Chatsworth, CA
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Showing posts with label Japanese. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Japanese. Show all posts
Sushi Omino
Musha
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Shiro
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Shiro
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Marilyn Mon-roll (Sacramento, CA)
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Sushi Nozawa: Sushi Nazi!!!
This is the best sushi D and I have ever had. EVER. Both of us COMBINED probably wasn't this good.
Thank God for Fridays during Lent. Forced to abstain from meat got us thinking about what fishy dishes we'd try each Friday of Lent. We'd come up with some pretty good ideas, between Popeye's shrimp basket to Mario's Peruvian ceviche and grilled fish. This last Friday, I was craving sushi.
The truth is, my friends and I used to make a college tradition out of going to have sushi on Fridays during Lent. It was a great tradition, a chance to explore a new type of food, and semi-opportunistic, given that Little Tokyo is so close to USC. I was HOOKED.
With a surprising growth curve, I started savoring raw fish with almost as much zeal as raw meat (I always order steaks and hamburgers the rarest they'll let it get out the door without the Health police tackling them to the ground). There was something about the textures, the richness, and the subtly fishy flavor that made it... deliciously quirky. Like cheeses, I liked my sushi with a slight bit of stinkiness, funk and scents and flavors that reminded you that at some point, this was "game" food. Raw, wild, and fresh from the outdoors.
What I found in my sushi journey was subtle to the point of bland. To be honest, I like salmon nigiri a little more than tuna or yellowtail nigiri if simply because I could taste something. Most cuts of sushi just weren't fresh enough to give that zingy, fishy FRESHNESS.
...Until Nozawa.
Sushi Nozawa is hidden away in the corner of a strip mall, two doors down from a nail salon and hiding behind a parking lot with about 10 spots total. Walk inside and it looks almost like a retrofitted greasy spoon--torn seats from Asian restaurant chairs and tables sparsely decorated, with kitschy decorations that all declare one central message: "Trust Me." But what it lacks in ambiance, it MORE than makes up in flavors. The menu? Whatever the chef wanted to serve you. Seriously. You sit yourself at the bar and you take what the sushi nazi serves you. And according to Zagat, ask for a California roll and you might get kicked out.
The chef served us:
- Chopped ahi
- Yellowtail nigiri
- Crab hand roll
- Halibut nigiri
- Toro hand roll
- Black cod nigiri
- Lobster hand roll
- Oysters
The fish itself was outstanding. Good flavors, perfect amount of fishy smells and flavors, and perfect texture. Even the cuts were consistent, down to the angle at which the slices were cut. The striations were exactly the same width. The texture was delicate and yet firm. The cuts overhung the rice--every single piece looked and tasted like the fish was the focus, not just an afterthought on the rice, cut small enough to save money. These were generous cuts, amazing flavors. No soy sauce needed.
I loved that the chef had the flavors down to a tee. He interspersed yuzu, ponzu and other sauces in moderation, careful not to let any single flavor overwhelm any type of fish. If the fish was stronger flavored, the sauces were delicate, and if the fish was delicate, the sauces were even more delicate. Even the nori was high quality nori--thicker, slightly funkier-ocean smelling, and simply better quality. I didn't even know there was any such thing as a better quality nori until I had the hand rolls. It truly made the hand roll taste better, accentuating the flavors of the sea and delicately playing a salty-sweetness to the delicate zest of the fish.
Our favorite part was the personal touch, or almost lack thereof. The chef, Chef Nozawa, is known as the Sushi Nazi, and he lives up to his name. He hardly smiled at all, with our compliments greeted only by a grunt in our general direction. He didn't take any of the sake we offered him and he barked orders to the Mexican sushi chef next to him (who kept good pace and prepared just as well as he did!) and the Mexican server, who learned to speak to him in Japanese. Occasionally, he'd show a sign of empathy and barked orders in Spanish: "[Order.] Dos."
And then came the miracle. After we drank a whole bottle of sake and ate more sushi than we thought we could consume, the chef asked if we were done. Hardly ones to admit defeat in the face of orgasmic food, we croaked past our bloatedness and said, "One more." The nazi, who had previously reserved all words for the servers and assistants, spoke those rare words that dared to show a hint of (dare I say it?) RESPECT: "Your choice." Shocked, I turned to all the decorations on the wall and said, "No, but we trust you!" ...No response. Not even a smile. (My goodness, he IS a nazi. Quick, order something before he kicks you out.) D did the proverbial bow back to our chef and asked what he recommended. After naming a few options, we opted for oyster.
At first, I was disappointed at the choice, scared that it would be a single cooked dish in my delirium of raw ecstasy. It wasn't until I fished out one of the two pieces of oyster from the little cup of sauces and put it past my lips that I realized--the oyster is RAW. This oyster was easily 2-3" large, and had the flavors and texture of a Kumamoto oyster. In the meat world, this is the equivalent of a wagyu steak the size of your head, served rare. This oyster was easily the best oyster I have ever had in my life, and I've had oysters freshly caught from the California north shores only a few hours old. Tender, almost al dente, and wildly flavorful without being sour. It was perfectly sweet, with several different textures that played with your tongue and reminded you that you were eating a complex organism that God himself created. Slightly firmer, then softer, then thicker, then soft again, it plays, like a choir singing hallelujahs. Delicious.
