#dinejapan

[pacsettravel]

dineJAPAN #3 Okonomiyaki!

Osaka is a funky town. Renown for it's vibrant people, comedy, middle-aged women in animal print, nightlife, and yes, FOOD. The most representative of Osaka cuisine is Okonomiyaki (Japanese savory pancake) and Takoyaki (fried octopus balls.) Okonomiyaki and Takoyaki shop options are ENDLESS. Okonomiyaki-"Okonomi" literally means  "to your liking" and "yaki" is "grilled".  Latter half of Animated Spring 2017 was spent in Kansai, and since we were back in Osaka, my old stomping grounds, I really wanted to go back to the Okonomiyaki chain that I really enjoyed going to back in the day. I went to Fugetsu with a few of the tour goers to find that some of the other people from our group had decided to dine there as well. Very coincidental! :) I was at a table with non-fussy eaters, and we decided to order the "Fugetsu Special" and tonpeiyaki. “Fugetsu Special” is a mouthwatering combination of squid, pork, beef, and shrimp. Tonpeiyaki? It's a plate of egg yumminess. We didn't just get a regular tonpeiyaki. We upgraded and ordered the Mochi-Cheese Tonpeiyaki. Imagine an egg omelette, oozing with cheese and chewy mochi, and thin pork slices, topped off with mayo and green onions and bonito flakes. It was so immaculate, we had to order a second serving.

Lovely couple from our tour coincidentally seated at the table next to ours.

Mochi Cheese Tonpeiyaki!

Some places will allow you to cook the Okonomiyaki on your own, but I appreciate it when they servers whip it up in front of you, because it's cooked to perfection. When I was in the middle of writing this blog, I learned that there actually is a Fugetsu in CA, but in Northern CA. They should totally make one in LA!!!!

At a recent grocery shopping trip to the local Japanese market, I was pleasantly surprised to find that they sell Fugetsu Brand Okonomiyaki Mix. I had a sudden craving for Okonomiyaki and added the mix into my shopping cart. 

Using pork and shrimp and the Fugetsu Mix, I tried recreating the Osaka goodness in the comfort of my home...It was good, but not quite as good as the real thing. Guess it’s being IN Osaka that makes the difference. 

Can’t wait for the next chance I get to eat the real deal...

[pacsettravel]

dineJAPAN

I'm a total Junkie. I mean, I LOVE Junk Food. One of my favorite Japanese fast food chains is MOS Burger. MOS Burger has been around since 1972, and since then, has expanded to over 1700 locations in Japan and beyond, to other parts of Asia and even Australia. I'm still waiting and HOPING for the day they open one in LA! You'd think it'd happen, considering such a huge market here for all kinds of burgers! On the morning of my departure day back to the US on my recent visit to Tokyo, I enjoyed a hearty breakfast (where and what I ate, I'll leave for another post).  I wasn't particularly hungry, but I did have a lot of time to kill before my flight took off, so I wandered about the 4th floor of the beautiful Haneda International Terminal. I recalled the time during Fire & Ice when we ate at a delicious fried cutlet restaurant, but I wasn't in the mood for fancy tonkatsu. I walked by a rice ball shop, a Turkish shop, and stopped in my tracks, at the sight of...MOS CAFE! I believe I uttered out loud, "MOS DEF!" :P I had no idea MOS was in the airport, until that moment. My life was forever changed. I knew that once the plane took off, it wouldn't be long until dinner would be served. Still, I could NOT resist my MOS BURGER craving. How can you have cravings, even when you're not hungry!? This was actually my first time at a MOS CAFE. I've only been to MOS BURGER joints. The menu was a bit different, had offerings of curry rice and a variety of rice bowls, quinoa salads, smoothies and! A special menu!

There was a limited time RIVALRY MENU available!!!! Hokkaido VS. Nagoya! From Hokkaido, on the left, was a "Kitami Shoyu Tare Tonkatsu Burger" which translated simply is: "Special Flavored Soy Sauce Pork Cutlet Burger" using pork straight from Hokkaido. On the right is the "Nagoya Ebi Fry Burger," which is "Fried Shrimp Burger" topped with Lemon Tartar Sauce. I was SO torn. I was going through such a dilemma as I stood in line. I literally wanted to stuff my face with both burgers, as I had never tried nor even seen either of them before. After much contemplating, I decided to go with...

The original MOS BURGER. WHAAAAT?! After alllll that! I could not resist how I fell in love with MOS in the first place. The meat patty that actually doesn't even taste like REAL beef, but is somehow delicious, and the crunchy diced onions.....AND the sauce! It's not exactly chili but MOS calls it "meat sauce." This burger that I consumed there at the airport was probably the most delicious MOS that I had ever eaten. Everything was piping hot, the fries, salted to perfection. I devoured my meal in split seconds and went on my merry way. Did I regret not choosing the special menu? No. I was satisfied. Had I not eaten breakfast, I'd probably have destroyed all three! ^^ Read the full article

[pacsettravel]

dineJAPAN #2

Kyushu Jangara I LOVE Ramen. I prefer ramen over soba or udon. Although it's not as healthy as the latter, I love it. My favorite Ramen spot ever is an Osakan chain, called Kamukura Ramen. (I'll talk about it in another blog.) Ever since joining PacSet, Evan had been raving on and on about how good "Kyushu Jangara" ramen was. I was a bit skeptical, as I consider myself a ramen connoisseur/snob. There's so many options for ramen in LA, especially, in Torrance, and there's only one or two that I consider good enough to compete at the level of Japan's ramen. Even if some popular chains from Japan cross over to the LA market, it's just not the same, and I believe it's in the chef's talents or lack there of, and possibly due to the lack of quality ingredients. Snob, right? :P During Animated Spring this year, we went to Evan's favorite Akihabara shop of Kyushu Jangara, and the wait was quite long. Everyone was patient though. The gentleman working was very efficient and took our orders as we waited outside.  He was also very kind and kept us informed and made us feel welcome.  After what seemed like an eternity, I was able to enter the store, and to my dismay, it was so TINY!  No wonder the wait was so long! There were only a few tables and the rest were counter spaces, and maybe 10 seats at that. A few moments after we were seated, our bowls arrived, piping out. I prefer thin, harder noodles, and that's exactly what appeared before me. Not sure if you can call ramen noodles al dente, but it was al dente to perfection. As I always love to do when I first take on a bowl of ramen, I used my renge (ramen spoon) and scooped up a bit of the soup and slurped it. MMMMMM it wasn't that fatty and the broth was very delicious! One point for Evan! I thought to myself, as I noisily slurped up some noodles.  It was definitely worth the wait.

In May, during the Taste of Japan tour, Jangara was also on the itinerary, and it was just as AWESOME. That morning had been spent devouring Sushi and enjoying Coffee, so I wasn't exactly hungry, but I finished my bowl! Def did not order seconds on noodles though! Kamukura Ramen still is my all-time favorite, but Jangara has earned it's recognition high up on my list! Read the full article