Japanese Restaurants – Page 23

Kyoto – The Keage Incline, the Philosopher’s Path, and Kogashi (“burned”) Ramen at Gogyo

April 29, 2018 mmm-yoso Japan, Japanese Restaurants, Kyoto, Ramen, Travel

Based on what we saw during the previous afternoon and evening, the Missus decided that we should head back to the Philosopher's Walk, something we did on a previous visit. This time, we decided to do it from the South side.

So we headed off. While there was the possibility of rain in the forecast, it was a very nice morning.

We walked along Lake Biwa Canal, intending to cross over at the intersection near Lake Biwa Museum.

That's where we came across this interesting statue. I'm not sure what it is….all I was able to come up with is something along he lines of "statue of Huge Shine".

The other neat thing we saw were people walking below street level, along the pretty cherry blossoms.

This is the Keage incline. According to what I read, this was once a rail line which was used to carry goods to both channels. These days it's lined with cherry blossom trees. Which make for a nice photo-op. Especially for the folks taking wedding pictures….in the bottom right of the photo below.

From there, it was an easy walk to Nanzenji temple complex. You can't miss the large Sanmon; the main gate.

We didn't spend a whole lot of time here……I'm sure we'll return in the future…..

We did take a few minutes to take a peek at what I believe is Chou Shouin Temple.

A few minutes later we passed Eikando Temple…..

It was early and the temple wasn't yet open. Plus, the Missus was determined to get to the Philosopher's Path.

And a turn or two later….we were there.

There are quite a few….well interesting, but somewhat eccentric folks in Japan…..

Like this Cat Lady giving this feline a "massage"….you could the purring yards away.

Notice that colored cloth to the right of the woman?

Well, it was this.

Just when I think I've seen it all……

Of course the Sakura were beautiful.

The Missus even bought a cup from this lovely ceramic shop.

Everytime She uses it; She's reminded of the Sakura and Kyoto.

Man, check out all the waiting taxis at the North end of the Philosopher's Path.

"We" had decided that I needed more exercise. So we walked all the way back to the Nishiki Market area.

For lunch I had a ramen place on my radar, Gogyo Ramen, which specialized in "kogashi"……translated to "burnt" ramen. In this case, lard is heated, then ignited, giving the broth a deep black hue. And while it seemed like a gimmick, the parent company was Ippudo, which might be my favorite ramen chain in Japan. And this shop was just two blocks from the Ippudo shop in Kyoto.

We got there about 15 minutes before opening and there was already a line.

Which meant that once the doors opened, the place was instantly full.

Gogyo's signature "burnt" shoyu broth starts with a standard broth, then a few ladles of lard is put into a wok and is heated to 300 degrees Celsius….it basically ignites. This is tipped into the bowl and you get the deep, dark, black, soup.

As you can see, we ordered an extra ajitama for our bowl. The egg was very nicely done, the yolk the perfect golden orb, but ice cold. The pork was dry and also cold. The noodles were over-cooked and lacked a nice al dente pull. The broth was really thick and obviously due to the scortched lard pretty oily….but it was super hot, which kept it from getting too greasy. There's a mild bitter-smokiness and bitterness, to the broth and it wasn't overly salty. We enjoyed the broth, but everything else was average to below average in execution.

The Missus got the Kyoto Pork Bowl combination, which She enjoyed.

It looked pretty bland, but I had a taste and the pork was fairly moist, the soy-mirin-sake flavoring was nicely balanced.

Though, to be honest, I was focused on the ramen. And, while it was fun trying this, I don't think we'll be back.

Service was excellent. The space is quite large for a typical ramen shop in Japan.

Gogyo
452 Jumonji-cho
Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan

Even though this was our third time in Kyoto; things seemed to be different. Folks were walking around with smiles on their faces. There seemed to be levity in the air.

And walking back to the apartment, I found myself smiling at certain things I saw…..

Perhaps the Sakura does have a certain magic to it?

Kyoto – Kinkaku-ji, Hirano Jinja, and a Revisit to Torito

April 27, 2018 mmm-yoso Japan, Japanese Restaurants, Kyoto, Travel

As much as we enjoyed Kanazawa, the Missus was excited to be heading to one of cities She feels right at home in; Kyoto. She was also interested to see if the Sakura Forecast was right. We were either too early or too late at all the other cities so far, but were supposedly getting to Kyoto at the perfect time.

