mmm-yoso – Page 269 – As in, yoso-silly, yoso-hungry, yoso-full, or best of all; mmm-delici-yoso!!!!! A San Diego based food and travel blog. An Ex-Pat Kama'aina and Friends explore food, restaurants, and travel from San Diego and points beyond.

Revisits: Tasty Noodle House and Dede’s

November 9, 2015 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Xiao Long Bao

Some Chinese food for you. One place new, the other has been around for a while.

Tasty Noodle House:

So, since the place first opened up at the beginning of September, fellow esteemed food bloggers like Jinxi, Faye, and Kirbie have all rotated through TNH…..and the results have been a bit mixed; especially with regards to the SJB. My good buddy Candice has gone a few times as well. So I thought it time that I rotate through and see what's going on.

So with coworker Calvin in tow, we went for an early lunch. Funny thing, our Server wasn't Chinese and couldn't pronounce any of the dishes, but was really very nice and tried real hard.

I thought the Chao Nian Gao on Kirbie's and Jinxi's post looked pretty good. So I ordered it.

I like this prep because there are subtle indications of the chef's skill in terms of handling the wok and seasoning. The flavor is usually nice and mild so there a nice balance between the slightly bitter vegetable – Jì Cài (薺菜 – Shepherd's Purse) comes through, usually with a touch of sesame oil. The rice cakes were a bit under done and on the hard side, but this wasn't bad at all. I think the version at Chef Zhu is better.

My favorite from previous visits, the Zui Ji – Drunken Chicken.

I like the version here because it's not timid, the wine flavor is upfront and strong. Most folks I know don't care for this cold chicken dish. Personally, I enjoy the bracing flavor.

This time around I decided to go with the crab and pork Xiao Long Bao…..

I'm pretty much done with the XLB here. This wasn't very good. The filling was too hard; there was a leakage problem, and the XLB that hadn't leaked had too little soup.

Calvin is a growing boy, so I needed to order something filling and went with the Mei Cai Kou Rou (steamed pork belly with preserved vegetable)….I know; it's a Hakka dish and the menu here leans toward the Hu Cai (Shanghai Cuisine) - Su Cai (Jiangsu Cuisine) style dishes. I thought the Hong Shao Rou I had on my previous visit wasn't cooked properly and was a bit under flavored so I thought we'd give this a try.

This wasn't very good. The pork was fairly hard and strangely dry, the preserved vegetable had no flavor, and the dish was spoiled by too much sesame oil which was basically the only thing you could taste.

Service, as on my previous visits was very nice. I was told that they do a decent chou doufu (stinky tofu) dish and that the Xun Yu ("cold smoked fish") is worth a try as well, so I'll probably return in the near future.

Tasty Noodle House
4646 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Dede's:

*** Dedes' has closed

It has been a while since I'd really had a meal at Dede's. I had dropped by about a year and a half ago and had a terrible version of Liang Mian (Cold Noodles). But it had been a good long while since I've really had a meal here. Lunch was with two of my favorite people; Reza and Lily, so we got to try a bunch of different dishes.

The Liang Cai (cold dishes) was nothing short of terrible.

The cucumber really lacked flavor and the fu qi fei pian was tough and dry, the flavor bitter from chilies that seemed to have been burnt, not scalded. It had no "ma", numbing effect, as in there was a lack of Sichuan Peppercorns, nor was there any depth of flavor from say, a dash of black vinegar….

The Fish with Pickled Peppers was ok.

It wasn't particularly spicy and the broth seemed to have a rather strong poultry flavor. The fish was tender, but also a bit gummy; perhaps from using too much cornstarch during the marinade process.

The dish I'd long been coming to Dede's for is the Cumin Lamb, Zi Ran Yang Rou.

So how was this years later? There are a lot more onions and the meat is lower grade and a bit tougher now. The flavor of the cumin was good, but I think this needed a bit more salt and I like a bit of garlic in mine as well. Not quite as good as I recalled.

We also got the Fried Intestine with Chilies.

This was actually a decent dish; the intestines were nicely prepped and fried; very crisp. The dish was not oily at all. Sadly, there wasn't enough Sichuan Peppercorn in this as well, making it seem quite incomplete in terms of flavor.

