Flavor Boulevard

There’s a Mister Donut near our apartment, but I still haven’t walked into it once (*). As much as I like Mos Burger (which is better than McDonalds Japan, which in turns is inarguably better than McDonalds US, of course 😉 ), I prefer the fastfoods that we don’t have.

1. Takoyaki

Fluffy and bouncy. Inside each of these shining orbs is a piece of real octopus. When I die, I want to be buried with takoyaki (which is also the name of my phone, by the way)…

2. Taiyaki

Normal taiyaki is a-okay (I’m not THAT into red bean paste, but I like the doughy part outside). Nonetheless, Gindako makes these croissant-crust taiyaki (210 yen) with croissant dough instead of pancake batter for the outside, and they sprinkle sugar crystals on it. Oh man….

3. Sushi

Few things can be faster than sitting down at a conveyor belt and picking up plates of food floating by you. This kaienzushi (conveyor-belt sushi) is rather more intimate (less fastfood-y) than other kaitenzushi’s because the chef is right there, and you can ask him to prepare specific nigiri to order.

The most rewarding plate that I look forward to all night was after the fish, though. My friend said that I can buy loads of these puddings at the store. Well, what does that matter? Little Kana in Papadol! likes the pudding at kaitenzushi, and we can’t get it at a traditional sushi-ya, that makes it plenty special!

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Guest blogged by C. from Katsushika.

Foodnotes:
(*) I have had a Mister Donut donut, however, in the form of a dessert Mos “burger” with strawberry sauce, chocolate with rice puffs, strawberry whip cream and fresh fruits (290 yen):

More Mos Burger + Mister Donut creations here. (I want the French Cruller so bad!)

Mai has written quite favorably about Musashi in a past post but I have to write about a particular dish that has been about the best thing I’ve eaten in a restaurant lately.

That dish would be the chirashi sushi ($20) listed under the donburi menu items. This is by far the freshest, tastiest, and best-valued chirashi bowl that I have ever eaten. A win-win-win!

The bowl generously comes with at least 2 slices (some fish came with 3 or 4 slices) of tuna (two different types that were raw and one type that was slightly seared), salmon, mackerel, hamachi, raw scallops, octopus, shrimp (not pictured since the chef forgot to put it in the bowl but gave us the order on the side), a glorious piece of uni, squid-wrapped cucumber, tamago, and a dollop of salmon roe. All of this came on top of a huge mound of sushi rice, which was perfectly cooked. I would definitely recommend sharing, as this is way too big of a dish for one person to eat alone. Each piece of fish was so fresh that it was hard for me to pick one that I liked over the others. However, the true standout of the bowl for me would definitely be the uni. So rich, so creamy, and it just melts in your mouth with just the slightest hint of the ocean. This is the perfect example of how fresh uni should taste like and besides, how often is it that a chirashi bowl actually gives you a big fresh piece of uni?

For only $20, this is a dish that is well-worth the piece. I recommend getting one to share with someone else in order to make room for all of the other yummy dishes that Mai already covered in-depth. This is by far the best chirashi bowl I have ever had and the next time that I crave sashimi, I’ll head over to Musashi!

For a while I knew nothing about Japanese food, then within less than one year, I’ve found three places in Berkeley to satisfy my Japanese cravings. To get yakitori, guaranteed quality and to impress friends, I go to Ippuku. For a homey meal at affordable price and convenient distance, I swing by Musashi. For sushi and croquette, Sushi California tops the list.

Its name is generic and its location rather hidden, had Kristen not shared a Berkeleyside review on my Facebook wall some time ago, I would never have noticed Sushi California, much less tried (I tend to stay away from generic names because they often imply generic food). Then Kristen totally forgot about the place. One day I asked her “wanna try Sushi California?”
– What’s that?
– The place you posted on my wall…
– …

The biggest reason that I remembered Sushi California before going there was this line in Anna Mindess’ review: “Chef Arakaki admits that he used to offer other Okinawan classics like goya champura (sautéed bitter melon) but they did not sell well.” I love bitter melon, and even more than that, I love ethnic restaurants that try to offer regional specialties, which often go unnoticed by foreign customers and are eventually taken off the menu. (This is why it’s so hard to find decent traditional food in America, regardless of what cuisine you’re looking for.) So, in some way, I liked Sushi California even before I went. I didn’t hope to see bitter melon there now, but what was there was more than enough to keep me coming back.