We don't go crazy seeing stuff when on vacation. We just have a list of what we want to accomplish and if we have time for other things….well, we go for it. We act like we'll return someday and in Kyoto's case, it's lucky visit number three.

The one place on the list for the Missus this time around was Kinkakuji. Originally the home of Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. Upon his death in 1408, the property was turned into a Zen Buddhist temple according to his wishes.

We got off at Kyoto Station, stored our bags and caught the bus up to the area. The only reason we'd never visited before was that the temple wasn't on any of the train lines. Well, if the Missus has Her way; I don't think we'll ever catch the bus in Kyoto again….it was stuffy, crowded, and She just wasn't pleased.

But of course, we got to see this.

It was quite stunning to say the least. I'm sure all the other folks thought so too.

This structure was actually rebuilt in 1955. You see, on July 2, 1950, a novice monk named Yoken Hayashi burned down the temple, then tried to commit suicide. He was tried and convicted, sentenced to seven years in prison, but was eventually released due to mental illness. One of Yukio Mishima's most popular novels, The Temple of the Golden Pavillion is based on these events.

There are more interesting facts about the temple here.

We strolled around the gardens taking in the sights, like the White Snake Pagoda.

Eventually, we headed back out. Because we weren't catching the bus back to Kyoto station, we headed down Nishioji Dori, stopping for a cup of coffee, and window shopping until we noticed this.

Looking at the signs, I figured out this is Hirano Shrine and it seemed like they were having some kind of fair/festival so we decided to check things out.

And while folks were having a great time…….with those reserved sitting areas….

Or with folks who did their own thing…..

It was the cherry blossoms that were the focus of attention.

It was getting close to check-in time at the apartment we were staying at. So we walked on down to Emmachi Station for the short ride to Kyoto Station, then onward to Higashiyama.

I love the signs in Japan…..

We got in, had some time to freshen up and headed out the door to dinner. One of the Missus's coworkers was in Kyoto at the same time. She loves yakitori, so we met her at Torito. I've posted on Torito before, plus, this was more of a social outing, so I'll just do photos this time around.

The young lady did kind of freak out at the tori tataki…..but she did try it.

And even tried some items we hadn't had before.

We did a pretty good job overall…..

The Missus ordered Her favorite "shime", the "finishing dish", the chicken bone broth with meatballs.

I got the lovely, nutty, slightly smokey, delicious yaki onigiri….

And all was good in the world……

Torito
9-5 Higashi Marutamachi
Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan

We took a nice walk after dinner……

And it sure did look like our timing was right with regards to the sakura.

But we'd be confirming that in the morning!

Thanks for stopping by!

Ramen Revisits – Tajima Mercury, Ramen Yamadaya (Clairemont), and Ototo

April 26, 2018 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Ramen

Before leaving the Kearny Mesa area, I did ramen rounds at some of the places that I don't visit very often or had only visited once or twice over the years. Starting with…..

Tajima Mercury:

Remember when they called this place Tajima Sushi & Japanese Tapas Restaurant (we called it Tajima 2)?

I'd actually never had the ramen at this location, usually choosing Tajima's original Convoy location. On this day; I arrived right as they opened and there was already a line!

One interesting observation while I sat and waited to order. The only folks of Asian descent were working……….

I went with the Tajima Ramen ($11) with the thicker noodles.

The broth had a tinny-salty-bitterness that I recalled from past visits. The noodles were over-cooked, the fried garlic just seemed to add to the bitterness. The pork was a pile of crumbly-salty-chewy meat. In fact, one of the customers at the table next to me actually asked the Server if they had changed the way the chashu was made. The ajitama was a nice and supple.

Too bad, because a couple of years ago I actually had a fairly decent bowl at their Hillcrest location.

I still miss the original "Tajima" back in the late 90's.

Tajima Mercury
4411 Mercury St.
San Diego, CA 92111

Ramen Yamadaya:

**** Ramen Yamadaya has closed

Man, had it been nearly two years since I last visited? Though it did seem that over time, Yamadaya seemed to be heading on a slow downhill slide. Still, it had been a while.

It was strangely not busy during lunch when I visited. Strange, because Yamadaya used to be pretty busy on previous lunchtime visits.

I ordered my usual; the Tonkotsu Kotteri, with the noodles "extra firm".