In short, while the price tag was high for a single dinner, when split by two and calculating the fact that we tossed in a damn good bottle of sake, it was a STEAL for the quality of the meal. This was easily the best sushi we'd ever had, followed by the best oyster we'd ever had, and on retrospect, it was refreshingly relaxing not to have to worry about deciding what we would like next--we simply liked everything that was handed to us. There's something about being able to place your life in someone's hands that's such a comfort, and to me--being able to place my stomach in someone's hands is almost just as much of a relief. Chef Nozawa took good care of it. Despite being, well, an unsmiling, uncompromising nazi.
Sushi Nozawa
11288 Ventura Blvd Suite C, Studio City, CA 91604 - (818) 508.7017
http://www.sushinozawa.com/
Read more »
Thank God for Fridays during Lent. Forced to abstain from meat got us thinking about what fishy dishes we'd try each Friday of Lent. We'd come up with some pretty good ideas, between Popeye's shrimp basket to Mario's Peruvian ceviche and grilled fish. This last Friday, I was craving sushi.
The truth is, my friends and I used to make a college tradition out of going to have sushi on Fridays during Lent. It was a great tradition, a chance to explore a new type of food, and semi-opportunistic, given that Little Tokyo is so close to USC. I was HOOKED.
With a surprising growth curve, I started savoring raw fish with almost as much zeal as raw meat (I always order steaks and hamburgers the rarest they'll let it get out the door without the Health police tackling them to the ground). There was something about the textures, the richness, and the subtly fishy flavor that made it... deliciously quirky. Like cheeses, I liked my sushi with a slight bit of stinkiness, funk and scents and flavors that reminded you that at some point, this was "game" food. Raw, wild, and fresh from the outdoors.
What I found in my sushi journey was subtle to the point of bland. To be honest, I like salmon nigiri a little more than tuna or yellowtail nigiri if simply because I could taste something. Most cuts of sushi just weren't fresh enough to give that zingy, fishy FRESHNESS.
...Until Nozawa.
Sushi Nozawa is hidden away in the corner of a strip mall, two doors down from a nail salon and hiding behind a parking lot with about 10 spots total. Walk inside and it looks almost like a retrofitted greasy spoon--torn seats from Asian restaurant chairs and tables sparsely decorated, with kitschy decorations that all declare one central message: "Trust Me." But what it lacks in ambiance, it MORE than makes up in flavors. The menu? Whatever the chef wanted to serve you. Seriously. You sit yourself at the bar and you take what the sushi nazi serves you. And according to Zagat, ask for a California roll and you might get kicked out.
The chef served us:- Chopped ahi
- Yellowtail nigiri
- Crab hand roll
- Halibut nigiri
- Toro hand roll
- Black cod nigiri
- Lobster hand roll
- Oysters
The fish itself was outstanding. Good flavors, perfect amount of fishy smells and flavors, and perfect texture. Even the cuts were consistent, down to the angle at which the slices were cut. The striations were exactly the same width. The texture was delicate and yet firm. The cuts overhung the rice--every single piece looked and tasted like the fish was the focus, not just an afterthought on the rice, cut small enough to save money. These were generous cuts, amazing flavors. No soy sauce needed.
I loved that the chef had the flavors down to a tee. He interspersed yuzu, ponzu and other sauces in moderation, careful not to let any single flavor overwhelm any type of fish. If the fish was stronger flavored, the sauces were delicate, and if the fish was delicate, the sauces were even more delicate. Even the nori was high quality nori--thicker, slightly funkier-ocean smelling, and simply better quality. I didn't even know there was any such thing as a better quality nori until I had the hand rolls. It truly made the hand roll taste better, accentuating the flavors of the sea and delicately playing a salty-sweetness to the delicate zest of the fish.
Our favorite part was the personal touch, or almost lack thereof. The chef, Chef Nozawa, is known as the Sushi Nazi, and he lives up to his name. He hardly smiled at all, with our compliments greeted only by a grunt in our general direction. He didn't take any of the sake we offered him and he barked orders to the Mexican sushi chef next to him (who kept good pace and prepared just as well as he did!) and the Mexican server, who learned to speak to him in Japanese. Occasionally, he'd show a sign of empathy and barked orders in Spanish: "[Order.] Dos."
And then came the miracle. After we drank a whole bottle of sake and ate more sushi than we thought we could consume, the chef asked if we were done. Hardly ones to admit defeat in the face of orgasmic food, we croaked past our bloatedness and said, "One more." The nazi, who had previously reserved all words for the servers and assistants, spoke those rare words that dared to show a hint of (dare I say it?) RESPECT: "Your choice." Shocked, I turned to all the decorations on the wall and said, "No, but we trust you!" ...No response. Not even a smile. (My goodness, he IS a nazi. Quick, order something before he kicks you out.) D did the proverbial bow back to our chef and asked what he recommended. After naming a few options, we opted for oyster.
