that one time with my beau … but that’s for another time).

Shinsengumi
111 N. Atlantic Blvd., Monterey Park, CA 91754
★★★★☆