mmm-yoso!!!

What's the Missus Craving? Santouka

Enjoying the wet and cold weather? I'm not minding it too much....though give me a couple more days of it and I might change that opinion. The colder weather had the Missus wanting ramen. Her choice? Well, if you've been reading this blog for a while that's an easy one, we even made to the tiny flagship shop in Japan. So nope; it ain't Menya Ultra....it's Santouka of course.

It's the shio toroniku all the way here. The drill is ordering a large bowl and natto-gohan and the Missus and I share. The pork cheek was especially flavorful this time around; the tongue-coating broth scalding....the thick sided bowl makes sure it stays that way for a while. The noodles were good, with a decent chew and stayed that way for the entire meal. Even more consistent....that egg....well, it's always over-cooked, but at least it's free.

Here's to consistency!

Santouka Ramen
4240 Kearny Mesa Rd(In the Mitsuwa Marketplace)
San Diego, CA 92111

Keep warm everyone!

Ramen Yamachan (Formerly Ramen Yamadaya - Clairemont Mesa)

Last weekend I noticed that the Ramen Yamadaya turnover had been completed; they've kept the "RAMEN" and added a "chan" to the end.

The interior looks the same; though the patio is closed at this time.

The menu is simple and to the point; Tonkotsu, Spicy Tonkotsu, Miso, and Shoyu (chicken based). Additional toppings and a few sides, something called Okinawan Onigiri; basically Spam Musubi, Gyoza (note to staff: discretion might help...as in don't make it so obvious you're serving packaged frozen gyoza....I saw you bring out those two red bags out of the freezer), and such.

The young lady working was very nice and I decided to just stick with the Tonkotsu Ramen and made it a combo with karaage and a salad for five bucks more.

The broth was thin and lacking richness with no tongue feel,  very bland, even what little black garlic oil was added did it no favors. The chashu was nicely torched but quite bland as well. The egg was really salty and cold. The broth was barely over lukewarm.....like Yamadaya at the end of its run.

On the plus side??? Well, the noodles were decently prepared and still had a decent pull to them.

Soon enough the karaage and salad arrived. The karaage was strangely lukewarm in the center and really needed a flavor boost as it was really bland. It was slightly crisp.

The greens were nice and crisp; but the dressing had way too much vinegar in it.

So....hopefully things will get straightened out....but the overall meal really reminded me of Yamadaya near the end.

Ramen Yamachan
4706 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

Los Angeles - Kinjiro and Karayama

While we were enjoying Little Tokyo, we knew exactly where we were headed for dinner. I'd been reading about Kinjiro for several years now. And knowing of the Missus's love of Izakaya's, I thought the somewhat modern elevated izakaya type dishes would please Her.

So, I made reservations about a month in advance. My emails were quickly replied to and the process was a breeze. Good thing too....this shop next to the always busy Sushi Gen in Honda Plaza is reservation only.

We were the first customers of the night and were quickly seated by the very efficient, friendly, and knowledgeable young man working the front of house.

It was pretty easy determining what we wanted to eat, starting with the Squid Ink Shiokara ($7)….to think of the days when the Missus wouldn't touch this stuff; but now with Her love of fermented foods (ah those "chinmi" foods) and our visits to Japan and especially Hokkaido, Her tune has really changed.

The wonderful salty-cheesy-funky-oceany-savory and oddly sweet flavors goes so well with sake. We tried several over the course of the evening; our favorite being the Kokuryu “Black Dragon” Junmai Ginjo, smooth, not overly sweet, and so balanced. The squid fermented in guts had the perfect amount of toothsomeness. This was quite good.

Next up was the Uni, Scallop, and Blue Crab in Ponzu Jelly ($25). This was a nice refreshing turn after the shiokara.

On this evening it was Santa Barbara Uni, decent quality, meaty, slightly sweet, mildly astringent. We both loved the tender scallop....talk about sweet and tender. There was quite a bit of tasty, moist crab meat at the bottom of the cup. Perhaps not the best quality, but still quite good. The ponzu jelly helped to create a nice balance in flavors and tie the dish together.

Next up was the Homemade Agedashi Tofu with Mushroom Ankake Sauce $16).

