Midori Sushi - Studio City

E: Hungry? You definitely won't be when you leave.

Regardless of your opinion on sushi buffets, Midori Sushi has to be on the short list of the "safe" all-you-can-eat establishments. Four reasons:

1. All sushi is made to order. None of it sits on a buffet line, withering, melting, rotting or spoiling. Also, no one is picking at, coughing on or spitting on the food.
   
2. It feels like you're eating a real restaurant, instead of at a buffet. Waitresses bring out beautifully arranged pieces of sushi on platters. It's always nice when the food looks good, too.
   
3. Great selection. The menu (lunch and dinner) includes some hot items like tempura, gyoza, mussels and fried calimari. But the good stuff, nigiri and maki, is the majority of the menu -- and rightly so. Isn't that why you're here?
4. The food actually tastes good. Don't expect spectacular, fireworks or OMG moments. But you can be pleasantly surprised, pleased and satisfied.
   

The waitresses say that you only get an hour to order and eat. They practically threatened us with the time limit when we first arrived. However, they're quite lenient and never made us feel like we over-ordered or overstayed our welcome. We stretched our dining experience to nearly 2 hours. The rolls were delicious, especially the soft shell crab roll (not pictured). The albacore and ono nigiri was especially good that day, too!

Honestly, if you're really hungry and you want sushi, come here. You'll definitely get your money's worth (for lunch at least) if each person orders at least soup, 1 roll and 3 orders of nigiri.

Midori Sushi
11622 Ventura Blvd
Studio City, CA 91604

Katana Ya - San Francisco

E: After a long wait, we finally were able to return to Katana-Ya, a tiny Japanese restaurant near Union Square that serves sushi and ramen. Our first encounter with Katana-Ya was more than a year ago. Although I had entered with no expectations, my perspective on ramen was completely changed after trying their pork broth. Sweet, light and extremely satisfying, it was like no other broth I had ever tasted. Since that first visit more than a year ago, all subsequent ramen broths are compared to this one.

Our visit to San Francisco in October was long overdue. Would Katana-Ya live up to the great expectations built up in our minds for so many months?

Yes! The noodles were the perfect texture -- firm and eggy. The shio soup base was just like I had remembered it -- sweet, light, rich and decadent. Does ramen get any better than this?

R: I've only been here a few times, but it's already become a destination spot. When I know I'm heading to SF, I make sure to include Katana-Ya in my plans. The place is small and cozy. Luckily, we didn't have to wait this time.

I don't have to look at the menu much because I've already targeted my favorite order - miso ramen and curry rice. The curry has great flavor and the rice is cooked to perfection (mainly, not too dry and firm. I like soft rice on the wet side). And the ramen is excellent. I tend to lean toward miso soup base. I'm just a big fan of miso. And this soup is worth sipping 'til the last drop. The noodles are excellent too. Definitely a satisfying meal that lives up to expectations, and a hidden jewel in this city.


Katana-Ya
430 Geary St
San Francisco, CA 94102

Yashima - Covina

E: I discovered this small Japanese restaurant on Yelp. It's on a street I often drive on, and the restaurant is across from Golden Bowl, a beloved chicken teriyaki fast food shop. Yelpers raved about it. I was instantly curious and also a bit skeptical.

E: We started with an order of nigiri - salmon, yellowtail, albacore and bass. I had never tried (or even seen) bass nigiri before. Every piece, except for the albacore, was bland. The salmon didn't have its usual full flavor and creaminess. The yellowtail had the slightest hint of flavor, and the bass was forgettable. The albacore, on the other hand, was excellent. It was extremely soft, fresh and had excellent flavor. YUM.
R: The sushi was unremarkable, and it was hard to taste the difference between the different types of fish.

R: The meat used in the chicken teriyaki wasn't the best quality. The sauce was flavorless and watery.

E: We ended the meal with a rainbow roll, which was topped with salmon, tuna, shrimp and a white fish. The fish was all right, nothing special. But the roll and the crab mix was very tasty. The avocado was perfectly ripe and the crab mix had a deliciously fatty taste. Mmmm... Mayonnaise.
R: The roll was the best item we ordered.

