Further Adventures in Little Tokyo: Izakaya Haru Ulala

This wee izakaya stands at the corner of 2nd and Central, across the street from Honda Plaza. All good things live at this intersection, in my opinion. Sushi Gen, Bar C, American Apparel, Ka Gai Ya and even a Subway franchise. One block to the west stands a Pink Berry and the lovely little clothing and trend store Pop Killer. I noticed last night that another such store has opened. I am going to have to explore that one next time we are in the hood.



Haru Ulala aren't fancy. The menu is written in crayon with delightful little drawings and, by the end of the evening, lots of greasy happy fingerprints.



The specials tend to run out of by the end of the night, but there are so many great small dishes on the menu that there is more than enough to keep a smile on everyone's face. And there is always more than enough food at the table. How do we consistently manage to over order? Our over ordering sent J home in a food coma, and he stopped eating after only the second course. NOOB!



They offer small bottles of Sayuri unfiltered sake. My holy grail sake.



With the first round of food came sushi and some vegetables. The sushi is pretty standard stuff. I didn't actually eat any of the maki last night. I was waiting for the small plates of meats and whatnot. But the boys dug in like malnourished vultures.







Rounds of fried shishito peppers with fish flakes arrived. These are small and spicy.



We noshed on roasted eggplant in a miso glaze. I really love the blackened bits around the edges.



Out strolls the short rib with daikon in broth. My fave izikaya dish. I love the way Haru Ulala makes this, specifically the way they slice the daikon so everyone can have a hearty broth soaked slice instead of ripping one large chunk to shreds.



The following mystery dish is not on the menu. I am not sure what all is in there, but I can give you a few ingredients. There is egg, there are shrimps. Some onion. And some other things too, all drizzled with a slightly bitter glaze resembling teriyaki sauce. The top is then liberally sprinkled with fish flakes so light they sway in the convection currents caused by the heat around the dish. This swaying of fish flakes deeply disturbed J. He left soon afterward. Done in by fish flakes. They sadly waved goodbye.



I can never, ever resist soft shell crab. We shared a couple plates. These were huge specimens. Honestly, they were battered a little too heavily and fried a little too long. By this time I might have been a little tipsy. I ate some anyway.



The aftermath.



We ended up at Haru Ulala as an alternative to the mind numbing dance music at Home. Mind, there was definitely some Japanese club-esque electonica happening in the background. However, it was a) background and b) Japanese and added to the experience rather than preventing it.

Izakaya Nonbei

One Chowhounder very quietly rec'd Izakaya Nonbei in a query for good izakaya in Honolulu.



http://www.chowhound.com/topics/512784

We were unable to get into the other two more adamantly rec'd izakaya the night of my brother's high school graduation, so I steered everyone to Nonbei and we had a great meal.

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2003/Sep/26/en/en13a.html

Above, the Honolulu Advertiser gives them a good review and details many of their dishes I didn't get a chance to try. They say,

"Izakaya Nonbei serves a bit of everything in a very homey and warm atmosphere; they offer a good way to get acquainted with Japanese food while satisfying conflicting palates. You'll be enjoying your dinner bellied up to a bar, so it's a friendly and social style of dining. Nonbei is not only a "happy drinking place" — it's also a happy eating place."

The interior is cozy and mysterious. There are tables designed for patrons to sit on tatami mats whilst dining, and large party tables. On the wall writ in Japanese characters are something that must be part of the menu, as a couple had "sold out" written across them on post-it notes.



We took up a sweet corner of the bar, introduced Dad to unfiltered sake, and got started.



First came a generous portion of mackerel sashimi with ponzu sauce.



Next served was a giant wedge of daikon stewed in a thin brown gravy with some cooked albacore. I have had this in several other izakaya, so it must be traditional.



Out marched pickled vegetables, sea eel in a light bbq sauce, and broiled butterfish.







My personal favorite dish of the evening was the poke. I love poke everywhere. The poke at Izakaya Nonbei was delightfully garlicky with lots of green onions and some fresh tangy sprout-like things.



Our served suggested we end the meal with a large bowl of ramen covered in a variety of fresh and pickled veggies in a light steamy broth.



Our meal was delicious with several stand out items, the poke and the broiled butterfish especially. Our service was attentive and friendly. Dad cannot wait to go again and take someone to share his discovery. Afterward, we headed over to the graduation ceremony where I promptly fell asleep on D's shoulder. I missed a couple of reportedly long and arduous speeches. I awoke just in time to pay attention to the talented students' musical performances and didn't miss a second of the traditional balloon naughtiness.

Ho'omaika'i 'ana & Pomaika`i, Punahou grads. Live happy lives!

Vegetables Rolled in Beef

I was inspired by one of my favorite bloggers to make this Japanese dish for supper last night. Tokyoastrogirl always makes such beautiful dishes, her presentation is elegant and I love the way she takes pictures of step by step preparation.

http://tokyoastrogirl.blogspot.com/

I am not tokyoastrogirl. I rarely use a recipe, and when I do I read it once and get rid of it. (Unless making something complicated or specific like Mom's oxtails.) So I read tokyo's recipe and got started.


First mistake: not going to an Asian market for the beef. The butcher at the local yuppy market, while stocking an excellent cut of filet, didn't grasp the concept of slicing the meat paper thin. I said I wanted it thin like for shabu shabu and he gave me a good stare. I knew when I took it out of the package the sheets were too thick, but looking at the ingredients in front of me, I knew I could not lose flavor wise.

My mis-en-place:



I plowed ahead. I blanched the carrots, green beans and asparagus separately in baths of water, mirin and soy sauce. I used the same bath for each veggie, so by the time the asparagus was done I had a lovely fragrant veggie broth. I tried to think of something to use it for, but knowing me I would have let it spoil or spill in the fridge before ever using it productively.