Black seaweed salad ($4.45) – mozuku seaweed, cucumber, raw okra and lemon – Slimy okra isn’t my thing but this salad was so cold, so refreshing. Perfect summer food.

49’er roll ($9.95) – salmon and stuff. EXTREMELY refreshing. The lemon brightened up everything, the chewy salmon on top complemented the shrimp tempura inside. I was too busy inhaling it to notice any room for improvement, but I doubt there was any.

Karaage ($6.95) – a bit too oily and soggy

Hot sake and edamame

Hamachi nigiri – What I liked: no wasabi on the rice, the fish is buttery. What I slightly disliked: the fish is not chewy enough.

Okinawan soba ($9.95) – I was actually expecting the cold soba, but this version with pork belly, egg and kamaboko is nothing to complain about. As hearty as it looks.

Shishamo ($3.95) – grilled smelt, on the wet side, a few minutes longer on the grill would have been nice.

Kanpachi nigiri ($4.50) – Wonderful texture, but overall the taste pales in comparison to the aji. The aji was just too good.

Kurobuta sausage ($3.95) – black pig sausage

Manhattan roll ($8.95) – red tuna outside, tempura asparagus and mango inside – Tuna and mango don’t play well with each other though…

Wasabi tako ($4.25) – purely for the texture.

Aji nigiri ($4.95) – a seasonal special. This was the first time in months that I became vocal after taking a bite. I couldn’t contain myself, and immediately told chef Arakaki how good it was.

Anago nigiri ($4.95) – Salt-water eel. Another seasonal special. Again, I became vocal. Its deliciousness will linger in my head for another 20 years.

Purple sweet potato korokke ($3.95) – Slightly sweet, moist inside and crunchy outside, not milky, not too dry.

Finally, the PERFECT korokke. The size, the crunchiness, the moistness, the taste are all perfect. My love for these rivals Kristen’s love for Gregoire’s potato puffs, and that girl would sell you for Gregoire’s potato puffs if she could. 😉

Red bean and green tea ice cream ($3) – the standard fare.

On Friday, the homey atmosphere is warmed up with live music: first a guitar, then a cello accompaniment later into the night. I like to sit at the bar to watch the chefs slicing and shaping their sushi, and to see which dishes get ordered. The chefs were so focused that I dared not interrupt, and I was happily immersed in such atmosphere anyway. Sushi California was first opened in 1986. Chef Arakaki told Mindess that originally he intended to expand it into a chain of restaurants, but it didn’t happen. I’m glad it didn’t happen. Chains can never feel the same, and Berkeley would have lost its most memorable sushi joint.

Address: Sushi California
2033 Martin Luther King Jr. Way
Berkeley, CA 94704
(510) 548-0703

Why don’t I like spicy food? For the same reason I don’t like cupcakes, Chicago pizza or anything that has too much of something for me to taste anything else. For the same reason I shunned sushi for almost 10 years: the first time I had sushi I scooped a spoonful of the lovely green paste into my mouth.

Those were 10 years that I could have enjoyed so many hamachi nigiri. It’s sad. But that aside, for the same reason that I dislike spicy food, I like B-Dama so much more than I expected. It’s a tiny tiny Japanese restaurant in Piedmont. Its menu doesn’t boast anything particularly breath-taking to draw me out of the comfort of my home, except that I once saw Kristen post on Facebook a picture of the ankimo (monkfish liver) from B-Dama, and Kristen and I have had more than two failed attempts to eat there together just because the restaurant was either closed or too busy when we popped in. When you can’t have something, you want it more.

Then the day finally arrived. My friend and I tried the ridiculously popular Geta that serves possibly the cheapest sushi and fried chicken bits in the East Bay, were thoroughly impressed by how cheap it was ($35.30 for 7 items), and felt compelled to try its posher sister B-Dama. This time, we made reservation.

Let’s talk about the dish that implanted the name B-Dama in me from the very beginning: the monkfish liver.

