Japanese Restaurants – Page 21

Revisits – Menya Ultra (Mira Mesa) and Ramen Menma – Basso Drillman Oceanside

November 27, 2018 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Ramen

We're slowly getting to ramen weather here….so a couple of ramen revisits might be in order.

Menya Ultra (Mira Mesa):

Calvin wanted to take me to lunch before my trip, so he got to pick…….it was easy for him; he wanted to try the Mira Mesa location of Menya Ultra. Calvin had been singing the praises of MU on Clairemont Mesa since he first tried the place. While I had the broth had not sustained its excellence over time. Of course he didn't know any better. So, when we got to MU, I told him he was in for a treat as the owner, Takashi Endo was working in the kitchen area.

And this was indeed quite good; even better than usual.

The broth was a bit richer and full bodied, the fragrance, a nice funky tonkotsu, the flavor mild and not too salty. The noodles were perfect; the ajitama, nicely done and not cold.

A really well done bowl….things are better when the boss is around.

Menya Ultra
8141 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

Ramen Menma – Basso Drillman Oceanside:

**** Ramen Menma – Basso Drillman has closed

The Missus had to work the weekend before we left on our trip. I decided to head on back to Oceanside and Ramen Menma – Basso Drillman. I'd enjoyed the noodles in their Aburasso Ramen and wanted to try out the Tsukemen….and of course that Chicken Karaage I enjoyed.

Sadly, they weren't serving he Tsukemen on this visit. So, I ended up ordering the "Red Hot Miso Ramen Deluxe".

While not being particularly spicy; I preferred this to the rather bland shoyu ramen. It wasn't overly salty; with some decent savory tones; the thickness of the broth was pleasant, if not overly rich. The chashu was nicely seasoned if a bit on the "waxy" side with regards to texture. The menma, which I enjoyed last time still had that nice woodiness; except that it was ice cold….ditto the egg; which was also on the overcooked side for my taste. The noodles were also past the nice chewy-al dente ("katame") texture I prefer as well. Not bad…..

I was really looking forward to the chicken karaage.

Which sadly did not live up to the level of my previous two visits. First off, notice that one piece had been sliced to check for doneness….just seeing this made me rather sad as it meant whomever was making this wasn't familiar with frying the karaage up. And yes; the sliced piece was very dry and as you can see by the photos, so were the other pieces, of which the batter was also hard instead of crunchy. While on previous visits; the flavor of the marinade had danced on the edge of salty; this went over that line as well and was really salty.

Man, what a bummer….I really enjoyed the karaage on my previous two visits.

Service was efficient, the ramen decent, but to me, this really wasn't worth the drive up to Oceanside; so I'm not sure if, or when I'll make an effort to return.

Ramen Menma – Basso Drillman Oceanside
509 Mission Ave
Oceanside, CA 92054

Kura (Conveyor sushi) (revisits)

November 26, 2018 Cathy Japanese Restaurants, Sushi and Sashimi, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for stopping to look at mmm-yoso!!!, a blog about food. Kirk is getting used to the time zone change so Cathy is writing a brief post.

I wrote about Kula the first time in 2015, when we first went to the Rancho Cucamonga location. The conveyor sushi chain arrived in San Diego in about 2016 and I wrote a post in early 2017. (Those links have some explanatory stuff in case you've never been). At some point, the nationwide chain changed its name to Kura (at least on the exterior of the building) and raised the basic price of revolving sushi standard plates to $2.50 each. There is an outdoor Tablet sign in/wait list or you can reserve a seat using a mobile app. We usually ask to sit at the counter.

This time, I was right at the corner and could see into the open kitchen. There was a tabletop photo ad of new offerings.
There is a first plate 'introducing' the following plates, all connected to each other; it helps the kitchen know what to refill.
I always grab the sunomono when it arrives in front of me. A perfect balance of vinegar and soy covering cucumbers, seaweed and bits of tamago (a sweet egg omelet which can be a dessert by itself). Everything on a green plate is $2.50; you slide used plates in a slot in the table when it's time to pay the bill.
If you end up with 15 of those plates, after insertion in the slot, the Bikkura Pon machine will shoot out a ball filled with a small gift directly on your table. We've never had that many small plates; tend to order from the Tablet you see at the second level. Most Tablet items are the same as on the conveyor, but are a bit more fresh; other items are made to order.

