The Best Foods I Ate in Japan

I just returned from a two week trip to Japan. Here's a look at what I ate!

Soba and tempura from Ukiya, outside the Nishiki Market

Fresh soybean crackers at the Nishiki Market

Soymilk donuts, also at Nishiki

Spicy ramen bowl from Ippudo Ramen

Traditional pork tonkotsu bowl at Ippudo

Hot pot place called Karu

Tofu and eggplant at a teppanyaki place

Pork tonkatsu with miso soup

Foie gras with mango at Motoi, a French one-star Michelin restaurant

Wagyu beef with seven kinds of peas/beans (sugarsnap, snow, edamame, lima, fava, petit and I never figured out the last one!), also at Motoi

Unagi donburi bowl (grilled eel over rice) in a rural town called Oyabe, near where my paternal great grandparents are from. This was one of my most favorite meals the entire trip.

Gorgeous sashimi place at Kusunoki in Kanazawa

Grilled eggplant with miso also at Kusunoki

Goma (sesame) tofu at Natadera Temple

Kanazawa-style ramen (traditional pork broth cut with dashi to lighten it a bit)

Oysters bigger than my hand at Omicho Market in Kanazawa

Making oobanyaki and takoyaki at Kuroman Market in Osaka

Tako pops

Kabocha squash at Kuroman Market

Okonomiyaki in Osaka

Matcha tea

Japan: A Teaser

Konichiwa from Japan! I am getting ready to board the train from Kanazawa to Osaka. I have documented just about every meal and will have lots to share! But since writing from a cell phone isn't easy, here are a couple pictures to tease you!

Kanazawa style ramen

Goma (sesame) tofu

Wagyu beef in the market

New (sorta) Asian Spots in South Austin -- Ramen Tatsu-ya and LuLu B's

** Editor's note: LuLu B's closed in 2016

As a fan of all kinds of Asian food, it's often hard to live in South Austin as most of the quality Asian places are up north. Fortunately, things are changing, and we now have Ramen Tatsu-ya's new location on South Lamar, and Vietnamese trailer LuLu B's has expanded, going brick and mortar on South Congress.

Ramen Tatsu-ya's southward march has been highly anticipated and well-documented in social media. Located at 1234 S. Lamar, they are just south of the Alamo Drafthouse complex. The remodeled exterior of their spot is certainly more pleasing to the eye than the strip center that houses the original, and they've done visually stimulating things to the interior without breaking the bank with their extensive use of plywood. I really love the huge dragon mural along the back wall, and overall, there is much more seating than at the other locale.

And as for the food. Still excellent. RT is known for their hearty pork broth-based ramen, or tonkotsu. The broth takes on a cloudiness from the bones simmering for hours on end to make the broth. A bowl of this stuff will fill you up. Fortunately, for lunch, they offer the chicken broth, which is definitely lighter but still hearty and delicious. This is what they call "ol' skool" which comes with chasu (pork belly), ajitama (soft boiled egg), nori (seaweed), bamboo shoots and green onions; extra toppings can be added if desired. The ramen noodles are tender, but have some springiness to them, definitely toothsome.

Take note, they only do the chicken broth at lunch and the pork broth at dinner; a vegetarian ramen is offered during Sunday dinner. They don't to do "to go" orders as they don't want the integrity of their product to suffer while waiting for you to consume it, but containers are available if you can't finish everything on site.

LuLu B's has always been my go-to banh mi in South Austin, and I think for a long time, they were the only banh mi in South Austin. Their trailer under the huge oak at South Lamar and Oltorf has always been popular for lunches, churning out spring rolls and bun (vermicelli) bowls along with the banh mi. But their hours were always limited, and I can't count the number of times I would have stopped there to pick up dinner on my way home from work had they been open past 4 pm. It's all changed now, as they moved into an old Mexican restaurant at 3632 South Congress. From their Facebook page, their hours appear to be 11 am - 3 pm, and 5:30 - 9 pm.

The decor in the new spot is fairly sparse, and when I was there the menu board was hard to read (purple on black isn't a high contrast to see the writing) but the food still delicious. I met a friend there for lunch and we split the Chinese sausage summer rolls, which were the recommendation of the person taking orders. Don't think I'd had sausage in a roll before, but I'd totally eat it again! And their Chinese BBQ pork banh mi is so dang good -- lightly sweet with great char-grilled flavor. Usually I'll eat half and save the rest for later, but on this day, I ate the entire thing.

Now that they are open for dinner, I can't wait to go check out some of their specials they've been posting about. Oh, and they're cash only right now. So don't go to north Austin, stay right here, down south for some awesome Asian food!

