Archive for the 'Japanese' Category

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Sanuki No Sato – Los Angeles (Gardena)

Published by Gastronomer on December 24, 2012 in Gardena, Japanese, Los Angeles and Restaurant Review. 2 Comments

Named after an old Japanese province on the island of Shikoku with the same boundaries as modern Kagawa Prefecture, Sanuki No Sato is famous for its udon, chubby wheat-based noodles served hot or cold.

The 20-year-old dining room feels as sturdy as ever, while service is swiftly executed by a team of kimono-donning waitresses.

The menu here features numerous small plates and sushi, but we zeroed in on Chef Moriaki Miyahira’s spectacularly slurp-worthy udon. To truly appreciate the noodles’ texture and nuances, I insisted on a bowl of the cold preparation. As soul-warming and comforting as noodle soups can be, hot broth tends to diminish udon’s impressive bite.
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Tsujita LA Artisan Noodle – West Los Angeles

Published by Gastronomer on December 12, 2012 in Japanese, Los Angeles, Restaurant Review and West Los Angeles. 11 Comments

There’s a ramen renaissance happening in Los Angeles, and Takehiro Tsujita’s namesake ramenya is at the center of it all. Located in the Little Osaka neighborhood of West Los Angeles, Tsujita LA Artisan Noodle is a branch of Nidaime Tsujita, considered one of Tokyo’s best noodle houses.

It’s absolutely impossible to choose between the restaurant’s two signature offerings, ramen and tsukemen, so come with a fellow noodle lover who’s open to sharing. It’s important to note that both dishes are only served at lunchtime.

The Hakata-style tonkotsu (pork bone) ramen is slowly simmered for 60 hours, which results in a viscous, milky broth that sings the song of swine. While it may have been a touch excessive to layer on a few slices of chashu (braised pork) atop an already porky broth, it was the right thing to do in this situation. A “seasoned boiled egg,” perfectly runny in the center, was also added for good measure.

After slurping my way around town, I’d say that this bowl is the holy grail of ramen in Los Angeles.

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Ichimi Ann Bamboo Garden – Los Angeles (Torrance)

Published by Gastronomer on November 14, 2012 in Japanese, Los Angeles, Restaurant Review and Torrance. 2 Comments

While braised meats are often reserved for colder months and smoothies for warmer ones, soba slurping is a special sport that knows no meteorological bounds.

At Ichimi An Bamboo Garden, soba noodles are made from scratch each morning using buckwheat flour shipped straight from Japan. These wonderfully firm strands with a distinctly earthy essence are served either chilled with a dipping sauce or in hot broth as a noodle soup. Regardless of what the weather man predicts, the conditions are always ripe for soba.

The Astronomer and I were greeted with a line snaking through the restaurant when we arrived on Saturday afternoon. We placed our order at the cash register and hoped that seats would open up by the time our lunch arrived. Sure enough, the kitchen’s rhythm synched with the pace of diners and a table freed just in time.

Hot soba may have its devotees, but here in balmy Los Angeles the cold stuff always hits the spot. My order was served on a sieve-like bamboo tray called a zaru and garnished with dried seaweed.

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{swoon} Choux aux Sésames at Pâtisserie Chantilly

Published by Gastronomer on November 9, 2012 in Dessert, Japanese, Lomita and Los Angeles. 7 Comments

Chef Keiko Nojima’s French pastries with a Japanese flare at Patisserie Chantilly are nothing short of spectacular. From the perfectly precise layers on each cake to the delicate cream piping on the famous puffs, immense care and attention to detail goes into creating each sweet.

While every dessert lining the pastry counter is impeccable, it’s the black sesame cream puff that gets all the good press. Each pâte a chou shell is filled to order with black sesame-infused whipped cream and drizzled with mesquite honey and sprinkled with soy powder. The intense and pure flavor that Chef Nojima is able to extract from the black sesame seeds is incredible—neither too much cream nor sugar cloud the main event.

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{swoon} Tonkatsu Pork Cutlet at Kagura

Published by Gastronomer on October 26, 2012 in Japanese, Los Angeles, Torrance and {swoon}. 2 Comments

The Old Torrance neighborhood in which Kagura is situated isn’t much of a looker, but step into the restaurant and the mood instantly switches from gritty to Zen. Clean lines, dark woods, and cozy cubbies create a real sense of calm. Here at this convivial Japanese oasis, Tokyo native Kentaro Masuda prepares the city’s best tonkatsu, a masterfully deep-fried pork cutlet that is evenly golden on the outside and juicy throughout.

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