Lunch at Ajisen Ramen in Chelsea, NYC, New York

We went to Ajisen Ramen on a Saturday with Jodi, Jessica and Alex. We never went to that place and were excited to try it as we love ramen and there are so many places in NYC where to eat this delicious noodle dish.

The logo is funny and cartoony and, contrary to most of the ramen places we have been to, there is no sitting at the counter, watching the cook do its magic. I discovered, while writing this post, that Ajisen ramen is a chain, created in Japan.

The waiter gave us the menu and I was pleased to see photos as I always find that, if well taken, they can  speak better than words. Although words are still necessary to describe each dish and, believe it or not, there was none! I tried to get some answers from the waiter but he was unable to explain what the dishes had. 

So, Jodi and Jessica went for the corn ramen 

and I went for the Ajisen ramen as it was the name of the restaurant.

Both dishes were similar: it was based on a broth made with pork that has a milky color. I thought in fact that it was because of a small amount of curry paste and possibly coconut milk...Both ramen had some slices of pork that were pretty descent, some green onions, cabbage and carrots. The corn ramen had...corn!

I finished my ramen that was good. Not to the level of the ones I tried before, but good. The advantage of this one is that it was not crowded at all, probably because of the location. I think they should either describe their dishes or have their staff have a better knowledge of the dishes, because, sometimes, if people like a restaurant, they like to come back to try other dishes they saw on the menu! 

Enjoy (I did)!

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Japonica, Japanese restaurant in Greenwich Village, NYC, New York

It has been a while since we wanted to try Japonica, located near Union Square, in Greenwich Village. Each time we passed by, the restaurant seemed packed, with sometimes a line outside. At that point, one may think that there must be a reason for it! 

So here we are, thinking that we would have to wait; it was not the case and they sat us immediately. What we could not miss about the decor were the trees all around that gave a nice touch.  The staff was very nice, polite and efficient. They first brought us a hot towel and then proceeded to take our order. 

We started of with appetizers. First were the vegetable gyoza. 

They were proposed steamed or fried; we picked fried to have a nice crunch to it. They came very hot! Inside, we could definitely taste edamame. Unfortunately, they were underseasoned. Fortunately though, we poured some soy sauce and its saltiness helped overcome it. 

Then, we ordered the shrimp shumai:

They were big, with a nice shrimp on top of each and the filling being made of pork. Unfortunately, I did not like them: watery, they were also tasteless if not for the shrimp!

For the entrees, Jodi ordered avocado rolls:

Nothing extraordinary there, but we appreciated the ripe avocado.

On my side, I ordered the Uni Ika made of squid and sea urchin:

The last time I had Sea Urchin was in Malta in 1998! They were captured fresh, opened on the spot and eaten right away with a bit of lemon. So good! So I was excited this time! Unfortunately, it was not as expected! The squid was a bit tough and the sea urchin turned to a watery paste...

Well, this was not as good as what we expected: expensive and average. We were wondering if the continuous flow of customers was because there are not that many Japanese restaurants in this area!

Enjoy (...)!

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Beard Papa's cream puffs in NYC, New York

Yes, I confess: when writing my blog post about Dinosaur BBQ, I omitted a small detail...It concerns the fact that we were planning to walk up to the restaurant and, coincidently, we passed by Beard Papa's...I am sure that when Jodi will read the word "coincidently", she will roll her eyes...I am discovered! Yes, I had a plan! Look, walking to Dinosaur BBQ requires so energy and Beard Papa's had what I needed! If you do not know what Beard Papa's is, it is a French-style bakery franchise that originated in Japan in 1999 and specializes in delicious cream puffs or choux à la crème! You cannot not notice the logo that is a bearded...papa...who looks like a sailor!

I still remember the first time I tried Beard Papa, few years ago. We were walking in the street on the Upper West Side when a delicious smell came through our noses. Outside of the store, they were giving samples of these cute choux packed with deliciousness! After we tried it, we had to get several of them! From all the flavors they propose, the vanilla custard remains my favorite! Even the chocolate one does not measure up for me. 

So, here we are again! The staff greeted us in Japanese and freshly stuffed the Chou with the vanilla custard. 

I think it is great that they fill them a la minute, because otherwise, the shell would lose its slight crunch. You should have seen my big smile when they handed me over the yellow bag...

I delicately opened it, and there was the vanilla custard filled cream puff, with a bit of confectioner's sugar on top (that usually ends up on my shirt!).

The first bite was fantastic, as well as the second, third, etc...The vanilla custard was so good!

It really tasted fresh and homemade!

Then, few weeks later, thanks to a colleague, David, I got the chance to try a Paris-Brest cream "donut" puff. Paris-Brest is a French Pastry made of a chou cut in half with praline cream in between the two slices.

As well as an eclair one:

The Paris-Brest was very good with a slightly different shell for the chou. The chocolate eclair would satisfy any fan of chocolate! First of all, it tasted like real chocolate melted and not just some sugary one. Then, the filling was a vanilla custard and I really thought that it was an excellent pairing with the dark chocolate, because it counter balanced the bitterness of it. 

Well, after writing this post, it makes me want to go back quickly! What about you?

Enjoy (I did)!