This wasn’t the first time I had monkfish liver, or liver, or monkfish. I’m neither a fan nor an antifan of monkfish, but I love livers, so it’s a make-or-break deal for me. At B-Dama, the liver was so creamy yet maintained the smooth, bouncy resilience of freshness, and above all, the taste was so clean! If I didn’t know that it came from a fish, I would think that it’s just soft tofu flavored with cream and a pinch of salt, slightly chilled to shape into such medallion-scallop size. Considering the steps to prepare ankimo (the liver must be rubbed with salt, then rinsed with sake, then de-veined, then rolled, steamed and served in ponzu sauce), this dish requires such precise treatment to rid of the ocean smell and preserve the creamy nature. I think steaming is the most unadulterated cooking method, and this ankimo is the most unadulterated, freshest ankimo I’ve ever had.

The same theme resonates throughout the rest of the meal. The housho maki (raw tuna and salmon with sliced cucumber wrapped in daikon), the hamachi nigiri and even the nabe taste crystal clear. Daikon naturally has the daikon taste (a bitter, somewhat piercing pungency that sometimes reminds me of sake), but the daikon at B-Dama, in whatever form it’s served from grated to sheet, does not have that daikon taste. Its crunchy texture and cooling freshness are well preserved, only the pungency is gone.

The cold openings:

Hamachi nigiri sushi ($6.5)
My must-order item at every sushi restaurant. This version sets the highest bar so far.

Housho maki ($6) – raw fish and cucumber wrapped in daikon.
So fresh, so suitable for spring.

Ankimo ($8) – steamed monkfish liver served in ponzu sauce
My most recent must-order. I find it offensive that I have to pay so little for something this good.

The fried and grilled dishes:

Tsukune – chicken “meatball”

Ika karaage ($6) – deep-fried squid.
I like it. A lot.

Hotate – scallop

Gyutan – grilled beef tongue
Another must-order of mine. A little bit too thick (and therefore, too chewy) for me, I still prefer Musashi’s gyutan.

Kani korokke ($8.5) – crab croquette
Creamy inside, crunchy outside, not too overwhelming but yet to be the ideal croquette I’m looking for.

The finish:

Oxtail stew ($10) in soy-based soup.
There’s no way around ordering a serving of rice for this one, that sauce demands to be soaked up with rice.

Yosenabe ($12) – seafood, tofu, and vegatable soup with glass noodle (harusame)

For reason unknown, the host gave us one of the specials of the day, the asari sakamushi – steamed clams cooked in butter and sake broth ($9.5). At this point, I was too busy chowing to remember taking pictures. I feel obliged to mention this because the host was so nice, but I should clarify offhand that the clams did not alter my perception of B-Dama.

So, at the restaurant, we ran into my friend’s colleague, who also works at another great Japanese restaurant in the East Bay, and after the meal we briefly mentioned how good we thought B-Dama was. I said that I was surprised that the food here did not have any strong taste, and my friend’s colleague commented that Japanese food in principal are not supposed to be overwhelmed with spices anyway. I knew that before, and that’s why I like Japanese food, but my comment might have failed to explain my thoughts properly. B-Dama especially succeeds in delivering that clean-tasting aspect of Japanese food more than any other Japanese restaurant in the East Bay.

Address: B-Dama
4301A Piedmont Avenue
Oakland, CA 94611
(510) 420-1578
www.b-dama-geta.com

Sake sampler – ($11)
The Yamahai Junmai is the sweetest, least stringent and best-tasting to me, and I’m not just saying that because it’s listed as the “connoisseur’s junmai”. (I didn’t the description when I tasted it.)

The best food always rains on me when I least expect it. Who would have thought that Koto, the only Japanese restaurant in the landlocked Sonora west of Yosemite, could have such fresh sushi and perfectly crisp and seasoned saba shio? I didn’t bring my camera that day, and the next time we went the restaurant was closed. My blogging conscience doesn’t allow me to post without pictures, but Koto made such a pleasant impression that I had to write about it somewhere. So here it is: a guide to Yosemite in the Travel Issue of the Daily Cal.

If I ever run past this town again with enough time for lunch, I’ll run in and order two days worth of food, take pictures, and  post them here. (UPDATE on July 15, 2014: I came back yesterday and guess what, it was closed AGAIN!!!!! Because they close all day on Mondays. >__>) It’s hard enough to find a Japanese-own Japanese restaurant in San Francisco, yet there’s one in this little bitty button of a town next to a mountain range.

Address: Koto
70 West Stockton St
Sonora, CA 95370
(209) 532-7900

Happy New Year from Port Arthur, TX. 🙂 Just when I thought El Sombrero Taqueria in Berkeley was interesting for combining Mexican, Indian and Pakistani food under one roof (not in one dish, thank goodness), or I Squared in Oakland for Italian and Iranian, we stumbled onto a Japanese restaurant that also dishes out Chinese, Thai, Indian, and Indonesian.