While waiting for an order to arrive (it stops right in front of the Tablet where you placed the order- on a second conveyor belt) I saw the Tuna Yukhoe and wanted to try (yukhoe is akin to tartare; raw. Though the egg yolk is cooked.) The raw tuna is marinated in soy, sesame oil, garlic and has some sesame seeds mixed in). Kind of poke, in a good way. The garlic steak is quite nice (we ordered from the Tablet, so the steak arrived warm). Crunch garlic on top.

New to us on the menu was shrimp stuffed baked avocado ($3.60). It arrived with a small spoon.
This will be ordered again. It was divine. Lots of shrimp, melted cheese, just warm ripe avocado. A meal.

The squid tempura ($3.60) was interesting this time; there were two pieces of chicken karaage mixed in. All good; light breading, perfect fry.
Also new on the menu was grilled albacore ($3.60). The fish by itself was excellent; char grill, a meaty piece that flaked perfectly. The slices of jalapeño were a 'warning'…those carrots had something mixed in that had a nice kick of spice; it complimented the fish and was good on its own. The soft shell crab ($4.80) is also one of those items we must always order; it's done right here. The batter, the fry, the shaved radish with a dollop of yellow hot radish. Just so nice. The hand rolls (as you can see, $2.50) are ordered on the Tablet and arrive quickly. They are offered with soy paper wrap instead of seaweed; a little different in flavor…lots of flavorful sesame seeds and really good; a compliment to the rice and tuna filling. The dessert we shared ($3.60)-Anmitsu. Vanilla ice cream with a sort of caramel sauce, red bean paste, small mochi, a marinated strawberry. If you see it, get it-a perfect ending.

Kura Revolving Sushi Bar 4609 Convoy San Diego 92111 Open Sun-Thurs 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Fri-Sat 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Website

Menya Ultra (Mira Mesa)

November 1, 2018 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Ramen

I know of quite a few people who had been waiting for Menya Ultra to open in Mira Mesa. So when Eater annouced the soft opening, then grand opening schedule; I just figured it was going to be nothing like being able to sneak into Menya on their first day of business on Clairemont Mesa; since Menya had made a name for itself. Still, with several meetings cancelled; I found myself with some time and a bit of freedom on my hands. So, I decided to head up to Mira Mesa, I take a quick peek to see what the line was like. I arrived at 10 till 11 and things weren't bad at all.

Instead of a sign in sheet; this location uses an iPad and you get a text right before your table is ready.

The capacity of this location seats about 50; so even with the staggered seating, I was in by 1110. Funny thing; they sat all the parties for two at the counter and single customers at the two-top….which probably made sense since it was a pretty tiny two top.

I knew what I wanted by the time I hit my seat and it took me thirty seconds to fill out my order. The young lady who was working the seating and seemed to be managing the front of house; I believe her name is Maia is amazing. As soon as she saw I had my order filled out, she walked over, smiled and said, "that's fast". I told her that I'd been "trained well" eating the Clairemont location. She cracked up.

I think they had a bunch of stuff already going as my Chicken Karaage got to me in less than five minutes.

This wasn't bad; moist, but on the chewy side. There's some nice savory tones going on; but it's not nearly as good as Ramen Menma – Basso Drillman; which while on the salty side, was much more crisp and even more juicy than this. Like I said, not as crisp as I enjoy, but a passable version.

Of course I got the Ajitama Ramen with extra ajitama.

This was a darn good bowl; better than what I'd had at the Clairemont location during my last couple of visits. Rich, but not greasy, not too salty, nice belly and tongue coating, collagen filled goodness. The noodles were good, chewy and al dente, but nice and slippery, as expected.

The ajitama looked really good; the orange yolks glistening, but much like Kirbie's visit (Please check it out here), this was much saltier than I'd had in the past. The eggs were also too cold.

Still, I don't think you can get a better version of tonkotsu ramen in San Diego. And maybe it'll be easier for you to get a seat at the Clairemont location.

Menya Ultra
8141 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126
Hours:
Tues – Sat 11am 2pm, 530pm – 9pm
Sunday 11am – 2pm, 5pm – 9pm

Hanaoka (National City)

October 17, 2018 Cathy Japanese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for stopping by to read mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Kirk is very busy with work today, so Cathy is writing.