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Hibachi at Ayame in Hoboken, New Jersey

Ayame ("Iris" in Japanese) is the only Hibachi place in Hoboken. If you do not know what Hibachi is, it is a grill where food will be cooked during a cooking show that surely requires some skills!

I sometimes wonder if people go to Hibachi places for the food or for the show! I go for both!!! First time I tried it was in Seoul, Korea. It was in the hotel I was staying in and I still remember the filet mignon and the grilled veggies, notably the mushrooms and onions that were fantastic. The Chef put a bit of a show, but it was not as much as what I saw later. 

So, here we are at Ayame, excited at the idea of what is to come. Jodi orders the vegetable and tofu Hibachi and I ordered a combo of two where I picked shrimp and chicken (they also have scallops, filet mignon, lobster...). The Chef comes with his little cart full of ingredients and greets us. He then starts by whipping out the hot surface and the show can begin. The video below will speak more than any words I could write!

This was spectacular! What you do not see on the video is that he proposed me some sake. I thought that he would give me some in a shot glass, but instead, he squeezed a bottle to let the sake flow come to my mouth! 

Jodi's vegetable and tofu looked like this:

My shrimp and chicken combo like that:

There was definitely a lot if food and the fried rice was not necessary! The only negative is that they asked us if we wanted regular or fried rice, as if it was included!

Otherwise, the food was fantastic: tasty with generous portions. For instance, the shrimp were of a good size and I had a dozen. 

For the second time at Ayame, trying the Hibachi, we had not only a good time, but also some delicious food! We definitely need to go back and try their other dishes!

Enjoy (I did)!

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Dinner at Nobu in Tribeca, NYC, New York

We were very excited to go to Nobu in Tribeca! We wanted to treat ourselves in the restaurant of Japanese Chef Nobu Matsuhisa, whose partners include Robert De Niro (yes, I am talking to you!). He created dishes inspired from his background but also from his experience in South America (Peru and Argentina). 

Having a reservation was a bit of a challenge for the week end and we got one at 6:15pm on a Saturday. From outside, the restaurant was very discreet. Inside, it was very elegant with its earthy tones and Japanese aesthetics. The place started to get busy pretty quickly. We even saw Matt Dillon who was having dinner and were wondering if we would see other actors as we went there during the Tribeca Film Festival. No luck. 

The menu was pretty extensive, showcasing traditional Japanese dishes like sushi and sashimi. For sure, having sushi and sashimi at Nobu might be good but we felt that we would miss the whole point of this culinary discovery.

We decided to try the following dishes:

For appetizer, we ordered the Spicy Miso Chips with Bigeye Tuna:

The scale on the photo is close to what we got! It was small and clearly more an Amuse Bouche rather than what I would call an appetizer. It would have been better with at least 4 pieces! It was good though, a little on the sweet side, it was not as spicy as it advertises. 

Then we got the Kumamoto Oysters with Maui Onion Salsa:

The presentation was very nice with the oysters presented on crushed ice. The scale on the photo was again close to reality: small. The problem is that I could barely taste the oyster: the onion salsa was good but too overpowering for my taste.

For entrees, Jodi ordered the Fish and Chips Nobu-style:

And I ordered the black cod with Miso:

Clearly, between the two, the black cod with Miso hit the mark! The fish was perfectly cooked, moist and flaky. It had some sweetness to it that was enhanced by the miso. It is definitely a dish to try if you go to Nobu. The Fish and Chips Nobu-style was, however, disappointing. I think we were expecting something better than just fish tempura with soy sauce. They could have done so different, maybe with some  sweet and sour sauce or wasabi. It was not even the best tempura we ever tried. I think the only thing I liked in that dish was the yuca fries...

I also ordered the Live Octopus Tiradito:

Contrary to what I thought, the octopus was not alive, just fresh... It was like a carpaccio with thin slices of octopus and lime, too much of it in fact! The octopus was tender and very good, but the lime overpowered the entire dish.

As we were still hungry (crazy, no?), we ordered two additional dishes:

Jodi went for the avocado tempura:

The avocado was too ripe and had barely no taste to it.

I ordered the creamy spicy crab:

This was the biggest disappointment of the dinner: I love crab and, although this dish has a lot of it, it was smothered in fish eggs and green onions, so I could not taste any of the crab meat! 

Not discouraged by the previous dishes, we decided to try dessert. Jodi ordered the Milk Chocolate Coconut Cake:

I liked it: light and tasty, it had a nice coconut-y taste that paired perfectly with the chocolate.

On my side, I ordered the Banana Soy Toban:

it was composed of caramelized bananas, roasted pecans and malaga ice cream, that tasted like rum/raisin ice cream. I enjoyed it: not too sweet, it was very comforting. 

I was so disappointed by our experience at Nobu! For most of the dishes, it missed the mark in term of taste, although I recognize that the presentation was fantastic and they showed some creativity. I definitely prefer Morimoto that offers a far better experience to its diners, at a better price (oh yeah: Nobu is definitely pricey)!

Enjoy (...)!

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Hot and Cold ramen at Ramen Takumi in NYC, New York

As I thought my frenzy for ramen would have to be put on hold as the temperature rises, my cousin Jessica, who follows this blog and has given me some good addresses, mentioned the cold ramen. I was a bit intrigued by it as I always imagined that dish very hot. So when we went to Ramen Takumi, located nearby Union Square, in Greenwich Village, I decided to try. Well, remember: Ramen means Noodle Dish in Japanese. 

