Japanese Restaurants – Page 50

Some Revisits: Noble Chef, Yum Cha Cafe, and Hong Kong BBQ

January 16, 2011 mmm-yoso Chinese BBQ, Chinese Restaurants, Japanese Restaurants, Sushi and Sashimi

Here are a couple of revisits.

Noble Chef:

It's pretty much inevitable when I get to know someone, that one of the first items for discussion would be, "have anything good to eat lately". And such is the case with my Dry-Cleaner Lady, with whom I've shared recommendations and opinions over the years. One recent discussion was over Noble Chef. We both are of the opinion that many of the dishes were executed better before the previous owners retired. Although we both thought that as time passed the food there is getting better. The Dry Cleaner Lady told me that although the broth was pretty weak, the Hu Tieu with Shrimp Balls were pretty good. So during the recent rain and cold I decided to drop by and grab a bowl of Hu Tieu with Beef and Shrimp Balls:

And yes, the broth was decidedly bland, in need of help from the sweet-soy and other condiments. I'm used to a mild pork flavor broth for my Hu tieu soups…. this had almost no flavor. The Beef Meatballs were fairly "squeaky", and were also pretty weak. Those shrimp balls did have a nice shrimp flavor and were quite tender.

The rice noodles were prepared well, slippery with a mild chew to them.

Overall an ok bowl, but I don't think I'll be having this again due to the really watery broth.

The Noble Chef
6159 Balboa Avenue
San Diego, CA 92111
(858)278-8688

More posts on Noble Chef can be found here, here, and here.

Yum Cha Cafe's cheapo 3 item BBQ Combo:

**** Yum Cha Cafe has closed

On a recent jaunt to Thuan Phat Market to pick up some vegetables the Missus wanted for dinner, I decided to check out what was going on at Yum Cha Cafe. I think things have slowed down a bit, so now there's all manner of specials going on. One caught my attention right away.

Granted, as I've mentioned before, I'm not a big fan of Yum Cha's Roast Duck. But 3 meats and rice for under five bucks? You know I just had to try it out. As the various meat was pulled and chopped I was surprised that it seemed like a good amount of protein. And the box seemed to weight at least two pounds. Not along the lines of Tita's in terms of insurmountable food, but the styrofoam box seemed quite hefty.

Opening the box up, it looked like there was a head on collision of Chinese BBQ that fell on a mattress of rice. After playing a bit of Chinese BBQ CSI, I could make out what was what.

The best item was the roast chicken which was very moist and tender., even the white meat sections:

It had a nice mild lemon grass flavor.

The Roast Duck was also moist, fairly meaty, but lacking in flavor.

The skin was on the rubbery side. Overall, this was better than what I had before, but still not even close to top-notch.

The worst item overall was the BBQ Pork, tough and bland are not good when it comes to Char Siu.

The best item overall were the pickled vegetables, which were good, if on the sweet side. So could I recommend this? Well, if you were really hungry and had only five bucks………this could be two meals.

Yum Cha Cafe
6933 Linda Vista Road
San Diego, CA 92111

Roast Duck from Hong Kong BBQ and Dim Sum:

If you've read my previous post on this place you'll know that I've been less than pleased with what I've had here. But after a recent less than satisfying meal from Song Huong, I wandered through Vinh Hung Market and walked pass the Chinese BBQ, and the Roast Duck looked pretty good, so I decided to buy me half a duck.

Which ended up being pretty good, much better than what I've had before.

So perhaps I'll return to try some other items in the future.

Hong Kong BBQ & Dim Sum
10550 Camino Ruiz(Inside of Vinh Hung Market)
San Diego, CA 92126

Postscript: With the left-over duck, I decided to make something. You see, I was still fuming from spending fifty bucks for a mediocre Peking Duck meal at Duck House in Monterey Park. I was especially disappointed in the stir-fried duck meat with bean sprouts which had no flavor at all. When I mentioned this to the Missus, She called me out and asked, "could you do better"…….

Which is why I made this with the leftovers.

