January 18, 2012 1

Tsujita LA (Sawtelle)

//// By in 12: Sawtelle, Favorite Food Entries

Tsujita LATsujita LA
After reading the glowing review from Jonathan Gold, we know that Tsujita LA is a must-try. Tsujita is a chain from Japan and its first LA outpost is in Sawtelle. At night it’s a chichi Izakaya serving fine Japanese dishes, by day it specializes in Hakata Nagahama Tonkotsu Ramen, ramen with pork broth simmered for 60 hours.

We heard about the huge crowd and long wait so we arrived at 11 am on a Sun morning and got the last table. I was intrigue by the beautiful wood work on the ceiling.

Tsujita LA
I love all these sauces and toppings on the table for “enhancement”, even though you don’t really need it.

Tsujita LATsujita LA
The thing to get here is Tsukemen, “dipping ramen” with condensed 60 hour simmered pork broth “sauce”. In the pictures are: Ajitama Tsukemen (with soft yolk flavored egg) and Char siu Tsukemn. You eat the ramen like eating soba with dipping sauce.

The sauce is of course amazing! It has extra seafood flavor compare with the regular soup ramen. It’s very rich, sweeter, more “umami” than the regular soup broth. The noodle is thicker than regular soup one as well, and you can add in a bit of lime for a little extra zing to the taste.

The char siu is very tender thats melt in your mouth, and the soft yolk egg is one of the best I’ve ever had! I think both items are better than Ramen Jinya.

Tsujita LA’s tsukemen is a MUST try. Next time I’ll try their regular soup ramen but I don’t know if I can resist getting tsukemen again.  I’d love to try their fancy Izakaya at dinner time too. Tsujita, along with Ramen Jinya and Yamadaya which I’ll blog next, really raise the bar for ramen in Los Angeles! Again, why are people still queuing at that certain place in Little Tokyo is truly beyond me ^_-.

TSUJITA L.A.
2057 Sawtelle Blvd, West Los Angeles
(310) 231-7373

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January 18, 2012 1

Ramen Jinya (Miracle Mile)

//// By in 07: Mid-Wilshire

I’m so glad to see all these ramen joints popping up all over LA these days! I thought I was mistaken when I drove by Wilshire and saw the sign Ramen Jinya in a tiny strip mall that nobody really goes to. Could there really be a good authentic ramen joint so close to where I live in my neighourhood? Especially in Miracle Mile which is kind of lacking in good food?

Ramen JinyaRamen Jinya
We decided to check it out as it had just newly opened. The furnitures are still new and the interior is “designy” but understated compare to Robata Jinya. For some reason the soundtrack is techno, not the good ones either.

Ramen Jinya
Tonkotsu Black $10.55
Instead of their regular Tonkotsu ramen I tried the “special” on the menu which cost more. The difference seems to be more toppings and the extra dark oil. The ramen is pork broth based, the toppings are: chashu, spinach, bamboo green onion, fried onion, dried seaweed and flavored egg + garlic oil.

Rich flavorful broth, springy noodle, soft yolk egg…etc, it’s good and satisfying. But I’m not sure the extra black oil add that much to it. Probably fine to just get the regular one. I’ll comment on this more when I review the other new places, for comparison.

Ramen Jinya
My poor husband is allergic to gluten so he opt for the Tokyo curry rice. Turns out, it was surprisingly very good! The curry has ground meat in it.
We actually went back few days later for the curry. Their Gyoza are pretty good too.

We’re satisfied and really glad for it to be in this neck of the wood so we don’t always have to drive to Sawtelle, Culver city or Torrance for some good authentic Japanese ramen and curry! Also, people really should just stop going to that certain popular place in Little Tokyo for subpar ramen + long wait, there’re so many better options now!

In fact we like Sake house Miro down the street too (I never got around to blog about it due to laziness) and both places would make a eating + drinking combine for dining out. There are two other Ramen Jinya in LA, the original one is in Studio city, the other one is on Sawtelle (coming soon). I’ll write about two other new ramen places that we tried next.

Miracle Mile:
5174 Wilsher Blvd Los Angeles CA 90036
323-549-0188

Studio City:
11239 Ventura Blvd. Studio City,CA 91604
818-980-3977

Sawtelle (coming soon):
2208 Sawtelle Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90064
310-481-0977

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December 14, 2011 Off

Ramen Bull Pop-up at Bread bar (WeHo)

//// By in 09: Weho

Breadbar RamenBreadbar Ramen

I missed last year pop up event and my laziness almost made me miss this year too, but I made it to Ironori’s Ramen bull pop up at Breadbar twice during the last two week of its 4 months run. People gets really geeky and obsessive with ramen and I’m not one of them, but I do appreciate a really good bowl of ramen. The ramen serves in this pop up is beef-broth based instead of the usual pork, and it contains meat like oxtails, beef tongue and short ribs.