So we went there and as most of the ramen places, it was busy and the service was pretty fast. That day, exceptionally as one could say, I passed on the appetizer and went straight to the ramen! 

Jodi ordered the Shio Ramen:

The Shio Ramen broth, lightly salted, was served with two pieces of pork was were phenomenal (tender, tasty with a bit of deliciousness people call fat...), bamboo shoots, a salt flavored egg (half, perfectly cooked - soft yolk), seaweed, scallions and noodles (of course!). It was a very good dish!

I ordered the Hiyashi Ramen-Natsu:

This cold ramen dish was composed of the same pork Jodi had in her ramen (remember: phenomenal!), bamboo shoots, half salt flavor egg, cucumber, pickles, corn, pickled ginger, crab meat and noodles. In the bottom, there was a dark broth that I guess was made out of miso. This is where I realized that ramen does not mean noodle soup but noodle dish! The noodles were very good, cooked al dente, and it did not bother me at all that it was cold. It was refreshing in fact! I would definitely order this one again!

I have to say that I liked that place: the food was good and tasty. Prices wise, it is a bit more expensive than most places, with ramen dishes averaging $12.

Enjoy (I did)!

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Noodle soup at Omen in NYC, New York

Jodi and I decided to go to Omen in Soho, following a strong recommendation. Well, they have noodles and in the past year, we have been hooked on trying ramen or any sort of noodle soups! And it seems that Omen is making its own noodles! So we could not miss an occasion to try! 

The decor was nice and elegant, but we did not see any masks on the wall (Omen means "mask" in Japanese).

We did not check the menu in advance as we usually do and only realized, once there, that it was a bit pricey. Well, we were there and maybe the $20 for the noodle soup would be worth it! So we both ordered the Omen noodle soup. I have to say that it took a bit for the food to come.

The soup was composed of 3 separate dishes to assemble: soup, noodles and vegetables.

When it came, I was surprised by the amount of food: enough soup (that was miso), but not enough noodles and definitely a tiny portion of vegetables with no protein at all! What a disappointment! 

So, we first put some sesame seeds in the soup, then put the noodles and then the veggies.

The noodles were good, very soft. However, the tiny portion of veggies kind of made it boring. 

Well, it was definitely a very sad soup and a disappointment, although I liked the playfulness of the dish. I do not know if the rest of their food is better, but I would certainly not recommend the noodle soup! And by the way, we were still hungry after we left!!!

Enjoy (...)!



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Ramen at East Noodle and Izakaya in NYC, New York

As the weather is still good to enjoy ramen (meaning not in the heat of the Summer!), we decided to go have this delicious dish for lunch. At first, we wanted to go to Ramen Setagaya, even if it had a B rating...As we were there early, we decided to walk around the block. We then saw Ramen Misoya that had miso ramen with corn that, from what I understand, is typical from Hokaido. So we decided to go there instead, despite the same B rating. Again, as we had a bit of time, we walked further and this is how we found East Noodle and Izakaya with its A rating. Imagine that at that point, we had 3 choices and had to decide how to pick; well, it was not that complicated: we chose the restaurant with the highest grade! That is how we ended up at East Noodle and Izakaya.

It is a nice size restaurant compared to the other ones and was not very crowded. 

The decor is very colorful with beautiful lanterns surrounding the counter and dark wood for the floor and furniture.

Jodi ordered the Shoyu ramen, that is made of a pork broth with soy sauce, braised pork, vegetable and a boiled egg.

I ordered the Pork Belly ramen that is apparently very popular there.

The broth was pork based and it was served with pork belly, vegetables and a boiled egg.

In both dishes, the pork was very good, tasty and tender, although I preferred the pork belly that was fattier. Both broth were fantastic: light and not too salty, they were quite flavorful. The noodles were tender and in fact, the one in the Shoyu ramen were more on the yellow side than the other, maybe because they contained more eggs.

We really enjoyed the ramen at East Noodle. I think that it is a good alternative to Ippudo if you go for the food, that is cheaper, and less for the ambiance. 

Last, know that in Japan, they say that ramen is great when you have dinner with somebody you do not want to talk to (they have to concentrate on slurping). Just a little tip in case you end up in with a bad date...

Enjoy (I did)!

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Japanese Burger at Kobeyaki in NYC, New York

A Japanese burger! Doesn't that sound cool? Well, that was something I had to definitely try! In fact, I noticed Kobeyaki few weeks ago, when we went to BRGR.

The place has a nice and simple decor that is a mix between a burger joint and a Japanese restaurant.

The way it works is that you first order the food and then pick it up at the pick up counter.

You can order burgers, rolls, bowls, salad or soups. We were there of course for the burgers! Once it is ready, just pick up your tray full of these nicely wrapped items you just ordered!

Each burger was served with  lettuce, cucumber, carrot, cabbage, scallions and kaiware (daikon radish). Jodi ordered the veggie burger:

It was made of grilled vegetables, portobello, cream cheese, panko, spicy mayo and nori (seaweed). It was good but quite messy to eat as it was kind of falling apart. It was also missing a bit of texture...