Dede's doesn't seem to have held up very well over the years. Kind of sad in a way as I can't seem to find a favorite in terms of Sichuan food. Though I recall Jinxi mentioning that Spicy House has relatively new owners yet again. So perhaps hope springs eternal, right?

Dede's
4647 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

What’s My Craving? Wa Dining Okan

November 8, 2015 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants

Recently, I was having quite a hectic day and needed to get away for lunch. I'd also been craving the Chicken Nanban from Okan. So I headed on over. I got there right at opening time and it was nice and quiet.

And of course I ordered the Chicken Nanban – Fried Chicken with Vinegar and Tartar Sauce ($9) and even splurged a bit and went for the Chasu Gohan ($3.50) as an "extra".

So how was it? Well, I'll pass on the chashu rice bowl next time. The portion size was quite generous, but the pork was ice cold, on the dry side, really waxy, and lacking in flavor.

The chicken delivered as it did before. The chicken was light and very moist. The batter crisp and almost laquer like. The vinegar added a nice mildly sour component which really cut the richness….of both the fried chicken and the tartar sauce.

The sides were fine, rather mild in flavor….. I've noticed that over the years the portion sizes here seem to have gotten larger.

As I was eating, the place really filled up. I must have been stuffing my face with some enthusiasm as the guy who sat next to me asked me what I was eating. I pointed it out on the menu and he ordered it. The guy next to him decided on this as well. While chatting, some of the tartar spilled on the sleeve of my shirt. Not ten seconds later, one of the servers came by with an oshibori to help me rub out the mayo stain. Acts like that make my day…….everything just seemed a lot brighter and nicer as I headed back to the office.

I wasn't a big fan of lunch at Okan at first. It was a nice place to have dinner with friends, which I've done a couple of times over the last seven years. Now I'm a fan of lunch as well.

Wa Dining Okan
3860 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Osaka: A Deep Fried Meatfest at Kushikatsu Gokakuya with One of My Favorite Food Bloggers

November 7, 2015 mmm-yoso Japan, Japanese Restaurants, Osaka, Travel

On our last evening in Osaka, we finally managed to meet up with one of my favorite Food Bloggers, Kat and her husband Satoshi. Over the years I've seen blogs come and go, I really do miss many of them. But Kat has been a constant with me since probably late 2007 and has been blogging as many years as I. We'd come close to meeting up a few times, but timing and scheduled were never in synch. So finally, the Missus and I got to meet the both of them. We met them at the local Don Quixote had some snacks and coffee and basically strolled around and chatted…..the thing about knowing each other in the bloggas – sphere is that there was a wonderful familiarity to the whole thing.

When dinner came along, we just popped into this Kushiage shop, named Gokakuya.

First rule of Kushikatsu…."no double dipping"!

Satoshi did an amazing job of calling back our orders…..the Missus loved the sauce.

You can read about the whole meal in Kat's blog post.

Those fried chicken skins were really great.

The fried whale….which tasted like very bitter "chiai" – fish bloodline. I'll pass on this in the future.

It was a great time thanks to Kat and Satoshi!

Kushikatsu Gokakuya
1-7-5 Dotombori, Chuo, Osaka

Kat and Satoshi went crazy on the omiyage….we left laden down with gifts…..

Thanks so much guys! It was such a pleasure!

Osaka: Ippudo (Namba)

November 6, 2015 mmm-yoso Japan, Japanese Restaurants, Osaka, Ramen

Our last full day in Osaka was going to be a rather "easy" one….well, easy in relative terms. We woke a bit later than usual, then hung around the apartment a bit. We then headed off South. Walking was quite easy and we eventually came to the first of two gigantic shopping malls; the first, Namba City, basically two huge multifloor complexes, going two floors underground and two stories above ground with over three hundred shops. The second Namba Parks, built on the site of the old Osaka Baseball Stadium has a huge roof garden with waterfalls….and to keep the Missus busy, a ton of cosmetic shops. All of this was fine with me because just a block or so away on one of the side streets is a location of Ippudo Ramen. I'd been wanting the Missus to try classic Hakata style Tonkotsu and this was our chance.

We basically found the place based on the unique sign. It was dead on opening time and we walked right in.

