Ramen @ Yakitori Zai | South End Boston, MA

went to check out yakitori zai ramen on a lazy sunday afternoon.

click here for my full Yakitori Zai post.

Yakitori Zai serves ramen from 11:30 am to 2:30 pm on Saturdays and Sundays.

plum wine

tongkotsu ramen – chashu braised pork, nitamago, tonkotsu soup

best out of the two. broth was relatively rich.

shoyu ramen – shredded chicken, onsen tamago, chichen broth

the flavors werent rich/deep.

ramen @ yakitori zai was very average and very over priced. i dont think i will return again for their ramen.

Yakitori Zai
Category: Japanese
315 Shawmut Ave
(between Union Park St & Waltham St)
Boston, MA 02118
Neighborhood: South End
(857) 350-4450

http://www.yakitorizai.com

Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ | Brookline, MA Boston

ive been waiting for gyu-kaku boston to open since last june. the highly highly anticipated japanese bbq joint finally opened couple weeks ago. if you are not familiar with gyu kaku, its a japanese bbq chain that has locations all throughout the country as well as overseas. an interative bbq concept which you get to cook your own food at your own pace and however you’d like it.

gyu-kaku is still in their soft opening period. the reservation was hard to get. they dont accept reservations online at this moment; you ll have to call in to make a reservation. BUT there’s a perk to it during the soft opening period: you get a discount thats roughly 18% off.

pork belly and i got there an hour early so we waited for our friends at the bar.

Kirin Ichiban on tap

altho each meat they have a recommended sauce, but you can also choose a different sauce if you prefer.
here is a menu in pdf form: http://www.gyu-kaku.com/menu/ma_bs/bs_alacarte.pdf

we got a Kirin Ichiban pitcher for the whole group

we ordered 11 different kinds of meat, pretty much all the meat on the menu, ill try my best to match the names with the pix. i cant promise they are all correct tho

Beef Tongue
Thinly sliced beef tongue with delicious scallion sauce, salt & Pepper, and Lemon

Premium Sirloin- Lean & tender Sirloin Flap Steak with: Tare Sweet Soy

Kobe Style Flap Steak with: Ponzu

only grill your meat for 30-60 seconds depending on your preference. this is crucial because overcooked meat will not be as tender.

Bistro Hanger Steak with: Miso

Prime New York Steak with: Ponzu

they have four diff dipping sauces: sweet & spicy, tsuke, ponzu, and lemon.

i believe this one was my fave: Kobe Style Kalbi Short Rib: World renowned for its delicious flavor & remarkable tenderness

Kobe Style Kalbi Chuck with Garlic

Lamb Chop with: Miso Basil

Harami Skirt Steak with: Miso

Kalbi Short Rib
King of BBQ; juicy boneless short rib with: Tare Sweet Soy

Mushroom Medley

Toro Beef
Beef bacon in their special BBQ sauce with: Tare Sweet Soy

oops. i think i jus totally misplaced the names.

steak model: Jay Liu
i heard he got quite famous for modeling the banana in my yume wo katare post

here comes the bill. really cheap for the amount of food and drinks we ordered. even better, we got the soft opening discount!!!!!!!!
awesome deal!!!!!! i think all throughout april we probably can get roughly 18% off. they dont advertise it anywhere so im not sure how long the promo lasts

super satisfied with our meal. i cant remember specifically how each meat tasted, but I do like the meat with garlic sauce the best. Kobe Style Kalbi Short Rib was def my fave. Gyu kaku easily tops any of the Asian bbq places. Yes! Any Korean bbq joint in town. I have been to all of them unless there is an underground bbq place that im not aware of. Sitting by the hot grill and sipping on cold beer eating the best Asian bbq in town with friends, nothing can beat this. remember DO NOT overcook your meat!