I ordered the Kobe beef burger:

It was composed of kobe beef, teriyaki onions, teriyaki ketchup and spicy mayo. I loved it! It was very good, tender and juicy, with some fantastic flavors that were with no doubt inspired from Japanese cuisine!

For the sides, I was a bit disappointed as the choice was limited! The fried item they had was the tempura sweet potato fries.

They were superb: not greasy and a bit crunchy. Interestingly, Jodi who does not like sweet potato ate few of them! To dip them, do not look for regular ketchup or mayonnaise! No, try the teriyaki ketchup, wasabi mayonnaise (my favorite) or the spicy mayo.

The burgers at Kobeyaki are quite good and a nice fusion between a standard dish in American cuisine, prepared with Japanese flavors. Definitely something to try!

Enjoy (I did)!

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Ramen at Rai Rai Ken in NYC, New York

Ramen being the new trend, I asked around if people knew some good places that I did not know and my co-worker David came up with Rai Rai Ken in the East Village. So here we are, on our way to that restaurant. We passed by Ippudo that is so far one of my favorites for ramen (see the review of Ippudo here): as usual, there were plenty of people lining outside, waiting for a table. We arrived at the address and then I saw, at first, that the restaurant was closed! What a shame! 

Then I realized that they relocated 2 numbers down the street! Such a relief! Well, you know how it is: you have a plan you are excited about (yes, eating ramen is not earth shattering, but still!), and then it falls flat!

We entered the place that feels kind of zen with its wood all over. I like the concept of most of the ramen restaurants I went so far where you can sit at the counter and watch the kitchen.

The place was not that crowded, contrary to all the other ramen places we went to, but we were ready to give it a try! 

So, we started off with the pork buns:

I really liked it : the pork was perfectly cooked and moist and had just enough fat (it was not like Totto Ramen that was mainly fat!). The buns were soft and did their job in allowing me to eat that dish without ending up with sauce on my pants...The pork buns had a lot of flavors accentuated by the particular taste of the hoisin sauce. It was definitely a splendid appetizer!

Jodi ordered the vegetarian miso ramen:

It is a soy bean base broth with fried bean curd and vegetables. She asked, as usual, for a soft boil egg.

On my side, I ordered the curry noodle soup:

It was composed of: pork and chicken broth, in a curry based soup topped with roasted pork, boiled egg, scallion and seaweed. 

The presentation of the soups was fantastic: colorful with the egg (half for me???) standing out! The broth of the vegetarian miso ramen tasted and looked more like a curry infused broth than a miso one. The bean curd was pretty good, especially after being left in the broth for a bit. 

The curry broth was good, but not the best I had so far. It had nice bold flavors for sure. I think the star of the dish was the pork that was here again well cooked and tender.

Last, were the noodles: good and cooked al dente so they can continue to cook in the very hot soup. 

So, it was good: not the best I ever had, but a good alternative if you cannot get a seat at Ippudo.

Enjoy (I did)!

And remember: I just want to Eat!

Hide-Chan Ramen in NYC, New York

In the last press dinner I attended at Oficina Latina (check my review of Oficina Latina), we discussed about the ramen phenomena. One of the attendees of Japanese origin mentioned this place called Hide-Chan Ramen in Midtown East. We went on a cold Saturday thinking that it would be the perfect dish to warm up our bodies. We showed up a little before they opened, at 12pm, and surprisingly, there was no line of people waiting for the restaurant to open. In fact, 15 minutes later, the restaurant was packed, with mainly Asian customers, that is always a good sign! 

Similar to any ramen places, you can sit at a table or at the counter, facing the kitchen. We sat at a table in front of a wall decorated with masks from either Disney characters, manga or super heroes. 

On the table, they had several kinds of seasoning, such as sesame seeds or red ginger that you can put in your dish:

We started off our meal with pork buns.

It took a bit of time for the buns to come, but I guess it might be because the kitchen just opened. These buns were good, but the pork was almost dry and there was not that much on it. I definitely prefer the ones I ate at Rai Rai Ken or Momofuku Noodle Bar. 

Then came our ramen. Jodi ordered the vegetarian one. 

The colors were fantastic and vivid. Jodi ordered a poached egg that they brought on the side with some seaweed. 

And they also brought some avocado separately, that was much appreciated compared to the disgusting avocado in the soup we got at Totto Ramen. 

The broth was light and tasty and they served a lot of noodles in that bowl!!! The noodles had a firm consistency: in fact, you decide how you would like them (very firm, firm, medium that is al dente or soft). 

On my side, I ordered the Deluxe Ramen. 

The bowl looked beautiful and the smell was amazing! The ramen was made of various veggies like corn, bamboo shoot, pork (lots of it), a boiled egg, seaweed and of course noodles (firm). I started off by tasting the broth: it was spectacular! A bit salty, it was flavorful and the pork fat was no stranger to it (you can ask for Hakata meaning lots of pork fat contents in the broth)!!! Then, the pork was delightfully tasty and tender. I was definitely trying to make each spoon different: sometimes with pork & broth, sometimes with pork & egg & broth, etc...

I have to say that I really enjoyed the ramen at Hide-Chan Ramen and it is in the top for me with Ippudo and Momofuku Noodle Bar.