Man, this broth was terrible. Fatty yes, but barely over lukewarm, it was like licking lard….and heck, this from a guy who had seabura (pork backfat) ramen in Japan. There was a greasiness and weird blandness to the broth that even the sweet and slightly pungent black garlic oil couldn't solve. I mentioned this to the young lady serving me…..something I would rarely do and got a blank stare, then an "ok, I'll let the kitchen know…." And then not another response for the entire meal. Like previous visits, the chashu here was dry, tough, and cold. The noodles were fine as was the egg…….though it was ice cold.

I had ordered some chicken karaage……is it just that I missed things or is the Tori Nanban no longer on the menu?

Anyway, if there was anything worse than the ramen, it was the karaage.

Good lord; no color, no crispness, gummy, with no flavor. What's up with the temp of the oil?

Man, this was pretty bad……really sad because the place had to much potential when they first opened up here in 2012.

Ramen Yamadaya
4706 Clairement Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

Ototo:

After my terrible ramen at Yamadaya, I thought I should give Otot…um, Ototo another shot even though I thought the ramen here was typical of a "roll and teriyaki" joint….in other words, third tier. Still, it had been about two-and-a-half years since my visit.

I went with the White Tonkotsu Ramen along with some Chicken Karaage.

I went with the shoyu tonkotsu this time around, rather than the shio version I had on my previous visit. While lacking in richness and having a mild bitterness, the broth was fine…..a least it was hot. The noodles were the standard issue, mass produced stuff that's everywhere and it was a bit on the mushy side. The egg….well, it wasn't ice cold, which helped things. The chashu was rubbery.

And guess what? While the chicken karaage wasn't amazing….it was moist and had a "by-the-book" karaage flavor – soy sauce, a touch of ginger, a bit too salty.

It could have used a bit more crispness and a more complex flavor, but this was decent. And it actually looked like chicken karaage.

One more thing. The young lady who waited on me was amazing. There was a family with a young son who came in a few minutes after me. Apparently they were regulars. She was so friendly and engaging, taking time to chat and play with the young boy, while still remaining on top of things. She had that balance of efficiency, friendliness, and professionalism. So heck, I might come back one of these days. Maybe…..

Ototo Sushi Co
5651 Balboa Ave
San Diego, CA 92111

Kanazawa – Japanese Breakfast and we’re on our way…..

April 20, 2018 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Japan, Japanese Restaurants, Kanazawa and Ishikawa Prefecture, Travel

Just a quick post tonight. I was wondering if should have just included this in a combined post. But we'd enjoyed Kanazawa so much and of course those that know me understand how much "Japanese Breakfasts" have special place in my heart. And the breakfast we had the previous day at the Hotel Nikko was something to behold. During our travels to Japan, the Missus has also developed and affinity for it as well.

So think of this as our "love letter" to Kanazawa and Japanese Breakfast.

And we're obviously not the only ones……

Hotel Nikko Kanazawa
2-15-1 Honmachi
Kanazawa 920-0853, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan

We'd obviously not need lunch after this. Good thing too as we were meeting one of the Missus's coworkers at our next stop.

Kyoto!

Chopstix Too, one more time

April 9, 2018 Cathy Japanese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Here you are, reading mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog with a recounting of meals enjoyed. Today, Cathy is posting because Kirk is still on vacation.

Kirk posted about the original Chopstix, on Convoy Street in 2005, He blogged about Chopstix Too when it first opened, in 2006. In the interim, He and I have each posted about one or the other over the years. The restaurants serve fairly standard Japanese fare at good prices without pretense.

This location, in the same parking lot as Mitsuwa Marketplace is yet "another" place to get ramen with one stop parking.
The chalkboard by the soda machine shows daily specials.
The cucumber salad ($4) is a choice on most visits, because I like cucumber. The bowl is deceptive; there is a lot of the vinegared and salted vegetable.
The agedashi tofu ($3) is lightly breaded with potato starch, crispy fried and served with a light soy/mirin/dashi sauce. This simple treat is a nice addendum to any meal.
If you read any of my prior Chopstix posts (go to that search box at the top left), you know that The Mister ends up ordering mabo ramen ($7.95) following his 'pretending' of reading the menu. He enjoys the slightly sweet spiciness the sauce, filled with ground pork and tofu. The barely cooked egg is always shared.
The chicken katsu and tempura plate ($8.45) also comes with a bowl of miso soup and is properly fried: crunchy and not greasy. The refreshing salad arrives 'naked' and there is a container of salad dressing on the condiment tray on the table.

