Sushi & Small Dishes at Sanraku (Metreon Location), San Francisco USA

I just revisited Sanraku for their lunch. Other than sushi, I tried many other appetizers and seasonal dishes this time. I have a few favorites that I can't wait to share with you!

Sushi Omakase at Sanraku (Sutter Street Location), San Francisco USA

At Sanraku, you can explore both Japanese small dishes and nigiri as well as their American styled sushi rolls. I was surprised by how much I loved their appetizers, which reminds me of the flavors I had in Japan. Besides their delicious nigiri sushi, I highly recommend their seafood Chawanmushi! 

Soba at Soba Ichi, Oakland (San Francisco Bay Area) USA

Cold Soba (Seiro - Regular Size) with dipping sauce, pickles, and condiments

Soba Ichi is a restaurant specialized in Japanese soba (buckwheat) noodles. Their soba is freshly prepared every day from scratch. They are one of the Bay Area restaurants with Michelin-awarded Bib Gourmand status in the year 2019. Since they are the only soba specialty restaurant in the area, make sure to make a reservation one day in advance! 

Sushi Omakase at Sanraku (Metreon Location), San Francisco USA

Omakase Set

This week, I visited Sanraku (Metreon location) for their omakase dinner. Sanraku is a great casual spot with lots of Japanese food choices such as sushi, Japanese small bites and appetizers, rice bowls, udon, soba, curry, tempura, etc. Although sushi was best to be eaten almost right away after sushi chef hand it to your plate, I actually really enjoyed their sushi omakase in one large wooden platter as well. Now let's check out what my Omakase dinner look like...

Shoyu Ramen, Tori Paitan, & Karaage at Touhichi らぁ麺 とうひちKyoto, JAPAN

Shoyu Ramen

Karaage (Fried Chicken)

While browsing Google Map in Kyoto, I found a very high rated ramen shop far away from the city center. Before the shop opened for dinner, a line is already formed at shop front. Everything I ordered here are undoubtedly really good! Plus, I found one of the best karaage I've ever had!

Hakata Ramen at Marufuku Ramen in San Francisco, Northern California

Hakata skinny ramen noodle, a style of ramen originated from the ward of Hakata, Fukuoka Province of Japan

Marufuku Ramen just opened 4 months ago, and it's been pretty popular since its grand opening inside San Francisco Japantown. They specialized in Hakata-style ramen, which is a Tonkotsu (pork bone soup) based ramen. Its noodle is rather skinny and whiter than the typical ramen noodles you see. Overall, this ramen spot is not bad if you want a slight taste of Japanese ramen. I would say they are trying to make it as authentic as they can with the ingredients available in the Bay Area. So if you are a Tonkotsu fan, don't forget to try out Marufuku! (See menu at the bottom of this post)

Sushi and Small Dishes at Sushi Kyo (KYO Sushi-ya), Mexico City MEXICO

Map & Hours

Flounder

Tamago (egg) rolled with eel, Grilled Mackerel, and Broccoli with Tobiko mayonnaise

On "the Day of the Dead" week (last week of October), I visited Mexico City for a few big-name restaurants: Pujol, Quintonil, Sud777, and lastly a Japanese sushi restaurant called Sushi Kyo. I actually had never imagine myself having Japanese food in Mexico, but then that's why it really makes me curious. I had no idea what to expect.

As you can see, the food looks very simple: not too fancy or something that will "wow" you at first sight. BUT they are not bland at all, the flavors are actually seasoned the right amount so that you can taste each dish in its most natural state. It's a comfortable meal, which I think it doesn't come by very often. If you are as interested as me, read more below to see what other unique dishes are on our Sushi Kyo omakase in Mexico City!

Shio, Organic (Shoyu), Tori Paitan, & Vegan Tantanmen at Mensho Tokyo, San Francisco USA

Shio Ramen - Clear chicken and pork soup, Shio dare, pork chashu, kale, menma, fried garlic, chives, nori

Vegan Tantanmen - Vegetable soup with kombu and mushroom, premium Japanese soy milk, seven types of nuts, sesame, cilantro, chili oil, green onions, menma, kale sprouts

Tori Paitan - Rich, creamy chicken soup, pork chashu, duck chashu, menma, kale, burdock root, katsubushi sauce

Organic Ramen (Shoyu) - Clear organic chicken and pork soup, shoyu dare, pork chashu, duck chashu, kale, kale sprout, menma chives, menma, nori

There were 4 ramens on the menu tonight, and since I have 2 more people with me, we ordered all 4 to try out all of them at once. Personally, I fell in love with their Shio ramen. The tasty umami from the Rausu kelp and Hongare Katsuobushi Dashi broth really perfected it. Let me tell you more about Mensho Tokyo and their delicious ramen!

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.

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.

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. 

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. 

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.

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!

Japanese Teishoku Pop-up Dinner at 2293 Mission St., San Francisco USA

Tonkatsu (Fried Pork Cutlet) with egg and sauce: with rice, miso soup, pickled cucumber, and cold mix-veggies over tofu (Tamago was supposed to be in that empty bowl...) $18

What do traditional Japanese meal tasted like? I am glad I was introduced to a Japanese Teishoku Pop-up Dinner in San Francisco tonight. Teishoku means "meal set" and typically includes items like rice, miso soup, a main dish, side dish and pickled vegetables. It's simple dishes, but was prepared with great care. Let me tell you how the dinner went!

Monterey Bay squid and pork fried rice at Ramen Shop, Oakland USA

Monterey Bay squid and pork fried rice with wild nettles, cilantro, basil, cherry tomatoes, and Siew’s spicy shrimp-chili paste $15.5

Once a while, my friends will order Ramen Shop's fried rice as a small appetizer. It is a little bit spicy from their house-made shrimp-chili paste. 

Red Miso Mochi Ice Cream at Ramen Shop, Oakland USA

Red Miso Mochi Ice Cream $5

Happy Birthday to me! I tried my first RED MISO flavored mochi ice cream at Ramen Shop! First of all, it is house-made, I wish I can find any flavor of mochi ice cream at any convience store. ^ v ^

The ice cream is very flavorful, but the taste of red miso is subtle, almost taste like a ripe plum.

Umami Burger at Umami, San Francisco USA

Umami Burger: parmesan frico, shiitake mushroom, roasted tomato, caramelized onions, Umami house ketchup

Tonight, I tried the umami burger with medium rare steak. It is quite tasty with the Umami house ketchup, which is rather savory than sour. Overall the burger blends very well with all the veggies, especially the roasetd tomatoes.

Seafood Udon and Nigiri at Kamado Sushi, Berkeley USA

Seafood Udon: clam, mussel, scallop, fish, shrimp

Hamachi (yellowtail), sake (salmon), hon maguro (tuna)

Kamado Sushi is a causal Japanese restaurant located at Northern Berkeley area. I came here towards the end of lunch time, and there was no waiting line. I ordered a seafood udon as well as 5 sets of nigiri: Hamachi (yellowtail), sake (salmon), hon maguro (tuna), hotate (Hokkaido scallop), and tamago. (egg cake)