At first, I was disappointed at the choice, scared that it would be a single cooked dish in my delirium of raw ecstasy. It wasn't until I fished out one of the two pieces of oyster from the little cup of sauces and put it past my lips that I realized--the oyster is RAW. This oyster was easily 2-3" large, and had the flavors and texture of a Kumamoto oyster. In the meat world, this is the equivalent of a wagyu steak the size of your head, served rare. This oyster was easily the best oyster I have ever had in my life, and I've had oysters freshly caught from the California north shores only a few hours old. Tender, almost al dente, and wildly flavorful without being sour. It was perfectly sweet, with several different textures that played with your tongue and reminded you that you were eating a complex organism that God himself created. Slightly firmer, then softer, then thicker, then soft again, it plays, like a choir singing hallelujahs. Delicious.In short, while the price tag was high for a single dinner, when split by two and calculating the fact that we tossed in a damn good bottle of sake, it was a STEAL for the quality of the meal. This was easily the best sushi we'd ever had, followed by the best oyster we'd ever had, and on retrospect, it was refreshingly relaxing not to have to worry about deciding what we would like next--we simply liked everything that was handed to us. There's something about being able to place your life in someone's hands that's such a comfort, and to me--being able to place my stomach in someone's hands is almost just as much of a relief. Chef Nozawa took good care of it. Despite being, well, an unsmiling, uncompromising nazi.
Sushi Nozawa
11288 Ventura Blvd Suite C, Studio City, CA 91604 - (818) 508.7017
http://www.sushinozawa.com/
Gyu-Kaku: Hollywood, LA
Last night D and I went to Gyu-Kaku, which was my first time there. While we went to the Sherman Oaks location, it was still ominously "L.A.", ultra-trendy, crowded, and borderline pretentious crowd. Despite this, we were seated in half an hour (ugh) and we ordered from the happy hour menu, which was heinously cheap. And while there were some really good dishes (try the Bistro Harami), it was hardly worth the fact that there were probably only two servers for the entire restaurant. Our server took 10 minutes to do the simplest of tasks (drop off the check, pick up the check, etc.), and took probably 30-45 minutes to bring me a water.
Points for a $1.50 Sapporo, good tasting meats, excellent Happy Hour prices, and the fun experience of cooking your own meats to your liking, but bad points for the wait to be seated, the poor service, the pretentious crowd, and some of the dishes being a touch too spicy without warning (who makes an ahi poke spicy??). Worth the experience to go at least once to know, but will strongly consider a reservation and an alternative day of the week or time of day.
Gyu-Kaku
14457 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks, CA 91423 - (818) 501-5400
http://www.gyu-kaku.com/
Read more »
Points for a $1.50 Sapporo, good tasting meats, excellent Happy Hour prices, and the fun experience of cooking your own meats to your liking, but bad points for the wait to be seated, the poor service, the pretentious crowd, and some of the dishes being a touch too spicy without warning (who makes an ahi poke spicy??). Worth the experience to go at least once to know, but will strongly consider a reservation and an alternative day of the week or time of day.
Gyu-Kaku
14457 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks, CA 91423 - (818) 501-5400
http://www.gyu-kaku.com/
Cherrystones & Gardena Bowl Coffee Shop: Great Hawaiian Finds!
I am a Hawaiian food junkie. If there's a Hawaiian restaurant nearby, I will be there, even if it's just a local Aloha Cafe or L&L BBQ. And at the top of the list of items I order: Kahlua pork and loco moco. Very few restaurants can make a good Kahlua pork, and fewer places can make a good loco moco (I've only had two good loco moco's that weren't homemade).
So imagine how happy I was to discover that Gardena is a home to quite a large Japanese-American population that likes Hawaiian restaurants! In addition to the standard L&L BBQ restaurants, I'm happy to have been introduced to Cherrystones and Gardena Bowl.
Cherrystones is a small restaurant in the middle of an industrial district that cooks AMAZING Kahlua pork. Not only is every single bite of the pork tender and soft (without necessarily being fatty), the flavor actually complements the cabbage. I very rarely eat the cabbage, since it always drowns the taste of the pork. In this case, though, the cabbage was cooked al dente, which left it very flavorful for a cabbage. The side salads were even good, but of course I never even touch that until I finish with the pork. So far, probably the best Kahlua pork I've ever had outside of Hawaii itself (at the luau, straight from the underground oven).
The Gardena Bowl is a bowling alley. A bowling alley with a small restaurant not unlike your resident greasy spoon. If there was such thing as a Japanese greasy spoon, this would be it, only the dishes were authentically Japanese and still relatively healthy as the item allows. I, of course, didn't opt for health, satisfying my craving for a loco moco. I figured, if this place is the way it looks, it should make a damn good loco moco. And boy, did it! This loco moco topped a plate of rice with grilled onions, a still-tender and moist ground beef patty, an egg made-to-order (mine was sunny side up), and GRAVY all over the whole thing. Since they were generous on the gravy and tender with the meat, it seemed to make all the difference in the world. This is one of the very few loco moco's I can enjoy without having to cook myself, and I'm so glad it's only a block away from Cherrystones and a couple blocks from where I work! Added perks: apparently Anthony Bourdain visited this episode in a Gardena/Hawthorne episode! Immediate props!