Hanaoka opened in January 1986 in this National City location, West of the 805 on the South side of Sweetwater road. Hanaoka Enterprises is now the umbrella group for itself, North Park Sushi & Grill as well as Junz Teriyaki &BBQ. A good Japanese restaurant in the South Bay area of the County, almost taken for granted.

A series of several rooms (originally it was a sushi bar with three tables but when Swensen's Ice Cream closed, Hanaoka bought up the attached building), Hanaoka is quite large inside. The menu is fairly large and sushi is predominant (but now there is no sushi bar seating area). We were here at lunch.
The green tea ($2.25), which is not matcha is remarkably good- a roasted tea leaf and very strong brew, was kept filled throughout the meal. The miso soup is also quite good. I ordered the Hanaoka lunch bento ($13.95): two pieces of California roll (real crab), five pieces of sashimi, tamago, rice, salad, beef, chicken, fish and a tempura shrimp. Everything was fresh, flavorful and plenty! The teriyaki sauce is not too sweet nor sticky.
The Mister ordered the beef teriyaki and fried fish lunch plate ($13.95), just for the fried fish. It was very well made with a crisp yet light crust. The tartar sauce is house made and quite nice.
The green tea ice cream ($4) which was matcha and had not much 'tea' flavor (other than a small 'background' tannin hit) and was a pleasant desert.

A very nice birthday lunch for one of our eight days of feasting.

Hanaoka 1528 Sweetwater Road National City, CA 91950 (619)477-5173 Open Mon-Fri 11-3 and 5-10, Sat 11-10, Sun 12-9 Website

cc has been to Hanaoka (in 2008) and more recently, to Junz. Mary has been to North Park Sushi & Grill (in 2011)

Clearing Out the Memory Card – Romeo & Julieta Wine Cafe, Et Voila, and Sushi Noguchi (Yorba Linda)

October 14, 2018 mmm-yoso French Restaurants, Japanese Restaurants, Orange County, Polish Food and Restaurants, Sushi and Sashimi

Just a quick post for tonight – 2 Happy Hour revisits and once place where not all the photos came out.

Romeo & Julieta Wine Café:

**** Romeo & Julieta has closed

Now that the weather is getting a bit cooler, we're enjoying HH here. It's never too crowded and the food is hearty. There's always leftovers for the next day.

My previous post on Romeo & Julieta Wine Café.

Romeo & Julieta Wine Cafe
4715 Monroe Ave
San Diego, CA 92115
Hours:
Tues – Sat 4pm – 10pm
Sunday 3pm – 10pm

Et Voila!:

Honestly; we're not overly fond of many of the meat courses and entrees. But we really enjoy HH.

Even though the Huckleberry Bourbon is now nine bucks during HH….it's still a relative bargain.

Two drinks and a couple of staples from the Happy Hour menu and we're….well, quite satisfied and happy.

Et Voilà!
3015 Adams Ave
San Diego, CA 92116
Happy Hour:
Sun – Fri 430pm – 7pm
Saturday 430pm – 6pm

Funny story insertion time. The Missus and I were eating outside on the quaint little patio. There was a couple seated right past us…..the gentleman was really, really chatty. We usually keep to ourselves, but he was very amiable. We talked about everything from this being his first visit to Et Voila (he was pleasantly surprised – Jayne's was closed) to Japan to whatever seemed to come to mind. I told him he looked familiar; turns out it was Mike Aguirre. I laughed and said; "wow, you're famous". He smiled, shook his head and said, I'm sure in jest, "no…more like infamous." You never know who you're going to sit next to…..

Sushi Noguchi (Yorba Linda):

Yes, Yorba Linda. This one is from last year actually. I had a meeting up in the OC and the Missus decided to join me since She had a couple of days off. I'd been waffling between sushi places, so I sent off an email to the one and only Elmomonster, His vote was the tiebreaker. We chose Sushi Noguchi; which is a rather odd place….another strip mall treasure in Yorba Linda.

The Missus and I had a great time….such a great time that I missed a couple of photos and some of what I took was not usable.