Gyu-Kaku
Categories: Restaurants Japanese bbq
1002 Beacon St
Brookline, MA 02446
(617) 264-6190

http://gyu-kaku.com/index.htm

Tanpopo Ramen House | Annandale, VA DC

this was our 2nd lunch right after To Sok Jip . we didnt even finish our food at To Sok Jip. since we are rarely in town now, we had to force ourselves to try as many places as we could.

tanpopo ramen house is next to A&J.

i really couldnt eat anymore, so i made pork belly to order a bowl of his choice. of course he would order pork belly.

pork belly wolfed down the majority of the bowl. i had couple bites jus for blogging purposes. one of the worst ramen ive ever had.
noodles- exact same noodle you can find at hmart, the packaged ones. im not talking about the deep fried one dollar instant noodles. im talking about these frozen ramen:

broth - cut corner quicker msg version.

pork- bland and dry.

they also have a sushi bar. would u eat sushi at a ramen house?

Tanpopo Ramen House
Categories: Japanese, Sushi Bars
4316 Markham St
Annandale, VA 22003
(202) 270-3043

http://tanpoporamenhouse.com

Kushi Izakaya & Sushi | Washington, DC

went to kushi last month when we were in town visiting pork belly’s parents. i liked the decor and high ceilings.

Peel n Eat Shichimi Blue Shrimp- cooked shrimp, tossed in shichimi & garlic

Spicy zuke don
Spicy soy sauce marinated sashimi maguro- tuna with scallion, and nori over sushi rice

Bara chirashi don- Diced pieces of sashimi over sushi rice

yakitori- Wild boar sausage, Pork belly, duck breast & scallion, Chicken breast with shiso & plum sauce

the food was very underwhelming. it reminded me of basho in boston. over priced, fusion, underwhelming food. the service wasnt too good either. def will not go back!

Kushi
Categories: Japanese, Sushi Bars
465 K St NW
(between N 4th St & N 5th St)
Washington, DC 20001
(202) 682-3123

http://www.eatkushi.com

OSAKA Japanese Sushi & Steak House | Coolidge Corner Brookline, MA Boston

a friend suggested to come to osaka after we failed to grab a bite at Boston vs New York City Food Truck Throwdown event last fall. the lines were ridiculously long and i dun think i would wait that long for any food trucks unless its the chicken and rice @ 53rd and 6th .

osaka is a japanese restaurant serves mainly sushi and hibachi. there hibachi stations on one side of the restaurant and normal tables on the other. i have no idea why, people jus love to watch chefs cook in front of them, so the hibachi side is always super packed. somehow people jus amazed by watching chef doing tricks or throw food /sake into their mouth. mehhhh

Rock Shrimp
Crispy shrimp with sweet and mild spicy sauce

Beef Tataki
Raw beef marinated in garlic and soy sauce

hibachi dinner: Fillet Mignon & Scallop
the beef wasnt tender

TOMO
Spicy crunchy salmon, mango. Topped with seared salmon, white tuna, avocado, and crispy rice powder and honey wasabi sauce.

lighting makes such a big difference in my pic huh

HOT LOVER ROLL – doesnt get any cheesier than this.
Spicy tuna, shrimp tempura, avocado wrapped in soybean paper.

their dessert menu is called -_-

fried ice cream

there is also a lounge they jus opened in the basement of the restaurant. you can grab a drink after din din without moving your car.

the food def wasnt bad to be honest. im jus not into anything fusion esp def not my sushi. if you are into japanese fusion and some hibachi action you ll probably like this restaurant. bright, large space, very good for groups. the lounge in the basement is def a plus.

from there facebook page: {** College Night ** Every Thursday starting from Today! Bring your student ID to receive 20% off food. Have a FUN night out! Hibachi Sushi upstairs; Music Karaoke Dancing downstairs.}

OSAKA Japanese Sushi & Steak House

Categories: Japanese, Sushi Bars, Steakhouses
14 Green St
Brookline, MA 02446
Neighborhood: Coolidge Corner
(617) 732-0088

http://www.OsakaBrookline.com/

Pai Men Miyake @ Portland, ME

pai men miyake is one of the miyake restaurants mainly serves ramen, soba, yakitori(after 5:30pm), and a variety of sushi rolls. i heard so many good things about miyake and finally paid a visit.

i cant remember what exactly the drinks were. i think both were sake cocktails/mixed drinks.

pork buns
two steamed buns with braised pork belly, gouchujang mayo, & pepper relish
i thought they were ok. the buns def house made.