Cherrystones
15501 South Vermont Avenue, Gardena, CA 90247-4100 - (310) 329-8200
http://www.cherrystones.org/
Gardena Bowl Coffee Shop
15707 South Vermont, Gardena, CA 90247 - (310) 324-1244
http://www.gardenabowl.com/
So imagine how happy I was to discover that Gardena is a home to quite a large Japanese-American population that likes Hawaiian restaurants! In addition to the standard L&L BBQ restaurants, I'm happy to have been introduced to Cherrystones and Gardena Bowl.
Cherrystones is a small restaurant in the middle of an industrial district that cooks AMAZING Kahlua pork. Not only is every single bite of the pork tender and soft (without necessarily being fatty), the flavor actually complements the cabbage. I very rarely eat the cabbage, since it always drowns the taste of the pork. In this case, though, the cabbage was cooked al dente, which left it very flavorful for a cabbage. The side salads were even good, but of course I never even touch that until I finish with the pork. So far, probably the best Kahlua pork I've ever had outside of Hawaii itself (at the luau, straight from the underground oven).The Gardena Bowl is a bowling alley. A bowling alley with a small restaurant not unlike your resident greasy spoon. If there was such thing as a Japanese greasy spoon, this would be it, only the dishes were authentically Japanese and still relatively healthy as the item allows. I, of course, didn't opt for health, satisfying my craving for a loco moco. I figured, if this place is the way it looks, it should make a damn good loco moco. And boy, did it! This loco moco topped a plate of rice with grilled onions, a still-tender and moist ground beef patty, an egg made-to-order (mine was sunny side up), and GRAVY all over the whole thing. Since they were generous on the gravy and tender with the meat, it seemed to make all the difference in the world. This is one of the very few loco moco's I can enjoy without having to cook myself, and I'm so glad it's only a block away from Cherrystones and a couple blocks from where I work! Added perks: apparently Anthony Bourdain visited this episode in a Gardena/Hawthorne episode! Immediate props!
Cherrystones
15501 South Vermont Avenue, Gardena, CA 90247-4100 - (310) 329-8200
http://www.cherrystones.org/
Gardena Bowl Coffee Shop
15707 South Vermont, Gardena, CA 90247 - (310) 324-1244
http://www.gardenabowl.com/
Daikokuya: The Richest Ramen Ever
Kotteri. Kotteri is the magic word.
Before this word, I hardly knew what ramen was. Now, it feels as if my eyes have been opened, and a new ramen has come to rule them all. KOTTERI. You. Are. Beautiful.
It all started after a football game, when we all decided to eat dinner together somewhere near the downtown LA area. Our friend AY recommended this place, describing the food and admitting that it sounded disgusting, but it was amazingly delicious. It was pork simmered in pork with pork fat. I don't know about you, but that kind of gets me going.
After finding street parking and waiting the excruciating hour for one of the maybe 20 seats in the place, we finally sit ourselves down to the real deal. But like Levar Burton said on Reading Rainbow, you don't have to take my word about it--from the menu:
Daikoku Ramen
the process begins the afternoon before it ever reaches your table by boiling pork bones and joints in a large cauldren all throughout the night reducing at an undisclosed location. by the time it reaches the stove behind the counter the next day all the goodness is concentrated in our famous tonkotsu soup base. from the pot the soup goes into bowls (large and half size available upon request) where it is infused with our secret blended soysauce. into the completed broth we add boiled chijire style egg noodles, the firmness of which can be altered upon request. finally the kurobuta pork belly chashu, marinated boiled egg, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, green onions and sprinkle of sesame seeds completes the reason why you're here and why we are still in business. for all tonkotsu fanatics: ask for the richer, kotteri flavor which uses added soup extracted from the back fat
You try to read that and tell me it doesn't sound amazing. The soup base is amazingly rich, so rich that it's almost a pure opaque white color with all of the soup base. After hours of simmering, the soup hardly even splits into miscible layers--it stays one solid rich color and flavor. I've never seen anything like it, and I grew up watching my mother simmer pots of pho that I could swim in. The pho always had oxtail and bone marrow and rich pieces of meat, but it never came out looking as rich as this ramen did. The meats were tender, the sesame seeds added a perfectly faint flair, and the marinated egg is absolutely amazing. It's unlike any egg you've had before. Almost like a seasoned duck egg, but less salty and more flavorful and zesty.
All in all, I was MORE than impressed, and from the time I was introduced a month ago, I have tried to go at least twice since. It's a looooooong wait and parking is annoying, but for a $10 meal, this is absolutely worth it.
Daikokuya
327 E 1st Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
http://www.daikoku-ten.com/
Read more »
Before this word, I hardly knew what ramen was. Now, it feels as if my eyes have been opened, and a new ramen has come to rule them all. KOTTERI. You. Are. Beautiful.
It all started after a football game, when we all decided to eat dinner together somewhere near the downtown LA area. Our friend AY recommended this place, describing the food and admitting that it sounded disgusting, but it was amazingly delicious. It was pork simmered in pork with pork fat. I don't know about you, but that kind of gets me going.
