Tori Paitan Ramen at Ramen Shop, Oakland USA

Tori Paitan Ramen $17
manila clams, pork chashu, shoyu-marinated egg, maitake mushrooms, sweet onions, and mizuna

I just came back from Japan, and the first ramen I have when coming back is Ramen Shop. To me, Tori Paitan (Chicken white broth) always feel "nutritious" when compressing all the chicken bone, meat, essences into one bowl of creamy tori paitan. However it doesn't seem that way anymore when trying the Paitan tonight at Ramen Shop.

あんみつ Anmitsu, 羊羹 Yokan, 抹茶 Matcha, and 最中 Monaka Souvenirs at 虎屋 Toraya, Kyoto JAPAN

Seasonal Yokan served with Matcha

Anmitsu Dessert - fruits, flavored jelly, red bean paste, and syrup

During my stay in Kyoto, I visited a traditional Japanese dessert cafe (the tea ceremony) for the first time. The place is called 虎屋菓寮 TORAYA Confectionery Cafe. (meaning tiger) They served traditional dessert such as 羊羹 Yokan (Bean Paste Block) and "Anmitsu," which consists of fruits, agar jelly, sweet azuki paste, and sweet syrup. 

After dessert at the cafe, I bought some souvenirs at the shop too. The yokan block I got is beautiful and huge! As you can see below, the texture of pink, black, and whole bean makes it really appetizing to enjoy with a cup of hot tea right away! :)

Yokan Souvenir 

Shio, Shoyu Ramen, and Tsukemen at ロックンビリーS1 (Rock'n & Billy Super 1), Hyogo JAPAN

Shio Ramen - Hinai chicken broth, chicken breast, menma, onion, scallions, yuzu zest

Shoyu Ramen - Hinai chicken broth, chicken breast, menma, onion, scallions

This is definitely one of the best ramen shop I've been so far! Recommended by many other foodies and ramen experts, 嶋崎 順一 Junichi Shimazaki's ramen has been ranked as one of the best ramen in Tokyo or as one of the "Tokyo Ramen Gods".

Made purely by one of the best species of chicken in Japan, (Akita's Hinai chicken) the chicken broth is clear and very delicious!! On top of that, chicken fat to make this bowl of ramen more addicting. The chicken breast pieces have great texture and tender. The bamboo shoot is actually crunchy (the veggie type of crunchy/crispy) and well prepared without any unwanted odor or taste. The ramen itself is thin and bouncy. It matches with the clear chicken broth perfectly.

I highly recommend all three ramen: shio, shoyu, and tsukemen. (They are all ranked #1 in 2012-2013 Ramen Reward in Japan) Of course, if you want me to really pick one, Shio ramen is the one that you can truly taste the pure Hinai chicken's flavor without any other add-on flavors. It's actually my favorite out of the three.

Grilled Gyutan (Beef Tongue) Teishoku at ねぎしNegishi, Shibuya Tokyo JAPAN

Gankochan Teishoku - lean beef tongue 1080 yen

Negishi Teishoku -  Thin Beef Tongue with high protein and low fat content 1300 yen

This is the first time I am having beef tongue. To be honest, if no one tells me this is beef tongue I couldn't even tell the difference between tongue and meat. Anyway, the meal is not bad with different types of teishoku components. There's mugi-meshi (barley and rice), oxtail soup, miso nanban & oshinko (Japanese pickles), and lastly tororo. (grated mountain yam) For tororo, it can be eaten by itself or with rice.  

Negishi - Thin Beef Tongue with high protein and low fat content

I personally like the negishi more than the gankochan because the meat is not as lean. More juice is remain within the meat. For oxtail soup, it looks absolutely like water and I felt like the taste is a bit artificial. For tororo, it is cold and slimy (like yeast batter) The taste is subtly sweet.

