Kani Doraku Crab Restaurant, Osaka

Japan is a place like no other and I find myself travelling back there time and time again.

When I was in Osaka, I found myself eating at Kani Doraku which turned out to be one of the most memorable meals I've had.

Kani Doraku serves crab,quite obviously depicted by this big giant crab waving at the front of the restaurant.

 

I settled in for a ten course dinner where parts of the crab is served in different ways. Eye-openingly delicious, the highlights were the crab meat sashimi style - it isn't something that I'll probably order eagerly again but definitely worth trying at least once and a tofu hot pot where the aroma itself had me swooned and swirling on cloud nine.

If you find yourself in Osaka, this is not a place to be missed.

Kani Doraku Crab Restaurant

1-6-18 Dotonbori, Osaka

Tel: 06-62118975

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Tsuru Ramen - Tonkotsu

Imagine tiny droplets of snow falling with barely a whisper. It is warm and toasty inside, you are dressed in your comfy clothes and feeling hungry. Now, there is nothing quite like a hot bowl of ramen to warm the tummy and fill the heart. A good hearty broth - so rich with collagen and pork that nothing else matters. 

That was how I felt when I had my first bowl of ramen. This warm satisfied feeling only heightened when I had more ramen in various parts of Japan. 

So it was with much excitement and glee when I heard the news that Tsuru is looking to open a ramen shop and running a few sessions to test out various versions. 

I finally made it to one where it was the Tonkotsu ramen. I still remembered the last awesome Tonkotsu ramen I had and this was in a lower ground food court located in Sydney's Chinatown. The guy uses 120kg of pork bones a day.

Back to Tsuru, I arrived for the 3pm sitting and you bet I was starving. Service was quite haphazard where our table was forgotten, followed by our orders being wrong and we had to ask again when our food never came. Not a happy bunny at this point, I just want my ramen!

Side orders were available which is not included in the ticket purchase. 

My ramen finally arrived and it was beautiful. The whiteness of the broth resulting from hours and hours of bones being simmered which extracted all the goodness with A slight dense texture signifying all that liquid collagen. 

With the chopsticks in my hand, it was time to dig in. A few bites of the ramen and the noodles had the slight bite to it though it could with a bit more springiness as a textural contrast. 

The poached egg was sublime - adding a creamy buttery sensation. 

It was time for a taste of the broth. It was rich but I felt lacking that extra depth to balance it out. Maybe it needed more simmering time or extra bone marrow goodness? Instead, I could taste the extra salt used to give it that extra seasoning or flavour. 

I think it's a solid version but one that I would not remember. I hope it only gets better as I would love a good ramen place to go to. 

Will I recommend: If you're in the area
Will I come back: No
Have I had better: Yes

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Tsuru Sushi & Sushi Hiroba (Part 5/5)

Tsuru Sushi

I first heard about Tsuru Sushi after reading about it from Catty and her infectious love for green tea mochi resonates with me as well. 

So it was only a matter of time before I made my way here. I have to say that trying to find their Bishopsgate branch is not very easy and there was some walking around in circles to look for it. 

Once found, I happily settled waiting for the orders to arrive. 

Sashimi moriawase £14.25

Sliced just right that the sashimi is silky and smooth, it was eaten with pleasure. 

Soft shell ‘spider’ crab tempura uramaki £8.45

The soft shell crab tempura was a little greasy which took away the nice crispy crunch associated with this. 

Edamame £2.6

The edamame is standard fare and does well as an appetiser or if you just can't get enough of them. 

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Toku, Edokko & Atari-ya (Part 4/5)

Toku

Situated next to Japan Centre in Picadilly Circus, I came here for lunch with my workmates. The food is good but expensive for what it is. I am more inclined to head to Golders Green where prices are friendlier and food is better.

Chicken Katsu Don £9.50

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Bincho, Kyoto, Abeno Too (Part 3/5)

Bincho Yakitori

"There's a place that's quite good and you should try it", says T to me one day. They do skewers.