I used my 55,000 BTU Big Kahuna to revive and crisp up the duck meat. Added the bean sprouts, which if you've just bought a high BTU wok stove, is a great way to learn to use it. Flavored at the end with duck drippings and premium soy sauce……

Compared to this:

Sushi Yaro-Lunch

January 13, 2011 Cathy Japanese Restaurants, Stuff, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog. A few friends share blogging "duty". We pretend it is a difficult task, but it's just fun. Today, Kirk has been elsewhere, having fun. ed(from Yuma) is in Yuma, having fun. Cathy is here and having fun.

Hi. Remember the other day last year, when Kirk mentioned Sushi Yaro was having $3 lunch specials? If not, link to it here.

The Mister and I decided to (finally) try it for lunch the other day. The parking lot wasn't full

because we were the first ones there that day. We checked out the 'White Board' near the kitchen as we walked in.

and ordered the $3 vegetable curry special (could have also had stir fried beef, pork, chicken or yakisoba also for $3). It came with a cabbage based salad (in the photo below) and the good serving of fresh rice and an excellent amount of a good curry with potatoes, onion and carrots and a bit of beef in the curry sauce.
I had a craving for poke that day and ordered it off the regular menu ($9.50) It came with the miso soup (very good), salad, side of rice and was presented on the plate this way…with a carrot petaled flower centered with radish and bunny ears of burdock in the poke…
which was an extremely fresh ahi tuna. Marinated in soy sauce, sea salt, sesame oil, onion, garlic, seaweed and some furikake.
One item on the White Board this day was 'stir fried giant clam' for $3.99. It is on the regular menu for $8, but Sam was working that day and he made it …so very tender, almost melt in your mouth like chicken liver or uni melt in your mouth texture. The vegetables were stir fried just enough…crispy and fresh and if I had known the wonder that this item was, I'd have ordered two and had both for myself…

Excellent deals on the $3 lunch and everything excellent at Sushi Yaro. Day or night. Fun.

Sushi Yaro 7905 Engineer Road San Diego 92111

Convoy Yakitori Story Part 2 – Yokohama Yakitori Koubou

December 12, 2010 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants

Seeing that I'd spent so much time tracking the opening of Yakitori Koubou, I really don't know why it took me so long to visit the place. I finally got my act together, and along with FOY (Friend of Yoso) Candice paid Koubou a visit.

The place looks pretty big from the outside, but much like Tsuruhashi next door, the place is relatively small with a bar area, and a few tables near the East wall.

The menu has the Yakitori "standards", but also a few other items which Yakyudori doesn't have.

We decided to order a couple of items for comparison and a few other things that caught our fancy.

As Dennis noted in his post on Koubou (please check it out here), a shot of milk is served before alcoholic beverages to help prevent the ravages of over-indulgence.

We started with an order of Torisenbei – basically chicken flavored chips/crackers.

These were surpringly low with regards to chicken flavor, and I felt were kind of oily.

Even though the Gyu-tan (Beef Tongue) seemed priced on the high side at almost four bucks a skewer….. we couldn't resist ordering them.

As I noted in previous posts, I like a thinner cut with a bit of charring around the edges. This was cut very thick, lacked flavor, and was on the tough side. I also found the flavor imparted from the Binchotan here to be a lot milder than at Yakyudori….. if you find Yakyudori's flavors to run too intense (which I do not) perhaps this will be more to your liking.

It would be crime if I didn't order the Kawa Ponzu – Chicken skin salad:

We started noticing something as this dish arrived…… the portion sizes seemed a bit larger than what I've grown accustomed to at Yakitori/Robatayaki places. The chicken skin was chopped into rather thick un-uniformed pieces, and not enough ponzu was used, making this dish pretty weak with regards to flavor.

The Buta-shiso was also a non-starter for us.

Even though it looked nice and moist, it was pretty dry and on the tough side.

The Tsukune was not bad.

As Dennis noted, the chicken is ground coarser at Koubou, versus the mousse like texture of the Tsukune at Yakyudori, not necessarily a bad thing. The tare here is still very mild, and I think the exterior could have been grilled a bit more to add another dimension of texture to this.

After this, we moved on to a couple of different menu items.