The lady who greeted us at the door is South Asian, probably Indian, but I can’t tell the difference between the Indian accent and those from the surrounding countries. We were seated as far as possible from the sushi bar and the kitchen, so we couldn’t tell who did the cooking, and our waitress was American. Instead of miso soup to wet our appetite, we were given a stock that tasted similar to hu tieu broth. We were asked if we would prefer normal edamame or spicy edamame. The vegetable that came with the shrimp teriyaki and the grilled steak were mixed baby corn-carrot-bell pepper-snap pea in a stir fry sauce, something that you would find at any Asian diner that gives you the option of 2 sides with a scoop of rice for seven fifty. And the rice that came with the shrimp teriyaki and the steak were Chinese fried rice. Not the most Japanese you can get on this side of the pond.

But it sure did surprise me that even in this town of little more than fifty thousand people, three hours driving eastward from the nearest big Asian community, you can get a taste of ayam kalasan and beef rendang.

Closewise from top left: Ichiban Cajun roll (tempura shrimp, avocado, spicy mayonnaise and unagi sauce) and edamame, soup, shrimp teriyaki, beef rendang, hibachi grilled steak

There were a fair amount of Japanese dishes on the menu (salmon teriyaki, unagi don, soba…) plus the real sushi (nigiri) that we’ll try the next time we visit the Buddhist temple in Port Arthur. They may not be Japanese enough, but what we got were tasty enough.

Maybe not the mochi ice cream, though. But we didn’t tell the southerner-sweet waitress that, she was just too sweet. 🙂

Address: Ichiban Hibachi & Sushi Bar
3437 N Twin City Hwy
Port Arthur, TX 77642
(409) 962-7300
Lunch for three: ~ $60

Summer Green Roll – avocado, cucumber, kaiware sprout, wakame and hijiki. Alissa scooped wasabi like it was green tea ice cream, but I like this one just as it is: plain, fresh and light.

It’s been a long time since I last either wrote about food or ate anything that I could write about. The occasional rainfalls during the drought of takeout Chinese are so-so hu tieu and com suon somewhere in the Ranch 99 complex, and homemade soups, lovely but no hot news. Vegetable intake has been limited to shibazuke from Berkeley Bowl, homemade kimchi, and toasted seaweed (seaweed counts, doesn’t it?). Before leaving for her trip, Cheryl fed me her black chicken soup, brown rice, tau yew bak (similar to thit kho but with soy sauce instead of fish sauce) and, like a loving sister, concerned looks and advice on how I should feed myself healthy meals. I agree with her one hundred percent, but all planned menus for the next day fluttered their wings away as I run from class to class and get home only wishing to relax. Cheryl is married. I entertain the idea that I live like a single guy. A single guy that could not have looked more forward to a vegan dinner with some old friends.

After much debate we decided on a simple kampyo roll, a big fluffy summer green roll (that we each stuffed into our mouth in one bite to prove our manliness(*)), a Cha-Ya roll, a tempura stuffed eggplant, a gyoza and vegetable soup, and three desserts.

Cha-Ya Roll – avocado, yam and carrots, tempura roll with sweet soy sauce.

Tonchi Nasu – tempura stuffed eggplant with setsuma potato, corn, tofu, hijiki, soybean and carrot

Taku Sui – gyoza soup with tofu, broccoli, zucchini, napa cabbage, snap peas, asparagus, cauliflower, silver noodles and mushrooms in a light broth – I like this a lot!

Yellow Moon – tempura banana with a scoop of soy ice cream, drizzled with green tea sauce and red bean sauce

The Yellow Moon is just the tempura banana, the soy ice cream is listed as a separate dessert, but we shameless girls requested a scoop of ice cream with the banana. The Cha-Ya staff is so nice. 😉 This tempura banana is not oily like the deep fried banana desserts at Thai restaurants, the batter is light and plain. It gives you the impression of healthy foods.

Vegan chocolate cake (left) and Oshikuro (right) – plain white mochi in gooey red bean sauce. The red bean is a bit too sweet, but I like it still. The cake is like a soft brownie, not at all dry and lifeless like normal vegan cakes.