My least favorite dish of the evening. The typical gooey-starchy ankake sauce lacked the woodsy-earthy flavor I enjoy from mushrooms. Even with the dashi backbone it was still quite bland. The tofu was a bit more firm than I enjoy in this type of dish as well.

The Missus's least favorite dish of the night; the Bone Marrow Dengaku ($12).

Deeply beefy in flavor it was just too much for the Missus; but I loved it. The miso wasn't over-powering and paired well with the buttery-rich bone marrow.

The Missus absolutely adored the Seared Uni ($30).

Initially we thought this was going to be a mushy mess; but the uni had kept it's shape well and was very sweet. It went well with the texture of the wakame; which added some crunch and made the actual nori strips somewhat superfluous. I let the Missus have most of this as She loved it so much.

We both thoroughly enjoyed the Tendon, Tongue, Sinew, and Tripe Stew ($18).

This was wonderfully beefy and savory; with just the right amount of savory (read - miso/soy sauce), tanginess (tomato), sweetness (probably mirin/sake)….we were begging for rice! The tendon and tripe were so tender; the tongue had a wonderful beefiness......that dried pesto toast was a travesty to a dish that truly deserved rice! This was wonderful; the flavors taking me back to Nagoya for some reason.

We decided to end the meal here. It was quite nice and I'm sure we'll return. Service was excellent. Again, reservation only, as several parties were turned away.

Kinjiro
424 E 2nd St. (In Honda Plaza)
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Since we had eaten dinner early, we decided to stroll around Little Tokyo a bit more. It was nice to see that an old favorite of the Missus was still going strong.

Though I wondered how much She'd still enjoy it here all these years later?

There's always something interesting to see around here.

At the stage in Japanese Village Plaza brave souls were trying their hand at karaoke.

We hung around a bit to cheer them on!

Wandering around a bit more; I noticed a shop, Karayama a fried chicken chain from Japan had opened in the area. I suddenly had a bit more capacity. At least enough for five pieces of Karaage. So while I waited for my five pieces to go.....

The Missus waited outside checking messages and such.

Sorry to say there's not a whole lot of photos on this one.....

We destroyed the hot, crisp, moist, tasty-but-not-salty pieces of chicken before the end of the block....we'll definitely have to return here!

Karayama
136 S Central Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Open Daily - 11am - 930pm

We got back to the hotel and got ready or bed. Our shuttle to the airport would be picking us up at 5am the next morning, so we needed to get to sleep early.

Still; I couldn't help but take a peek out the window to see if there was still a line outside Daikokuya…...

Niban (more visits)

mmm-yoso!!! welcomes you back to peruse more meals consumed. Kirk is still busy and Cathy is writing again. 

In 2006, again in 2010, once more in 2011, part of a mixed post in 2016, I've written about this fast/casual, inexpensive, good Japanese restaurant which has been part of our 'regular rotation' for more than a decade.  This post is about our December and January visits.

The key to some of the more interesting items here is to check the walls and windows, although the menu itself is simple and good.   One of the December window posters was this-Cheese Curry (with chicken) ($8.95).  This included salad and a beverage.  Well, this was different.  Kirk said it is Yoshoku Food, - Westernized Japanese. The curry was, as always, great (there are shredded pieces of beef along with large pieces of carrots, onion and potatoes in the slightly sweet mixed flavor sauce).  The cheese topping was different and a nice texture along with saltiness made this bowl of comfort a bit different.  The window next to the entrance not only has a large menu, but the shelving underneath has a display of four specials for that day.  On this day, the ginger chicken with fried gyoza Bento box ($8.25) was one of the specials.  The dumplings can be steamed or fried; the top right corner has two small 'salad' sides- one of soy marinated bean sprouts and the other a salmon based chilled salad.  The regular salad has a fresh ginger dressing and the ginger chicken was juicy (dark meat) along with mushrooms and zucchini.  A hearty lunch. 
When you walk in, just above and behind the cash register (where you order and pay before finding a table) is a small chalkboard with two 'Daily Lunch' Specials (now $7.25; each was $6.75 in December).  This one is the 'Gyoza Lunch'.  These are the steamed gyoza, which I like just a little more than the fried ones.  The filling is the same (more pork than vegetable) the skin is nice and thin. The miso soup is standard and good, as is the salad and (large serving of) rice.
  The Bento lunch ($7.25) has three pieces of fried seafood (shrimp, fish and squid in this case), one inari (sweet tofu skin filled with rice, topped with crab), six California rolls and some of that salmon salad.  Again, a good lunch. 

