Tonkotsu Black Garlic Oil Ramen at Kaze, Berkeley USA

Kaze Black Garlic Oil Ramen
Pork Chashu, egg, black mushroom, bean sprout, scallions, dried seaweed

Kaze is a ramen restaurant located on Shattuck, Berkeley. I ordered their special "Kaze Black Garlic Oil Ramen." Broth base is a Tonkotsu creamy broth, ramen noodles are instant noodle. Chashu is good in texture but lacking flavor.

Chicken Teriyaki Bento & Gyūdon at Tamon Tea, Berkeley USA

Chicken Teriyaki Bento (鶏照り焼き弁当): Teriyaki Chicken, Japanese-style Spaghetti, marinated tomatoes and veggies, rice $6-7

Tamon Tea's bento box is differently daily. It is usually out of stock if you visit after lunch time as well. Their marinated eggplants and tomatoes are surprisingly very good despite the ordinary appearance. For the Gyūdon, the thin beef slices are a little bit dry, but the flavor is excellent. It serves with lots of rice and 7-spice chili pepper and black sesame.

Visiting Chef Mochizuki at Tamon Tea, Berkeley USA

Chef Mochizuki and me

GOOD NEWS! Chef was able to order Yokan (Sweet bean jelly) from one of the most famous traditional 400 year-old Yokan maker/shops in Kyoto Japan. (Toraya?) The sweets will arrive in 2 weeks. (1 week making and 1 week shipping) Let's plan to make a trip back very soon!

Today I actually told the chef of Tamon Tea, Mochizuki-san about how great his food is and how his snacks inspired me in designing for my upcoming poster project. He was surprised and excited about what I told him and thank me for coming to the shop all these times.

Meyer Lemon Ramen & Hokkaido Spicy Butter Corn Miso Ramen at Ramen Shop, Oakland USA

Meyer Lemon (Front) $16.5 and Hokkaido Spicy Butter Corn Miso (Back) $17.5

Meyer Lemon Ramen is a yuzu-inspired recipe for Northern Californians. Just by the name of the ramen, you already know the broth will be acidic rather than salty. The ramen has salt-cured egg and plenty of vegetables: maitake and king oyster mushrooms, tomato confit, broccolini, eggplants, and mizuna. (water greens)

Salmon and Hamachi Bento at Kirala 2, Berkeley USA

Hamachi (Yellow Tail) Bento: Grilled Hamachi, Tamago, veggies cooked with dashi broth, rice $10

Salmon Bento: Grilled Salmon, Tamago, veggies cooked with dashi broth, rice $10

Kirala 2 is located inside "Epicurious Garden." It can be easily found on the right-hand side once you enter the building. Although it is a small space for Kirala, there are constantly at least 3-4 sushi chefs who's making sushi all the time. I once met a Japanese girl while waiting in line and she said their bento is very close to the ones in Toyko, which is where she was from. Their bento box usually includes protein (either grilled fish, chicken, or deep-fried tonkotsu) and large variety of Japanese veggies cooked with fish stock.

Hokkaido Squash Blossom Butter Corn Miso Ramen & Porcini Shoyu Ramen at Ramen Shop, Oakland USA

Hokkaido Squash Blossom Butter Corn Miso Ramen $17.5

Porcini (an Italian mushroom) Shoyu Ramen $17.5

I feel extremely happy with the Hokkaido Squash Blossom Butter Corn Miso Ramen. The creamy broth really fits well with the soft squash in general. Along with butter, corn, and miso, the ramen includes ground pork belly, shoyu-marinated egg, padron pepper, broccoli, and shungiku green.

At the same time, Porcini shoyu ramen is another new ramen invention that my friend (who usually prefers lighter-tasting food) really loves. As the name suggests, this ramen recipe uses Porcini, an Italian mushroom that is very meaty and rich. The shoyu broth is not too salty and its flavor is very satisfying with good quality Japanese soy sauce. The bowl of ramen also has pork chashu slices, shoyu-marinated eff, spring garlic, scallions, bok choy, and mizuna.

Shio Tori Paitan Ramen at Ramen Shop, Oakland USA

Shio Tori Paitan Ramen $17.5

On Sunday, one of Ramen Shop's owners, Ray, told me about their Paitan ramen that will be on their menu today. That is why I planned to come visit again at 5pm sharp to try it out right when the restaurant opens. The ramen today is called Shio Tori Paitan Ramen. It is very creamy and rich yet moderately salty. The creamy texture is very overwhelming to me. Luckily, there're porcini mushroom and lots of veggies. It is a very satisfying meal with egg and chashu!