E: Update! A few nights later, we returned to Yashima, and it was such a disappointing experience. On our second trip, R ordered the oyako-don, one of his favorite dishes, but was sorely disappointed. The egg omelette included foreign objects (zucchini, mushrooms, fish cake) and the sauce was spare and bland.

We also had a different waitress who was brusque, not very friendly, and didn't seem to be interested in our questions. I had asked her to check on the price of one of their items, and tell me before she placed our order. She never turned. Fortunately, the dish was the price I thought it was when we received the check, but she left us wondering for the longest time.

It was such a contrast from our first visit; our waitress (one of the owners, we think) was very friendly, very attentive and liked to chat with us! She told us that she is a first-generation Japanese and her husband, originally from the Bay Area, is a third-generation Japanese American.

R: I have no interest in returning to Yashima. The hospitality at our first visit was very good, but the reason you return to a restaurant is for the food. Since both of our visits didn't have very good food and only one visit had good service, we won't be going back any time soon.

Yashima
236 E Rowland St
Covina, CA 91723

Panta Rei - San Francisco

E: The night before our half marathon in San Francisco, we set out for an Italian restaurant. Silly me, I didn't even think about making reservations at our intended restaurant. When we arrived, the host informed us that they wouldn't have an open table for at least two hours. So, we walked around the North Beach area for a while looking for another Italian restaurant that wasn't too full. Good luck to us.

We ended up at Panta Rei, on the main drag in North Beach, just a block from Washington Square Park. There were lots of people inside (good sign) and a few parties waiting outside (good sign). After about 20 minutes of waiting, we got our table. The restaurant has a modern vibe to it. Our dining room felt quite cold with white walls, contemporary art and an interesting series of images playing on the television. This definitely isn't type of restaurant where they set out red checkered tableclothes and play Italian folk music.

R: The bruschetta and mozarella appetizer was fresh and light.
E: Everything tastes good with olive oil, salt and fresh basil. I thought the tomatoes were a little cold (in the fridge too long?) but well seasoned.

R: Chicken ravioli sounded like a good, simple dish. When I first tasted it, I thought it had been sitting too long because it wasn't as hot as I would have liked it. The ravioli was a little too al dente for my taste. The chicken filling and tomato sauce were both very good. I wish the portion was larger.E: I tried the linguine with squid ink and clams, mussels and shrimp. The fresh pasta had a wonderful texture. I especially liked the light and flavorful white wine sauce. It was a great complement to the pasta and shellfish.
E: I can't say much about the service at this restaurant. I'm not quite sure if it's just the San Francisco/North Beach way. Perhpas all Saturday nights are hurried and rushed. Or, it could be part of their contemporary atmosphere.

Panta Rei
431 Columbus Ave
San Francisco, CA 94133

Kaizuka - Culver City

E: One evening we wandered through Culver City looking for something to eat. We found ourselves on Culver City Boulevard, across the street from City Hall. Several restaurants lined the block, and we decided to try this Kaizuka, a Japanese restaurant.
E: We ordered our standard -- salmon and hamachi (yellowtail). The presentation was simple and clean. The fish was fairly fresh but unremarkable.
R: I didn't like the oyako-don much because it didn't have much flavor. The rice didn't have enough sauce on it the overall dish didn't taste very good.
E: My plate of cod and tempura looked beautiful, but it wasn't impressive. The fish was a little burnt, though it wasn't dry. The tempura batter tasted a little stale, but wasn't terrible. Overall, I felt the food was on par with a fast-food Japanese restaurant, rather than a sit-down establishment.
E: Culver City has a plethora of great restaurants. Kaizuka just isn't one of them. We won't be returning any time soon.

Kaizuka Japanese Restaurant
9729 Culver Blvd
Culver City, CA 90232

Foo Foo Tei - Hacienda Heights

E; Hidden in Hacienda Heights is a small, unassuming restaurant with an odd-sounding name: Foo Foo Tei. At night, the surrounding area is completely dark, except for this stand alone restaurant. The parking lot is completely full with cars and eager patrons waiting for a table. What's the allure?