maine crab
crab meat broiled in mayonnaise glaze with spicy japanese red pepper, tobiko & radish sprouts
i didnt like this at all. very bad choice. the crab meat was very dry. the mayo was too overpowering.

yakitori
negima leg &scallion
kashiwa thigh

sashimi soba
tuna, salmon, suzuki, tobiko, avocado, cucumber, onion, & daikon
another bad choice, extremely bland.

green tea and ginger ice cream

we totally regret driving all the way to portland to try miyake. def hyped up. they are famous for ramen but we werent in the mood to try any. maybe we ordered the wrong items, but we didnt like most of the stuff we ordered. very fusion americanized place. extremely disappointed by their food.

have you had the ramen here? how was it?

Pai Men Miyake
Category: Japanese
188 State St
Portland, ME 04101
(207) 541-9204

http://www.miyakenoodlebar.com/

Blue Fin @ Porter Square Boston, MA

average food, not a bad place to grab a quick bite of sushi.

Category: Sushi Bars
1815 Mass Ave
Cambridge, MA 02140
Neighborhood: Porter Square
(617) 497-8022

http://www.bluefin-cambridge.com/

Totto Ramen @ New York, NY

i was in nyc this past weekend for my friend’s bday. 3 in the afternoon we were hungry, but a lot of places were closed and not yet opened for din din. we stayed at the westin hotel in time square and totto ramen was walking distance. i was always hesitated to try totto ramen and other popular ramen places in nyc because its guaranteed a long wait and probably jus hyped up places where food probably isnt that good.

well it was 3:30 in the afternoon i thought if i ever gonna try this place out, this would be the perfect time to try it out since the wait would be shorter during off-peak hours. i was wrong.

oh i also took my new lens that pork belly bought me for xmas, the Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM Ultra Wide Angle Zoom Lens. my very first review with this lens. i was pretty happy with the performance.

there are a lot more ppl than it seems because ppl can put their names on the list and come back later. make sure you come back in time tho cuz if you are not there when they call your name, they will skip you and you have to wait again. trust me, they are very firm on this policy. i witnessed 4-5 parties got skipped and they cried, bitched, and whined and they still didnt give them a table. make sure you stay in this little ‘room’ too cuz the guy doesnt always make his way outside to call your name.

we ended up waiting for 1.5 hours or even longer.

everything was probably pre-made, they brought over food very fast. when we were ordering, the waitress told us three times that we ordered too much. she sounded like she didnt want to take our order cuz we ordered too much. we waited for 1.5+ hours and starving to death and cant have whatever we wanted? come one now.

Avo Tuna torched tuna sashimi w/ avocado marinated in special yuzu garlic sauce

nothing special.

Char Siu Mayo Don house special broiled pork with yuzu mayonnaise on a bed of rice
the texture of the char siu is inconsistent. some were dry and hard while some were super dry and hard. really hard to chew. nice flavor tho.

Totto Spicy Ramen with chicken- original rayu, spicy sesame oil, homemade noodles in a whole chicken and premium soy sauce based soup topped with scallion, char siu pork, bean sprouts, and nori

Totto Spicy Ramen with pork – the pork is cooked with a torch

the guy is cooking the pork with a torch for the house specialty

noodles are al dente, but too skinny for my liking.

char siu buns w/char siu chunk and tartar sauce
probably one of the worst pork buns ive ever had. dry hard pork, and i hate mayonnaise.

uni don – whenever i see uni, i just have to order it.

we managed to finish pretty much everything we ordered. i wasnt even super stuffed. the size of their ramen isnt big, i wouldnt be full if i just had that.

totto ramen is pretty hyped up. i did enjoy the broth but thats about it. nothing was spectacular plus we had to wait for so long for this, not even to mention in cold.

i would probably return only if there is absolutely no wait, but its very unlikely to happen.

bye totto ramen, we probably wont ever meet again.

Totto Ramen

Category: Japanese
366 W 52nd St
(between 9th Ave & 8th Ave)
New York, NY 10019
Neighborhoods: Hell’s Kitchen, Midtown West, Theater District
(212) 582-0052

http://www.tottoramen.com

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