A plate of eight shrimp shu mai ($5, on the chalkboard) was tasty, but not very shrimpy. Still, it was shared and rounded out the meal.

Chopstix Too 4380 Kearny Mesa Road San Diego 92111 (858) 565-1288 open Sun-Thurs 11 a.m. until 9 p.m., until 9:30 p.m. on Fri-Sat website

Kanazawa – Dinner at Iwashigumi, the Sardine Specialist

March 19, 2018 mmm-yoso Japan, Japanese Restaurants, Kanazawa and Ishikawa Prefecture, Seafood, Sushi and Sashimi, Travel

While planning our visit to Kanazawa I cam across an interesting restaurant named Iwashigumi. I first saw photos on Tabelog and was quite intrigued. So I had a friend make reservations for us. We took a nice long stroll down to the Katamachi district, a popular shopping and nightlife area. Iwashigumi is discreetly located fairly close to the main street.

The style is rustic, old school izakaya. I believe you can purchase a red lantern for the wall if you want.

As the name indicates; this place is all about iwashi……sardines. Yep, a restaurant specializing in sardines, everything from iwashi honesenbei to iwashi croquette. The Missus loves sardines (remember Tito 2 in Matoshinos), so She quickly agreed.

The set-up is like a sushi bar, with a few tables to the side. There's a certain charm to this place…..

When you order sake, they bring you a selection of ochoko (sake cups), some of which are rather interesting.

The Missus had sake and I started with some "nama-beeru"….

So, based on some of my previous posts on this trip, you can kind of figure that I just couldn't get enough of honsenbei, fried fish bone ("crackers"). The Missus was totally over it, but humored me ("for one last time").

Crunchy-savory goodness!

First up was the Iwashi-sashimi. You'd think this would be on the "oily" side, but this was very clean tasting.

There was a slight chew; the flavor and texture was reminiscent of Aji (Spanish Mackeral).

The Iwashi Tataki was another refreshing dish.

Nice crunchy vegetables to add contrast to the toothsome fish. Funny, we really didn't need the ginger for both of these dishes.

When we placed our order, we made sure to first request the grilled sardine which takes about 20-30 minutes.

Good salt and crisp skin. This was quite rich and oily, a bit too strong in flavor for the Missus. I did need the oroshi and lemon, to help cut the richness.

The Missus had no such problem with the Iwashi no Mentaiko.

This was our favorite dish of the night. The rich, grilled sardine, met straight up with the briny and spicy cod roe. Salty, but in a good way, this one made our night.

At this point, I needed to help the Missus with Her sake, so I choose the goofiest cup I could find.

Of course one needs rice to complete a meal; so we ordered the Iwashi Oshizushi, which filled us up.

We really enjoyed our meal. The service was friendly and efficient. One of the young ladies spoke pretty good English as well. Along with Kuroyuri, Morimori Sushi, and our breakfasts, Iwashigumi made our trip to Kanazawa a delicious one.

Iwashigumi
1-7-13 Katamachi
Kanazawa, Japan

Side note: While looking for the address, I noticed that Iwashigumi is on Michelin's Bib Gourmand list. Good for them!

We'd done quite a bit on this day, so we caught the bus back to Kanazawa Station and our hotel. I had some time to relax, catch up on emails, and work on a post.

For some reason, I found the taxi queue, and the patterns for determining which cab was up next mesmerizing……

You could say the same about Kanazawa……

Kanazawa – Kenrokuen Garden, Higashi Chaya District, and Lunch at Morimori Sushi (Omi-cho Location)

March 18, 2018 mmm-yoso Japan, Japanese Restaurants, Kanazawa and Ishikawa Prefecture, Sushi and Sashimi, Travel

After a nice respite at Oyama Shrine we headed out, past the city office and art museum, finally coming to the quiet entrance of Kenrokuen Garden.

Declared to be one of the "Three Great Gardens of Japan", we just had to visit. Kenrokuen was once the outer garden of Kanazawa Castle and was built by the Maeda Clan who ruled the area from 1583 to 1871. In 1871 the garden was opened to the public.

This is Hisagoike Pond.

It was pretty mellow; with tourists having a fun time.

Except for the few knuckleheads who walked over partitions and around the ponds and climbed onto structures like Yagao-tei Teahouse which dates back to the 18th century.