I thought about trashing what I had; but the meal was very good; especially having three different uni (San Diego – Santa Barbara – Hokkaido), where we could really make out the differences in flavor – San Diego was the meatiest and the mildest, the Hokkaido uni had an amazing briney-sweetness, it tasted of the ocean, the Santa Barbara might have been the sweetest of the three. We also really enjoyed all the shiromi (white fish).

The only thing we didn't particularly care for was the yellowtail in the olive oil-soy sauce.

This was only about half of what we got; the negi toro temaki was also fantastic.

I'm not sure when or if we'll be back in the area in the future, but this one is a total winnah! I'll do a better job of documenting our meal then. And worth every penny of the $120 per person without drinks.

Sushi Noguchi
18507 Yorba Linda Blvd
Yorba Linda, CA 92886

Ramen Menma – Basso Drillman Oceanside

October 9, 2018 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Ramen

**** Ramen Menma – Basso Drillman Oceanside has closed

Now here's a ramen spot with origins in Japan that I had read about several years back. Ikebukuro's Basso Drill-Man ramen is fairly well known by ramen junkies, mainly for the Tsukemen and Abura Soba; basically "oil noodles" in which thick and hefty noodles are coated in "oil" in many cases rendered pork fat with various seasonings. I was quite happy that another ramen shop with a true ramen background was opening up. The catch; Ramen Menma – Basso Drillman was opening in Oceanside. Oceanside!

So, when Eater announced the opening of the shop in June; I just knew I had to check it out. It was just a matter of having the time and making the 30-plus mile drive up to Oceanside.

I find the location interesting, it's not quite Convoy or even Mira Mesa as the restaurant, which has a rather spartan interior is basically across the street from Swami's.

I arrived just as the open sign was turned on and lead over to the bar area. I recall being told that this used to be an Americanized sushi bar. The two women working were quite nice and friendly.

Ordering for me was a no-brainer; being a lover of Sichuan Liang Mian and still make my version of "Oil Noodles"; I just had to try the Abura Soba, which they call Aburasso here. I ordered the "deluxe" version, not cheap at $15.75.

I'm glad I also got the Chicken Karaage, which at $4.25 for four pieces was not cheap. But let me tell you; this is the best karaage I've had in a while. And I got five pieces instead of four.

The coating was so crisp and lightly crunchy, and the dark meat chicken was so moist that it basically exploded when I bit into it…..it was more juicy than the recent XLB I had at Din Tai Fung. It had been marinating for a while as there was a deep soy flavor; perhaps edging on being too salty, with a definite lightly acidic tone, I'm fairly certain they use shio koji or something similar. There was a slight hint of ginger as well. This was quite good.

The Aburasso was soon passed to the Server who brought it over to me. I had seen the medium-thick noodles being mixed with the oil base. I had also seen one of the egg yolks fall out of the white and the poor fellow wrestle with getting it back into place.

The noodles were topped with the afore mentioned egg; nicely flavored, and for once, not served cold as it was nice and warm. The chashu had a very nice soy-slightly sweet flavor and while nice and fatty was on the more chewy side. Not sure about the blanched cabbage, as it brought nothing to the dish.

The flavored oil was on the bland side, with a hint of spice and smokiness. I was looking for a more intense, maybe porky essence. But this wasn't bad at all and several levels above the Abura Soba at hipsterish Nozaru Ramen.

It did a great job of coating the noodles though. And those noodles….you'll either love them or hate them. I enjoyed the wonderful toothsome chewiness….these were noodles with heft and would obviously be great if they were also used in the Tsukemen. Very nice noodles, it looks like you won't have to worry about the noodles being mushy here!

As much as I was looking forward to he ramen here, it was the karaage that fueled my return the following weekend.

The karaage this time around was even better than on my previous visit. A bit lighter, less salty, but still with a deep soy flavor.

So crunchy and moist, it was a joy to eat.

I had thought of going with the Tsukemen, but in the end, I chose the Deluxe Shoyu Ramen ($14.75). And while my main motivation was to see how the broth was at Menma, I regretted not getting the Tsukemen as this was less than satisfying.

While the egg and chashu was better this time around, both in terms of texture and flavor, I'm not a fan of the thinner noodles here as it lacks the springiness and toothsomeness of the thicker noodles.

The broth was very one-dimensional, it just seemed dashi heavy and salty, lacking any real savory tones. And while it appeared rich enough it strangely lacked that wonderful tongue coating "aaah" appeal.