Ordering was dead on easy…..the Shormaru Special; the classic tonkotsu with chashu and egg.

We'd gotten into the habit of ordering one bowl of ramen, with the Missus ordering a rice bowl and extras, and basically sharing.

The Missus got the "Hakata Chikara Meshi" – basically chashu gohan. This was pretty darn good…the pork just tender enough, moist, it was a very nice bowl.

We got an onsen tamago for the Missus to have over the rice.

I gotta say, the ramen was excellent, perhaps the most picture perfect example of Hakata style ramen I've ever had. Rich, but not too rich or oily. The broth temp was nice and hot…..

Nothing super fancy nor over-the-top about the broth. Just a nice tongue coating richness, without sodium overload.

The long and thin Hakata style noodles are a problem for the Missus…She dislikes them. But I believed the main reason was because most places over-cook them, even when you ask for it extra firm. This was spot on perfect. Nice pull, just perfectly chewy.

Check out that egg…….I don't think I need to add any commentary.

Since I'd be sharing my bowl with the Missus, we hedged our bets and added a couple of extra "toppings".

I actually heard the Missus say "aaahh" when She sipped the broth.

This was a super solid, no frou-frou, no fancy marketing BS, no noodles made by "blond haired virgins from a remote island in an unknown archipelago" tonkotsu ramen. It was perfect for the day and the best bowl I had on this trip.

The place started filling up as we exited…..

The Missus, even with Her perspective clouded by the Santouka effect, still was impressed. Something else really got to Her as well; "I don't see some senior guy running the place like other ramen shops….it looks like a bunch of college students. It's kind of amazing that they put out something with such attention to detail. There's no way that happens at chains in the US."

And now with some perspective, She's even more impressed.

I guess we'll need to head back there…..soon.

Ippudo Namba
3-1-17 Nanbanaka, Naniwa-ku, Osaka

Osaka: Yakitori Stops and Some Torisashi

November 5, 2015 mmm-yoso Japan, Japanese Restaurants, Osaka

We'd had a really nice day visiting Nara and having lunch at Kuromon Market. We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing after all that walking.

For dinner we headed back to the bright lights of Dotonburi.

This time around we were more accustomed to the area and spent a good amount of time checking out the back streets and arcades.

And while most were a lot more quiet than the main streets…there was still some major crazy storefronts….what the heck is this?

We had no destination planned for dinner and just wandered around until we came to this Yakitori shop.

Fairly non-descript and the yakitori wasn't anything to write home about, but the beer was cold.

The mimiga (pig ear) was decent. The menu was huge with everything from Chicken Tail to Camembert Cheese (?!?)

We ordered a selection and wasn't overly impressed.

Nothing really stood out, but the food was cheap.

Folks started arriving soon after we entered….folks in a good mood, ready for a beer and a nice time.

We headed back to the craziness of Shinsaibashi until the Missus got tired of all the window shopping.

Deciding to walk back to the apartment, we ran into this little shop near the beginning of Dotonburi.

A little older woman saw us peeking in the window and waved us in then sat us at one of the well worn tables.

The bar area seemed to be doing some nice business when we arrived.

Again, the place had a huge menu of grilled and fried items.

We made a few choices; quail eggs wrapped in bacon and chicken skin.

And while things seemed much better prepared than our previous stop, it was nothing special.

The kawa was pretty good, but very salty.

There was one item on the menu I wanted, I saw one of the guys on the bar eating it…. was the torisashi; chicken sashimi. At first the woman ignored my order. So I later went up to the bar and ordered it. I saw a look of apprehension on the face of the Missus when it arrived. The stigma of raw chicken had followed the Missus to Japan it seems. Personally, having had torisashi before, I had no such qualms.

It was pretty darn good, much more tender than you'd think, almost melting away in your mouth. The flavor is quite mild and it went well with the shoyu-wasabi and slightly sweet raw onion. The Missus was shocked at how tender the texture of the raw chicken was.

Now, I'm the last person in the world who is going to twist your arm and make you eat raw chicken (please don't start scarfing that package of Foster Farms raw) or raw horse. But if you enjoy it, why not? And like our good friend Kat says….."if you're going to eat it raw, eat it in Japan."