Daruma Ramen

I recently attended a soft opening at Daruma Ramen, Austin's latest ramen shop, brought to you from the owners of Kome up on Airport Blvd. They've had ramen on their menu at Kome, but I am sure after seeing how popular Ramen Tatsu-ya and Michi Ramen have been, they decided to venture into the land of noodles as well. 

There are a number of things that set Daruma apart from the others.
-- It's located downtown, on 6th Street (yup), on the north side of the street, between Sabine and Red River Streets.
-- It's a tiny little spot, with at very most, seating for 30, and that would be pushing it! And while I love the decor at Ramen Tatsu-ya (I still haven't been to Michi), I really enjoyed the cherry blossom wall paper, and very minimal, clean lines of Daruma.
-- They're using a chicken-based broth, as opposed to the more traditional pork (tonkatsu) broth, and they have a vegan ramen bowl too, so these broths aren't quite as rich.

There were four of us (and you can read Mad Betty's take on Daruma here), and there were four ramen bowl options, so we got one of each, and passed them around the narrow table.

Shio -- certainly the lightest and cleanest, you can taste the chicken in the broth (which also takes hours to make). This would be the perfect "chicken noodle soup" when you are under the weather. The same noodles are used in all the bowls; I thought they had a nice texture and give to them, but more on the noodles in a minute.

Shoyu -- very similar to the Shio, but with the addition of dashi (made from fish and kombu seaweed) broth, which gives it a little more depth. Also characterized by the fish cake, or naruto, the white and pink-swirled piece next to the soft-boiled egg.

Miso -- this seemed to be the consensus favorite at our table! The addition of miso to the chicken broth really brought the umami sensation to your palate. Plus you have shredded chicken, the saffron threads, and a bit of chili oil.

Vegan -- talk about eating the rainbow, this was a gorgeous bowl! This vegan broth also takes an extremely long time to produce, which also makes it a touch more expensive than the other ones. Apparently in the broth is made primarily from Japanese sweet potato and I believe pineapple. At first I didn't really get the fruit influences in the broth, but I was gradually able to taste a light sweetness with almost tropical undertones I didn't see any sesame seeds (as listed on the menu) nor really taste the ginger in this bowl, but it will surely be popular with the vegetarians and vegans!

As we were eating, owner Kayo came over to talk with us. She had seen we were taking pictures of everything, and asked how the food was. She also told us about the noodles. They had just met with the noodle man from Los Angeles, and after sampling lots of different noodles, they decided to change the noodle slightly from what were currently eating. I was happy with the ones we had, but I believe the new ones will have a touch more bite to them. 

So on your next venture to 6th Street, go check Daruma out, but just remember, this is a lighter style of ramen than the other shops in town. The friendly staff also told us what "daruma" meant -- it's the little creature depicted on their bowls that serves as their icon, that's known as a talisman of luck to the Japanese. Good daruma, indeed.

Ramen Tatsu-ya

If you've been paying attention to the food buzz in Austin lately, you know that ramen noodles are one of the hottest things out there. The Japanese restaurant Kome serves ramen at lunch time (see my post from January here; I did rather like their ramen!). There was a ramen trailer called Michi Ramen that opened in late spring/early summer, and ultimately closed to search for a brick and mortar home. (Their website announces they have secured a spot at 6519 N. Lamar Blvd., in the old Korea Garden spot, and that they were aiming for a November opening...so SOON, hopefully) Then Ramen Tatsu-ya opened in a strip mall in North Austin. And Paul Qui's new East Side King at Hole in the Wall on The Drag just opened, and is also serving ramen. (Hey! We could use some ramen in South Austin!)

Very quickly, that's become a lot of noodles!

Ramen Tatsu-ya did succeed in opening in September, on Research Blvd., at Peyton Gin, in the strip mall that houses Target, Sunflower Vietnamese, and Din Ho Chinese BBQ. They are only open for dinner, and immediately, they gained a following, with people were lining up outside, waiting for the doors to open at 5 pm. The owners are two Japanese guys who have both been in the restaurant business for a while. The stylized design on the wall in the picture below is the mon, or family crest of one of the owners.

The interior is small, only about 40 seats, with a modern feel. The light fixtures have ropes dangling from them -- to resemble noodles? We arrived about 4:45 pm, prepared to do our duty and stand in line. There were seven people in front of us, but the line quickly grew behind us. Just before 5 pm, they opened the doors for business. As we entered, one of the waitstaff asked how many were in our party, handed us an order number placard, and directed us to where we should sit after ordering at the counter.