After finding street parking and waiting the excruciating hour for one of the maybe 20 seats in the place, we finally sit ourselves down to the real deal. But like Levar Burton said on Reading Rainbow, you don't have to take my word about it--from the menu:
Daikoku Ramenthe process begins the afternoon before it ever reaches your table by boiling pork bones and joints in a large cauldren all throughout the night reducing at an undisclosed location. by the time it reaches the stove behind the counter the next day all the goodness is concentrated in our famous tonkotsu soup base. from the pot the soup goes into bowls (large and half size available upon request) where it is infused with our secret blended soysauce. into the completed broth we add boiled chijire style egg noodles, the firmness of which can be altered upon request. finally the kurobuta pork belly chashu, marinated boiled egg, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, green onions and sprinkle of sesame seeds completes the reason why you're here and why we are still in business. for all tonkotsu fanatics: ask for the richer, kotteri flavor which uses added soup extracted from the back fat
You try to read that and tell me it doesn't sound amazing. The soup base is amazingly rich, so rich that it's almost a pure opaque white color with all of the soup base. After hours of simmering, the soup hardly even splits into miscible layers--it stays one solid rich color and flavor. I've never seen anything like it, and I grew up watching my mother simmer pots of pho that I could swim in. The pho always had oxtail and bone marrow and rich pieces of meat, but it never came out looking as rich as this ramen did. The meats were tender, the sesame seeds added a perfectly faint flair, and the marinated egg is absolutely amazing. It's unlike any egg you've had before. Almost like a seasoned duck egg, but less salty and more flavorful and zesty.
All in all, I was MORE than impressed, and from the time I was introduced a month ago, I have tried to go at least twice since. It's a looooooong wait and parking is annoying, but for a $10 meal, this is absolutely worth it.
Daikokuya
327 E 1st Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
http://www.daikoku-ten.com/
Eels: A Love-Hate Relationship
Eels are scary creatures. They're slimy and slippery and Flotsam and Jetsam from The Little Mermaid used to make me all scared with their yellow camera eyes and smirking faces. Eels are not the prettiest creatures on earth. They give me nightmares when I watch them swim around.
But cook them up and slather them in teriyaki sauce? Well then they're delicious!
There's nothing quite like a piece of eel, delicately scorched to the perfect warmth and crispiness with a teriyaki glaze on top (if indeed that is the sauce they typically use) lying ever so softly on a piece of sushi rice, wrapped in a slice of seaweed and ready to pick up and eat in one warm bite. Well, nothing like it until you take that same concept and put it in a bowl, multiply the proportions by 30, and add an EGG!
Meet the Eel Egg Bowl at Miyabi Tei, in the Mitsuwa Supermarket food court in Costa Mesa. While this isn't exactly the most romantic date spot in OC, it's the perfect little lunch spot, always with a long line and always smelling like heaven. The eel egg bowl is exactly what it sounds like. Eel and egg, cooked together and slathered in that rich sauce, then served over some sauteed onions and white rice. And while you're deprived of the crunchier or crispier textures, you get a lot of the softer textures in this dish to complement the flavors. It's the soft eel flesh attached to the slightly unyielding eel skin, cooked in an egg that has parts where it's fully yellow and parts where it's soft and white jelly. If you dig deeper, you notice that the rice, soft and sticky, also has some sauce all over it, allowing you to savor the flavors without worrying that the rice will dull it all down. Even with all the sauce, it's not overwhelming, and with all the textures, it makes up for the lack of color and the fact that you're eating Flotsam and Jetsam.
Yes, friends, tonight I sleep well!
Miyabi Tei
665 Paularino Ave., Costa Mesa, CA
http://www.yelp.com/biz/miyabi-tei-costa-mesa
Read more »
But cook them up and slather them in teriyaki sauce? Well then they're delicious!
There's nothing quite like a piece of eel, delicately scorched to the perfect warmth and crispiness with a teriyaki glaze on top (if indeed that is the sauce they typically use) lying ever so softly on a piece of sushi rice, wrapped in a slice of seaweed and ready to pick up and eat in one warm bite. Well, nothing like it until you take that same concept and put it in a bowl, multiply the proportions by 30, and add an EGG!
Meet the Eel Egg Bowl at Miyabi Tei, in the Mitsuwa Supermarket food court in Costa Mesa. While this isn't exactly the most romantic date spot in OC, it's the perfect little lunch spot, always with a long line and always smelling like heaven. The eel egg bowl is exactly what it sounds like. Eel and egg, cooked together and slathered in that rich sauce, then served over some sauteed onions and white rice. And while you're deprived of the crunchier or crispier textures, you get a lot of the softer textures in this dish to complement the flavors. It's the soft eel flesh attached to the slightly unyielding eel skin, cooked in an egg that has parts where it's fully yellow and parts where it's soft and white jelly. If you dig deeper, you notice that the rice, soft and sticky, also has some sauce all over it, allowing you to savor the flavors without worrying that the rice will dull it all down. Even with all the sauce, it's not overwhelming, and with all the textures, it makes up for the lack of color and the fact that you're eating Flotsam and Jetsam.Yes, friends, tonight I sleep well!
Miyabi Tei
665 Paularino Ave., Costa Mesa, CA
http://www.yelp.com/biz/miyabi-tei-costa-mesa
It's All in the Broth
Orochon Ramen. From my early college days, pre Man vs. Food, this place was my santuary, making such a delicious version of what is otherwise considered 25 cent college food. As the years went by, I honed in on how spicy I liked my ramen, how much noodle I wanted, which flavor I liked best, and exactly why no other ramen place I've tried has compared to the deliciousness of this bowl of spicy goodness.