 There is a six seat sushi bar, where many people enjoy their meals (walk up and have a seat and pay after).

Niban 7081 Clairmont Mesa Blvd San Diego 92111 (858)268-0465 Open Mon-Th 11-2:30, 5-9:30 Fri-Sat 11-2:30, 5-10 Sun 4:30-9:30

Chopstix Too (one more time)

Thank you for stopping by to read mmm-yoso!!!  Kirk is taking a short break and Cathy is writing several short posts.  

Kirk and I first wrote about Chopstix Too on the same post in 2006.  I wrote some follow up posts: 2008, 2018 and probably other times.  (Vicky wrote a post in 2009). Fast, casual, fresh, Japanese.

It's been raining for the past few days and I have more than several bowls of soup to show you, but last week, we changed it up.  

 Here is photographic proof that it does rain in Southern California.
 We arrived before noon and the tables were not filled (they were by the time we left).
 The Mister chose the plate of Ika Katsu with Mabo ($9.45). You may not think this is a big deal, but if you peruse my previous posts, each one of those shows a bowl of Mabo Ramen; this was the first time ever when it was not ordered.  The Mabo sauce was great; it goes with rice, too!  The fry on the squid was light, crispy, not oily-very tender squid.  The miso was well made.  The crisp salad was refreshing; we've only been eating cooked (in soups and stews) vegetables the past few weeks.
I chose the seafood yaki udon (instead of soba) ($9.95).  Mussels, squid, shrimp, fresh vegetables (broccoli, cabbage, carrot, bean sprouts, green onion) and the fat udon noodles, stir fried was just comforting, texture and flavor filled bites throughout the whole plate. 

The rain should be over by today, but we need some sunshine (and heat)-so much needs to dry to get the chill gone.  It's still soup weather, though.  Future posts.

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

 

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

More Ramen Ruminations - Revisits to Karami Ramen and Ramen Ryoma (Clairemont Mesa)

Two ramen places I promised to return to. The Missus calls me "boring"; I call it consistency....but, on these visits, I decided to have something I hadn't ordered before.

Karami Ramen:

I'd heard that the menu had changed up a bit since I first visited in August. In fact, "Som Tommy" recommended the Curry-Shoyu Ramen......which I would probably never order on my own. I recalled the curry being okay...so on a pretty cold day (insert "by San Diego standards" disclaimer here), I thought it might be worth a try.

The same funny young lady....who warned me about the (not so) Triple Super Spicy Chashu Shio Ramen last time was working. I went ahead and ordered the Curry-Shoyu Ramen.

So, this was kind of interesting. Apparently, the ramen broth is poured in first; then the curry in the center so it's separated. The curry was barely lukewarm while the shoyu broth was just slightly hot, mixing it together made it colder than I prefer overall. The curry here is actually not bad; though again, the beef is really dry. This was ok; if you like curry flavored ramen broth, or runny curry, you'll love this. I had tasted the broth and it was less salty than I recalled, but really lacks any depth of flavor....so maybe the curry is doing you a favor. The noodles were the typical type you'll find everywhere; though it was cooked nicely, and was actually hotter than anything else in the bowl. Enjoyed the thick sliced menma, nice crunchy and earthy flavors. As before, the egg was cold and the chashu dry.

I was the only customer in the place. I believe we're hitting "critical mass" with regards to ramen in San Diego. I'm wondering how long Karami is going to last?

Karami Ramen
3860 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Ramen Ryoma:

Another shop I promised to return to. With their second location now open in PB and a third coming soon, I thought it might be a nice time to return. I visited on a Sunday right when the place opened and like Karami, it was pretty quiet.

Having tried both the Shoyu and Shio ramen; I decided to go with the Miso Ramen, with tamago.