Our favorite of the night by far was the Nankotsu Piri Karaage (Spice deep fried chicken cartilage):

These were fried right….. good crunch on crunch action here along with mild spice and a touch of saltiness. I usually like a cartilage chopped into pieces a bit more substantial than these. There were times I felt I was eating deep fried chicken gizzards….. Good beer food.

Candice had seen Tendon Stew on the specials board…… 'nuff said.

Not much tendon….. mostly tough meat…..

I had high hopes for the Tebakara.

These lacked the crispness I enjoy in these type of wings. When dipped and served right away, there's usually a good amount of crackle still there, but not in this case. The weak tare was also in display here…… it obviously needs a bit more time to ripen.

When eating at a Yakitori place, I usually end my meal with something substantial…. Chazuke, Natto Gohan, and the like. We decided to check out the Natto Omelet.

The omelet itself was a fairly hefty affair. The egg was nice and fluffy, but sorely in need of some additional flavor because the natto sure didn't do it. Sure, the filling was natto-slimy, but the wonderful flavor of the natto was almost non-existent.

Since Koubou just opened a few months ago, I think I'll give them a pass on this one. Along with the tare, the cooking techniques and flavoring seems a bit "raw", so I'll try them in a couple of months to see if things improve.

Yokohama Yakitori Koubou
3904 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111

Convoy Yakitori Story Part 1: Yakyudori Ramen & Yakitori

December 9, 2010 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants

I'd gotten so many requests for a Yakyudori Yakitori post, but through pure laziness, I just kept collecting photos. Finally, I thought I'd better just go ahead and get it done. As a bonus, I was able to join my good FOY (Friend of Yoso) Candice for a meal at Yokohama Yakitori Koubou….. after all, I'd been keeping track of the progress of the restaurant while it was being built. I had so many photos, that I first decided to keep it to about 40, but then, it just seemed so much, that I decided to make this into a two part post….so my apologies ahead of time, I'll try to keep the verbiage to a minimum.

Part 1 Yakyudori Ramen & Yakitori:

Yakyudori has really become quite popular, and with good reason, as many of the items are quite good. I've made it a habit of visiting on Sunday or Monday evenings….. recently they've starting serving Yakitori at 530, so finding the place this empty is quite a rarity.

I like the menu at Yakyudori, it has some variance from ramen, which I've covered before to Chazuke as a way of finishing your meal and filling up. The prices for Yakitori may seem high, but that's because everything is priced at a "two skewer" level. And even though it clearly states that there is a two skewer item minimum for each item ordered, it was made clear early on in my visits that you can order just a single skewer of any item.

A must try item whenever I see it on the menu is Kawa Ponzu. Sliced chicken skin topped with sliced green onions and ponzu sauce.

This version has a nice sprinkling of togarashi to add a mild hint of spice. The amount of ponzu is good, and the chicken skin is sliced into nice uniform thin strips. I enjoy this version.

One item I'm not a big fan of at Yakyudori is one of my favorite dishes; Chicken Karaage.

While I enjoy the mayo-shoyu provided; the two times I've tried the Chicken Karaage the flavor seemed too ginger heavy for my tastes. I also prefer the Karaage I eat in restaurants to be lighter and more crisp than the version here.

I know you're asking….well what about stuff from the Yakitori menu? First off, I appreciate the use of Binchotan, the fragrant, hot burning charcoal. So let's go down the list, beginning with Gyu-tan, beef tongue:

I prefer my beef tongue sliced a bit thinner, and charred around the edges. The first piece on the skewer was perfect, a crisp perimeter, chewy near the center, full of smokey bicho flavor. The other pieces were decent, but not as good as that first slice.

It seems that the latest "hot item" in produce this year is Shishito, something we've been eating as long as I can remember. Though my favorite way of eating Shishito is as tempura, with perhaps some matcha shio, I also enjoy it grilled.

I think these could have been grilled a bit longer. I do enjoy Yakyudori's "Tare", the shoyu-mirin based basting sauce used for Yakitori/Robatayaki. The version here is less sweet than many others I've had, but has some complexity.

One of my favorite items here is the Buta-Shiso:

Basically pork rolled around shiso. The times I've had this, I really enjoyed it. I could make out the mint-anise hints of the shiso, a problem with versions of this I've had elsewhere. The pork itself, betrayed its' "other white meat" heritage, and was fairly moist, and the smokey flavors of binchotan really does well with pork.