My favorite component was strangely the menma, the bamboo shoots were initially crunchy, with an almost meaty finish, making it very satisfying to eat.

The two women working on both visits were very pleasant. And man, that karaage. But all of this comes with an investment for someone living within San Diego. Think of it as being about thirty-five bucks if you include gas and tip. And I was eating solo.

And yet, that karaage beckons me…….and perhaps that tsukemen…….just to see how it compares to Rokurinsha.

Ramen Menma – Basso Drillman Oceanside
509 Mission Ave
Oceanside, CA 92054
Hours:
Tues – Sun 1130am – 230pm, 5pm – 9pm

Tokyo – Kizo Ramen

September 17, 2018 mmm-yoso Japan, Japanese Restaurants, Ramen, Tokyo, Kamakura, and the Kantō Region, Travel

It seems that during the course of our visits to Tokyo that we've developed some "traditions" of sorts. Dinner at Suzunari is one of them. And as we had breakfast, we decided to keep anther going.

The breakfast, we were given vouchers from the hotel, was basic and fine. We decided to head on down to Tokyo Station a few hours early; stash our bags in the always convenient lockers, and spend some time shopping, eating, and just enjoy our last few hours in Tokyo. We did manage to do some shopping; buying some gifts for folks back in San Diego.

When it came time to eat, well, that was easy. It was Ramen Street for us……a little habit that I think will become a tradition. On our first visit, it was the ultra-hyper Rokurinsha, on our last visit Oreshiki Jun. What was it be this time around?

Hmmmm…..we picked two and decided to check them out. After peeking into the two places; Kizo won out.

Mainly because the clientele, at least on this day all seemed Japanese; while the places (i.e. Rokurinsha with the huge line) had so many tourists. A big plus was that the specialty at Kizo is Sendai Gyutan Negishio Ramen…….beef tongue – scallion – shio ramen.

And as is the drill; we ordered a couple of other items on the menu and basically shared the ramen….like the gyoza.

Not the best "skins" which were brittle and plastic-ky. The filling was much too salty and a bit on the dry side.

Not the most auspicious start to a meal.

We also ordered the Beef Tongue Crouquette.

Man, the panko breading on this was fantastic; light and so crisp. This was the only light thing about the croquette as the filling was so rich; great beefiness, but perhaps too much of a good thing. A bit over-the-top for us. Wonderful textures though.

Which had us wondering how the ramen was going to be. We shouldn't have worried…..

As you can tell; we ordered extra ajitama, which was serviceable, the yolk decent and definitely not over-cooked. And those slices of beef tongue were heavenly….so tender, so beefy……as only beef tongue can be. The broth was good; not overly salty, it had almost a light garlic-beef-pork flavor to it. The tongue feel was really good, much thicker than it looked as it coated the nice, springy-chewy noodles well. The negi added a bit of pungency and crunch to things, but really wasn't needed in my mind.

And while we didn't have a whole lot of ramen on this trip, this was easily our favorite.

Kizo (Tokyo Station – Ramen Street)
1-9-1 Marunouchi Chiyoda Tokyo

As we left Tokyo Station I thought "well, it's three down; five to go….I wonder what we'll do when we reach eight?" Hmmmm…..let's not dwell on that.

Let's just enjoy the "interesting" and somewhat humorous signs that are posted…..

As with all of our trips to Japan; this one was chock full of memories….and Sakura!

Thanks for stopping by!

Tokyo – Sansei Yotsuya

September 15, 2018 mmm-yoso Japan, Japanese Restaurants, Tokyo, Kamakura, and the Kantō Region

As with most things in Japan; we got back to our hotel efficiently. We were a bit tired from the days activities and after a short nap; we decided to stay in the neighborhood for dinner. The Missus was still in "Yakiniku mode" and we had asked Chef Murata (or at least Reiko had) for a nearby recommendation.

He recommended a place named Sansei…….which caught me by surprise, since I'm a Sansei.

The restaurant is located right on the main street; in the lower level of one of the business buildings lining Shinjuku-dori.

The restaurant it self is fairly small, but comfortable. We were seated at the bar and given menus, which the Missus was able to start translating. When the young lady heard us talking we were given English menus, but by that time we were ready to order.