The first time I went I was surprised at the lack of people. I know it’s been out for months but look at the ridiculous queue at Daikokuya. The 2nd time was the last day, and it was very crowded (lots of really loud big groups) and they sold out all the ramen an hour before the closing time. The ramens weren’t cheap, they cost $12-16 a bowl.

Breadbar RamenBreadbar Ramen

Besides ramen there’re a few appetizers and drinks on the menu. Homemade Hibiscus tea and minty lemonade.
Grill shishitos.

Breadbar Ramen
Miso eggplant.

Breadbar Ramen
Slice Beef tongue: very thin, melt-in-your-mouth tender and buttery.

Breadbar Ramen
Breadbar Ramen
Oxtail Ramen and Short rib Ramen. The broth and ingredients are the same except for the meat. The broth had lots of depth and was very rich, it would go well with some beer or even wine (which I brought for the 2nd time). The meat was tender and flavorful, noodle was springy, I love the perfectly soft-yolk soy sauce egg. Though I wasn’t sure of the “foam”, I don’t think they add too much to it.

I think the ramen worths the $12-16 price for a limited pop up event, though my friend thought it would be too high for a regular restaurant. However, a lot of generic restaurants charge that price for bland, cheap ingredient food (ex: pasta, sandwiches) and somehow that’s seen as ok. If the chef do decide to open a ramen place in LA and keep the high quality of ingredients and cooking, I would not mind to pay a little extra for something specials.

For news for upcoming event: www.ironnori.com

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December 1, 2011 1

Plum (Bay Area: Oakland)

//// By in 04: SF+Bay Area, Favorite Food Entries

PlumPlum

There were a lot of buzz for Plum, a small plate wine bar restaurant in Oakland opened by Coi‘s Daniel Patterson last year. I’ve heard many praise for Coi (i.e. Michelin 2  stars) but never manage to try it, mostly because it’s too expensive. On the other hand Plum’s price range is more manageable.

The restaurant has a fun neighbourhood vibe to it with long communal tables and high tables+ bar stools right in front of an open kitchen. Whoever was in charge of music that night seems to have the same ipod playlists as I do. There’re lots of interesting sounding dishes on the seasonal daily menu.

Plum
Steelhead trout with charred cucumber, granita, rye, horseradish
A great starter. There’s a lot of details in this dish and all the flavors balance each other well. You  would wish you’re not sharing it with anyone! One of my favorites of the night.

PlumIMG_4196
Squash Blossom with creme fraiche, lemon and mint
Fried Anchovy with gribiche, espelette
Both were delicious! The fried batter was light and crispy. The lemon and mint were a nice touch. I wish the portion of the fried anchovy was bigger.

PlumPlum
Eggplant with bulgar, seared avocado, tomato, pinenut, padron vinaigrette
Monteterey squid & Pork Belly with cannellini bean, escarole, leek, romesco
The Pork Belly was heavenly! Another highlight of the night.

Plum
Smoked farm egg with quinoa, summer squash, padron and blossom
This was really good. Lots of unexpected flavors, another of my favorites.

PlumPlum
Roasted Beets, with apricot, smoked goat cheese and pistachio
Pate Cicioli with mustard, chervil and toast

Plum
Line caught albacore with heirloom tomato, fennel and celery
On paper it doesn’t seem that exciting but when you taste it, wow it’s so flavorful and interesting

Plum
Lemon Parfait with red fruits, raspberrry ice and rose geranium meringue
Very good!

Overall the food was outstanding. Something about the way they paired the ingredients together made the food quite exceptional. All the dishes were great with a few that really stood out. The ingredients were fresh and the execution was refine in every dish. I wish the portion is a little bigger in general (though probably good size for a party of 2).

Plum
2214 Broadway (between Franklin St & Grand Ave)
Oakland, CA 94612

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November 16, 2011 Off

Eiji (SF: Castro)

//// By in 04: SF+Bay Area, Favorite Food Entries

Eiji is one of my most favorite Japanese restaurant in SF. It’s a small sushi + tapas joint with around 6-7 tables with a small menu. I really like the homey, authentic vibe.

Photo

Eiji

Homemade Tofu. Soft and fresh tasting

Eiji

Grilled Miso Eggplant. My favorite must-order dish.

Eiji

Eiji

The sushi is fresh and good.

EijiEijiEiji

Their traditional Japaense appetizer dishes are all excellent. Duck, Monk Fish’s liver and Sesame Spinach. Remember to save your stomach for their homemade dessert:

Eiji

Mochi Strawberry

Eiji

Purple Sweet Potato Yokan. Another must get! There’s a bit of the sweet potato texture with the jelly, it’s smooth but not jelly-smooth, interesting.

Eiji

Yuzu Yokan.

Eiji

Mochi Crepe with Chestnut.  Other than the intimate, homey space and good food, the dessert is possibly another reason why I came back here again and again.

Eiji (415) 558-8149
317 Sanchez Street San Francisco, CA 94114

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