Next to Kasumigaike Pond stands the iconic Karasaki Pine.

According to the story the 13th Lord Nariyasu planted the seed from which this tree grew.

There's a nice plum grove. Plum trees start blossoming before cherry blossoms.

Do you know how to tell the difference between plum blossoms and cherry blossoms? Cherry blossoms have a "split" at the end of each petal, while plum blossoms do not.

We had a nice stroll to the other end of the park.

As we headed put the exit and down the hill we saw this beautiful Cherry Blossom tree in bloom. Or was it?

Yep, cherry blossoms…..

The Missus wanted to visit the Higashi Chaya District, so we headed down the hill.

Along the way we saw a shop doing bustling business. Turns out this was the Ishikawa Prefectural Products Center.

There was, of course, gold leaf products everywhere. I ended up buying some food quality gold leaf. We also sampled a bunch of local delicacies and ended up purchasing dried and preserved fish which was mighty delici-yoso!

I was tempted to buy a couple of bottles of "Lame Spray" for some rather "lame" folks I know……they would never figure out that is should be pronounced "lamé". But they really weren't worth the price tag.

Ishikawa Prefectural Products Center
2-20 Kenrokumachi
Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan

We had an uneventful walk to the Asanogawa River.

And crossed over the Asanogawa Ohashi Bridge, arriving at Higashi Chaya, a district full of historic buildings, faux geishas, gold leaf ice cream shops….

It was quite touristy; but in the low-keyed, mellow, Japanese way. And we ended up visiting quite a few shops.

We had a fun time……and it was the little things that seemed to catch our eye…..

We were starting to get hungry. Not sure where to eat, we decided to walk back to Omi-cho market. There was a Kaiten-zushi shop in the market that always seemed to have a line. I'm not big on conveyor belt sushi here in the states. It's usually of very low quality; but heck, if all these Japanese were lining for it…..

We had a wait of about 30 minutes, not bad….though we were fairly hungry.

You can get your sushi two different ways; by grabbing it off the conveyor (of course)…..

Or ordering from the handy-dandy iPad….with English translations as well!

You get tea from the spigot in front of you; the ginger and wasabi are in discreet containers on the table.

The first thing to arrive was the Aji (Spanish Mackeral). I had expected to be a bit underwhelmed. But I was so wrong. The fish was firm, moist, with a hint of oily-sweetness. The ginger helped cut through any richness and the scallions added a nice bit of sweet-pungency.

We picked the "slime meets slime", the lovely "neba neba" Natto and Okra Gunkan sushi off the belt.

This was quite delicious; the rice was so perfect.

The Hamachi was passable if a bit on the dry side. Good fat content though.

We ordered two different version of Negi-toro.

Both were excellent. The quality for the price was amazing. This is what I truly expect to get in a fishmarket.

We got a three piece combo with Hokkaido Uni, O-Toro, and Ama-ebi.

Based on what we had the day before, I expected the shrimp to be fantastic, and it was. But that uni was so briney, with a buttery texture, and that o-toro…..doesn't it look like beef?

We had a o-toro, which was fine….but not nearly as rich and buttery as the o-toro.

More "neba neba" goodness. Squid and Natto. This was so delicious.

Great textural contrast……

We finished things off with Crab and Crab Butter (Kani Miso). Man, this was so wonderfully savory, briney tones, great richness, the crab was tender and sweet.

At this point we'd had enough. You press a button and they calculate your check based on the plates.

The petite Japanese woman sitting next to us ate as much as the both of us and had a tokkuri of sake to boot!

And you knew she was Japanese….she just left her purse by itself, stood up and went to the restroom, which is outside the restaurant. Yes….this is Japan.

When our bill arrived, I looked at it and blurted out "holy crap"! This Missus was startled and thought something was wrong. And no, nothing was wrong, things were so right. You see, the entire meal came to 3300¥, about $31/US. With toro, real crab, amaebi, uni, real wasabi!!! And in Japan, there's no tipping as well.

Morimori Sushi (Omi-cho)
88 Aokusamachi
Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan

Like I always say; in Japan you can eat for 5 dollars or 500 dollars; it's up to you, and most of it is darn good!

Thanks for reading!

Cloak & Petal

March 6, 2018 mmm-yoso Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Japanese Restaurants

Cloak and Petal landed with quite a splash at the end of last year. Even though the place had been open barely a month, it garnered many votes as San Diego's most beautiful new restaurant for 2017. And yes; the space is quite stunning.

