Kayaba

** Kayaba is now Musashiya

As much as I thought Takara served an ok-in-a-pinch ramen, and was rather sad to suddenly see it gone on one of my shopping trips to Mitsuwa Marketplace, I was over joyed to see that Kayaba was taking it's place. If you've ever eaten at the Mitsuwa's Torrance Food Court you'd know what I mean. It's a food court almost only in name......most all the food is served on real plates, bowls, and trays, giving the experience a more refined feeling.....

If you're a connoisseur of plastic food, you'll love the shiny new display of plastic food at Kayaba...it hasn't been around long enough for the dust to settle on them yet. By the way, did you know that the district of Kappabashi is known for being the mecca of plastic food?

The menu at Kayaba is quite simple and easy, but can be a bit complicated if you haven't dealt with the Udon/Soba/Teishoku(set meal) style of eating. Most meals settle around either soba or udon, donburi(rice bowls topped with savory food) and tonkatsu...and a number of combinations of the previously mentioned items with additional items such as tempura, curry, and so forth. It might be better to check out the plastic food and know which "number" you'd like to order.....the sign behind the cash register lists all the items, but for some reason, I have a problem reading it....it's old age kicking in. You pay for your meal and have a seat. You'll be called when your order is ready.

The Missus's favorite at Kayaba? It's quite easy, it's the simple Zaru Soba(Cold Soba $4.00):

The Missus enjoys this so much, that She had it three times when I was on my short trip to LA! I think the draw for Her is the soba, the noodles are a fine al dente, with a nice chew and pull. The broth is light and not too salty, and the addition of Tamago (egg omelette) gives you a shot of protein, with the Shiba Zuke(pickled cucumbers) adding a nice pickled palate cleansing.

I enjoy the way that Kayaba does their Tonkatsu( Pork Cutlet $7.50), though it is still a bit "chewy", it is still better than most of the Tonkatsu I've had:

But not all Tonkatsu is created equal at Kayaba. There are two different Tonkatsu cuts offered, either the Tenderloin or the "Rosu" (Pork Loin). To my surprise the tenderloin turned out to be very moist with a pleasant flavor, while the "Rosu" was tough and tasteless, in spite of the higher amount of fat. Go figure! The breading on the Tonkatsu has always been done well, nice, light, and crisp, and the cutlet is served on it's own little platform to allow oil to drain off.

The Tonkatsu is served with the traditional shredded cabbage, pickles, rice, a potato salad that I love...lot's of onions, so beware.....the one component of this meal that I didn't care for was the miso soup:

Very watery and bland...

Here's the Shrimp Tempura with Hot Soba($6.50):

Again the soba was pretty darn good, the broth tasted like a simple heated shiro...just like the zaru shiro heated, but it was fine. The shrimp tempura was fried well, and had a good shrimp flavor.

On this trip I decided to try out the Curry Katsu($7.50):

I enjoyed the Tonkatsu as always, but I didn't care for the curry, it lacked any depth of flavor, was very runny, and had a "powdery" feel. I ate all the pork trying to wipe off all the curry, and left the curry alone.

Here's a photo of some Sansai Soba($5.80):

Never got a taste, but it's the hot soba topped with various "mountain vegetables", like warabi(fern shoots) and bamboo shoots.

Some notes on Kayaba: All noodle dishes are available with either Udon or Soba. Kayaba does not do take out, in fact there were several people before me who asked. Soon after, a "No take-out" sign appeared on the cash register. But here's a trick, you can ask for containers for your food, and take your tray of food to a table and empty them into styrofoam containers. I saw this done twice. When it get's busy, there might be a bit of a wait to order, in addition to a pretty long wait for your food. Oh, and don't get there right at closing time....they will close exactly at 7pm!

Kayaba
4240 Kearny Mesa Rd Ste 119 - In the Mitsuwa Marketplace
San Diego, CA 92111

Open Daily 11am-7pm

Comments

[nhbilly]

Never really had the urge to try soba. I might give it a shot at the Mitsuwa in Costa Mesa...