There is one last funny anecdote. We went back to the apartment and I had a beer. After turning in for the evening, I awoke and noticed the Missus sitting in the dark. I asked Her what was going on. Her answer, "I'm sitting here waiting to get sick….." Sheeesh. Old beliefs die hard. And no, She didn't get sick…..

Thanks for reading!

Sammy’s Woodfired Pizza (Power Lunch)

November 4, 2015 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Pizza, Salads

Thanks for clicking onto mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Kirk and Ed(from Yuma)- both are busy, busy. Cathy is staying indoors today and able to blog, so enjoy reading.

Sammy's Woodfired Pizza opened it's first location in La Jolla in 1989, now has eight locations in San Diego County with a total of 17 locations in California and Nevada. The concept and menu began as simple (the owner, Sami Ladeki, didn't even hire a chef at first, because the menu was so basic) and has expanded into small bites and other items in addition to pizza. It's not an 'Italian' menu (Sami is from Lebanon) as much as it's fresh and local (items are sourced from within 125 miles). The website uses the trademarked term "Healthy Global Cuisine".The former Naval Training Center, now Liberty Station, is listed on the National Register of Historic places and the former military barracks and other government buildings have been adapted as stores, schools and restaurants. One of Sammy's locations is here.

This past summer, an additional menu, the Power Lunch (available from 11 to 2 daily), was introduced. Choose any two items for $10. We've tried the whole menu except for the kale salad and the spicy Italian sausage pizza…
Mentioned at the bottom the regular menu is that water and bread are served if requested. Two multi-grain crisps (really nice seeded crackers) and a few pieces of fresh made soft crusted white bread and butter is brought out.
The fresh tomato basil soup has been different every time we've had it. Flavorful fresh tomatoes, sometimes with the shaved Romano cheese at the bottom of the bowl, sometimes on the top and basil are the main ingredients. Recently the tomatoes were supplemented with red peppers, which were very tasty and made for a different soup flavor than I was expecting.The butternut squash soup (on the right) is always tasty…made with fresh squash, ginger and apple, it is brisk and fresh…and sometimes a bit stinging from the amount of ginger while sweet because of the apple.

The corn chowder (on the left, above) is the 'calmest' of all the flavors. A bit sweet because of the corn and carrots and complimented by potatoes, celery and red pepper, it's just good and creamy.The salads (on this and the regular menu) are always so very fresh and quite large, even at lunch. The Greek (above) has all the standard ingredients (tomato, cucumber, onion and olive) as well as Feta and is tossed with a simple red wine vinaigrette.The arugula with calmyria fig salad is simple; the other ingredients are feta and toasted almonds, along with some of the broken crisps that are served with the bread plate, above. It's tossed with a pomegranate based dressing. This I crave.The pizzas are larger than a 'personal' pizza, cut into quarters. The margherita (above) has the most wonderful fresh ingredients in addition to a perfect (to me) crust. There's a roasted garlic sauce under the mozzarella cheese that puts this pizza into one of my 'sudden craving' categories.The pepperoni pizza has a house made tomato sauce that is lightly spiced. There are some bell pepper slices as well as pepperoni with the mozzarella cheese and those flavors along with the chew and crunch of the wood fired crust are a perfect combination.

I hope your week is going well!

Sammy's Woodfired Pizza, multiple locations. Website

Harbor Town Pub – Brunch (Point Loma)

November 3, 2015 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Pubs and Pub Grub, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for stopping to look at mmm-yoso!!! a food blog of San Diego and other places. Cathy is writing today; Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) are just too busy.

One of those mornings when it was hot and humid before 9 a.m. and The Mister and I thought going closer to the water would be a good idea. The drive West was nice and it seemed cooler on Point Loma. The rather ubiquitous frontage of Harbor Town Pub (located on Rosecrans, about two blocks from the Harbor and from the entrance to Shelter Island) makes it easily overlooked, but being open daily at 8 a.m., it's an easy breakfast stop, especially for locals. The menu remains the same on weekends, so basically Brunch is available daily.After downloading my photos, I realized that somehow the camera phone was set on a sepia toned filter. I apologize for the 'artsy' look.Harbor Town is located in the Portuguese neighborhood of San Diego and so linguisa is on the menu. I chose a Linguisa Scramble ($10.95) for my meal. Eggs, tomato, green onion, cilantro, Cotija cheese and a chipotle cream were all mixed with a good amount of the smoked, garlicy Portuguese sausage. A topping of crispy tortilla strips was the perfect texture that this hearty (and large portioned) dish needed.The Mister has been trying variations of chicken and waffles ever since encountering 'the original version' a couple of years ago. The version here ($11.95) fit the bill; large portions of boneless, skinless white meat chicken is dipped in waffle batter and then fried. Served with a biscuit, eggs and home fries, this hearty meal was really good.