E: Ramen. With dozens of different types of ramen -- miso, fried chicken, mapo tofu, vegetable, oyster, mushroom, kimchee -- and a substantial appetizer and side dish menu, Foo Foo Tei is no light weight. We order two massive bowls of ramen and a couple of side dishes.
R: I was very excited to see the menu. It had a broad range of dishes, beyond the expected ramen variations. I could have easily ordered a full meal without even touching the ramen - curry, dry noodles, tempura...so this may be a great place to explore over repeat visits...

I ordered the miso ramen with extra corn. And when they say extra corn - they mean business. I think the bowl had tooooo much corn. Had I known they'd go overboard, I wouldn't have ordered extra.

Given the choice, I generally go for a miso base initially. So this seemed like a nice, basic order as an introduction. When the bowl came, it looked pretty darn good. When I first started tasting the broth, however, I was underwhelmed by the flavor. I didn't think the miso flavor stood out. It was more generic. I really liked the noodles, which were an interesting yellowish color. It took a while, but as I dug deeper, and mixed it up, the flavors started coming out. I wound up enjoying the overall flavor of the soup. I would be happy with just noodles in broth, so all the extras - bamboo and bean sprouts especially - I could do without. But again, the noodles were very good and the broth grew on me. Not a home run, but I would be willing to step up to the plate again and try other things here.

E: I ordered the Yasai ramen with shio (salt) broth. It's filled with different types of vegetables and at least four types of mushrooms. The broth is thick and hot. The vegetables look fresh and inviting. There's a generous portion of yellow curly ramen noodles, smelling strongly of egg. At first the broth is unimpressive. It lacks complexity and depth of flavor, and isn't as sweet as other shio broths I've had. The noodles are a little soft for my liking, but the vegetables are perfectly cooked. Part way through the bowl, the soup's flavors begin to deepen and all the wonderful savory flavors emerge. All of the sudden, I taste the fresh vegetables, soup base and the flavor of noodles. Perhaps all the flavor sank to the bottom? Or it needed to cool a little so my tastebuds could fully appreciate it.
R: What's the most important part of oyako don: the chicken? the egg? For me, it's all about the sauce. I like to dig underneath the layer of chicken and egg and taste the rice, which should be soaking up the saucy goodness. And I wasn't disappointed. The sauce had great flavor, and the fact that the chicken was nicely cooked was an added bonus. Overall, the dish was good.
Foo Foo Tei
15018 Clark Ave
Hacienda Heights, CA 91745

Fresh pumpkin pie

E: There's this whole movement in cooking, whether at home or in a restaurant, to use fresh, locally grown produce. When I stopped at the store last week, I saw these pie pumpkins and decided to try making a pumpkin pie from scratch.

One of thing I've heard is that pumpkin pie doesn't taste much different, whether it's frozen, store bought or homemade. Perhaps it means that fresh pumpkins don't taste much different from canned pumpkins. We'll see...

First, I cut open the pumpkin in half and seeded the pumpkins. Then, I placed both halves, open side down, in a roasting pan. The pumpkin roasted in the oven at 375 degrees for at least 60 minutes, until the insides were soft. After roasting, the meat is quite easy to scoop out. (Careful, it's hot!)

Puree in a food processor. (This is the most fun part!)

Now for the crust. If you have time and ambition, you'll want to make your own crust. Trust me, it'll be flakier and more buttery than any store bought one. Cut the butter into 1/2-inch cubes (or rectangles). The butter needs to be as cold as possible, so freezing it after cutting helps. In a food processor, add flour, salt, shortening and butter. Pulse a few times, add a little water, pulse some more. Eventually, the dough clumps together. Be careful not to over process the dough. Once it reaches the right consistency, put the dough in plastic wrap, form a ball, flatten into a disc. Refrigerate for half an hour.


After refrigerating, roll the dough out thinly and push into pie pan. Bake the crust and let it cool.

For the pie filling, I mixed the pumpkin puree, brown sugar, eggs, salt, vanilla extract, corn starch, cinnamon, ground gloves, ground nutmeg and ground ginger. Bake.