Spicy Miso Ramen at 鬼金棒 カラシビ 味噌らー麺 Kikanbo Spicy Ramen, Chiyoda, Tokyo JAPAN

Spicy Miso Ramen Special (Medium Spicy)

The ramen here has really strong sesame aroma. The miso broth has moderate amount of pork fat. Small pieces of ginger can be found, and makes the savory broth really tasty! The chashu meat is extremely soft that melt in your mouth. The spiciness of the ramen came from the spicy oil and sanshou mix. It is the savory type, not that kind you get in American food. (sour type spiciness)

Miso ramen (Non-spicy)

If you have a cat tongue 猫舌 (sensitive tongue on hot or spicy food), you can order a non-spicy ramen too, which the quality doesn't drop at all. 

Photo by 全国ラーメン食べ歩き情報

The Japanese name of the store is called "鬼金棒 カラシビ 味噌らー麺," translates to "Demon Kanabo Kara Shibi Miso Ramen." Kanabo is the spiky truncheon that demons are holding at all the time. And then what's Kara and Shibi? It is what this ramen shop is special for, their level of spiciness. The spiciness of the ramen is actually based on two things: your level of Kara (the regular hot) and your level of Shibi (the shop's special Sanshou mix - Sanshou 山椒 is a Japanese spice that is very similar to Sichuan Pepper, and is often used on charbroiled unagi)

Great noodle for slurping and tsukemen!

The ramen noodles they use are thicker and I realized it's so easy to slurp, which makes it great for tsukemen noodle. (Their tsukemen shop is around the corner)

Charcoal-grilled chicken & mackerel Teishoku (Japanese meal set) at 大戸屋 Ootoya, Tokyo JAPAN

Charcoal-grilled Mackerel Teishoku 858 yen

Charcoal-grilled Chicken Teishoku 855 yen

For breakfast, here we have a simple teishoku (Japanese meal set) at Ootoya, a chained teishoku restaurant in Japan. The teishoku include rice, miso soup, pickled cabbage, salad/veggies, and the main dish. You can customize and order add-on for your meal set too.

The Charcoal-grilled Mackerel is actually still a little bit fishy for me, that's why there's some pickled cabbage in the set! For the charcoal-grilled chicken, it is actually also marinated in moromi vinegar. The grilled chicken is juicy but I don't prefer eating the burnt skin. For the rice, I added Tororo (grated Japanese mountain yam) on top of it, which was alright... I have to admit, it's an acquired taste. 

OYATSUBOX PREMIUM DECEMBER 2015 SUBSCRIPTION BOX REVIEW

OyatsuBox Premium December 2015

For December's subscription box, I received Oyatsu Box, which I really enjoy because it's full of surprises! It is perfect for the holiday and I am very glad to receive some of my favorite Japanese candies such as Hi-Chew. The snack box also includes a Gachapon, a vending machine-dispensed capsule toy. ("red ball" on the right side of the photo above) If you want to know what's inside, be sure to "Read more" and scroll down to find out what's inside! 0_0 

Black Sesame Oil & Red Spicy Tantanmen at JTAN, Tokyo JAPAN

Red Spicy Tantanmen  900 yen

Black Sesame Oil Tantanmen 850 yen

Although the chashu (roasted pork slices) are tough, both black & red tantanmens were good overall. They are still better than most ramen I've had in the States, but not better than Oakland's Ramen Shop's Spicy Tantanmen. 

Omakase, Unagi Oshizushi (pressed sushi), and Futomaki at Sushi Wacogoro, Helsinki FINLAND

Omakase - Maki and nigiri combination

Unagi Oshizushi (Pressed sushi)

Back Row: Hotate (Scallop) and Koji (Grilled) Salmon Nigiri
Middle Row: Futomaki (big roll)
Front Row: Sake Oshizushi  

While visiting Helsinki, I was exciting to visit Sushi Wacogoro for lunch. While looking through Helsinki's recommended restaurants, there are many Japanese restaurants to choose from. However Sushi Wacogoro's 5 Yelp-star status really makes me wonder. While reading about the background of the restaurant, it is actually owned by a Japanese family who moved to Helsinki for more than 4 years, solely to seek an opportunity in sushi business. 