(*) In case you wonder, a picture of us is to the right.

Address: Cha-Ya Vegetarian Japanese Cuisine
(North Berkeley)
1686 Shattuck Avenue
Berkeley CA 94709
(510) 981-1213
Dinner for four: roughly $90 – Kinda expensive now that I think about it…

One very cold Saturday afternoon in Oakland.

Darren: Normally I don’t like fruit flavored stuff, like watermelon candies you know?
Mai: Yeah, like cherry candies…
Darren: But this mango ice cream is really good!
Mai: It is! I like the green tea the most though, it’s so refreshing. What about you, Kristen?
Kristen: I usually don’t like strawberry flavors, but this strawberry one is so good…

Good thing we each had a different favorite.

When the girl took up our empty sushi plates and asked if we wanted dessert, we were already stuffed, which is a given every time Kristen and I go out together. But we asked the girl what’s on anyway, and she listed, if I remember correctly in my post-food stupor, “tempura ice cream, green tea ice cream, red bean ice cream, green tea cheesecake, seven flavors of mochi ice cream, which includes mango, vanilla, strawberry, green tea, red bean, coffee and chocolate”. We looked at each other for two seconds then at her.

– Can we have the seven flavors, please?
– You want all seven?!
*Looks exchanged*
– Uh… it’s not a thing of seven mochis?
– Well we can make a platter of that too. You want that?
– Yes please. *sheepish grin*

Never turn down ice cream.

Zero complaints on the tempura and the rolls too, they’re Americanized of course and we didn’t do any nigiri nor any of us Japanese. But if you’re American, happen to be near the intersection of Piedmont and Echo in Oakland while hungry for sushi, Shimizu is a sure bet.

Address: Shimizu Japanese Cuisine
4290 Piedmont Avenue
Oakland, CA 94611
(510) 653-7672
shimizucuisine.com

Volcano Scallop ($7.95) – Battered and deep fried scallops with sweet soy sauce

I’ve finally had it. Le pâté des mers. A sandy lustrous texture and a briny air of the ocean compactified in bright orange lobes.

It’s my first time, at a sushi house in Berkeley in early May, so I’m not gonna pretend like I had the faintest idea about uni. I’m not sure if it’s raw or cooked, but from the taste alone it’s too seashore-breeze-like to be cooked. It could be a paste from a tube for all I know. But now it’s decided. Sea urchin roe? Count me in.

Thanks to noodlepie for writing about it. Really helps if you know what to expect before you try, as always.

Because 2 rolls can only fill up a sparrow, here’s more sushi:

Address: Sushi Ko
64 Shattuck Square
Berkeley, California 94704
(510) 845-6601

Money matter: 1 uni (2 pieces) – $6.50 (not cheap, a normal 6-piece roll is $5.50-7.95)
We also had sashimi here before.

I don’t like the Backstreet Boys but when an apt title comes you gotta grab it. Last Sunday we were out celebrating ZuChu‘s birthday with her favorite: sashimi. I was fully expecting a glamorous meal since I’ve come to like smoked salmon and figured all thinly sliced raw fish must have that silky springiness too. Besides, there are those pictures of translucent peony and phoenix made out of fugu sashimi. The Japanese get you by the eye.

This modest stop on Shattuck has the biggest selection of fishy cold cuts in South Berkeley, with 13 individual kinds and 2 combo plates. Word of mouth is it also slices up the freshest, gruesomest sashimi around.

For $18.95 we preempt 16 chunks of maguro (tuna), shiro maguro (albacore, or “white tuna”), sake (salmon), and hamachi (yellowtail, but red meat). The salmon is best (just like La Bedaine’s smoked salmon, but thick). The tunas slide down my throat with some stickiness, as if stuff were crawling up… The hamachi fans apart into a string of cubes, each as bland and bare as the next. Suddenly I understand the presence of wasabi, but I don’t use it.
In the end, I don’t understand the thickness. It’s like eating a blob of gooey rubber, the more you chew the more you realize it’s not cooked, but once you try to swallow it it clings to your tongue. Soy sauce makes it twenty times better.

And I never felt happier eating veggie rolls. V8 (mushroom, cucumber, oshinko, gobo, kanpyo, avocado and daikon) – $4.95, and cucumber roll – $3.00.

Address: Sushi Ko Berkeley
64 Shattuck Square
Berkeley, CA 94704
(510) 845-6601