Jay Eats Worldwide

As part of the 130th Anniversary of Little Tokyo (2014), I've been spending time visiting some of my old favorite places and being introduced to new ones in Little Tokyo.  One of my favorites for sushi is Oomasa Restaurant on the 1st Street entrance to Japanese Village Plaza. Oomasa Restaurant Located at the entrance to Japanese Village Plaza, just off of 1st Street One of the participating restaurants of the 2014 Taste of Little Tokyo Read my 2014 Taste of Little Tokyo HERE See What Jay Eats... When I do visit Oomasa, I usually come in for sushi  Halibut Sushi with salt and yuzukosho This is my favorite way to eat white fish, add a squeeze of lemon too... Spanish Mackerel Santa Barbara Sea Urchin  It was very good, but then again I've had really good seafood here. Ending the meal with the head of the  Santa Barbara  Sweet Shrimp in miso soup Man cannot live on sush...

I was watching one of Anthony Bourdain's Japan episodes the other night, he and Chef Morimoto were eating soba at a well-known soba restaurant in Tokyo.  It's been awhile since I've had good soba, not many soba places make their own noodles.  It's hard to explain how good soba is if you haven't had a fresh noodles. I stopped in my favorite soba shop, Otafuku in Gardena.   I was introduced to this noodle shop about 14 years ago, when their menu didn't have a lot of English descriptions and I usually ordered blind.  Today is a different story, the dining room has expanded into the next store front and the menu now has English descriptions and some pictures.  Regardless, the noodles are made fresh each day and they know how to cook them.  For me, the perfect noodle is cooked al dente. Otafuku is hidden behind a plain store front with a nondescript sign.  Most of the regulars know that they have a small parking lot and entrance in the ...

Sorry, no ramen today... This week was 103 degrees and I'm NOT thinking ramen... Otafuku Japanese Cuisine Gardena It's been a few years since I've been to Otafuku, not you typical noodle house. But they do make the best soba (buckwheat) noodles this side of Japan that I've had. Most people know that buckwheat noodles are brownish in color and have a nutty flavor to them. A few restaurants in LA make their own noodles. But only Otafuku uses imported gozen-ko, flour milled from the white-buckwheat kernel. Seiro Soba (sarashina soba) $8 with dipping sauce, wasabi, and green onions Lunch Special Seiro Soba $8 + Shrimp Tempura Bowl $3.50 Seiji Akutsu, Otafuku owner, imports the white soba flour and uses bottled spring water and makes his dough. Rolls it out and makes thin cuts to make this delicate noodle. I tried to cut soba noodles once at a restaurant, it came out more like linguine noodles than soba. I love fresh soba noodles with the slightly chewy texture, served...