[Chubbypanda]

Sounds right up my alley. I'm a big fan and Ten Zaru Soba and Sansai Udon.

- Chubbypanda

[Joseph E]

We are definitely trying this place soon. It seems to fill a good niche in the Japanese food scene, and I love the touch of class with nice plates. The platform for the tonkatsu could make all the difference in keeping the breading crunchy. I'm glad you recommended it.

And my wife still needs to see the plastic food.

[sherry]

That all looks wonderful--except for the miso soup!

[cathy]

Also, there are always two ladies standing near the back, who clear the table for you. You don't have to carry anything to the trash. The only thing that I think is odd is no hot tea, just water is available. I have walked into Mitsuwa and bought a bottle or can of cold tea while waiting for the food.

[Captain Jack]

Kayaba looks great! Another informative and educational piece of reporting by the mmm-yoso team. I think I will steer clear of the curry though. "Powdery" is not an appetizing descriptor

[The Guilty Carnivore]

I was sad to hear you tell me last summer that my favorite quick-stop ramen shop in San Diego had closed. This player-to-be-named-later looks good...but no ramen?

[Trent]

How about a taste test with the new Curry House next to Nijiya?

[Kathy]

You took the words out of my mouth - that's a fantastic looking potato salad! I've never been a huge mac salad fan, but potato salad? YES!

[Jim]

Plastic food…If it was not for the plastic food in windows in restaurants in Japan, I would have starved my first year in Japan. I can’t recall how many times I brought the server outside in order to point at the food of my choice.

Plastic food rules!!!

[RONW]

I agree with Kathy (above) with the mac salad. Why they started leaving potatoes out of the salad, befundles me, still.

[Ed]

The tonkatsu looks really good - I might make some sometime this week! And where do they get those draining racks?

BTW, it looks like the crouton is not youshoku, but is "fu", the ever dreaded "wheat gluten" product.

[Jiro]

Hi, I'm a Japanese staying SD. Your blog is our lighthouse for exploring for good eats in SD... thank you!
BTW, "the crouton" in miso soup (I agree with you... It looks waterly) is fried tofu, a genuine Japanese ingredient called "Age" or "Abura-age". We use it very often for miso soup and also for the skin of "Inari-sushi"... FYI.

[Kirk]

Hi Bill - I used to hate soba as a kid...but now I enjoy it.

Hi CP - Good stuff all around.

Hi JosephE - You're right, Kayaba does fill a need here in SD.

Hi Sherry - That miso soup is pretty bad.

Hi Cathy - Actually, most of the Mitsuwa food courts work the same way.

Hi CJ - I just didn't care for that curry at all.....

Hi GC - Sorry no ramen....but there is still an area boarded up...so I keep hoping, maybe Santouka......now that would really fill a need!

Hi Trent - Yes, Curry House will be coming up....

Hi Kathy - This salad is really to my taste, though you might want to avoid it if you don't like onions.

Hi Jim - Another person saved by plastic food! They should do a show on that..."I was saved by plastic food"

Hi RONW - I know.....over the years potato started disappearing...food cost???

Hi Ed - Funny, I saw some of those racks at Marukai in Gardena...and was tempted to buy some, but I don't think I'd use them very much.

Hi Jiro - Welcome and thanks for commenting. So it's aburage, eh? Well it's the most sorry excuse for aburage I've ever seen or tasted...totally mushy like soggy bread. I use aburage alot, I even have some in the frig right now, and I still couldn't identify it! LOL!

[Jenne]

I just went to Kayaba today and I know what you mean about the menu being hard to read--I got confused and accidentally asked for oyakodon instead of katsudon, but it was pretty good anyway and I liked the pickles that came with it. Maybe shibazuke?

I agree, the soup was horrible, and it was in fact abura-age in there though it didn't taste like much of anything. Blah.

I like how they show Japanese TV--good practice to keep up my language skills.

Next time maybe I'll try the soba.

[Kirk]

Hi Jenne - Yes, it is Shibazuke, I don't know if I mentioned that or not, around New Year's there's always good tsukemono available at the markets. Best thing is to get which item# you want...got to remember soba vs udon though.