GIVEAWAY: Japan Candy Box [Ended]

You can't wait to try out different kinds of Japanese snacks and candies? Enter and win Japan Candy Box below!

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JAPAN CANDY BOX NOVEMBER 2015 SUBSCRIPTION BOX REVIEW

Japan Candy Box

Japan Candy Box is a Japanese candy subscription service who will select around 8-10 hand-picked quirky Japanese sweets & snacks for your candy box. It has a nice variety of popular Japanese candies that I remember having when I used to live in Asia. The proportion is just right to try out each snack. It doesn't make me feel "too filling" when having these smaller packages of candies and caramel corn puffs.

The Ramen Poster 2.0 is Funded on Kickstarter!

The Ramen Poster 2.0 campaign is funded!! It will be fantastic if you can share The Ramen Poster 2.0 with your dear friends and family!

Share The Ramen Poster 2.0 on: Facebook / Twitter / Tumblr

Sashimi, Unagi + Truffle Nigiri, Miso Salmon, Beetroot Sorbet at Restaurant Gaijin, Helsinki FINLAND

Sashimi Tasting - sake, aji, and hamachi, roe, wasabi-yuzu dressing, wakame, wasabi mayonnaise

Unagi & Truffle Nigiri - glazed eel, truffle, teriyaki rice, seaweed caviar

I visited Helsinki for the New Year, and visited a local Asian fusion restaurant called Gaijin. (What's funny is that "Gaijin" means "foreigner" in Japanese. It is pretty ironic for a restaurant to name themselves this way.) Overall, the dishes are easy to go down and many are quite delicious. I was very full in the end that I can't even finish my dessert.

FREEDOM JAPANESE MARKET NOVEMBER 2015 SUBSCRIPTION BOX REVIEW

Original Subscription Pack

Origami of the Month

For this review, it is going to be about the November 2015 "Original Subscription Pack" by Freedom Japanese Market.

After opening my snack box, I am delighted to see an adorable origami. I really appreciate these kind of small things. Actually folding origami for each subscription box can be very time consuming, this is something that I love to see when it comes to details.

I am also very surprised that I actually never seen many of these snacks before. Usually, I am familiar with half of the snack box! Especially this "pipe choco" that I am holding, (photo below) I can almost imagine a kid holding it and role-playing with it while enjoying the mini chocolate balls. It makes you feel like childhood.

Pipe Choco

The Ramen Poster 2.0 Launched today!

STORY

After designing for the first ramen poster, I was exploded to types of ramen that I finally got to try for the first time such as Tori-Paitan (ramen with a rich chicken broth that was made similar to Tonkotsu style) and Ramen Buger. (Grilled ramen buns sandwiching roast pork, scallions, and other ramen toppings) Other than local Japanese ramen, I also want to introduce ramen recipes that have misleading name such as Yakisoba and Aburasoba, both having "soba in their names." Like most people, I thought they are probably soba noodles. (buckwheat) The fun fact is that they are not made with soba noodles; instead, wheat noodle or ramen noodles are typically used for those recipes.

As these discoveries pile up within the year, I decided to design a second ramen poster. It will have 42 ramen recipes (my old one has 25) that will help you in your ramen journey in trying out different kinds of ramen!

PLEASE SUPPORT MY NEW RAMEN POSTER ON KICKSTARTER

Katsu Curry at Curry Zen, Las Vegas USA

Katsu Curry $8.95

In Berkeley, I think Muracci's has pretty good curry with their fried katsu (chicken) and tonkatsu (pork cutlet). In Las Vegas, I found that Curry Zen is another nice spot for a comfortable meal of Japanese curry rice.

I ordered a Katsu curry rice plate, which is great! The katsu is fried with thin layer of batter (that doesn't detach from the meat!) it is crispy outside, yet tender inside. The curry I got is non-spicy, which obviously you can adjust the level of spiciness you want from the menu below.

level of spiciness!