Enjoy (I did)!

And Remember: I Just Want To Eat!

Ramen at Menkui Tei in NYC, New York

I am wondering if, to make tons of money, people should not open a ramen restaurant!!! Each time I went to any restaurant of this sort, it was packed and there was a line outside! This time, I went to Menkui Tei (literally "noodle eating shop"), a Japanese noodle shop located Midtown Manhattan for lunch. We had to wait for a table for 10 minutes (not bad), but I can tell you that the place was very crowded and people were happy to see us leaving...

I ordered one of their best sellers: the Hakata ramen.

It is made of a pork bone broth, straight noodles, roast pork, bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, scallion, pickled ginger and sesame seeds. I also asked for a boiled egg, but I wished the egg was not cooked all the way through and that the yolk was runny so it mixes with the broth. I think the star of the dish was the pork: it was delicious! Tender and very tasty. I liked the broth, although the ones at Ippudo or Momofuku are far better and tastier. But still, it was a good dish! One last element that was nice was the ginger, that came through from time to time.

Menkui Te offers a nice alternative Midtown; It might not be the best ramen in town, but it is a good address to know if you are craving noodles!

Enjoy (I did)!

And remember: I Just Want To eat!

Totto Ramen in NYC, New York

Last year, I discovered ramen. So I was very excited to go to Totto Ramen, after the feasts I had at Momofuku Noodle Bar and Ippudo. Each time we passed in front of this joint, there was a big line, so we definitely wanted to try it! If there is a line, there must be a reason!

We arrived at 11:30am, knowing that they opened at 12pm; there were already few people waiting. What you have to do is put your name on a list and they will call you to sit you. The place is very tiny, so you have to be patient and pray that people will eat quickly and leave, and that you will not have in front of you a group of people who did not see each other for 10 years and are trying to catch up!!!

So we sat at the bar. I like that because we had a direct view on the kitchen and were able to see the cooks making noodles, bouncing them up and down to remove the excess of water, as you can see on the video below.

We started off with the Char Siu Bun.

It is a bun stuffed with braised pork belly (char Siu) and tartare sauce. This was so so: like eating a blob of fat with just a little bit of meat. 

Jodi ordered the vegetable ramen.

The presentation was phenomenal with all the colors. The dish was composed of a Konbu seaweed and shiitake mushroom based soup, with seasoned avocado, seasonal vegetables, Yuzu paste, sesame oil, salted kelp and lime. First of all, the avocado had a weird taste and the overall dish did not have a balanced taste, more like a potpourri in a soup (for a nice breath all afternoon?).

I ordered the Totto Chicken Paitan Ramen.

The dish is a chicken based broth with chicken, scallion, onion, char siu pork, and a nori. Jodi and I added a soft boiled egg to our ramen. I was very disappointed by my dish: the chicken was tough and bland and the soup tasted just like a chicken soup without any additional flavor that would make it different from a...matzoh ball soup!!! I guess the only thing I liked was the egg that was perfectly cooked, a bit soft with a runny yolk.

So, this was disappointing: I was expecting a festival of flavors, similar to our experience at Momofuku or Ippudo. So I will pass next time as it is not worth the wait for me!

Enjoy (the post)!

And remember: I just want to Eat!

Ramen at Ippudo-NY in NYC, New York

Last Sunday, Jodi and I decided to go eat ramen at Ippudo a Japanese restaurant in New York City I heard about. It is interesting to note that ramen were not that known in France when I was living there: you could find them in the International food section of some supermarkets or in a few Japanese restaurants, but it was not that known. I understand that in the US, students use to eat them when broke; in France, it was more spaghetti... I really discovered ramen bowls when I tried it at Noodles 32 in Korea Town: it was incredibly good! I was sold later on when going to Momofuku Noodle Bar...

So we decided to go early to Ippudo as I knew that it was popular. Know that the original Ippudo opened in Fukukoa in Japan in 1985 and the New York location opened in 2008. Go figure why I waited that long to go there...We showed up at 11:40am and the restaurant was already full. We had to wait for a table for approximately 20 minutes, in the entrance, admiring a wall full of ramen bowls.

While waiting, we could hear people yelling something in Japanese and then people cheering back. We later understood that it was their way to introduce new patrons to the main room. They said in a nutshell: "these are our new guests, please say welcome to them".

They sat us in the first room, in a large table shared with other customers. The room was overlooked by a huge tree made of bamboo and there was bamboo everywhere. I was very excited to try as people around us seemed delighted to eat their noodles. Of course, do not be shy to slurp: it is mandatory! Interesting how when I grew up, we were taught how to eat soup and pasta a certain way, without making any noise. Sorry Mom and Dad...I have to slurp too! 

So, I started with Tako Wasabi or raw baby octopus as an appetizer.

Yes, I know, some of you think it is creepy. I wanted to give it a try as I love octopus but never had it raw. I thought it would be a nice training for the day I will eat live octopus (soon)!

It was served with fresh wasabi. So, with the chopsticks, I mixed the octopus and wasabi. Eating with chopstick was a bit challenging as it was small and slimy. But the taste was wonderful with a delightful crunch. I am used to having octopus that was fried, sauteed or grilled, giving a totally different taste. You can retrieve some of the taste but raw has some freshness you will not find when cooked.