The result:

Conclusion? Great flavor and texture. It does taste better than frozen pie, but it's also a lot of work. I'm undecided whether it's really worth all the effort.

Mochilato - Irvine

E: Even before I walked in this restaurant, my jaw dropped. Mochilato, a dessert joint in Irvine, serves up absolutely humongous dishes of shaved ice/ice cream/mochi desserts. As I was walking in, one of the outdoor tables just received their massive order, and I couldn't help but say (aloud): "WOW!"

Mochilato (mochi+gelato) mixes up the desserts in every which way: gelato, mochi, mochi and gelato, shaved ice, shaved ice with gelato, shaved ice with gelato and fruit, shaved ice with gelato, fruit and mochi, waffles and gelato and fruit, etc. etc. etc. This is dessert heaven for the indecisive and those who have an affinity for Hawaiian shaved ice.

The top photo is of the "lovers" bowl done "mochilato style," which is a blend of the Japanese style (green tea shaved ice, red beans, mochi) and the Italian style (strawberry shaved ice, strawberry ice cream, strawberries, bananas, mango). I think there was vanilla ice cream and kiwi, too.
R: The warm waffle, the cold gelato, the fresh strawberries. Love it! It's a bit like having a funnel cake. Maybe not as greasy. But quite tasty.

R: There are plenty of flavors to choose from, but I'm very traditional - strawberry, chocolate or vanilla.

Mochilato
14310 Culver Dr # E
Irvine, CA 92604

Mei Long Village - San Gabriel

E: I'd heard about the delicious steamed juice dumplings (xiao long bao) at Mei Long Village from other food blogs, and I was dying to try some. On a whim, we decided to stop at the restaurant for dinner. Inside, there were about half a dozen large tables and about 8-10 smaller tables, and mostly everyone spoke Chinese. When we arrived, every table was occupied, and the restaurant stayed at nearly full capacity the entire night.


R: The pork soup dumplings were good, just not as Luscious Dumplings. The juices didn't explode in your mouth like they do at other restaurants.
E: I agree. The flavor and texture were good, just not superb.
E: I asked the waitress to recommend a fish dish. She said a lot of customers order this the tail of a "yellow fish" in a brown sauce. I loved it. The fish was super tender and juicy, and the tail had a lot of meat on it. Because it was the fish tail, there was extra fat and skin, which I love. The brown sauce looked menacing, but it was quite flavorful and not overpowering.
R: I like the dish, but there was too much sauce. Too saucy.


R: In the black bean chicken dish, the restaurant used good quality chicken meat. It had good flavor and they didn't skimp on the quantity of meat either.
E: Unlike some restaurants that use corn starch or some other type of tenderizer to "enhance" the texture of the meat, this restaurant didn't. They used small nuggets of chicken that were juicy and flavorful. The dish packed a lot of flavor without too much heat.
E: This is their house noodles, which is a thicker round noodle with vegetables and small slices of pork. I found the noodles themselves quite flavorful, and I love the dense texture. I could eat this all day.
R: I'd go back to this restaurant. It wasn't fancy; they offered good dishes with good flavors.

Mei Long Village
301 W Valley Blvd # 112
San Gabriel, CA 91776

Chick-fil-A - Industry/Walnut

E: One of my favorite fast food restaurants of all time, Chick-fil-A, opened up shop this summer in Industry (on the Walnut border), just minutes from my office. Imagine my absolute joy and delight when I first bit into a chicken nugget dipped in honey mustard sauce and a crisp waffle fry after years of Chick-fil-A drought.

Their chicken is moist, tender and juicy. It's not overly fried but has a nice crisp texture, especially when you order the chicken sandwich and chicken tenders. The waffle fry, a substantial single bite, maintains a satisfying balance between crispyness and meaty potato filling. Although it's not the cheapest fast food around, it's definitely worth it.

Chick-fil-A
21550 Valley Blvd
City of Industry, CA 91789

Hello!

Welcome to E and R's Eating Adventures. We like to eat, and we hope you do too. We'll post our eating adventures, whether at a restaurant, taco truck, grocery store, farmer's market, ballpark, outdoor festival or in our own kitchen.

Join us!