The Tsukune at Yakyudori is also excellent, if a bit on the rich side.

Instead of the usual course ground chicken meatball…… in this case the chicken has been worked into almost a mousse. The exterior, touched by the charcoal adds a crisp counter-point. Here you can really make out Yakyudori's Tare. At times, it does seem a bit too rich and filling for me, but is hard to resist.

Where Sasami (chicken breast) can be a downfall for many Yakitori shops, here it is moist and with a line of ume based sauce very light and tasty.

I love the combination of flavors presetned in the Gyu-Oroshi.

While it could be argued that the beef is lost under all of these flavors, I appreci ate the combination of textures.I also enjoy that the daikon is almost finely julienned rather than grated into pulp, this reduces the amount of astringency, while still adding a wonderful crunch. Ponzu, green onion, and daikon is a wonderful combination of flavors. And I believe that the beef toothsome yet not tough has had tare applied ot it, since I catch a bit of sweetness as well.

Of course, if you know me, chicken wings are a must.

And while there's a lot to appreciate about these simply seasoned and grilled wings……. they are stretched and splayed on the skewer maximizing surface area, thus ensuring a good amount of skin exposed to the charcoal. I enjoy the Tebashio at Izakaya Sakura, and think the Tebasaki at Raku more. The two times I've had these, the crispness of the skin left something to be desired, and there just wasn't enough salt for my tastes. Adding on salt after the grilling is done just won't do it for me either. For now, I'll just stick to making it at home on my own Hida Konro.

The simple Momo (Chicken Thigh) was fine.

Nice bincho flavor, decent salt, good chicken flavor.

The Asparagus Bacon……

Was nice, though I think the bacon could have been grilled a bit longer.

On every visit, I will usually get the Ninniku.

Or the entire head of roasted garlic…… This is roasted garlic, sweet, with a hint of bitterness because of the roasting style. I love this with a touch of salt. When I was a child, my mother used to pan fry cloves of garlic after doing a saute or pan frying meat. Though that garlic was much more bitter and hard; this brought back nice memories.

The Negima (Chicken thigh with green onion) wasn't bad.

But I thought it could have used a bit more time on the grill.

The Eringei (King Oyster Mushroom) was grilled well.

Coated with just a touch of the tare; I didn't think this was anything special either since I often grill King Oyster Mushrooms at home.

Whew, that's a bunch, huh? Actually it's just a part of all the photos I have from Yakyudori. Due to the length of the post, I'm going to stop after one last item. There is one thing I must have to finish up my Yakitori visits to Yakyudori; it the Natto Gohan – Natto Rice:

For some reason, the way Yakyudori prepares the natto, the combination of flavors used strikes a real note with me….. it brings me back "home".

Yakyudori Ramen and Yakitori
4898 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

$3 Lunch Special at Sushi Yaro

November 27, 2010 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants

**** Sushi Yaro has closed

Does this photo tickle your memory?

Well, it's not quite the same rumpled "Abe" of my Convoy Sushi and Fish Market post. If you recall that post, it went over the $5 lunch specials at that now defunct restaurant. I decided to take another photo of Abe because in a bit of irony; Sushi Yaro, which is now in that location has a $3 lunch special.

To be perfectly honest, when Sam told the Missus and I that he'd be starting a three dollar lunch experiment, we had our doubts…… in this day and age what can you really serve customer for three bucks, and why would you do that? I guess the experiment has worked out pretty well, since on my last visit, Sam told me that the three dollar lunch will be served until further notice…. or as Sam told me, "until I'm broke!" Sam also told me that I should drop by during lunch and try it out for myself. So there I was…… and there it was; the $3 lunch.

I've had Sam's spicy pork, a version of Daeji Bulgogi. I was somewhat surprised that a bowl of miso soup was provided….. even though miso shiro is served with just about every lunch special; it's usually these "side dishes" that are part of the first cut when doing bargain basement specials.

So here's what my three bucks bought:

Scoop of rice, scoop of spicy pork, green salad; about the equivalent of a plate lunch stand's "mini plate"…. which I believe is closer to four buck nowadays…….