I still remember my wonderful experience in Kyoto of yakitori skewers. Bincho is good and can be quite pricey actually as those sticks can suddenly add up to quite a bit. 

(Kwa £3, Sori chicken oyster £4, Aigamo £4.4, Uzurabacon quail eggs and bacon £3.6, Kushi Hitsuji lamb £4, Unagi £10, Asparabacon £3.6, Enokibacon £3.6, Yaki – onigiri £2.5, Tori yaki meshi £9)

Nasu dengaku £3.2

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Kulu Kulu Sushi & Eat Tokyo (Part 2/5)

Kulu Kulu Sushi

When Mili was in town for a visit, we both went to the Kensington branch of Kulu Kulu Sushi.

As read on their website, they serve basic standard sushi with no frills which is reflected in the price.  You get what you expect and what was advertised with no surprises.

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Cafe Japan, Hi Sushi Izakaya & Koya (Part 1/5)

This is post 1 of my Japanese cuisine marathon posts. I have to say that I was a little surprised with how many I have been and yet there are so many more to discover. The first spot is Cafe Japan in Golders Green which I have been to many times but realised that I haven't blogged about.

Cafe Japan

"WHAT! You haven't been to Cafe Japan?", exclaimed my friends. We have to fix that. So I find myself trekking to Golders Green when the tube guardians decide to keep the train service running on a particular weekend instead of the regular engineering works.

Even arriving for what is considered early for lunch, the place is busy and there is already a queue. So queued we did. It gave me an opportunity to look around. Cafe Japan isn't big with maybe no more than 15 tables, tight and cosy sitting is what I will call it.

We didn't have long to wait before we got ourselves a table.

Sashimi

The sashimi here is of the same quality as what I get from the Sydney Fish Market. With the right silky texture, it was a pleasure to eat it.

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Yashin: Expensive treat

It was a girl’s night out, to be filled with good food, alcohol and laughter. As most of us are foodies at heart, it didn't take long to decide on Yashin.

I was really looking forward to it after a tough week and it was a great way to start the weekend. Funnily enough my friend and I were late and it didn't help that we both went to the wrong Kensington station. So the poor girls who were already waiting had to wait a little longer for us to arrive. Sorry ladies!

We finally arrived and placed our orders. Some of us went for The Yashin at £60 and the rest went for Omakase 11 at £45.

We were served some amuse bouche next.

There was bite sized octopus and pork skin jelly with the third being omelette topped with shrimp.

Kaki Su £5.60

We also ordered some oysters to start.

Fresh oysters and the vinegar dressing was definitely refreshing and added a zing!

Yose Tofu £6.20

This was quite fun. The soy milk came in an earthen bowl and we were required to scoop the fish stock jelly which is dashi stock into the soy milk. This made me remembered a scene in Heston's 70s feast which I watched on telly last night where he did a similar version. The heat emanating from the soy milk melted the dashi jelly which trickled into the milk. Taste wise, it was a tad bland and nothing exciting.  I was expecting an umami hit!

Next to arrive were the main stars.

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Sushi of Shiori: Are you the one?

I've been on a Japanese binge recently it seems and this one was no exception. After hearing so much about Sushi of Shiori, I had to try it.

So on a cold wintry evening, I made my way to the upper side of town for their "Omakase" chef's tasting menu £40pp  We were greeted by the wife of this husband and wife team. She was really nice and it was a pleasure chatting with her.

I couldn't wait to dig in.

First course was a ritualistic bowl of miso soup made with red miso. Most of us are used to the white miso version but I actually like red miso. It gives a greater depth and saltiness in terms of flavour. You can even mix both when eating at home. The red miso soup was positively received on such a cold night and its heartiness and warmth was most welcoming.

Next was a bite size dish of squid that has been cooked for a full day and flavoured with dashi and Japanese seasoning.