While the broth edged on being a bit too salty; it was fine in this framework and was overall less salty than what I'd had here before. It wasn't very miso forward; just a hint of umami and was fairly rich while not being greasy. While I didn't find the broth thick enough to coat my tongue it did cling really well to the perfectly cooked curly and chewy noodles. This might be the best of the three versions of ramen I've had here. The chashu was too tough and salty. The egg was nicely done and not cold.

Not bad, definitely worth another visit....one of these days.

Ramen Ryoma
9119 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92123
 

Roaming for Ramen - Revisits to Santouka, Nishiki Ramen, and BeShock Ramen and Sake Bar

It's definitely been ramen weather over the last couple of weeks; so I took advantage of the nice chill (all relative of course) to revisit a couple of ramen places I haven't been to in a while.

Santouka:

Even with wall to wall ramen in San Diego these days; I still count Santouka among my favorites. And though it's no longer my #1 favorite; I'd still take it over just about every other place. Though you can tell that there's been a whole lot of ramen shops opening in San Diego since I don't think I've been to Santouka in over a year!

Still, Santouka was the Missus's favorite, so much so, that we sought out the original flagship shop in Asahikawa.

Foe me; there's just one thing to get here. The Shio Toroniku.

Which is, of course what I got. The noodles were firm, with a nice chew, the broth not overly salty, rich, and scalding in the signature thick sided bowl....a necessity in Asahikawa where the coldest temperature in the history of Japan was recorded. The pork cheek was fairly tender and well flavored, nice soy tones going on. It delivered as expected. I decided to go without the terminally over-cooked egg....which, unfortunately, like that bowl is a signature of Santouka….it was the same in Japan! The one difference I do note is that the broth in Japan has a hint of seafood. I recall it being that way when Santouka first opened here in San Diego; but it seems to have gotten more "pork forward" since then. Not that I'm complaining about that.

Santouka Ramen
4240 Kearny Mesa Rd(In the Mitsuwa Marketplace)
San Diego, CA 92111

Nishiki Ramen:

In the same strip mall as Santouka and Mitsuwa. Calvin had never been and had been asking to go. I hadn't been in a while, so I thought why not.

We started with the Chicken Karaage; which was nice and crisp.

It was too salty and lacked the savory complexity of a good karaage

After my Santouka visit; I decided to put my preference for straight up Tonkotsu style broth on hold and try some different things. So I ordered the "Smoke Bomb Black" Ramen again.

This looked very rich, almost greasy, but it was strangely not. You got a hit of garlic at the front end; but not much other than a bit of pork-poultry....the broth lacked the tongue coating richness I anticipated, it was almost weak, somewhat anticlimactic you could say. The temp was also on the colder than I prefer as well. The noodles were over-cooked for my taste and a chashu tough. I did enjoy the sweet crunch the corn brought to this bowl and the egg was perfectly boiled and not cold.

So now that I've had this twice, I can move on......though I'm not sure to what.....

Nishiki Ramen
8055 Armour St
San Diego, CA 92111

BeShock Ramen and Sake Bar:

I'd been wanting to return to BeShock since I first visited over two years ago. Having two long weekends with no plans on a couple of those days meant I could finally head back and check in at BeShock.

I got there right when they opened and was greeted by two cheerful, smiling faces. The young ladies here were very friendly and efficient.

Being a fan of using Shio Koji in my recipes; I was intrigued by the Chicken Koji Ramen. So I decided to get that.

I expected something on the salty end of the spectrum and this was that; but it also lacked any real complexity. The broth was too thin and really lacked richness; I'd expected that nice umami from Shio Koji; but that was definitely lacking. That dry, flavorless chicken breast didn't help things as well. The egg; while cold, was cooked nicely as were the standard issue noodles. I guess this is "healthy ramen"?

I was thrilled to see Nagoya Teba on the menu. I recalled that the owner was from Nagoya, so I was excited to try out these chicken wings.

Decently, though not evenly fried and the flesh was on the drier side. The wings weren't evenly glazed with the sauce and was really too sweet. It definitely needed that kick of black pepper and more soy sauce, garlic, ginger juice, you name it. You can tell by how light the wings are in color; this needed more....

