the ramen blog & other goodies!

After months, and I mean months of dealing with just about every major problem that an aspiring restauranteur could face, my good buddy’s shabu-shabu dreams have finally come true. Yes, I said “my good buddy” and “shabu-shabu,” not ramen, so I’m going to go out of my way to be biased here. You’ve been warned! California Shabu-Shabu celebrated their grand opening last weekend, and today, the wife and I decided to pay an overdue visit.

For those of you who’ve never been exposed to the world of shabu-shabu, shabu-shabu is a Japanese hot pot. You start out with a boiling pot of water flavored with kombu, add in assorted veggies, and cook thin slices of meat, usually beef, in the water by swishing it around. Because the meat is sliced so thin, it cooks in the time it takes for you to say “shabu-shabu” (which translates to “swish-swish). Two types of dipping sauce are usually provided with shabu-shabu: a citrus-y ponzu sauce and a sesame-based sauce. Also something that can surprise the uninitiated: you cook your own food! (more…)

I’ve always had an instinctive aversion to “experimental” type restaurants. Over the years, I’ve managed to associate terms and phrases like “fusion,” “nouveau,” “a new take on x,” and “inspired by y cuisine” with chefs who’ve never quite managed to figure out the essential essence of the cuisine he or she is trying to replicate. But recently, the thinking part of my brain had a minor epiphany: hello, dumb-ss…ramen is a fusion food! Ramen (and gyoza!) is the Japanese take on a Chinese dish, remember? How is that not fusion? Hello!

A few days ago, Go Ramen invited me to check out Rameniac’s new find, Ramen California, with a few fellow food bloggers. “Rameniac’s been raving about it! It’s the next evolution of ramen!” Uh oh…did he say what I think he just say? Call me stodgy, but I like my ramen traditional. I have very set ideas of what a bowl of ramen should be. Give me a good bowl of shoyu or tonkotsu ramen, keep your fancy schmancy “inspired” ingredients out of my bowl, and stay off my lawn thank-yew-very-much.

But Ramen California has a pedigree. It’s not just some random ramen-ya opened by some random chef with a random dream. Ramen California stars the Shigetoshi Nakamura, a revered ramen deity in Japan. If Iron Chef ever decided to add a Iron Chef Ramen, surely Nakamura-san would be the first choice! Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to meet up with my foodie cohorts that night, but spurred on by the superlatives from two of the most respectable ramen fanatics in Southern California, my wife and I decided to ventured out of the Orange Curtain today. (more…)

For a limited time (until tomorow), Chibakiya is at Mitsuwa supermarket again, this time at the Costa Mesa location. On the menu this weekend: their famous shinasoba!

The Costa Mesa Mitsuwa gets ridiculously crowded at lunchtime, especially when they have their food fairs. You have to prowl the dining area and be ready to pounce on tables when people leave. Luckily my wife was able to snag a table while I waited for the ramen. According to exile kiss, Chibakiya’s very own Chef Kenji Chiba, straight from Japan, was in the kitchen, preparing his signature ramen! I lurked around the Chibakiya stand, trying to get a picture of Chiba-san. I caught glimpses of Chef Chiba (the gentleman on the left, below), but was only able to get a picture of this gentlemen (in the green shirt on the right), who looked like he was supervising? (more…)

It’s not every day that I feel like…or at least pretend to be Jack Bauer. On a recent trip to New York, though, I had such a tight schedule that I constantly heard the “beep-clunk…beep-clunk…” of the advancing “24″ clock.

I had it all planned out. I would arrive in New York at 9:15pm. I only had carry-on luggage so I figured I could get out of the airport by 9:30. I should be able to get to my hotel by 10, check in, drop off my luggage, then go to Ippudo. According to Google Maps, I should be able to take the subway and get there in about 30 mins. Perfect. Ippudo closes at 11pm. (more…)

Santouka Ramen recently offered a limited edition, and very tasty toromi shoyu ramen, so when I found out they were offering another limited edition ramen…guess where I was this morning? The ramen offered this time is an awase aji ramen (literally combination flavor ramen). As with last time, it’s also limited to 20 bowls a day, and this time, it’s only available at their Costa Mesa location. I got there a bit early and found no line, to my surprise. I wandered around the store and came back at 11am, when they open, and managed to be 4th in line. (more…)

Mitsuwa Japanese supermarket was having an “anniversary festival” so the wife and I went to check it out, not realizing that Santouka ramen (located in the Mitsuwa food court) was also having a special.

On 2/26 to 3/1, and also next week 3/5 Thurs to 3/8 Sun, the Santoukas in Mitsuwa Torrance, Costa Mesa, San Diego, Santa Monica, and even Chicago, is offering a special Toromi Shoyu ramen (”Gravy Soy Sauce” ramen). It’s limited to 20 bowls a day so you should get there early! The Santouka in Costa Mesa is open at 11am, and there was already a short line when we arrived about 10 till. (more…)