As are some of the menu prices. Service was quite pleasant and knowledgeable on our three visits. It's not uncommon for me to ask a question and get blank stares and shrugged shoulders here in San Diego. But the folks serving us did well and managed to answer our questions about where the products are sourced and ingredients (i.e. New Zealand salmon – per Tommy Gomes the "best" farmed salmon). Of course we ate early with minimal crowds; but that's because we like unrushed meals.

The drinks, even the proclaimed "Flagship" "Japanese to English" are on the sweet side for us.

Here's a rundown of dishes we've had in order of preference.

The Glazed Duck Breast ($23) is by far our favorite; we've had it three times and on each occasion it's been prepped perfectly. Great mild gaminess with a very nice, just sweet enough glaze.

The kabocha puree and the sauces are superfluous in our opinion and really don't add anything to the dish, other than to garner a "look at the pretty colors" response. Still, by far a favorite.

We've had the Wagyu Roll ($25) three times. If Kobe Nigiri at Urasawa didn't convince me that great quality beef belonged on rice or with rice, the Aburi Wagyu Nigiri at Miku surely did. and the first time we had the wagyu roll it totally delivered.

Torched, buttery wagyu beef, with perfectly made rice, wrapped around a crab and scallop mixture with what seems like tenkasu – fried tempura batter or something similarly crunchy, with a wonderfully earthy-rich truffle nikiri, capped off with a slightly spicy slice of jalapeno. Man this was amazing. On the next two visits, it was not quite up to par. Once, the jalapeno seemed to be MIA once the rice was hard, twice we couldn't detect any truffle flavor in the nikiri. One out of three is great in baseball….but not for dinner.

I was excited to see Houba (Hoba) Yaki ($20) on the menu. If you've seen our posts on places in Hida-Takayama and elsewhere in Japan, you know this is one of my favorite food preparations. This version is seafood based.

While the miso here is legit, great fermented beany-nutty and not too salty, and the spot prawns quite nice; the shiromi (whitefish) was really tough and there really wasn't enough miso used to really make this sing…..

We had the Belly Sashimi ($28) twice. Just because I noticed something quite odd about the portion the first time.

While the salmon belly cut is nice and thick; everything else is cut super thin and rather long. On the first visit the salmon was mushy and watery, on the second tough. On the first visit the chu-toro was actually better than the o-toro which had a metallic finish to it. Overall, other places will do this so much better. At least they gave us real wasabi and the soy sauce was of high quality.

The Buta Kakuni ($12) was just okay.

There was a good porkiness, but was on the tough side and the braising liquid really lacked the sweet-saltiness we enjoy. The ajitama (marinated soft boiled egg) was delicious, but was ice cold.

The Mero Saikyo Seabass ($28 – 4 ounces) was a bit of an enigma to us.

While the miso flavor was wonderful, there wasn't enough caramelization to add a bit of texture to the fish. Also, after having this twice (fool me once…shame on you….fool me twice…) we came to the conclusion that seabass might be too lean for this prep as it lacked the butteriness we enjoy in this type of dish.

While the Jidori Chicken Karaage ($12) was very moist, the mild flavor reminded me of the buta kakuni.

It was also not crisp. I kind of look at Tori Karaage a couple of ways. Crisp and crunchy or less crisp, but with deep umami from something like shio koji. Of course our favorite in Japan does both. A case of good ingredient, just not enough flavor for us.

Our least favorite dish during our visit was the Cloak and Petal Ceviche ($20).

Besides the rather miniscule amount of seafood, this was way too sour, and things just seemed out of balance. There was a good amount of "sugi" (stringy connective tissue) in the fish as well.

So, after three visits, we've come to the conclusion that it's probably the "fusion" type dishes at C&P that do well, we found the more traditional dishes to be a bit mild in terms of seasoning. The ingredients for most of the dishes were excellent and nothing came across as salty. Our Servers were excellent, though the music is a bit too loud…though it could be my age showing. Also, the cheapest we got away with for any meal (without tip) was about $120. The vibe is definitely hip, the seats now that they've changed them out from the terrible lounge like chairs they had in the beginning is a definite improvement.

