Hot and Soupy #3: Kaori Sushi, $50 Omakase, and Lobster Soup

I try not to come down to Orange County much (what would I do there?), but when I have to (i.e. when former roommate Kat's 9 Lives demands a visit from me), I ask for good food. The last I visited her in OC I was coaxed with some omakase at Kaori, a Korean-run sushi joint in Fullerton.

OK, this visit was actually quite some time ago, but I thought it would be an appropriate post for the "hot and soupy" series because the most memorable part of the meal was the lobster miso soup.

Now why would I go have omakase at a korean-run sushi place in Fullerton of all places? Well, Kat's previous report of a $50 omakase that included live lobster was pretty enticing.
Apparently you can call ahead and tell him you want to spend $50 and that you want the lobster soup so he can go buy lobster for you.

Turns out here at Kaori, $50 goes a long way.

We started with some vegetable tempura, followed by some Ankimo with ponzu sauce.

The came a plate of softshell crab.
Nice and crunchy although a tad heavy on the sauce.

Amaebi

Marinated oyster.
The Sashimi plates were also pretty impressive. We got two plates throughout the night consisting of toro, uni, hamachi belly, and more.
While they aren't the best pieces of sashimi you'd find around town, the quality and variety were both quite good considering the price we were paying.

A series of sushi came next, from Albacore belly to Ono with jalapeno ponzu sauce.

The sushi chef Gino showed his own flair too with local ingredients, as exemplified with the Anaheim Chili stuffed with salmon, topped with sriracha sauce.
It was just a li~ttle spicy for my level (I'm training, believe me), but it was a pretty creative dish. An Asian, fishy take on Chile Relleno?

Finally came the main attraction. The headliner of the night. Live lobster!
Live lobster sashimi in a $50 omakase? You have to call ahead and tell him you want it so he can go buy one for you, but if you do, a lobster will be killed and snapped in front of you.

Well, enough with the gore. Here's the delicious part: Live Lobster Sashimi
That's not all though. The best part is still to come. After you're done with the tail sashimi, he will take the rest and make an amazing Lobster Miso Soup.
This was the tour de force of the meal. The soup had so much flavor and texture from the miso base, the bits of lobster meat, and - perhaps the key secret ingredient - the lobster eggs which really added a lot of texture.

The meal ended with a simple matcha ice cream. Being my first time here, I was actually rather worried at the end, incredulous that the meal would actually only cost $50, but there it was on the bill: $50 per person.

Definitely a great deal for some omakase and while the sushi isn't at the level of the top joints in town, the lobster miso soup is worth a try.

Kaori Japanese Restaurant
500 N Harbor Blvd #C
Fullerton, CA 92832
(714) 871-9395

Hot and Soupy #2: Ippudo, NY. Best Ramen in the States

A New York trip calls for Ippudo - if you haven't been there, that is.
I met up with an LA blogger (now Destination Eats) who's relocated to NYC, and his girlfriend for lunch during my trip.
There was a 45 minute wait, so we went to Momofuku Milk Bar to get some goodies while waiting for a table, but Ippudo's staff wouldn't let us take our cookies into the dining area. We had to leave them in the staff closet to be picked up when we leave.

We had fun observing the wall of ramen bowls behind the bar, and wondered what would happen during an earthquake. Well, good thing they're not in California!
After a while we were called to be seated and walked through a fairly large dining room - much fancier than other ramen joints I've been too, but I guess this is a popular spot in NY after all.

I've heard good things about their pork buns, so we ordered some. But beware although at the bar you can order them for $4 each, when you're seated at a table you have to order two at a time for $8! Why? Who knows. Because they want to?
Some people may kill me for this, but I actually liked Momofuku's pork buns better ...
The problem with these are the mayonnaise. Too much mayonnaise that it overwhelms the pork flavor. While the oyster sauce in Momofuku's pork buns are reminiscent of Beijing duck, mayonnaise just reminded me of ...well ... sandwiches?

But the main attraction here is the ramen. I ordered the Akamaru Modern ($14)
Akamaru means 'red circle,' Destination Eats' girlfriend explained to me. The red circle most likely referred the dollop of spicy miso paste in the middle.

Some food porn shots for you: thin straight noodles in true Hakata-style, thick chashu, medium boiled eggs.
This was indeed an excellent bowl of ramen. I liked the firm Hakata thin noodles, the tonkotsu broth is rich and flavorful, the chashu thick and succulent, and the half boiled eggs added an extra texture that neither poached nor hard boiled egg can. It is indeed a magnificent bowl of ramen that hints of the gloriousness that you might get at the original Hakata outpost.

The $14 price tag aside, the attitude about the pork bun ordering and taking cookies in aside, this was conceivably the best bowl of ramen I've had in the US. Whether or not you should pay $14 for a bowl of ramen, though (even if you are in New York), is entirely your decision.

Ippudo
65 4th Ave
New York, NY 10003
(212) 388-0088
www.ippudo.com/ny/

Hot and Soupy #1: Handmade Soba and Udon at Ichimiann (You Never Knew It Could Taste This Good)

I've eaten at Ichimiann so much it's a wonder that I hadn't written about it sooner, but this cold winter weather is the perfect time to start it off as the inaugural post of my "Hot and Soupy" series of posts!

Ichimiann is a place I found through Exile Kiss' blogpost, lauding it as the one amazing teuchi(handmade) soba place in town. I was on a crazy soba kick and wanted to venture further than Yabu.

Ichimiann, aka Bamboo Garden, is a tiny shop on a dilapidated side street right next to Foster's Freeze and looks just like a typical noodle shop.
Cash only, you can place your order and then take a seat at the bar by the wall.

The rite of passage for all soba noobs is the Zaru Soba, so even though it doesn't meet the hot and soupy winter theme, it simply cannot be left unmentioned. Zaru soba gets its name from the bamboo sieve that it is served on and is typically served with tsuyu (a mixture of dashi, sweetened soy sauce, and mirin), scallions, and wasabi.
Mix the scallions and wasabi in the tsuyu, then pick up the buckwheat noodles and dip it in the tsuyu.
This is the dish that best highlights Ichimiann's excellent handmade soba, the wonderful texture and the flavor of the buckwheat noodle itself. The soba here is devoid of that doughy and powdery taste and texture that I always hated in mass produced noodles.

If you want hot soba, however, Ichimiann has plenty of options for you, from a simple bowl with poached egg to many more. The flavors of the broth are subtler here, unlike many places which tend to be salty, but it is ultimately more satisfying and worth savoring.

When you want your protein you could opt for the unagi soba topped with grated yam.
Even though this dish made me realize I'm not big on japanese yam, the rest of the dish was excellent. The unagi is nicely grilled and lends a nice flavor although I did miss the crisp texture of the unagi before it's soaked in broth and yam.

When Exile Kiss did a second post, this time on the udon noodles at Ichimiann, I had to go back and try that too (even if I'm still a soba girl).

A bowl of beef sukiyaki udon seems like the perfect meal for a chilly Saturday morning (ok, afternoon).

Ichimiann's udon is thin, unlike the type you normally see in stores and restaurants.
The sukiyaki udon bowl is bolder in flavor than the other soba dishes that I've had and it really hits the spot. The udon, while thinner than usual, is wonderfully chewy without that doughy consistency.
Ichimiann's subtle but deeply satisfying flavor doesn't leave you overwhelmed and dehydrated like some salty dishes might, but instead it just keeps you satiated all day long.


Ichimian Bamboo Garden
1618 Cravens Ave
Torrance, CA 90501
(310) 328-1323