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! 

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. 

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. 

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. 

Hokkaido Scallop Nigiri and Salmon Rice Bowl at Kiku Sushi, Berkeley USA

Nigiri Sushi  握り寿司

Kiku Sushi is a local friendly, neighborhood type of Japanese sushi restaurant. It has a 4 star on Yelp, and I decided to give it a try today. For the salmon rice bowl, the salmon slices are creamy and fresh, but it tastes like it wasn't cured/marinated. (I tried buying a non-cured salmon fillet and it tastes just like that.) Ikura (salmon roe) is flavorful as it was soaked with soy sauce for a short period of time right before serving. Tamago-yaki has an old-egg kind of smell and taste.

Fried Chicken Oyako-Don at Aburaya, Oakland USA

Fried Chicken Oyako Don $9

I am very exciting about this place, but I guess I was expecting too much. I ordered my chicken rice bowl with garlic sauce and egg. The saucy fried chicken tastes alright but I wish the egg will be more fluffy to counter the heavy fried chicken. I can barely finish my bowl, I guess I better get back to my noodle diet.