There are several other scrambles, a banana bread french toast as well as a high end country fried steak also available for breakfast…great quality and a non-touristy vibe.

Harbor Town Pub 1125 Rosecrans Street San Diego 92107 (619) 2241321 Open daily 8 a.m.-1 a.m. Website

Lunch Revisits: Pho Paradise and Yakyudori Ramen and Yakitori

November 2, 2015 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Japanese Restaurants, Pho, Ramen, Vietnamese Restaurants

After having the hottest October on record, we've kind of settled into milder weather. Which means pho and ramen can be shoe horned back into lunch.

Pho Paradise:

** Note: Pho Paradise has closed

When Pho Paradise first opened, I thought it had some potential, even thinking that we'd finally get some decent Pho on Convoy. Even though my follow-up visit wasn't quite as good, I still believed they might have been the best pho in the area. So now, over six months later, I was wondering how things would be.

I started with the chicken wings, which looked very pale.

This wasn't too bad, the wings were fairly light and crisp, though sogginess set in rather quickly. A bit too much MSG for my taste, with that strange very salty edging on sweet taste and tongue sensation.

The pho was a disappointing.

This reminded me of the stuff Pho T Cali puts out. Barely any flavors other than being very salty with a very mild hint in the background. It was much too low in fat, the noodles, of which there was a healthy amount of, were over cooked, the proteins had no flavor and the tendon was too hard.

Well, at least the basil and bean sprouts were fresh, right?

In case you have doubts. Here's a bowl from Pho Paradise back in February.

Sad, huh?

Pho Paradise
3904 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Yakyudori Ramen and Yakitori:

I needed a break from the office one Friday and ran over to Yakyudori for an early lunch before the place got too crowded and the Servers too surly. It had been a while since I'd had lunch here and I went with the Friday combo. Chashu Gohan with a Shoyu Ramen.

The pork and rice came in a medium sized miso soup bowl….lots of rice in this though the chashu was good in comparison to what I'd had recently at Okan during lunch. It was tender, had some flavor, and was lukewarm rather than cold. The corn and bean sprouts added texture….but this was mostly a whole lot of rice.

I hadn't had lunch here in a while so I was surprised at the size of the "mini-ramen"….it was more mini that I recalled.

Not that I needed more carbs, but there were maybe three bites of noodles and I really wanted more soup. Overall, this was a decent bowl, just edging on too salty, but quite satisfying and the noodles were prepped well. I should have just gotten the ramen instead of the lunch special.

Since I did it with Pho Paradise, it's only right I do this here too. Here's what the mini ramen used to look like.

No wonder they give you so much rice now. They need to fill you up somehow.

At least they were a bit nicer here than on my previous visits.

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

To the Oregon Coast and Back – Wayfarer and Urban Masala

November 1, 2015 ed fromyuma Indian Restaurants, Portland, Oregon, Seafood, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!

Kirk and Cathy have real jobs, and today they're either working on them or relaxing. So this mmm-yoso!!! blogpost, about a day trip to the Oregon coast, is by Ed (from Oregon originally).

During the middle of October, Tina and I spent more than a week in Northwestern Oregon (including PDX). Tina, who owns a real camera, brought it along, so most of the good pics in my Oregon posts will come from her, especially the outdoor shots – all I can photograph is food, it seems.