For the ramen, I asked the waitress which one was the most popular and she mentioned the Akamaru Modern.

It is a "Tonkotsu" (pork) soup noodles topped with Ippudo's secret "Umami Dama" miso paste, pork chashu, cabbage, sesame kikurage mushrooms, scallions, and garlic oil (not too much!). I loved it to the point where I finished my bowl!

It was very tasty: the soup was very flavorful (I would eat this over and over) with hints of miso and several bites were different because of the variation of ingredients you could get in your spoon! The pork was delicious and tender. The noodles, that I should not forget, were al dente as they continue to cook in the hot soup. You can notice on the upper right side of the photo that there is an egg: you can add some ramen toppings like bamboo shoot, pork belly...I went for a poached egg that disintegrated when mixed with the rest of the dish.

Jodi ordered the Wasabi Shoyu Ramen that is their vegetarian alternative.

It is a soy sauce and vegetable based noodle soup, topped with bean curd, wasabi, menma (bamboo shoots), nori (seaweed), scallions, and wasabi infused oil. She added a hard boiled egg to it that had a brown-ish color probably because cooked in soy. The colors were spectacular and appetizing.  The soup had the smell and the taste of miso. The noodles were thicker than the ones in my soup and cooked the same way, although, because of their thickness, they were still al dente when I tasted them. It was overall a very good dish.
As Jodi was not sure how spicy it would be, so she asked for the wasabi on the side.

It was the first time I saw fresh wasabi and did not find it as spicy as the wasabi paste.

Now, know that the quantity they serve is big and that there is a lot of soup. You can ask for extra noodles for $2 (Kaedama), but I have to say that I was full, especially after having eaten some of Jodi's dish...

At the end of the meal, they brought us some green tea: it was a nice way to end this meal and clean our palates!

I really enjoyed (yes I did!) Ippudo! They serve great food full of flavor and I can't stop thinking about that soup...because as you know: I Just Want To Eat!

Enjoy (I did)!

Momofuku Noodle Bar in NYC, New York

If you recall, several months ago, I went to Momofuku Milk Bar for a snack. The experience was just ok.

As a reminder, Momofuku is a group of restaurants (Momofuku Noodle Bar, Momofuku Ssiam...) owned by Chef David Chang. In Japanese, it could be translated to "Lucky peach", but Chef David Chang once mentioned that it was in honor of Momofuku Ando, the inventor of the instant ramen. So, this time, we were thinking about having lunch at Momofuku Noodle Bar  located in the East Village to see what all the buzz was about.

We went there yesterday and arrived at around 11:45am. The restaurant was not yet opened (it opens at 12pm) and besides us, there were only two Canadian tourists waiting. So we decided to go for a walk in the nearby market. We came back after 10 minutes and surprisingly, there was already a line in front of the restaurant! Probably 20 people! The restaurant is quite bright, with light wood all over. You can either sit at the bar, the kitchen bar or the communal tables. We got seated at the bar, in front of the opened kitchen. It was perfect to see them cooked, but a bit hot...

They brought us the daily menu: Momofuku Noodle Bar is known for the buns as well as the ramen. We asked the waiter what he recommended for two and told us that typically, two people would share a bun, a noodle bowl and a side. So we went for that!

We started with the Shitake mushroom buns.

They bring you two buns that are very light and fluffly. They are opened and stuffed with mushrooms, cucumbers, scallions and hoisin sauce. I loved it: there were so many layers of flavors between the bun itself and the different components! I especially liked that they added cucumber for some crunch and to add some texture.

We also ordered the Spicy Miso Ramen, one of the most popular dishes, with the Momofuku ramen.

The bowl was pretty big and the food looked beautiful! It was composed of smoked chicken, Swiss chard, sesame seeds, a poached egg and noodles. I mixed the egg that was lightly poached and it  decomposed immediately. The broth alone was very good and tasty, but with all the ingredients mixed, it was succulent: each spoon was kind of a different flavor depending of which ingredient was on it. The noodles were delicious: perfectly cooked and very good. The dish was a bit spicy but not too much. 

For sure, do not go there on a first date as it is not that sexy when you eat ramen...

Last, we shared a side: the mushrooms with spinach, black garlic and thai chili.

There were different types of mushrooms and the sauce was brown butter. It was a hit! Very flavorful and the brown butter was to die for!

The fact that Momofuku Noodle Bar does not have desserts (they propose few items from the Milk Bar) was not a problem: the three dishes we ordered were delicious and we finished the meal satisfied! Momofuku Noodle Bar is definitely a place to try!

Enjoy (I did)!

And remember: I just want to eat!

Morimoto Restaurant in NYC, New York

I am a big fan of Chef Masaharu Morimoto and try to never miss his appearances on Iron Chef America! Chef Morimoto is incredibly talented. On the show, he always comes with incredible presentations and association of food you would never think of. 

So we decided to go back to his restaurant. I have great memories of the first time I went there few years ago: I remember that I had the surf and turf that was made with fish and Kobe beef. I did not like the taste of the kobe beef but I still can talk about the dish!!! On top of that Chef Morimoto was there, making sushi!

So we went back and had another memorable dinner! I love the place: modern with an elegant decor. Not a stuffy atmosphere at all. The service was, like the previous time, perfect: courteous and efficient. 