The concept is simple enough. Egg noodles in a broth of your choice--miso, soy sauce or salt. The bowl, by the way, is exactly as large as it seems in this picture. It eats up half the table, and it can fit your head.
The fun part, though, comes when you order your level of spiciness. Unlike Thai places that have arbitrary scales of spiciness depending on who's cooking, this place is pretty consistent: a 3 will always be a 3, and a 5 will always be a 5.
Super Orochon 2
Super Orochon 1
1. Extreme Orochon
2. Hyper Orochon
3. Impact Orochon
4. Orochon
5. Osae Orochon
6. Osae - Osae Orochon
7. Non - Spicy Orochon
So not only are you deciding between 1-7, but if you're a superstar, you have the additional options of Super 1 and Super 2. This restaurant's claim to fame is that if you finish the Super Orochon 2 in half an hour (including the broth), you get your picture on the wall. So of course, this became a visit for Man vs. Food. The preparation didn't seem as spicy as other foods Adam has tried (like the Indian food episode where the cook had to use a gas mask to cook the peppers), but it was enough to get him sweating and fully appreciative of the zest and zeal of this legend of LA. Yes, he even finished the broth!
And while the appetizers are good (especially the gyoza), don't bother ordering them if you're not really hungry because (1) they'll fill you up, and (2) they won't arrive before the food. My sister KN didn't enjoy the gyoza because they were pan fried, so if you like the soft boiled gyoza better than the pan fried ones, don't bother either.
Every time I go, I order the Number 5 soy sauce bowl (I know, weak sauce), with extra noodle so I can savor more of the broth... And I'm never disappointed. I can always count on this meal to warm me up, fill me up, and make me happy I chose to come to this place, even on the hottest of days. Like a Japanese bowl of pho, there's simply never a bad time for it, because it's just that good.
I'm on the hunt for a better tasting ramen place, but after years of tasting places in Orange County, I think I'll need to pursue my mission in LA. Suggestions? Send them on by! In the meantime, I'm perfectly content with this as my "safe" spot, especially since they added more tables and kept the food exactly the same: spicy, zesty, and delish!
Orochon Ramen
123 Astronaut E S Onizuka St., Los Angeles, CA
http://www.yelp.com/biz/orochon-ramen-los-angeles
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The concept is simple enough. Egg noodles in a broth of your choice--miso, soy sauce or salt. The bowl, by the way, is exactly as large as it seems in this picture. It eats up half the table, and it can fit your head.The fun part, though, comes when you order your level of spiciness. Unlike Thai places that have arbitrary scales of spiciness depending on who's cooking, this place is pretty consistent: a 3 will always be a 3, and a 5 will always be a 5.
Super Orochon 2
Super Orochon 1
1. Extreme Orochon
2. Hyper Orochon
3. Impact Orochon
4. Orochon
5. Osae Orochon
6. Osae - Osae Orochon
7. Non - Spicy Orochon
So not only are you deciding between 1-7, but if you're a superstar, you have the additional options of Super 1 and Super 2. This restaurant's claim to fame is that if you finish the Super Orochon 2 in half an hour (including the broth), you get your picture on the wall. So of course, this became a visit for Man vs. Food. The preparation didn't seem as spicy as other foods Adam has tried (like the Indian food episode where the cook had to use a gas mask to cook the peppers), but it was enough to get him sweating and fully appreciative of the zest and zeal of this legend of LA. Yes, he even finished the broth!And while the appetizers are good (especially the gyoza), don't bother ordering them if you're not really hungry because (1) they'll fill you up, and (2) they won't arrive before the food. My sister KN didn't enjoy the gyoza because they were pan fried, so if you like the soft boiled gyoza better than the pan fried ones, don't bother either.
Every time I go, I order the Number 5 soy sauce bowl (I know, weak sauce), with extra noodle so I can savor more of the broth... And I'm never disappointed. I can always count on this meal to warm me up, fill me up, and make me happy I chose to come to this place, even on the hottest of days. Like a Japanese bowl of pho, there's simply never a bad time for it, because it's just that good.
I'm on the hunt for a better tasting ramen place, but after years of tasting places in Orange County, I think I'll need to pursue my mission in LA. Suggestions? Send them on by! In the meantime, I'm perfectly content with this as my "safe" spot, especially since they added more tables and kept the food exactly the same: spicy, zesty, and delish!
Orochon Ramen
123 Astronaut E S Onizuka St., Los Angeles, CA
http://www.yelp.com/biz/orochon-ramen-los-angeles
Tuna, Tuna, Tuna! Feels like HOME!
It was like a HOME. And maybe it wasn't really my home, it felt so welcoming and so loving and so delicious that it may as well have been.
Yesterday I was invited to join DD to friends' JT and JT's house. They had a cozy house in Chatsworth, CA, and while the drive on the 405 N during rush hour was agonizing, I would do it twice over again if I'd known what was in store.