As well as getting together with relatives and friends in the area, some days we were on our own. When we woke up in Hillsboro Oregon on Monday morning, even the Hampton Inn parking lot was beautiful in the fog:

Soon we left the fog behind as we headed west on Highway 26, enjoying the colors of the season:

Though the fog was still visible in the distance when we stopped at a viewpoint in the coastal range:

In less than an hour and a half, we arrived at Cannon Beach, just south of the intersection of 26 with Highway 101, famous for its large beach and iconic Haystack Rock:

Our friend, part-time Oregon resident, gourmet cook and witty blogger, Joanie, texted Tina and said we had to eat at the Wayfarer:

The dining space was attractive and the windows looked out at the beach and Haystack Rock – look real carefully out the window:

Wanting to drink local, Tina and I had a glass of Archery Summit Pinot Gris and one of Domaine Drouhin Chardonnay:

Both were good, but the Chardonnay amazed me since most Oregon Chardonnays that I drank way back when seemed thin and acidic. This one was a classic refined focused Chardonnay.

The lunch itself started with some tasty warm bread and attractive chilled butter:

We were on the coast, so a cup of clam chowder was necessary:

Quite impressive. Full of tender pieces of clam and bits of potato, covered with a luscious, rich, creamy, savory broth. A classic version of the soup.

Joanie had advised Tina to have the Dungeness crab sandwich with garlic fries, so that's what she ordered. The garlic fries came with ketchup and a tangy aioli, and they were crispy and reasonably garlicky:

On first inspection, the sandwich looked like mostly baguette and melted cheese:

But it was packed full of flavorful moist Dungeness crab:

I chose a different local favorite, razor clams:

This variety of bivalve got its common name because it looked like the old school straight razor case into which the sharp blade was folded when not in use – kind of like an elongated sunglasses case. Nowadays the razor clams on beaches in Oregon and Washington cannot be commercially harvested so the pan fried clams on my plate, flavorful, a little crunchy, and tender chewy, probably came from Alaska. Still, a real treat for me.

I also loved the sides. The jalapeño jelly was sweet and tasty with the clams, but I preferred the old school dill flavored tartar sauce. The herbed rice contained a lot of wild rice as well as perfectly al dente green and yellow split peas. Nice flavor/texture combo. The fresh green beans, toothsomely prepared, were lightly flecked with garlic.

A very pleasing lunch. Thanks for the tip, Joanie!

After we paid our tab,:

we strolled down to the beach past one of the ubiquitous tsunami warning signs. Every time I see one, I think, "I'm betting on the wave.":

The road south from Cannon beach is often quite striking and occasionally sublime. For a while, it clings to the side of Neahkahnie Mountain hundreds of feet above the Pacific:

Then it comes back down close to sea level and sloughs and estuaries appear:

Here's Tillamook Bay, the picture taken from close to Garibaldi:

The road back to Portland area from Tillamook is easy driving and about as quick as the trip out on Highway 26. Nonetheless, after a day driving around, Tina and I decided to have a simple meal in Hillsboro.

We were staying in Hillsboro for a few days because of its proximity to friends and relatives, the Oregon wine country, and the coast, but most people who live in the area are connected to the tech industry, particularly Intel. So we figured there had to be a decent Indian restaurant nearby. A brief search on Tina's iPad led us to Urban Masala, which had just opened a couple of months earlier:

We enjoyed the Indian music in the background, but the decor and ambience were otherwise unremarkable:

The food, however, was pretty good, beginning with the complimentary papadum:

The chana masala was simple, spicy, and pretty straightforward:

The baigan bharta was far better than my photo of it:

The impressive khoormani ghosht, apricot lamb, showed off the tender gamy lamb with the sweetness of the fruit and abundant spice:

Equally outstanding was the wonderful garlic naan:

Light, puffy, crunchy flatbread, hot from the oven, as good as I've ever had.

Dinner tab less than half of lunch:

All in all, it was a good day. Gorgeous weather and scenery. Good food. Tina. Can't really ask for more.

A Daytrip to Nara and Lunch at Kuromon Ichiba (Osaka)

October 30, 2015 mmm-yoso Caffeine Fix, Japan, Markets & Grocers, Osaka, Travel

I don't think a trip to Kyoto/Osaka would be complete without a short detour to Nara, once the capital of Japan.

It was a quick 45 minute train ride to JR Nara Station. From there, we decided to take a leisurely walk to Todai-ji.

It was a quiet and rather relaxing walk…… we passed an interesting looking "local-kine place" along the way.