While eating, I got to thinking what I could get for three bucks lunch wise…… Banh Mi maybe? But even most of those are over three bucks…. a 6" from Subway…. basically a salad in a roll…. I'm sure there are many fast-food answers to that three-buck question. You could get one and two thirds of a taco at Tacos El Poblano or El Gordo, two fish tacos (with some change left over) at Mariscos El Pescador, and for the big bargain 3 tacos Al Pastor from Internacional 2000. In fact, for six bucks you could get two lunch specials, which will still be about the price of a sandwich at many places.

And while I have reservations with regards to Sam's sanity…….. it's nice to know that I can either this:

Or this…..

Depending on how big that hole in my pocket is…….

So what's the catch? Not much really; the three dollar special is available between 1130 and 230 seven days a week. Yes, even weekends. How long will this last? I don't know…. and I don't think Sam does either. So if you're a bit cash-strapped this holiday season, this might be something you could try. After all three bucks doesn't buy much of a lunch nowadays……

Sushi Yaro
7905 Engineer Road
San Diego, CA 92111

Guess the revisits…plus one

November 16, 2010 mmm-yoso Chinese BBQ, Chinese Restaurants, Japanese Restaurants, Loco Mocos, Pizza, Ramen

*** Update 11/18, 0800 - The contest is closed……. there was only one person who guessed all six restaurant correctly. Congrats to Hao! The answers are all at the end of the post. And just for laughs I gave an eCup to the person who did the worst as well.

I haven't done one of these in a while……. I'll send a Peet's eCup to the first five folks who email(link upper right) me the correct guesses of the following revisits.

For the following three, list the dish and the restaurant:

1. This one is kinda hard, but not that hard……

Someone once mentioned lucious eyebrows…….

2.. This one is the easiest.

How about some drippy yolk porn……

3. This dish used to be much better when the restaurant was under previous ownership…..

But things have been getting better as the folks making the food have been gaining more experience.

For next three, you can just name the restaurant.

4. This "little little" place used to be in a different location.

5. I've never posted on exactly this dish, but guessing the restaurant should be pretty easy.

6. OK if you can't guess this one……. well, I'm not sure what to say…..

Easy, right? That's it, get those six and be one of the first five to email me the correct guesses and you'll get a Peet's eCup….. But let me ask you, are you a gambler? Would you go double or nothing? If you guess the name of this dish correctly, along with the previous six, I'll make it two eCups…… get it wrong, and you get nothin'(be accurate – as in what kind of meat etc, or the Chinese name would be even better)……. A couple of hints, it's not from a restaurant in San Diego, and it is delicious……

I'll let things go until the morning of 11/18

Just remember, send me the guesses via email, a valid email so if you're correct I can send youthe Peet's eCup. One guess per email address please.

Good Luck!

OK, here are the answers:

#1 – It's Beef Sate Noodle "Dry" from Tan Ky Mi Gia.

#2 – The Kaloko Moco from Island Style Cafe……

Everyone who played got that one right. At first, I was a bit apprehensive about a Loco Moco with a crepe as it's base….. but here it really works.

#3 – Is The Noble Chef.

Since the new owners have taken over, my favorite dishes have been slowly getting better, as the guy behind the wok station gains more experience.

Our favorite dish here in the past was the Shrimp with XO Sauce Fried Rice. It still lacks the punch it once had, and Wok Hay (spirit of the wok) is still lacking.

Don't get me wrong, it's a good fried rice; just not as good……

#4 – Is Sieu Sieu BBQ, which literally means "small small"…..

I had gone to Barbecues Galore to try and purchase more Ono Kiawe Charcoal. I was told by the manager of BG, that a "well known" BBQ Manufacturer had bought the company and then took the charcoal off the market because it was competing with items in their product line. I'm not going further than that since I can't confirm this info. I may try purchasing the charcoal on the Ono Charcoal Website.

#5 – Is Yakyudori Ramen and Yakitori.

I'm not sure if they still serve it, but Tonkotsu style ramen was being served in limited quantities during lunch.

#6 – Is of course Pizzeria Bruno. Everyone who played got this correct as well.