I thought the service was very nice and I'll definitely drop by again. Though I'll go for a more conventional ramen next time.

BeShock Ramen & Sake Bar
1288 Market St
San Diego, CA 92101

Breakfast at Hinotez Again

I'm a bit under the weather, so just a short post for tonight.

So, you know that Mien Trung was my first meal after returning from France. The other thing I was craving was Japanese Breakfast; I wasn't looking for anything particularly fancy; just a simple workmanlike (or Salarymanlike) breakfast would do. Something I've already waxed nostalgic about before. The only show in town for this is Hinotez.

And while I do enjoy the Japanese Breakfast here there have been changes over the last couple of years; on the good side; you can now get Japanese Breakfast everyday from 8am to 11am. On the bad side; and this has been true for a while.....you need to order 2 items from the entrée category. Kind of a bummer; because I really wanted natto-egg-tororo.

I enjoy the karaage at Hintotez, so that was an easy choice....it's the second choice that had me in the grips of "analysis paralysis". In the end; I just went with the Gyoza and with everything, this came out to $12...…..

I keep forgetting to tell them to give me "half rice".....this is just a load of rice and it's totally out of proportion,when mixed with the tororo, natto, and egg.

The karaage could have been more crisp; but the savory-soy flavor was perfect....the gyoza was not bad, crisp and the filling was decent. The miso soup was better than on previous visits; not watered down.

But, of course I was all over the natto-tororo-3 minute egg......gooey-fermented loveliness.

It did hit the spot. I left not feeling like super-hero....but in need to return to bed......a perfect weekend day indeed.

Hinotez
7947 Balboa Ave
San Diego, CA 92111
Breakfast now served daily from 8am - 11am

Izakaya Masa Revisited

Well, it's been a pretty busy couple of days for me and I'm getting older, so it ain't getting easier.....even though they say you need less sleep as you get older, which I'm finding to be true. Anyway, these 4am mornings and long days...… Since the Missus was working until late on this day, and it was close to 6pm, I decided to head up to Izakaya Masa. It had been a solid fours years and change since I last visited. And there was a line out front five minutes before opening. They don't open until 6pm these days; though I remember when I used to work close by and they served lunch. Heck, I used to stop by when they used to be Teriyaki Cowboy. One thing was certain, I'm not a huge fan of the ramen at Izakaya Masa; so I'd be passing on that. At least on this visit. Maybe one day in future if I'm feeling especially curious......

On this evening, I was beat and wanted a nice variety of items. I started with my favorite little appetizer here; the Chuka Kurage; jellyfish salad.

The flavors are not as strong as Chinese style Jellyfish salad; not as salty, not as sour, not as sweet. But I enjoy the nice crunch, the light touch of sesame oil, it makes for a good start to a meal.

Being a fan of "neba-neba"; the rather gooey-slimey texture of foods like natto and soft egg; things I raised on. I ordered the Maguro Yamakake; raw tuna with grated Yamaimo (mountain yam).

I had seen folks ordering sashimi and other stuff; which had me wondering what the quality of the fish was. Well; it was really low quality maguro; on the hard and crunchy side, lacking in the wonderful, buttery texture of good quality fish. I should have known better.

One item; which for me, has always been one of the signature dishes at Masa has been the restaurant's version of chicken karaage; Masa's Fried Chicken. So I had to order that.

Back over a decade ago, the chicken used to have a slight funky, fermented spice, along with the typical soy flavors of karaage, it had gotten less so over time. It was also a lot less crunchy and dry the last few times I ate the chicken here. Well, even though I still think the pieces here are too large; reducing the batter to meat ratio; there was some crunch to be had, the dark meat chicken was very moist and juicy and the seasoning, though milder than before, combined with how it was cooked this time around, made this a very satisfying dish. This was not bad at all.

I needed something to finish things off; to balance out the fried foods. Growing up; we didn't have much money and a simple dish of natto-gohan or chazuke was often a meal for us. Feeling a bit worn down and in need of something comforting; I went with the Ume Ochazuke. Growing up; my mom made chazuke with Genmaicha and dashi-no-moto. It wouldn't be strange finding a slice of fried Spam® topping my rice.

