Well, I gotta say, based on my last visit to Kayaba, it seemed the place was "not long for this world". 
Sad, because I'd had some pretty good meals there in the past. At the end of October, I received a text from Dennis showing a new sign going up. A shop named Musashiya, which I believe has the same ownership as the Udon shop in LA.
So, before leaving on our trip, I decided to drop by. Looking at the menu and the plastic food, it seems that only the name has changed.
I've had the Katsu Curry at Kayaba many times, so I decided to go with that.
Well, as you can see the place has some spiffy new plates. Also, notice there basically nothing in the curry....it's almost all sauce. And while the curry at Kayaba would sometimes vary wildly in flavor, this tasted about right, mild heat, mild spice, thick gravy. At least the tonkatsu wasn't fried to death.......it was moist, though the breading could have been more crisp. I think there was a mild malfunction with the salad as it had no dressing. I also ordered a side of the potato salad, which I'd always enjoyed at Kayaba. This version had enough onion, but needed some salt.
Here's a vintage photo of the Katsu Curry.....
.
Well, at least the tonkatsu was decent, right? So upon returning from our trip to Seoul and Japan, I decided to try the tonkatsu and this is what I got.
Good lord. Talk about deja vu all over again. Dry, fried to death, breading as hard as rock, and check out the gaps between the breading and the pork! Very sad. Well, the potato salad tasted well seasoned this time around. The miso soup at Kayaba had always been kind of insipid; that held steady.
Here's another vintage photo of better days past......
So like the lyrics go at the end of Won't Get Fooled Again" by The Who: "Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss....."
Perhaps the menu will change...perhaps we'll see handmade udon....perhaps the new boss will be the same as the old boss. And I'm sure to get fooled again, though not by Musashiya.......for at least a couple of months.
Musashiya
4240 Kearny Mesa Rd Ste 119 - In the Mitsuwa Marketplace
San Diego, CA 92111
Hi Kirk. Yeah pretty much no change (and they should also soak/rinse the shredded cabbage to rid of its aku raw flavor). Yet despite a minefield of personal pet peeves I somehow occasionally find myself here out of sheer convenience and price point. :/
Posted by: Dennis | Wednesday, 16 December 2015 at 08:56 PM
Hey Dennis - Hope all is well. I think what they put out here is so inconsistent now...... but like you, I'll probably be back again....
Posted by: Kirk | Wednesday, 16 December 2015 at 09:04 PM
:(
Posted by: kat | Wednesday, 16 December 2015 at 09:25 PM
Seems likely they are consistent with being inconsistent.
Posted by: nhbilly | Thursday, 17 December 2015 at 05:33 AM
Sounds like the *new* owner needs to babysit things for a bit.
Posted by: janfrederick | Thursday, 17 December 2015 at 08:05 AM
Oh no.... I haven't been fooled yet. Thanks for taking one for the team!
Posted by: Soo @ hungryones | Thursday, 17 December 2015 at 09:28 AM
That tonkatsu is a crime against humanity.
Posted by: Junichi | Thursday, 17 December 2015 at 11:33 AM
Totally Kat!
Sounds about right Billy!
There needs to be something more than changing uniforms and plates Jan.
It was quite disappointing Soo.
It was terribly prepared Junichi.
Posted by: Kirk | Friday, 18 December 2015 at 06:49 AM
I had a mini chicken katsu curry plate at L&L last night...i know, i know but there was no where else to go! ;) and the katsu looked way better than that!
Posted by: jack | Wednesday, 23 December 2015 at 07:27 AM
Kind of sad, huh Jack? Hope they get their act together.
Posted by: Kirk | Wednesday, 23 December 2015 at 10:02 AM