That last dish is Mi Zheng Rou, also called Fen Zheng Rou….. rice steamed pork. More on that in a later post.

My thanks to everyone who humored me and played along!

Saturday Stuffs

November 13, 2010 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Markets & Grocers, Sushi and Sashimi, yoso-silly

I now realize I haven't been paying much attention…..

To the strip mall where Spicy City is located. There appears to be a couple of new restaurants open, or opening up. The first one, called "Gorilla" has replaced Korean Hometown Restaurant, no more Bondegi soup for me I guess.

They're calling it a "Korean Fusion Restaurant"…… the menu looks like a combination of bar food, a la Min Sok Chon, crossed with modernized/westernized Korean Dishes…..Boo Dai Chigae…. along with Tonkatsu (served with French Fries!) and ramen, and cream corn even…..

I'm not quite sure what to make of it……. anybody check this place out yet?

I also noticed this restaurant in the place of Seafood Island. I'm not quite sure if they've opened yet.

All in the strip mall at 4690 Convoy.

You never know what you'll find at 99 Ranch Market:

I was picking up some lamb to make Cumin Lamb, when something grabbed my attention….. I literally did a double take.

Was it what I thought it was?

You bet…. plus it was on sale!

In case you have a problem finding this…… it located right next to the, ahem, Beef Pizzle.

One of the two things I was craving when I got back from Madison/Chicago:

Strangely, or perhaps not, I wanted a salad when I got home from Chicago and Madison. The other thing I craved was taken care of last night at Sushi Yaro.

Something that I found ironic is that Zo-san is now working at Sushi Yaro. Folks might remember that he used to own Sushi Ishikawa which was on this very spot before Sammy Sushi and Convoy Sushi.

Now if I can only talk Zo-san into making some of the Okinawan dishes they used to serve at Ishikawa!

I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Lunches at Ichiro

November 11, 2010 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants

**** Ichiro's has closed

When I first started coming to San Diego over a dozen years ago for work, one of the first places recommended to me was Ichiro. I grew up eating in little mom and pop places like Ichiro. Speaking of "mom", my Mother's favorite restaurant was one of these places, called Wisteria Restaurant, which sadly at the end of 2004. It seems that these places I refer to as Japanese-American Diners are slowly disappearing. Recently, I was in the same strip mall as the restaurant, looked over at Ichiro, and felt a bit guilty. It had been a good number of years since I visited.

In some ways, perhaps the years haven't been very good to Ichiro…. and the sign near the front door speaks volumes.

About five years ago, I noticed changes at Ichiro, starting with the addition of "kozara" (small dishes) of standard Japanese bar food fare.

Still with places like Izakaya Sakura, Okan, and even Tajima to a certain extent; Ichiro is sometimes forgotten.

Being in the area a bit more often, I decided to have a few lunches at Ichiro, just to see what was going on. Things look about the same with regards to the dining area, and the service is the same….. friendly.

All lunches start with a small dish of Tsukemono…..

And come with miso soup (watery), and a pretty routine green salad.

A couple of months back, I was told to try the "Ponzu Chicken", which is what I had on my first visit.

Actually, this was fairly disappointing. The chicken was a basic salt rubbed, grilled chicken; like something I'd make at home. It was also on the dry side. The ponzu tasted bottled, and was not of good quality. In the end, it was just sustenance.

And yet, the two women working here were so very nice, I just didn't want to leave it at that. So a week later I returned and had something I'd eaten a few years back, and thought was pretty good. The menchi katsu, this time as Menchi Katsu Curry ($7.25).

Man, that was a load of curry……. not too bad, mild spice, but nothing but onions in them. The breaded meat patty was pretty good, a bit leaner, with less filler than I remembered. It didn't have the rich flavor of the version at Izakaya Sakura, and for some reason I like my mechi katsu to have more filler.

Still, this was nicely prepared, crunchy and moist.

During one of the recent 90 degree plus days, I wanted some Zaru Soba. Instead of heading to Izakaya Sakura, I decided to return to Ichiro for lunch one more time. This time I had the Zaru Soba Tororo ($8.50).

