potatomato.blog: Tombo (Torrance)

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Jan 24

Tombo (Torrance)

Favorite Food Entries + Food 17: South Bay

A fellow motion freelancer (a know-it-all Japanphile gwai-lo), recommended us Tombo , the "best" (according to him) Okonomi-yaki and Teppan Yaki place in LA. There were 4 of us and none of us had experience in cooking Okonomi-yaki before, in fact, none of us cooks at all! ^^;; But we went in regardless, facing this challenge fearlessly. Plum Wine $3.75

So we got the seafood mix (Oyster, Shrimp, scallop) and cheese + sausage mix. We got a little instruction/demonstration from the waitress, and then we just looked at the obasan at the other table and followed her every step...^^;;;

So look at our brave effort ^^;; We flip the pancake clumsily, ingredients occasionally fly out from the pancake, the bottom burnt and stuck on the teppan here and there, accidently add wrong sauce, and...

Ta-da! Not too bad...ummmm..errr...^^;; ok they're ugly and messy looking (compare with the perfectly round ones the obasan made), but they taste good nonethless! ^^;; The seafood one is much better than the sausage & cheese one.

So we further challenge ourselves with Monjya-yaki! When the waitress brought the ingredients (Mentaiko + Mochi + cheese), seeing the big bowl of liquid we were nervous. So we just let her do it for us and were amazed during the whole process ("you have to cut the cabbage like that? a circle?! eh?!?!?!") ^^;;; This taste really yummy, it's fun to use that little thing to press and stick up the food. I love it better than Okonomi-yaki!

Since we were having too much fun "cooking", just so we got Yakisoba too so that we tried "everything"! At last including tips+tax+drinks, the bill was $72 for 4 people.
This is totally fun and yummy~ Even the large and obnoxiously loud table of FOBs behind us couldn't spoil it. ^^;;

Joan | January 24, 2005 02:46 AM

Comments:

Yeah Tomoko is so un-Japanese! Oh what a fun movie Supersize me was. Tell me what you think of it!

Joan | January 28, 2005 04:32 AM

That's true, tomoko is not typical Japanese, haha~~~^^;;; I am meeting her on Sunday for Thai food and to see Supersize me, yay yay~~

seat | January 27, 2005 01:28 AM

the mayo of one of them IS crisscross (since it's done by me)....well...at least "attempt" crisscross ^^;;;

Yeah we add katsuo fish topping (it's powder though), the deal with the topping is that...we use the little spoon to do it while all the other tables did it with their bare hands. Of course it's much easier and can distribute more evenly with fingers....but we found that qutie "unclean"...errr (though obviously somebody dip their hands in ours previously so they must be "unclean" anyways) ^^;;;; Next time...

If we let the waitress did everything for us then that will defeat the whole purpose (of self-cooking) and that would not be as much fun isn't it?

When tomoko is in LA, we rarely go eat Japanese food in general. so... i'm not sure if she knows how to do it or if she even likes it??!!! ^^;;;

Joan | January 26, 2005 03:52 AM

hey, i didn't know there is a make-it-yourself okonmiyaki place around here. . . if you guys ever go back again, try negi-yaki. i heard if they use good spring negi, it actually has a really sweet and light taste to it.

tina | January 26, 2005 02:13 AM

Wahahaha, the okonomiyaki is so funny-looking....you know the mayonnaise should be put crisscross, and the seaweed powder is not evenly distributed...^^;;;; Did you add the katsuo fish topping?

The restaurant should have prepared a "how to make" instructions with drawings to explain - they have that even in Japan.

Oh I like okonomiyaki more...monjayaki feels too watery and takes a long time to eat...^^;;; Actually, if you request, the waitors should help you make the okonomiyaki too - I always ask. ^^;;; Next time you should try one beginner-made and one professional-made to see the difference in taste!

When tomoko was in L.A., you guys never tried this?