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!

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! 

Premium Matcha from JAPANESE GREEN TEA COMPANY

*** 10% OFF ***

Buy it

Use code: JFOODIE

Matcha 抹茶 (Green tea powder) is such a healthy drink, and I am so glad it is back to my diet recently. This time I am trying a brand from Japanese Green Tea Company, who sources their tea directly from Arahataen Green Tea Farms in the Shizuoka prefecture, Japan. This is a premium Matcha that I really enjoy, don't forget to use my coupon code JFOODIE if you are planning to give it a try!

Cream Anmitsu, Age-Manju (Fried Mochi Dough), Tokoroten (Seaweed Jelly Noodle in Cold Sauce) at Takemura 竹むら, Tokyo JAPAN

Takemura 竹むら is a traditional Japanese dessert shop located near the historical landmark, Old Manseibashi Station. The specialty of this sweet shop is "Manju-Age", which is a fried mochi dough with azuki red bean paste inside! I also highly recommend traditional Japanese sweets because they contain only vegan ingredients: tea, fruits, agar jelly, soy sauce, mochi, azuki red bean paste, pea, etc.

MATCHA WELLNESS Organic Matcha Green Tea Powder | REVIEW

Organic Matcha Green Tea Powder (Ceremonial) & Organic Matcha Green Tea Powder (Superior Culinary) 

*20% OFF CODE: 5E3J2VJC

As many of you already know, Matcha 抹茶 is Japanese green tea powder. It has so many health benefits and it is very easy to make at home. That's why I love Matcha a lot! I recently tried a brand called Matcha Wellness. I have both the Organic Matcha Green Tea Powder, Ceremonial type and Superior Culinary type. Let's see how they turn out! 

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!

Taiyaki at May's Coffee Shop, San Francisco USA

Taiyaki $2

This snack shop is located inside Japan Center. It has a large Taiyaki drawing at the front of shop. There are two flavors: chocolate or red bean. Also, I recommend coming at the morning so you can get fresher Taiyaki. From what the set-up tells me, it seems like they make a bunch in the morning and leave it at the front.

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.

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.

RECIPE: Homemade Udon Noodle from Scratch

Do you crave for noodle all the time like me? If you pre-made your udon noodles, you can enjoy a fresh bowl of hot udon all the time! Most importantly, the only ingredients you really need is flour, salt, and water for noodle. Also, if you are very picky about your noodle's thickness and texture, you can customize it all you want. ** You will need a pasta maker for this!!

Iced Matcha Green Tea 冷抹茶 | RECIPE

I bought a package of green tea powder a few days ago, and decided to make a homemade Matcha today. The result is absolutely great!! It is great to enjoy with meal and snacks. It is refreshing with ice, and the honey makes it even better. I can happy that I made it in a big pitcher! 

Sakura Mochi, Dango, and Kashiwa Mochi at Tamon Tea, Berkeley USA

Sakura Mochi 桜餅 ~$2.5

Red Bean Paste inside of Sakura Mochi

Tamon Tea is a Japanese Snack Shops located in Berkeley. (right across Berkeley City College) They have various Japanese treats such as Sakura Mochi (imported from Hokkaido, Japan) Dango, Kushi Mochi, Yokan, etc. 

Owner of the store imported their Sakura Mochi from Hokkaido Japan. What is most surprising is that you are supposed to eat the leaves along with the mochi too. The leave is sakura leaves and it is pickled and well prepared for eating. Inside the mochi, there is sweet red bean paste. The overall of this sweet is AMAZING! I really wish I can enjoy this mini treat while viewing Sakura blossom in Japan. 

Veggie Ramen at Ramen Shop, Oakland USA

Veggie Shoyu Matsutake Ramen $16.5

Shio Ramen with California Bamboo $17.5

Ramen Shop always select the best seasonal ingredients for their restaurant. For tonight, California Bamboo Shoots seem to be the ingredient for their Shio Ramen.

If you didn't know, Ramen Shop changes their ramen menu everyday. However, the "Veggie Shoyu Matsutake Ramen" is always available. I finally get a chance to try it tonight. I must admit, it is a bit too sweet for me, but I don't regret it. I wanted to try all of their artisan ramen recipes.
 

RECIPE: Dorayaki, Japanese pancake with Red Bean Filling

Dorayaki

Dorayaki is a Japanese sweet pancake with red bean paste filling. You can find them as snacks at Japanese grocery stores. They are very easy to make, so I decided to make a big batch today.

RECIPE: Homemade Wheat Noodle

Noodle batches

I wanted to experiment with whole wheat flour to make a more chewy texture noodle this time, so I decided to use a whole wheat flour with 16% fiber.