Next I rolled veggies in sheets of filet. I had to use lots and lots of visible toothpicks to make the roll stay put. It was unsightly, but I just knew it was going to be good, and what else would I have done with hose sheets of filet? Toss them? Not a chance, they were such beautiful little cutlets. I sauteed the weirdness in soy sauce, mirin, sake and I added a little sesame oil for good measure.




The smell was immense! Savoriness filled the air. The end result looked nowhere near as perfect as tokyostrogirl's, but I had a great time cooking while drinking a glass of William's Selyem 2004 Chardonnay, a thank you gift from our friend Jeff Z. at the Rosso wine store in Montrose.

http://www.rossowineshop.com/



I served the awkward rolls with big globs of wasabi mashed potatoes, seasoned with an eye-watering amount of wasabi. Too spicy, according to D, in just the right way. The flavor of both the beef and the veggies was just wonderful. I look forward to another stab at these sometime during the holidays. Very easy to make, colorful and healthy.

Thanks to tokyoastrogirl. She has inspired me to blog not just about eating out and traveling, but also about eating in!

Weird and Wonderful Things About Tokyo

My first visit to Japan was indeed a trip. I am comfortable and happy almost anywhere I go, I behave myself as an "ugly American", attempt to speak the native language, and obey both local and universal customs. However, none of my world travels prepared me well for Tokyo. Tokyo is so many things, in so many parts of the city, that once you get used to the customs and flavor of one neighborhood you are quickly adjusting to the next. It is genteel, mild mannered and steeped in tradition, wildly exotic and kinky, luxurious and frugal.


Some cool things about Tokyo:

Diet Coke out of a vending machine with a screw top lid. Isn't it pretty? Small things amuse the small minded. What can I say? Light Taste & Refreshing.





This truck advertising a new song by the band, "Arashi" haunted our tracks for days. The sound of the new single "Happiness" blasted into the air in neighborhoods as far and wide as Shinjuku, Omotesando and as far east as Ropponggi.





Bathrooms are an experience unto themselves. In a ritzy department store in Ginza, when a customer sits on the seat the music of a running stream and chirping birds plays to drown out the sound of any untoward flatulence. In nearly any westernized locale, the toilets are equipped with seat warmers and a bidet with three choices of stream direction and intensity. And in a final thoughtful gesture, I noticed several toilets accesorized with emergency systems. If your flatulence, nausea or bird flu gets the best of you, pull on the red emergency chord and help will come running.





Lastly for today, boobie pillows.



That.is.all.

Front Loading for Tokyo

To properly prepare my tastebuds for Japan, I am embarking on a Japanese food-fest right here in Los Angeles. The food-fest started approximately 12 years ago when I moved here, as I eat Japanese at least 2x a week. However, for the next two weeks, I am stepping it up a notch! Last night I ate at Geisha House, a trendy bi-level multi theme restaurant owned by the Dolce group.

http://www.geishahousehollywood.com/aboutus.htm

While I am not a fan of the Dolce group restaurants, I have loved Geisha House since the day I walked in the door opening week. Geisha House has a sake bar, a classic looking sushi bar, a huge two floor dining room with a two story fire place and several private rooms encased in glass. In the private rooms, I always feel like I am eating in a Japanese jewelry box.

I arrived prior to my dinner companions, as is often the case, to enjoy a leisurely cocktail and soak in the atmosphere. I sat in the sake bar and sipped a well deserved ice cold Grey Goose martini and enjoyed a little downtime.

Dinner was spectacular! We ordered particularly well this trip. Usually we over order, because there are so many delicious things on the menu and it is small plate style. We started with eda mame, of course, and my three companions slurped at delicious bowls of miso soup (very heavy on the miso, a rich textured broth) with seaweed, cubes of soft tofu, and long king crab legs practically crawling out of the bowl. Beautiful! Next we shared two large rolls. One called the Heaven with chopped toro, special tuna and spicy tuna rolled in cucumber instead of seaweed. The second is called the Pink Lady Bubu which is made with arare shrimp, cucumber, gold tobiko and spicy crab with eel sauce drizzled over the top. I also insisted that they try the shishito peppers, small tangy green peppers slightly deep fried (no batter) so the skins just slip off in your mouth. DE-lish.

The smartest thing we did was order four orders of the filet mignon instead of trying four different small plates entrees.
It was so delicious. It was a just right portion of filet mignon, marinated and grilled, then served with a light soy, garlic and sesame dipping sauce.It was simple and so great tasting I wouldn't have wanted to share any with someone else.

One of my dining companions brought a special beverage to drink with our meals. Now, I love all kinds of dry sake, hot and cold. But I must say I was a little skecptical when he pulled out a bottle of Hana Lychee Sake. Visions of Japanese wine coolers were dancing in my head. However, I was pleasantly surprised with the first taste. The flavor was floral and a hair fruity, but not in any way sweet or cloying. Think a hint of rosewater or orange flower water rather than syrupy lychee flavoring. It stood up beautifully to the marinated steak without overpowering the more delicate appetizers. And is there a lovelier buzz than a sake buzz? A nice low alcohol fuzziness. I would order this sake any time, and if I can find it in one of the Asian markets by my house I am stocking up. http://www.hanaflavoredsake.com/index2.html

For dessert we ordered the Rice flour banana fritters which was basically a half banana fried in a tempura mix with caramel and chocolate sauce, the presentation was slightly messy looking but it was delicious.

We also ordered the molten chocolate cake, which was served in a bento box with a healthy scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. The presentation was just lovely, but the flavor was a little lacking. The cake part was a hair dry and there was not enough molten action happening in the center. But presenting a dessert in a bento box with a lid is such a lovely idea I may have to pick some of these up to have on hand at home