The menu makes you drool from the first page. It offers a modern Japanese menu with some Western cuisine hints.

We started with the Nasu (eggplant in Japanese).

The eggplants were pickled. When they arrived on the table, one could not have noticed the amazing blue of the Japanese eggplant. It popped on the dish! It was the first time I tasted a pickled eggplant. It was a surprising taste: eggplant of course but definitely raw. 

I then had the Oyster Foie Gras that is oysters, foie gras, sea urchin in a teriyaki sauce.

The presentation was spectacular.

Of course it is at this point that my camera shut off because the battery was empty...But I had other resources! So, back to food! This dish had so much flavors: I was scared at first that the teriyaki sauce would be overpowering, but it was not the case. You could taste all the layers: from the gigantic oyster to the foie gras and sea urchin (had been a long time I did not have some).

The Kasutera, custard omelet was very good. Light and fluffy.

We also had a tuna roll. This was very good but I will be honnest: I can get a great tuna roll in my favorite Japanese restaurant as it is pretty basic. For sure, however, the quality of the tuna is probably superior!

For the main dish, I decided to reorder the surf and turf made with Australian Wagyu beef and Hamachi fish.

This was really great! First, it changes from the traditional lobster and steak. The Hamachi fish is cut in ribbons and prepared with avocado, tomatoes, crushed citrus and onions. They mix all the ingredients together at the table, after adding some Yuzu sauce. It tasted so fresh!

The beef was cooked perfectly (I asked for medium) and was extremely tender! It has a perfect charr on the outside too. Last, this was served with potatoes cooked with a delicious cream. 

We could not end this feast without trying some desserts!

We tried the warm flourless chocolate cake served with caramel popcorn and rice crispies, sesame-caramel sauce, white chocolate foam, green tea-pear sorbet.

This was amazing! I loved the caramelized popcorn and rice crispies on top of the cake. The cake itself was moist and very chocolaty.

Last, was the tofu ‘hot and cold’: soy milk soufflé, tofu cheesecake, maple ice cream.

Let me tell you: who could have imagined that a soy milk soufflé would be so good! It was my favorite dessert! However, I did not really like the tofu cheesecake: it was kind of tasteless.

These desserts were pretty imaginative and really reflect the versatility of Chef Morimoto cooking!

I am definitely a fan!

Enjoy (I did)!

And remember: I just want to eat!

Great Japanese food at Yeung II in Hoboken, NJ

It as been a while that we noticed this small restaurant located uptown Hoboken. Each time we passed by, I have noticed that it was packed. I love Japanese food and my favorites are the sushi and sashimi. For those who do not know, sashimi is raw fish (you will always have on a sashimi plate a piece of tuna or salmon that are very tender) and sushi is made of raw fish on top of sushi rice. The difficulty in making a sushi is to   put the rice well together so it does not crumbled as soon as you pick it up with your chopsticks. Often, there will be wasabi between the fish and the rice. My least favorite sushi is shrimp: usually cooked, it is too bland. 

So we go there for lunch (all Japanese restaurants have lunch specials that are usually good deals). At first they seem a little stressed out. We ask for green tea and they tell us that the water was not yet hot. Interesting! I guess it does not take that long to boil water, no? Then it took several minutes before they realize that we do not have any menu. After that, everything was fine.

I guess they were a bit late in there prep work and all stressed out! Minutes later, the restaurant was packed and there were a lot of asian customers, that is a very good sign for a Japanese restaurant! But note that they serve also Chinese cuisine; for instance, they have the General Tso Chicken or Lo Mein.

So we went for the lunch specials. They came with a miso soup and a salad.

The salad came first as the miso soup was not ready (what is going on with the hot water today?). It was a nice portion. Of course, the salad was a traditional salad you would have for a lunch special: lettuce, carrots, tomatoes and a carrot and ginger sauce that was very good.

Then came the miso soup that had a great smokey aroma. It was pretty good and...hot.

For the main course, we had the avocado rolls. They were pretty nice. Of course, it all comes down to the ripeness of the avocado and it was perfect.

The Sushi and Sashimi plate was awesome: colorful and the fish tasted fresh (I hope)! It came with 4 pieces of sushi (tuna and salmon of course), 6 pieces of sashimi (tuna and salmon also in the party) and a salmon and avocado roll. The avocado was ripe enough and the salmon delicious!

This was definitely a great lunch for a very good price. I loved it and will probably go back there. You should too!

Enjoy (I did)!

Fabulous Donburi at Ubu Sushi in Hoboken, NJ!

Ubu Sushi is a Korean-Japanese restaurant located in Hoboken, NJ. This is the place for Donburi, a japanese rice dish (means bowl in Japanese) that I tried few years ago. When I go to this place, it is not for the sushi (i tried them once and they are good), but for this affordable dish that is Donburi. They have different type: veggie, veggie and crab, tofu...

For a drink we got a nice green tea. I love the smoky taste of it.

With the Donburi, came a miso soup. It was pretty good and a perfect way to start.

The Donburi are served with a ginger sauce. I tried to know what was in it, but the waiter said that it was a secret recipe. The only think I could get is that there was carrots in it!