DD and his brother and friends chartered a boat this weekend and caught some pretty amazing tuna. The jackpot fish (the largest fish that won the pool of money) was 47 lbs. and quite large. I haven't seen pictures yet, but I can imagine it's a handful! (EDIT: I was provided some pictures of the trip. Check out how many fish there are here! Pic courtesy of H.) So in honor of all of this fresh fish, they had a fish dinner with 10-20 people that turned out to be quite the smorgasbord!
On the menu:
- Albacore sashimi
- Yellowfin sashimi
- Tuna poke
- Seared albacore
- Grilled squid
- Seaweed salad (purchased)
- Deep-fried wings, spicy and non-spicy (purchased)
- Shrimp tempura (purchased)
- Roasted tuna collar
- Roasted calico bass
- Sauteed mushrooms
- Home-made sauces
- Sesame-lotus balls (purchased)
- Melon ice cream bars (purchased)
I told the chef he was doing a Dinner: Impossible meal. And it truly was quite a feat! The fish arrived at around 6:30 p.m., and by 8:00 p.m., everything was on the table, ready to go! And everything tasted amazing. There's nothing quite like fresh sashimi--the texture practically melts in your mouth, and the flavors aren't nearly as fishy as they get when they've been sitting around for awhile. Of course fresh fish is the best start to a good tuna poke, with crushed macadamia nuts and sliced green onions. (*bite* "Oh, it's tuna, so soft and so firm." *bite* "Oh my! It's a crunchy macadamia nut--so crunchy and yet full-bodied!") The rich mix of textures makes this dish totally worthwhile, and so easy to make at home with crushed macadamia nuts and pre-made mix for the onions and fixings.
On the hot-cooked side, you know when I neglect the sauteed mushrooms and the shrimp tempura, typically two of my most cherished and beloved items on any menu, that the dinner is delicious! The roasted collar and calico bass were so tender, and so well prepared, like the first time DD cooked it for me. The seasoning is simple enough, with sea salt and some soy sauce, but when you bite into a tender, moist, warm and rich piece of fish and then bite into a small taste explosion of sea salt, at first it seems shocking, but after awhile, you realize it's the perfect complement and it's simply HEAVEN. Toss in a fork full of rice, and you're all set to be full and dying to go back for seconds and thirds.
I put down two plates and I wish I had room for more, since there was still more food to be had. DD and I talked on the way home about how wonderful the calico bass would taste over a bowl of ramen, and I couldn't help but to thank God for blessing me with so many people who love FOOD. Bons vivants forever!
Yesterday I was invited to join DD to friends' JT and JT's house. They had a cozy house in Chatsworth, CA, and while the drive on the 405 N during rush hour was agonizing, I would do it twice over again if I'd known what was in store.
DD and his brother and friends chartered a boat this weekend and caught some pretty amazing tuna. The jackpot fish (the largest fish that won the pool of money) was 47 lbs. and quite large. I haven't seen pictures yet, but I can imagine it's a handful! (EDIT: I was provided some pictures of the trip. Check out how many fish there are here! Pic courtesy of H.) So in honor of all of this fresh fish, they had a fish dinner with 10-20 people that turned out to be quite the smorgasbord!On the menu:
- Albacore sashimi
- Yellowfin sashimi
- Tuna poke
- Seared albacore
- Grilled squid
- Seaweed salad (purchased)
- Deep-fried wings, spicy and non-spicy (purchased)
- Shrimp tempura (purchased)
- Roasted tuna collar
- Roasted calico bass
- Sauteed mushrooms
- Home-made sauces
- Sesame-lotus balls (purchased)
- Melon ice cream bars (purchased)
I told the chef he was doing a Dinner: Impossible meal. And it truly was quite a feat! The fish arrived at around 6:30 p.m., and by 8:00 p.m., everything was on the table, ready to go! And everything tasted amazing. There's nothing quite like fresh sashimi--the texture practically melts in your mouth, and the flavors aren't nearly as fishy as they get when they've been sitting around for awhile. Of course fresh fish is the best start to a good tuna poke, with crushed macadamia nuts and sliced green onions. (*bite* "Oh, it's tuna, so soft and so firm." *bite* "Oh my! It's a crunchy macadamia nut--so crunchy and yet full-bodied!") The rich mix of textures makes this dish totally worthwhile, and so easy to make at home with crushed macadamia nuts and pre-made mix for the onions and fixings.
On the hot-cooked side, you know when I neglect the sauteed mushrooms and the shrimp tempura, typically two of my most cherished and beloved items on any menu, that the dinner is delicious! The roasted collar and calico bass were so tender, and so well prepared, like the first time DD cooked it for me. The seasoning is simple enough, with sea salt and some soy sauce, but when you bite into a tender, moist, warm and rich piece of fish and then bite into a small taste explosion of sea salt, at first it seems shocking, but after awhile, you realize it's the perfect complement and it's simply HEAVEN. Toss in a fork full of rice, and you're all set to be full and dying to go back for seconds and thirds.
I put down two plates and I wish I had room for more, since there was still more food to be had. DD and I talked on the way home about how wonderful the calico bass would taste over a bowl of ramen, and I couldn't help but to thank God for blessing me with so many people who love FOOD. Bons vivants forever!