With that in mind; this was terrible; from the hard rice, to what tasted mostly like boiled water; could they have made this any more bland? I used the entire lump of "wasabi" to try to bring some flavor to it and ended up dumping some soy sauce (my mom is rolling over in her grave right now) in it for some flavor. For $7 I expected better.

Overall; this meal, while being a bit of a roller-coaster ride, was fine....the jellyfish salad and chicken made up for the the other two dishes.

It was amazing to see how busy Masa is. This was the crowd waiting outside as I left.

So Izakaya Masa isn't doing too bad at all.

And as I always say....I'm sure the food here tastes much better after 3 or 10 beers.....

Izakaya Masa
928 Fort Stockton Dr
San Diego, CA 92103
Hours:
Tues - Sun 6pm - 1am

Anchorage - Yamaya Seafood

Once in a while you'll have a meal where perhaps the food wasn't extremely good; but the experience itself is like something out of one of those food-travel shows, the characters or in this case character is somewhat unforgettable. Thus was the case with Yamaya Seafood. A Japanese, yes, "real" Japanese Izakaya-ish restaurant in, of all places Anchorage.

After sleeping off lunch in our "haunted hotel"; we strolled around town a bit. Stopping at several places to browse.

When it came time for dinner; I knew the Missus needed a short respite from the fried food and such and I was curious about a place I'd read about. Located near the Downtown Transit Center is Yamaya Seafood.

It's one of those "blink and you'll miss it" kind of places. I was curious as to how a Japanese; not Americanized-Japanese, but real Japanese restaurant would do in Anchorage. The entrance to the place is located on the side of the building. We accidentally walked in the front door; into what looked like a living room; sofa, television, mats on the floor, the décor really looked like my grandparent's place. And then we were greeted by a little, but quite feisty woman, who totally reminded me of my aunts on Lana'i. I believe her name is Kazuko.

We were ushered into a dining room that really wouldn't be out of place in some little neighborhood in the Japanese countryside. All the while we were regaled with conversation and questions. Eventually, the Itamae/Chef came out; apparently he is Kazuko's son. We placed our orders; this being a one man operation; with Obaachan doing the dining room work, I expected things to take a while. And they did. But man did we enjoy ourselves.

We just sat back had a couple of Sapporo, all the while chatting with Kazuko-chan.

And boy did we have a lot of questions.....and oh my; did she have some answers:

As to why she moved to Alaska - "the clean air and the clean water...….the beautiful mountains"

Where she lived in Japan - "Tokyo; but it is too dangerous and the too much crime" ??????

The cold? - "it's when the air is the cleanest...."

"When we first built our restaurant, you could see the beautiful mountains; but then they built the Marriott and bah, you can't see the mountains anymore...."

"There one cruise ship from Japan that comes in every year; that is our busiest week. We have to open up the dining room upstairs. But people who eat there have to come down and pick up their own food. I'm too old to be walking up and down the steps."

"Japan is too dirty (?????), here the air is so clean and the water is so pure; I want to live a long life...."

At one point the Itamae said "Ma; you need to stop talking. You are repeating yourself and sound senile!"

But we just loved listening to her.

About forty five minutes later the house cold smoked salmon arrived. It was amazingly good.

Rich and oily (in a good way); a nice mild smoked flavor, perfect salt, the texture was nice and meaty. The onion did a good job of cutting the richness.

Unfortunately, the mixed sashimi wasn't so good.

The salmon was excellent as expected; after all; this is Alaska. The hamachi and tako were still slightly frozen, the maguro had a metallic finish; the shrimp was mushy and watery. The shiromi was fine if edging on the fishy side.

Perhaps we should have ordered something else. But heck; I'd pay twenty bucks just for the conversation. Sometimes the experience tops the food and we were learning a bit about life in Anchorage (it ain't easy) from one tough and feisty Obaachan. At, of all places, a Sushi Bar cum Izakaya in Anchorage. Travel is amazing.

Yamaya Seafood Restaurant
825 W 6th Ave
Anchorage, AK 99501