Jay Eats Worldwide

There are a LOT of ramen places in Gardena and Torrance.  I don't get out to too many of the Japanese ramen places in the South Bay much, although I do have my favorites.  To me, most have very similar menus and as one of my friends from Japan would say, "same same." A friend of mine, Jesse Hiraki, told me about a new ramen restaurant in Torrance, which happens to be owned by a friend of his.  After a dinner meeting, Jesse and I stopped in.  I noticed the wine menu on the wall as we walked in and another sign that said "Non-MSG Chicken Ramen."  I knew I needed to try the ramen, even though we had dinner already.   On a second visit, a few friends and I decided to have dinner at Ichiban Ramen, I also invited a friend visiting from Hawaii and her now-mainland based friend to join us.  We ordered a bunch of menu items, here's some of what we ordered. See What Jay Eats... Kaarage Chicken (Japanese fried chicken) Nice and crispy...

WHAT? Yes,  No Sushi Chef Required! It's been about 7 years since I last looked at sushi robots and I'm sure the technology has improved vastly since then.   I was invited to see some of the latest sushi robots at Suzumo International Corporation, one of the handful of companies producing such equipment.  Suzumo's tagline is "We Love Rice" and after seeing their robots in action, I can see why.   Being trained in sushi, there are many factors that can affect the final sushi piece.  The main factor is the rice, it can be overworked and starchy or the grains smashed together.  The rice in sushi should be individual grains and not packed too tight. Suzumo Sushi Robot Suzumo's Kiyoto san demonstrates the 30 cup sushi rice mixer MCR-SSC He adds in steamed rice, sushi vinegar, the mixing attachment, and hits the button. There are 3 different presets that you can use, based on rice volume and mixing time. ...