But first, a nama biiru (draft beer), which was nice and refreshing. The Missus ordered some kind of ginseng beer, maekju, which arrived on ice.

A brazier was delivered to the bar; with lit charcoal in it. We were wondering if we'd end up smelling like grilled meat; but a panel was opened up on the bar which did a great job sucking out the charcoal smoke.

We weren't super hungry, so here's what we ended up ordering.

Mushrooms, which came drizzled with gochujang.

I enjoyed the gyutan, the best. It came sliced a bit thicker than usual, but with the wonderful marbling it grilled up nicely. Crisp edges, toothsome centers, and really absorbed the smokiness of the charcoal real well.

The Missus had fallen in love with horumon during a previous visit to Tokyo, so of course we just had to order the offal combination.

The horumon arrived with a typical slightly sweet-salty marinade of sorts. It was bit on the tough side; even for intestines. The Missus enjoyed the liver, never a favorite of mine.

Overall, we enjoyed the yakiniku we had earlier in the trip at Horumon Dedesuke mmore. But this wasn't bad. Plus, it was rather close to our hotel.

Sansei Yotsuyahonten
3-3, Yotsuya, Shinjuku-ku
Tokyo, 160-0004

I ended the evening like I often do when on vacation; with a couple of "cold ones".

The Suiyoubi No Neko; literally "Wednesday Cat" was a fairly enjoyable Belgian White, very "wheaty", with hints of orange and clove.

This time around; the Missus joined me, having some Sparkling Sake and I finished off with a Hitachino.

And some yuba snacks we got in Nikko….which we actually enjoyed much more than the actual yuba we ate for lunch!

We just relaxed and enjoyed our last evening in Japan.

It had gone by so fast……

Nikko – Toshogu Shrine, Lunch at Yasai Cafe Meguri, and the “Venus of Gyoza” at Utsunomiya Station

September 14, 2018 mmm-yoso Japan, Japanese Restaurants, Tokyo, Kamakura, and the Kantō Region, Travel

We had made the walk up from the train station and into Nikko National Park. We walked up the stone stairs past the walls gilded with moss. It was a lot to take in. On a misty day like this was; walking past moss covered stone lanterns, there is a feeling you get, mystery….wonder….like you've wandered onto a set of some movie…..

We were only spending the day in Nikko, so other than the Shinkyo Bridge, our main focus was on visiting Toshogu Shrine where Tokugawa Ieyasu, Shogun and founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate which ruled Japan for over 250 years, is supposed to be buried.

There is quite a bit to see here. Among my favorites were the Sanjinku, the Three Sacred Storehouses. Which were lined with gold leaf……hard to believe these were storehouses.

My favorite feature were the carvings of elephants that adorn the Kamijinko (Upper Sacred Storehouse), which look like they came out of some Sci-fi comic.

These are called the Sozonozo Elephants (“imagined elephants”), as the artist who carved these, Kano Tanyu had never seen an elephant. Working from descriptions of the beasts he created this interpretation of what he "imagined" elephants looked like.

Right across from these structures is the Shinkyusha (the "Sacred Stable").

Notice all the folks taking photos here. It's because of the eight panels of monkeys lining the structure. The monkeys are depicting the lives of humans.

Especially popular is the Sanzaru ("Three Wise Monkeys").

You know the saying, right? "Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil." Which I've been told are also three of the principles of Tendai Buddhism.

And then it was past the gate and up the stairs to the Yomeimon Gate.

Man, there was a lot to see here…..

From here 200 stone steps leads you up to Ieyasu Tokugawa's Tomb.

Man, that mist sure added to the atmosphere……

After this we headed back down past all the other visitors; even some four legged ones.

Half the fun was people watching…….I guess the hill was kind of steep for some as they seemed to need a little boost.

We walked down the path to Futarasan Shrine…where the fog was really thick. Along with being the oldest shrine in Nikko, the area around the shrine is known for something else.

There is a tree near the gate of the shrine where a cedar and oak have joined together. This has come to be known as the matchmaking tree; you leave an offering for good luck in your relationship.

At this point, the Missus and I determined that it was a good time to head on back down the street and grab some lunch. Our philosophy when we travel is always to see the one or two things that are important to us; the rest is gravy. We always treat a destination as if we'll be returning someday.