On the good side, Ichiro includes a quail egg for the tsuyu, on the bad, the tsuyu had a super salty artificial taste to it. The soba was also undercooked and was very hard.

I didn't expect soba like I-Naba , but this was like something I'd throw together at home.

After five plus years since my last visit to Ichiro, I found that the service here is still very nice and friendly. I see that Ichiro is taking steps to try and upgrade the menu. Also, Yasu, an old time Itamae favorite of mine is working there, though only on Fridays these days. On my visits I noticed that most of the customers were either older "Gaijin", and once two elderly Japanese women who were friends with the owner. I'm still up in the air as to whether I'll check out Ichiro during the evening, or for Happy Hour…… sadly, the food just seems s bit tired and dated(and I like old-style Japanese food) to me. Perhaps you'll find it more to your liking than I did.

Ichiro Japanese Restaurant
4344 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Road Trip: Izakaya Bincho – Redondo Beach (Los Angeles)

October 20, 2010 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Road Trip

**** Izakaya Bincho has closed

Before leaving for Gardena/Torrance I emailed Akira a list of places, about seven, that I wanted to try. On that list was Musha and Izakaya Bincho, a darling of many CH's and Food Bloggers. Apparently, Akira's been to Musha more than a few times, it's his favorite Izakaya in the area, so he wanted to try Bincho. Akira called and made reservations, and I arrived at the Redondo Beach Boardwalk a bit early just to walk around a bit. It's been at least twelve years since I've been here…..

The Redondo Beach Boardwalk you might ask. I think most people knows Quality Seafood.

But an Izakaya? On the boardwalk? Among the fish joints and bars(don't forget the churro stand)?

It would seem to be a bit of a odd location. But yes indeed, there smack in the middle of the boardwalk was Izakaya Bincho.

This little shop is run by a husband and wife team, just the type of shop I love. Strangely, we were approached with a bit of reserved caution. The shop is strangely quiet for an Izakaya…..people speak in hushed tones, closer to a library than an Izakaya.

I let Akira do most of the ordering, except for a couple of requests…… the Butakakuni and the Ginnan Yaki. I also wanted Nankotsu (deep dried chicken cartlidge) but they were out. All chased with a pitcher of Sapporo.

So without further ado…. the Ginnan Yaki (salt roasted ginko nuts):

Shelled Ginko Nuts roasted on a bed of salt, mild salt flavor, slightly bitter, quite a nice combination of flavors. When I last spoke to Akira this past weekend during one of his visits to San Diego, we both thought this was the most memorable. For Akira, it's comfort food, for me perfect in it's simplicity.

The Butakakuni (Briased Pork Belly)…..

Redolent of sweetened soy yet mellow in flavor, this was good. It fell short, being a bit more stringy and tough than I'd like. Still it was rich without seeming greasy or fatty.

The Tori Karaage fell substantially short.

I prefer my chicken karaage to have some crunch, and to have less ginger flavor than this version. There was also a few very tough pieces. I actually enjoyed the sesame dressing on the shredded cabbage more…..

Nasu Dengaku.

The nasubi wasn't broiled/grilled enough, and was also pretty bitter. The miso based concoction was much too salty for my tastes.

Though we both had eaten fairly substantial lunches (I also had the benefit of a pretty hefty breakfast). We decided to order one more dish. I suggested the Agedashi Tofu, which comes with some high recommendations. In the end we decided on the Agedashi Nasu.

I once had a version where the nasubi was positively creamy and volcanic, barely held in place by the katakuriko (potato starch). The eggplant was just slightly North of what I enjoy in doneness. The tentsuyu was excellent though, balancing the mild dashi base with sweet and salty.

After the meal, I asked Akira where he rated Izakaya Bincho. He had it about where I did, good, but not great. In fact, he thought that Izakaya Sakura was every bit as good.

Izakaya Bincho
112 N International Boardwalk (The Redondo Beach Boardwalk)
Redondo Beach, CA 90277

Still, you can't get this view on Convoy, can you?

Road Trip: Torrance Farmer’s Market, I-naba Restaurant, and a quick shopping stop – Torrance (Los Angeles)

October 18, 2010 mmm-yoso Farmer's Markets/Night Market, Japanese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Road Trip

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