The vegetarian Donburi was made of mixed greens, avocado, cucumber and tofu, over sushi rice.

The veggie-Crab Donburi was made of crab, mixed greens, avocado, cucumber and tofu, over sushi rice. This dish is fabulous! There is a lot of crab with it and the avocado was ripe. When I was a kid, I hated rice salads, but I have to say, this has nothing to do with it! After you pour the ginger sauce and mix everything together, you get an explosion of flavors coming from the crab, salad, rice and sauce. It is amazing! 

If you are in Hoboken, stop by Ubu sushi for a Donburi: you will not regret it!

Enjoy (I did)!

Las Olas, Latin and Japanese fusion in Hoboken, NJ

I guess now everybody is trying to do some kind of fusion! Japanese and Latin since to be the way to go these days. That is true that there are two completely different cuisines. I am not sure if a Pakistani / Indian or Portuguese / Brazilian fusion restaurant would have that much of a success! After Taka Taka few weeks ago, we ended up at Las Olas in Hoboken, a new restaurant that replaced the Sushi House. 

The place is nice and neat with a nice bar and sushi bar. The service was attentive and courteous, maybe too much (might have been because they just opened and were dying for clients as the place was empty). In term of prices, it is pricier than most of the Japanese restaurants in Hoboken.

We started with the appetizer: a spicy mango tuna tartare (photo 2) that is spicy tuna (from a can?) chopped with mango and served with homemade tortilla chips. I love tuna tartare, but I was kind of disappointed, because it was canned tuna and missed the freshness of a tuna tartare made with chopped fresh tuna. To give a latin flair, I would have served it with avocado or guacamole as they did at Taka Taka (not that I am comparing...). Then, I decided to go with one of my favorite roll: spicy scallop roll. They have a latin version called El Fuego (photo 1): spicy scallop and avocado served with jalapeno and two types of tobiko (fish eggs). Based on the name, I thought that I would get some spice in my mouth and would not need any wasabi. It was not spicy at all!!! Good, but not spicy! So do not call it El Fuego! It is misleading!

We also tried the Yakisoba (photo 3), stir fried soba noodles with vegetables. This was a bad choice: bland, very, very bland. Where were the veggies? There were only onions in it! 

So, at the end, I was disappointed by the meal, probably because the Japanese / Latin fusion made me expect more flavors. I do not know if it is because they just opened and are trying to fine tune their menu.

I may go back another time and try something else as their menu is appetizing. Hopefully it does not stop there...

Enjoy (I will)!

Las Olas
1319 Washington St
Hoboken, NJ 07030
(201) 222-9991
www.lasolasushi.com

Let me know what you think about Las Olas by posting a comment!

Mexican sushi and Japanese tacos at Taka Taka in New York City

There are more and more restaurants proposing fusion cuisine, but it was the first time that I heard about Mexican - Japanese cuisine. That is what Taka Taka in New York City is proposing, highlighted by the sign "Japanese Cantina" above the kitchen. At first the restaurant looks like a Japanese restaurant with a conveyor belt sushi (aka Kaiten sushi). But if you pay attention, you will start noticing some Mexican touch such as the granite mortar to make guacamole!

So, for food, you have two choices: the kaiten sushi or the menu. For those who never tried Kaiten sushi, this is how it works: the kitchen prepares different sushi (no fusion at this time, the sushi were quite standard) identified by a number (Photo 1 - the description of the dish is on the table set) and put them on a conveyor belt. The color of the plate determines the price (photo 2) and once you ask for the bill, the waiter will simply add up the cost of each plate you took based on the color. It is an interesting concept and intriguing: I was constantly looking at what was passing by!

For the Mexican - Japanese fusion, you then have to check the menu: each dish will have a bit of each cuisine. On the Mexican side, you will find for instance guacamole or jalapeno and on the Japanese side, yuzu sauce or wasabi mayonnaise. Here is what we had:

• Guacamole-Tuna Tataki: diced tuna tartar with avocado, onion, cilantro, tomato and serrano chile. This was very good. I love the combination of tuna and avocado! The first time I tried was in a cafe next to the Louvre Museum in Paris. I then had it at Remi, an Italian restaurant in New York. So, nothing very particular to the Mexican-Japanese fusion for that one, although I really enjoyed this very refreshing and light dish!
• Miss Carnitas: fried tuna carnitas in a yuzu-soy marinate with guacamole and pico de gallo in corn tortillas. Good but overpriced. The tuna was slightly overcooked.
• Inclan: fried rice roll with hamachi, tuna, avocado and jicama with spicy sriracha mayonnaise. I liked it.The crunchiness of the rice added another dimension to the dish.
• Tempura Helado: tempura ice cream with strawberry sauce or melted dark chocolate. We picked the chocolate. It was very good but they were kind of cheap on the chocolate!

Concerning the service, it was weird: plates arrived one by one. It started with the tacos, then the tuna tartar, then the rolls. It was not that fast and I am wondering if it was not done this way so we would try some of the Kaiten sushi...

Although the food was not as expected (I was expecting an explosion of flavors), I would probably go back to check some other dishes. They definitely have some creativity there and some of the dishes on the menu that we did not try look appetizing. 

Last, I liked their take out menu: not the traditional piece of paper as you can see below!

Enjoy (I did)!