Maison Akira: My NYC in LA
Let me start by saying what I have always said to my friends and family:
New York City is my affair, my mistress, my lover, and Los Angeles is the love of my life.
An LA girl at heart, I have been to NYC at least once a year to enjoy not only the atmosphere, but also the 5-star restaurants and the hot dog vendors on the street, who sometimes oh-so-kindly cut me a slice of the lamb rotisserie to top the hot dog. Heaven.
Since I left Los Angeles after college, I didn't get a considerable amount of time to explore the finer restaurants in LA, so I didn't know they existed. Yes, I had been the the generic Beverly Hills restaurants--the Lawry's and Porterhouse Bistros and Stinking Roses of the world--but I hadn't been to any restaurants which compared to New York's fine gourmet dining.
....Until I went to Maison Akira.
Maison Akira, located in Pasadena, CA, is home to Chef Akira, a chef who combines French and Japanese influence into dishes that pay stunning attention to detail, play on the senses, and touch the most complementary parts of the pallate. In short, the meal was orgasmic.
DD and I opted for the 9-course tasting menu, which encompassed almost every prized dish on the menu. The chef paid such amazing attention to detail that he even interspersed small servings of raspberry sorbet to cleanse the pallate after a fish dish!
It was after this inspired meal that my man and I decided it would be a failure NOT to get what they called the "Hollywood Bowl Bento Boxes" for our recent excursion to the Hollywood Bowl. These boxes of brilliance were designed to bring to the classiest picnic you ever had at the Hollywood Bowl, before going into the show. Needless to say, this meal continued to excite and awe, and was nothing short of brilliant.
The menu:
- Soba Pasta Salad
- Shrimp Cocktail
- House Smoked Duck Breast
- House Smoked Salmon
- French Cheese
- Salami & Garlic Sausage
- Ratatouille Nicoise
- Assorted Vegetables
- Bread, Butter and all necessary utensils
Main Course:
Miso Marinated Chilean Sea Bass & Grilled Sliced Chicken Breast
Or
Miso Marinated Chilean Sea Bass & Kobe Steak (add $8.00)
Dessert:
Apple Tart with Caramel Sauce
The price? A mere $25. Can I buy this for a regular dinner without the Hollywood Bowl?
Every single thing that the chef prepared was delicious, and DD and I only left the steamed vegetables and the bread behind, since we knew the chef didn't do anything special to them. Every item was a crescendo, leading to the next item, which was even more explosive. The finishers, the kobe steak and the sea bass, were beyond words. Needless to say, the meal was eaten in silence, with occasional sounds of contentment.
Read more »
New York City is my affair, my mistress, my lover, and Los Angeles is the love of my life.
An LA girl at heart, I have been to NYC at least once a year to enjoy not only the atmosphere, but also the 5-star restaurants and the hot dog vendors on the street, who sometimes oh-so-kindly cut me a slice of the lamb rotisserie to top the hot dog. Heaven.
Since I left Los Angeles after college, I didn't get a considerable amount of time to explore the finer restaurants in LA, so I didn't know they existed. Yes, I had been the the generic Beverly Hills restaurants--the Lawry's and Porterhouse Bistros and Stinking Roses of the world--but I hadn't been to any restaurants which compared to New York's fine gourmet dining.
....Until I went to Maison Akira.
Maison Akira, located in Pasadena, CA, is home to Chef Akira, a chef who combines French and Japanese influence into dishes that pay stunning attention to detail, play on the senses, and touch the most complementary parts of the pallate. In short, the meal was orgasmic.DD and I opted for the 9-course tasting menu, which encompassed almost every prized dish on the menu. The chef paid such amazing attention to detail that he even interspersed small servings of raspberry sorbet to cleanse the pallate after a fish dish!
It was after this inspired meal that my man and I decided it would be a failure NOT to get what they called the "Hollywood Bowl Bento Boxes" for our recent excursion to the Hollywood Bowl. These boxes of brilliance were designed to bring to the classiest picnic you ever had at the Hollywood Bowl, before going into the show. Needless to say, this meal continued to excite and awe, and was nothing short of brilliant.
The menu:
- Soba Pasta Salad
- Shrimp Cocktail
- House Smoked Duck Breast
- House Smoked Salmon
- French Cheese
- Salami & Garlic Sausage
- Ratatouille Nicoise
- Assorted Vegetables
- Bread, Butter and all necessary utensils
Main Course:
Miso Marinated Chilean Sea Bass & Grilled Sliced Chicken Breast
Or
Miso Marinated Chilean Sea Bass & Kobe Steak (add $8.00)
Dessert:
Apple Tart with Caramel Sauce
The price? A mere $25. Can I buy this for a regular dinner without the Hollywood Bowl?
Every single thing that the chef prepared was delicious, and DD and I only left the steamed vegetables and the bread behind, since we knew the chef didn't do anything special to them. Every item was a crescendo, leading to the next item, which was even more explosive. The finishers, the kobe steak and the sea bass, were beyond words. Needless to say, the meal was eaten in silence, with occasional sounds of contentment.
I confess, Maison Akira rivaled Gramercy Tavern and Jean-Georges. New York, something tells me LA is about to give you a run for your money.
Maison Akira
713 E Green Street, Pasadena, CA
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