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Atari-ya: Understated Gem

Had an appointment to catch up with a friend over dinner and she set a few criteria’s. Healthy, quick and has to be centrally convenient for the both of us. I suggested Atari-ya at St. James Street and that was our destination.

The city branch functions more as a take away and there are only a few seats for dining in. I wanted to go for the Deluxe Chirashi but was veto-ed and in the end we went for a selection of rolls.

It took easily half an hour for them to prepare it and I was really hungry and scratching my head as to why. Later I found out that this is the norm, I guess I just didn't know.

Rolls includes: Negitoro Hosomaki, Spicy fried Yellow Tail, Black Cod, Sake Kawa, Spider Roll

So we finally received our platter and it was just so beautifully presented. One bite in and all was forgiven. Slightly warm sushi rolls and the rice seasoning was flavoursome with the right amount of acidity to it. Ingredients or toppings were fresh and succulent.  This is how sushi should be and I wished that more places make it like this.

I especially enjoyed the spider roll, Negitoro hosomaki and the spicy fried yellow tail.

The bill came up to £11 per person and I think it is good sushi at great value. I'll be coming back often and I'm still eyeing that deluxe chirashi.

Atari-ya, 20 James St, London, W1U 1EH
www.atariya.co.uk/shops/james_st.html

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The last 36 hours in New York: Ticking ticking

If you're still reading my food adventures in New York, this is the ending post. Actually I think my tummy thanks me for it too as I feel like I have been eating non stop.

I came with a list of eateries that was longer than the actual no. of days would allow and with only 36 hours left, how much more did I eat?

Here goes!

NY is currently having a restaurant week where a number of restaurants are having a 3 course $35 dinner menu. I saw this in Fatty Crab but decided not to go for it.

Meeting some friends, I let them choose the location and we ended up in Japonais. We also opted for the $35 restaurant menu as we were so busy catching up and chatting that we just did not have time to read the menu. I think it was easily half an hour before the waiter managed to obtain our orders successfully.

The food is westernised Japanese and was decent but underwhelming and unmemorable. The service was great and the company on the other hand was fantastic!

Next day, I was supposed to meet up for dim sum at Red Egg but unfortunately due to some train issues and mishaps, we did not make it. I was really looking forward to it though and wanted a comparison to dim sum in London.

I did manage to have breakfast at Luke's Lobster. This time, I ordered the Taste of Maine. They were out of empress claws but had everything else.

Taste of Maine $21

The prawn roll was the weakest of the trio as it lack that bite texture-wise even with being chilled. The lobster roll and the crab roll were refreshingly tasty. As these were all half rolls, you don’t get that greasy mouth feel and fingers at the end which occurred during my first visit. It was a nice way to start the day.

I also stopped by a Japanese supermarket to check out what they sell and was so excited to see a couple of my favourites that I don’t see in London, like Mochi ice cream!

After some more shopping (really shopped out by this stage), we decided to chill at Serendipity for some superlicuous Frozen Hot Chocolate but it was a 2-3 hours wait so that plan went out the window. I would need to be at the airport by then. I have been here before in my last trip and will write a post soon.

So it was Momofuku Milk Bar instead. You can tell how much I love this Milk Bar; this is the third visit in a span of 2 weeks! This time we got the apple pie truffles, compost cookie, cereal milk and coffee.

My friend who has never tried the compost cookie before likes it. It has just the right balance of sweet and savoury and when eaten freshly baked, the texture was soft and slightly gooey. The apple pie truffles has a Soft texture, the crumbles were airily light and not crumbly. It just tasted like apple pie but without that crunch. I think a case of where its hype is greater than the actual thing.

With that, it was the end of my trip and it wad time to head to the airport to go home. My heart is heaving with a twinge of sadness. New York is awesome!

Japonais, 111 E 18th St, Gramercy/Flatiron , New York, NY 10003

www.japonaisnewyork.com/index2.html



Momofuku Milk Bar, 15 West 56th St. New York, NY 10019
www.momofuku.com/milk-bar

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