I'd certainly come back for that duck again, perhaps try something else, though at this price point, it's not a weekly or perhaps even monthly kind of thing for us. We'd rather save our money for our trips and meals at places like Sola (our meal there minus drinks was just a bit more than our most expensive meal here), our favorite restaurant Suzunari (remember no tipping in Japan), or if we want fusion, maybe give Maido another shot (that was about $100 pp).

Please check out Kirbie's post on Cloak and Petal for balance.

Cloak & Petal
1953 India St
San Diego, CA 92101
Hours:
Mon – Fri 5pm – Midnight
Sat – Sun 3pm – Midnight

Saturday Stuffs – Boiling Passion Becoming Focus BBQ, Emerald Reopens, and Happenings at Taisho

February 10, 2018 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Japanese Restaurants

A trio of things I noticed around Kearny Mesa.

Boiling Passion becoming Focus BBQ:

Well Boiling Passion made it nearly two years. But I'm sure with all of the hot pot places opening, other would be closing.

The Missus told me this looks like a skewer and drinking place.

If you're keeping score since 2012; Viet Bakery and Pho (2012-2014), V Bakery (2014), Pho Paradise (Dec 2014 – Jan 2016), Boiling Passion (2016 – 2018)

3904 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Emerald Reopens:

I noted in the comments of my post on Emerald closing; that I'd heard they were reopening under new ownership. And so I drove by earlier in the week.

And yes, they've reopened under new ownership. Be interesting to see how things are.

3709 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Interesting Happenings at Taisho:

Without a doubt a favorite of ours. On a visit with the Missus last month, we thought we noticed a familiar face helping Taka out.

And yes, it was this familiar face!

Apparently, the really great guy from Yakyudori in Nagoya got his work visa and will be grilling up here in San Diego! So that means two classically training Yakitori Chefs.

We were so surprised to see him, and he us. Really friendly and nice guy. The last time we were in Nagoya and Yakyudori was full, he called and then walked us over to Hinotez 2.

For now, my understanding is that he is working on his English. Then Taisho is thinking about expanding their hours.

It's great to have him in the mix….though there's that thing about saying, "me better than Taka" when we were in Nagoya! Lol!

Yakitori Taisho
5185 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92117

Kanazawa – Japanese Breakfast at Hotel Nikko, Omi-cho Market (again), and Oyama Shrine

February 3, 2018 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Japan, Japanese Restaurants, Kanazawa and Ishikawa Prefecture, Markets & Grocers, Travel

Both the Missus and I were really enjoying our stay in Kanazawa. In terms of prices, we both found that Kanazawa was very affordable. For the price of a mid-level hotel in Tokyo, we could stay at the Hotel Nikko and the price included breakfast. Over the years, I've mentioned my love of Japanese breakfast, and how it triggers great memories for me. And these days the Missus enjoys it as well.

And the Japanese breakfast option at the Hotel Nikko is no slouch either. You have choice of western or Japanese breakfast. You know what we chose, right?

It's a rather stylish – garden like surrounding.

Though the setting is rather simple as are the tables and chairs.

And, like I said, breakfast is no slouch……

You have a "breakfast set" of your choice along with buffet items.

At times I found myself wondering; "is this really breakfast"…..

I'm glad it really was……

What a way to start the day.

Hotel Nikko Kanazawa
2-15-1 Honmachi
Kanazawa 920-0853, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan

Of course, after such a hearty and delicious breakfast, the Missus would have me walking all day to burn off the calories. So we quickly headed out.

All paths for us during our short stay went thru Omi-cho Market. And just like the previous day we really enjoyed wandering and browsing.

The morning was a fun time because it was less busy and you could really check out the seafood and produce on sale.

It is indeed "Kanazawa's Kitchen". We even noticed a place we'd end up stopping at for lunch.

We exited at the rear of the market and skirted the walls of Kanazawa Castle. We eventually came to the back entrance of Oyama Shrine. The shrine is well known for its distinctive gate, which was once the gate to the palace of Kanazawa Castle.

Along with the mixed Japanese-Chinese influences, the gate also features Dutch style stained glass windows on the upper level. In fact, the upper two levels once were part of a lighthouse! And the lightning rod at the top is claimed to be the oldest in Japan.

This Shinto Shrine was built by Maeda Toshinaga to honor his father Maeda Toshiie who was the granted and was the first ruler of the Kaga (Kanazawa) Han. He was lauded for his skills with the Japanese spear known as the yari. And as you can see, this statue of him proudly holds that spear.