Curry Adventure: Curry House!

August 15, 2010

My cousins, Chevy and Abbe, and our friend, Chris, had a late lunch at Curry House in Little Tokyo. It was the last day of the Tanabata festival, so Little Tokyo was quite crowded!

Menu :3

I ordered the Chicken Breast Katsu ( I love katsu :3)

Ingredients in the curry sauce. I'm pretty sure it's the apple paste that makes Japanese curry taste different from Indian or Thai curry. Hardly any spices too. Great for those who can't handle spicy stuff well or just want to taste a different kind of curry.

Corn soup appetizer for the guys. Yummy~

Chris and Abbe ordered Keema Curry Rice. I didn't get a chance to try it though :P

Everyone was so eager to try Chevy's Chicken and Ginger Curry haha

My Chicken Breast Katsu Curry! :3

Chris and Abbe's cleaned off plates

What was left of my katsu curry plate X)

It was definitely good lunch food even though I think it was technically dinner time.

I don't think any of had a unique dish to curry house or a specialty of there's, so I'll have to have more/different dishes before saying how good the food for the restaurant.

~*Extra*~

We got some Hello Kitty masks from the Sanrio store in the Japanese Village Plaza. Abbe used his Keroppi mask in comical way and entertained/freaked out some people lol

Until next time!

Kabob Adventure: Raffi's Place Restaurant!

Sorry for the lack of updates!
I've been lagging and haven't eaten as much interesting food lately :P

August 12 2010

ANYWAY I had lunch with my parents at Raffi's Place Restaurant in Glendale. The restaurant has nice outdoor seating plenty of canopies and trees for shade. The entrance is kind of confusing because it's at the back where the alleyways/parking is. The end facing the street is actually the back of the restaurant!

The back

Outdoor seating

A bit of the menu

More of the menu...sideways

First they gave us a plate with radishes, onions, and mint leaves. I suppose it's supposed to compliment the meat. The mint was quite refreshing :)

Here's the flat bread they gave us. I'm not sure exactly what kind of bread it is, but it was very thin and soft. A form of pita bread? It was perfect with the hummus.

I realllly liked this hummus. It had a slightly bumpy texture and yummy flavor. Olive oil? Perhaps the red stuff on top? It was sweet and delicious. The only hummus I usually get to eat is from Trader Joe's or some watered down version from fast food places. Those are more like cold blobs. This one had a definite flavor and texture. I could (and did lol) eat it by itself!

My dad ordered yogurt soda which is exactly what it sounds like. I tried some and it tastes like regular plain yogurt carbonated. Not flavored yogurt like Yoplait, but plain like Mountain High with a bubbliness to it. My dad enjoyed it thoroughly.

Full Order!

Grilled tomatos and bell peppers

So much rice!! >_< I think it was Saffron I top. Basmati.

MEAT!

Barg Kabob (I think)

Chicken

Lamb

This was some good quality meat. I always like Armenian (yes Raffi's is supposed to be Persian but it's definitely got Armenian style, it's Glendale after all lol) BBQ/kabobs. Very flavorful and tender.

Dessert Menu

 

My mom's dessert (Vanilla Gelato)

Papa's dessert (Faloodeh Shirazi)

My dessert (Sonati - Persian Traditional)

My dessert was rosewater gelato. Tastes exactly like that. A faintly flowery flavored gelato. It was super cold. It was alright. A nice icy treat for summer.

I actually did not like my dad's dessert. It was kind of bitter to me and the noodles and syrup made it worse. My dad actually really liked it.

I liked my mom's dessert the best. Bah, I feel like I should be ashamed for like the dessert that I could get anywhere and not the restaurant's desserts XD

All in all, a delicious lunch, though pricey O_O.

Until next time!

Sushi Adventure! Love Sushi

Tonight I dined on Saba (Makerel), Sake(Salmon), and a scallop sushi that I don't know the name of XD with my family.

For some reason they mix different orders on one plate. This one had my six nigiri sushi pieces and my sister's vegetable roll.

Sake

Saba

Scallop

Veggie Roll

Red Snapper stuff (Papa's dish)

There was other food (my parents' fish collars), but I didn't feel like taking their pics/ forgot lol. They always give (or is it just at dinner?) apple slices with peanut butter and chocolate sauce with the check.

So yummy! Totally opposite of dry and rubbery.  Love Sushi has big portions! 

Filling and nutritious! Perfect combo of sweet hot sushi rice and cold fresh raw fish!

Enjoy!

Until next time!

Retrospect Adventure: Santouka Ramen!

July 28, 2010 (?)

Santouka Ramen has been my favorite ramen in SoCal ever since I first tasted a shio (salt) ramen bowl (their most famous style of ramen) last fall.

The first time I tried it, I brought my Japanese friend, Sakurako. She had said that she missed ramen the most during her year of studying abroad in America. She had heard about Santouka and had the instant ramen from them. She said it was good instant ramen! The moment she tried the real ramen, she exclaimed "Oh my god! It's so good! It's delicious!". If she says it's good, it must be good :)

 I've only been to the one in the Mitsuwa Marketplace food court in Costa Mesa. I read that there is one in Santa Monica. Perhaps I'll try that one sometime soon.

The broth has just the right level of creaminess and thickness. It includes seaweed, bamboo shoots, green onions, and umeboshi. It wasn't like water, oil, and powdered flavoring. It felt like its own independent ingredient altogether and crucial element to the delightful taste. (Yes I really really like this ramen XD). It's always serve it piping hot :). If you get the shio bowl, be sure to have at least two cups of water! You'll need it! The bowl in the picture is a medium sized bowl.

BEST CHASHU!! The only time I'll eat pork and thoroughly enjoy it is when I have a bowl of Santouka ramen. It's so tender and just melts right in your mouth. Delicious~

 

Random shot of naruto! They definitely give thicker portions of it than I've seen in the other places I've eaten!

The noodles have the perfect firmness , texture, volume, and of course taste! I love how it feels slightly more chewy than other ramen noodles I've had!

I highly recommend trying a bowl of Santouka shio (salt) ramen!

Until next time!

Tea Time Adventure! Tea Gardens

August 3, 2010

I would not expect any kind of tea house in SCV, but my mom managed to find one a couple years ago! I revisited Tea Gardens with my friend Kirsten. I didn't take many pics because I really felt my phone camera didn't do it justice >_<. Except for the menu, the pictures are pretty self-explanatory. I also don't feel like writing much right now lol. Enjoy!

Menu

 

 

Until next time!