We headed back down the street in the direction of the train station. Along the way; we saw this building.

Which definitely was not a "art and curios" shop as folks were eating inside. A quick search on Google Maps determined that this was Yasai Café Meguri, a vegan/organic restaurant. I looked at some of the photos and saw that the place served yuba bean curd; which I really enjoy. Plus, yuba is a specialty of Nikko.

So we decided to eat here. We entered, were warmly greeted, and led to our seats……which made the Missus crack up. It was my kryptonite……..floor seating….

I've mentioned having to sit using tatami style seating before, my fear of having my legs fall asleep then trying to stand and destroying half a restaurant. Oh, the lovely noise of my joints snapping and popping as I sat on the floor.

Anyway, both the Missus and I got the Yuba Bean Curd Special.

We really didn't find this particularly to our taste. Everything was cold; including the rice under the yuba. The food was rather bland; the bean curd skin crunchy, but somewhat water-logged.

The thing we enjoyed the most about the dish was the green salad; the fresh, crisp bitter greens.

Probably just not our kind of thing.

Yasai Cafe Meguri
909-1 Nakahatsuishimachi
Nikko 321-140, Tochigi Prefecture

We made our way back to the JR Station. Got on our train and headed back to Tokyo. We did have an hour layover in Utsunomiya where I decided to search for a statue I'd read about; the Venus of Gyoza.

Walking just outside the station we found her, in all her beauty ummm creepieness uniqueness, a woman creature emerging out of a gyoza. The "Venus of Gyoza". After all, Utsonomiya is considered the "capital of gyoza" in Japan. You can read about it in this article. Over the years; I've started to include one odd interesting place during our travels. And after all; this is still a food blog….and this has something to do with food, right?

The Missus was kind enough to humor me. Then we went back into the station and did some shopping (looking for local snacks) before our train arrived. On time as usual; after all, this was Japan!

Thanks for reading!

Lunch Revisits – Okan Diner and Hinotez

September 4, 2018 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants

Here are a couple of revisits for a post-holiday Tuesday.

Okan Diner:

I was headed back to the office from a meeting and decided to grab some lunch. It had been a while since I last visited Okan Diner. Since the restaurant is right off the 805, I decided to stop in. I was fairly surprised to see the place completely empty and it stayed that way during my entire meal!

I went with what I usually have for lunch here, the Katsuni ($11.50). When it arrived; I quickly noticed that the tonkatsu had gotten smaller since my last visit.

There's also less side dishes; more rice, and the miso soup was a lot more watered down.

The pork cutlet was a bit over cooked and dry, the breading too hard. There wasn't enough of the sweet-salty sauce and the eggs were over cooked as well. At least it was hot, right?

There was one thing that kinda bothered me even more than the mediocre food.

Unfortunately, the kitchen was in my direct line of sight and I kept seeing one of the prep cooks constantly stopping and checking his phone. Notice that he's cutting meat. He'd slice some meat, stop, pick up his phone and start texting; put the phone away, do additional prep, grab his phone and start texting, grab some other product, and so forth……without gloves. I just should have sat somewhere else……

I think I'll just go get me my usual lunch at Okan next time.

Okan Diner
5430 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

Hinotez:

I've mentioned dropping by Hinotez for a quiet lunch. It's usually fairly empty for an early lunch. And this day was no exception.

The problem being; I didn't know what to order….it was way to hot for ramen on this day. I looked over then menu and even though it was a zillion degrees outside, I went with the Curry Combo……for some reason, I thought back to the time when Taisho was Curry Rice Hinotez. I just went for it and had the Curry Rice ($8) with Tonkatsu ($4) and an Onsen Tamago ($1). It ended up being a pretty hefty meal.

The curry was really thick and full of meat. It was a bit on the mild side so I added raiyu to add some zip. It was very meaty. As you can tell, it seems that the frying oil for the pork was off since the breading was super hard and dark. The actual meat was fairly moist and tender though. That runny egg sure didn't hurt things.

I was stuffed after this meal and had to grab a double espresso on the way back to the office.

Still, it wasn't bad meal. The woman working on this day was very efficient and nice. And I got a quiet and relaxed meal….just what I needed.

Hinotez
7947 Balboa Ave
San Diego, CA 92111