Following breakfast at Fukagawa, I set my sights on the Torrance Farmer's Market. I've posted on the Torrance Saturday Farmer's Market a couple of times already. But, I'll just say it again…."boy do we miss the Torrance Farmer's Market".
There's one stand that we've been hitting for years.
This stand has a huge variety of Asian Vegetables and fruit.
There's a very diverse variety of leaves and greens……
Anybody got a recipe for Ampalaya or Okra leaves? I'm pretty sure I'm going to pick-up the yam leaves next time as well.
On this day, the Jujubes looked wonderful……
The Missus thought these were the best She's had in a while
. I also bought three types of pluots, Chinese eggplant, Asian pears, baby bok choy, and these lovely Taiwanese white bittermelon. After all, I had to fill up that large ice chest I had in the back of the car, right?
Torrance Sat CFM
Wilson Park, 2200 Crenshaw
Sat, 8A-1P
My next stop, was a bit farther away….. but since I had some time to kill before lunch, I did a short detour at…..
I spent a good amount of time sniffing and shopping……..
I displayed amazing restraint, and spent less than $20……
I also asked the very friendly woman at the register if Penzey's would be opening a shop in San Diego anytime soon. I was told that there's been mention of Penzey's opening perhaps late next year….. I do hope so.
Penzey's Spices
21301 Hawthorne Blvd
Torrance, CA 90510
By this time, I'd pretty much digested breakfast, and was ready to move on to lunch. I'd pretty much whittled my choices down to Sanuki No Sato or I-naba. Since it was fairly warm, and I was already near Hawthorne, I chose I-naba.
Eating solo, I was shown to the Tempura Bar.
The environment is somewhat austere, though the people working here are very friendly. Five minutes after I was seated, the dining area of the restaurant was packed. There was only one other person at the tempura bar though.
I was once told that the tempura at I-naba was top notch, so I decided on the Zaru Soba (cold soba) with Ten Don (Tempura Rice) combo ($9.80).
This was a good amount of food.
First off, let me say that this was the best soba I've had in a while. Nothing in San Diego even comes close to this.
The noodles made this dish….. more stretchable and chewy than the norm, and with a more pronounced….. I can only say, almost nutty flavor, I could really get used to eating this quite often. When I mentioned how good the noodles were; the Server, a very nice young lady said it was their own hand made soba. The Tsuyu was good, not as salty as I'm used to, and quite refreshing….. needless to say, I was a very happy slurper on this day.
The tempura on the other hand, the reason I'd been recommended I-naba, did not quite live up to it's reputation. I found the batter a bit gummy for my tastes, and it was also on the oily side. The ten-tsuyu was delicious, as was the flavor of the shrimp. I'm not quite sure if the tempura chef was having an off day….
I'm definitely coming back for the soba.
I-naba
20920 Hawthorne Blvd
Torrance, CA 90510
Great post Kirk.. I knew there were a few hand made soba/udon spots up there but haven’t had the opportunity yet. I’ve gotten so used to having the dry ones down here. And there’s nothing like having scratch made mentsuyu too! 🙂
I’ve heard of penzy’s spices but never been! I hope they do open up shop in san diego.
Hi Dennis – Man, this soba was really good. You’ve got to check out a few of those places…..
Hi Lynnea – I’ve always loved Penzeys stuff, it’s a step above what you buy in the market.
Is it just me or do Japanese/Chinese restaurants assume that 1/2 cup of rice is plenty. I don’t know about you, but in my youth 2.5 heaping bowls of rice was standard for an at home meal. Now when I go to a restaurant they put a tiny itty bitty tad of rice in the bottom of the bowl and call it a serving. The tempura looks good in the photos, I think I’ll have to make some soon.
hi kirk – for ampalaya leaves, my mom sautes onion with garlic then adds the leaves, plus corn kernels and shrimp (in the shell). don’t know what it’s called in tagalog, but it’s really good.
Hi AZ – I thought the amount of rice was perfect, considering the soba…… much more would have been starch overload.
Hi CC – Thanks, I think I’ll try something similar.
what a great market! and my mom’s been passing down her Penzey’s to me for some time which she receives from a relative, love their stuff! I recently tried their Arizona mix it is wonderful!
Kirk
I go to that stand every week and am always intrigued by the various leaves that they sell. But I always end up getting the familiar Asian greens.
Hi Kat – I love Penzeys….. I hope they do open a shop in San Diego.
Hi FF – I remember you commenting on the giant daikon post. You are lucky to be able to shop there every week.
I lived in Torrance towards the end of the last century, I really miss all of the good japanese restaurants… can’t believe Penzey’s opened up there! Too bad all my family moved out of the area…
Kirk
Is that June’s Farms with all the Asian vegetables?
Jeff
That stand with the different greens reminds me a lot of the Mira Mesa farmers market. I went a couple of weeks ago and there were a couple of veggie stands that were HUGE and busy. There were tables upon tables of different types of greens and there were all these little old Asian ladies speaking in all different languages carrying bushels of stuff I don’t know the name of. It was all very cheap too – $1 to $2 a pound. You should check it out sometime if you’re looking for Asian veggies. I saw different types of bitter melon last time.
Hi FH – I was thrilled when I found out that Penzeys had oepned there and I could do some shopping.
Hi Jeff – That sounds right…. they’ve been there for years!
Hi Kmylml – Thanks so much for the heads up. I need to check it out!
Hey Kirk,
The reason I ask about June’s is well because Kmylml beat me to it. June’s farm comes down to San Diego farmer’s markets at least twice a week with a truckload of produce. They’re most popular at the Mira Mesa Farmer’s Market, 3-7pm on Tuesdays. The Asian families in the area actually start gathering around 2 before people are even set up, it’s like an old world market, you have to hustle and scramble to get the best stuff! They are also go down to the Bonita Farmer’s market on Wednesdays, 3-7. If you’re ever in the area, come visit me at the Plants that Produce booth, we’re not in MM during the winter, but will be back in Spring. Will be at Bonita and Leucadia though, if you’re interested in fun plants. There’s no such thing as a black thumb!
Hi Jeff – Thanks so much for the info! I’ll try to make it up there in a couple of weeks.
I saute a mongo bean dish w/ampalaya leaves. Add some black tiger shrimp w/heads on. It’s onolicious!
Hi Shirley – Thanks for the suggestion!