We saw a branch of Ko Hi Kan Coffee along the way, so we decided to stop and get our caffeine fix for the morning. Pour-over of course…..per the Missus.

The women working here were very friendly.

It was a nice cup(s) of coffee, which energized our rather tired bones for the walk.

It was just a short walk to the Nara Park area.

We ended up spending the most of our time in a couple of areas; the first being Kofuku-ji, once the temple of the Fujiwara-shi, once one of the most powerful families in Japan.

The Pagoda here was undergoing repairs when we visited; but the grounds were really quite beautiful….in a stark and spartan way.

We soon entered the heart of Nara Park; famous for their temples…and of course the aggressive deer. Actually, I found the deer here to be much more mellow than the super aggressive deer in Miyajima. Though you might have a different opinion if you've ever read Lynnea's post on Nara. That last photo in that post is still a favorite of mine.

Just in case you hadn't been informed of the risks of screwing around with the rather cute four-legged friends….there are signs that explain the possible hazards of messing around with them.

I believed that the biggest draw to Nara would be Tōdai-ji.

Based on the crowds that lines the Main Gate, I'd say that my statement is pretty much correct.

The Daibutsu-den, which houses the world's largest bronze rendering of Buddha is quite impressive.

The bronze Buddha which is also quite impressive at 49 feet tall and 92 feet across at the shoulders! This is a image of Dainichi Buddha, the "Celestial Buddha", the source from which all other Buddha's emanate.

There's a lot to see here. There are other statues, like the rather mencing and imposing looking Komokuten; Buddha's Guard who is stepping upon a demon, yet brandishing a scroll and brush, symbolizing both the power and wisdom of the Sutras over ignorance.

To the right of the Buddha sits Nyoirin Kannon.

In contrast to the rather scary and imposing Komokuten, the Nyoirin Kannon represents compassion and boundless love for all.

And, for those who want enlightenment…..you can try to pass through a hole in one of the pillars deemed Buddha's Nostril. Passing through the hole means that you be granted enlightenment….though I believe it doesn't happen until your next life. Plus, I read that it's only about 20 inches wide….the size of Buddha's nostrils…….better leave this to the one of the school kids; many of whom still struggled to get through.

It was fun watching all the school kids trying to pass through the hole….each one had a photo taken…proof that enlightenment will be bestowed upon them. Personally, I did gain a bit of enlightenment….but it happened in the form of the restroom sign. I learned the power of a single space…where Gentleman….became "Gentle Man". Now that's powerful, right?

Kids of all ages came to visit Tōdai-ji. This group of really young ones seemed so cute and charming. They were so little, that a few of them needed help going down the stairs.

And of course, they sell "senbei"…..crackers for the deer…which means every group of school kids became a feeding frenzy.

It was starting to get really crowded. Which meant it was time to "hele".

It definitely is a must see if you're in Kyoto or Osaka.

Initially, the plan was to have lunch in Nara, but we decided to head back to Osaka. Just a few blocks from the busy arcades of Dotonburi resides Kuromon Market.

Along with the numerous shops were countless food stalls, selling everything from live blowfish to Kobe Beef. And there was even a good sized supermarket in the middle of it all.

It was quite a variety. We then decided to just buy a couple of items and have lunch in the market.

It also wasn't easy deciding on what to get. We actually did a walkthrough of the entire market area before making our selections. It was hard resisting all the Kobe beef….especially since you could "burn your meat after ordering"….

In the end I chose some really nice toro from one of the market stalls. The woman sliced everything quite nicely and provided me with wasabi and shoyu.

The Missus chose a selection of nimono and ohitashi for a nice meal from the very friendly folks at another stand.

It made for a very nice lunch.

After finishing up, we headed to the market to grab some beverages and snacks for the evening. At first I was just going to grab 2-3 items, but ended up with quite a load. While walking the aisles I felt a tap on the shoulder. I turned to find a kind looking, elderly gentleman smiling at me. He had two shopping baskets in hand….and passed one of them to me. Such a thoughtful gesture. You gotta love Osaka.

The Missus and I were having a great time.

Kuromon Ichiba
2-4-1 Nippombashi, Chuo-ku, Osaka