There were four in our group, and four different types of noodle bowls, we we agreed to each get a different one (more on this coming up). I also wanted to try some of the other menu items, like the Katsu slider, which is lightly breaded and fried, and served on a Hawaiian roll with a little potato salad. After successfully cutting the slider in half with chopsticks (!), I thought it to be quite delicious! Relatively tender and flavorful. The potato salad wasn't particularly memorable.

The sweet and sour yodas, or Brussels sprouts, we all agreed were amazing! Roasted, and seasoned with apricot vinegar and some curry seasonings. I have become a fan of Brussels all around!

Ramen #1 -- Tonkotsu original, a creamy pork broth with pork belly, marinated egg, mushrooms, and green onions. I tasted it, and it was a fairly rich-tasting broth.

Ramen #2 -- Tonkotsu Sho-yu, like #1, but with the addition of soy sauce, bamboo, and roast seaweed.

Ramen #3 -- Mi-So Hot, a miso-based tonkotsu broth with ground pork belly, cabbage, corn, bean sprouts, and marinated egg; this also has the addition of chile, but can also be ordered without the extra spice. This was my bowl, and I did like it. It was not overly spicy for those of you concerned with spice levels. (A solid medium spicy? But every person is different!) The broth was creamy and velvety, with a certain sweetness to it, but upon further contemplation over the broth later that night (I took my leftovers home), the broth does not have a depth to it, and certainly lacking in a umami-character that I would really expect from a miso-based broth. Miso is something that is known to provide that umami quality, that savoriness, that extra layer of hard-to-describe-flavor that really can give a dish it's depth. This didn't have it. Don't get me wrong, it was tasty, and a nice large bowl of soup for $10, but it did not change my life.

Ramen #4 -- Tsukeman, or dipping ramen. A bowl of noodles, with pork belly, nori (roasted seaweed), and a nice side bowl of broth to dip into. I had a taste, and it seemed good; the person who ordered was quite happy. This is probably what I would order on a return trip, as it's a bit different.

Bathroom decor is quite colorful!

If you go to Ramen Tatsu-ya, be prepared to wait in line for a bit. I have talked to one friend who has been a few times, and has never had to wait more than 30 minutes, having gone at different times in the evening. It appears the staff runs a pretty tight ship, and are fairly quick to bus plates from the tables. Apparently they do not have to go containers (nor do they prepare to-go orders), but customers are welcome to bring their own, which is what I did. I don't think they have forks either, so if you are not comfortable using chopsticks, BYOF. The one thing I am confused about, if you look at Ramen #3, you'll see thin, red strands of something topping the bowl. I got no discernible flavor out of them (though they looked pretty on top); I asked one of the wait staff what they were, and was told saffron. There's no way this is saffron! One, I've never seen saffron threads that long (these were probably 3" long), and again, no real flavor, and saffron has a very distinct one. Must get to the bottom of this mystery!

So it will be interesting to see what kind of Ramen Battles will ensue once Michi Ramen opens. I've already seen various debates and opinions formed various food bloggers and foodies as to who has the preferred ramen between Tatsu-ya, Kome, and East Side King. Food and flavor is such a personal preference, I don't think there could ever be a clear cut winner. Go to Austin's first official ramen noodle house, and judge for yourself.

Kome

The new hot Japanese place that's getting a lot of buzz? No, not Uchi/Uchiko. Kome -- serving up authentic, home style food.

Open since the end of October, Kome is operated by a Japanese couple, who previously brought us bento boxes at the farmer's market, followed by the Sushi-a-Go-Go trailers. Take Asazu previously worked at Uchi, before he and wife Kayo launched their own food businesses. Executive Chef of Uchiko and current Top Chef contender, Paul Qui (also owner of the East Side King Asian fusion trailers), is also said to be very fond of Kome.

I arrived a few minutes ahead of my lunch companions, and asked our waiter if he had any favorite items on the menu. He said he was partial to the gyu-don, a rice bowl (donburi) with beef and onion, as well as the gyoza, which were filled with ground pork. I ordered some genmaicha tea (green tea with toasted rice) and studied the menu. My foodie friends and I all agreed to order a few different items and just share. It's always more fun that way!

We started with the recommended gyoza, which were some of the best seared I have come across! Forget steamed dumplings/pot stickers/gyoza, they all need to be like these, nice and crisp on one side, and soft on the other, and still steaming hot when you took a bite. The pork filling had nice flavor, with something a little zippy/tangy in them that I can't totally place. Yuzu (a type of Japanese citrus) perhaps? We also got the veggie tempura, which consisted of onions, zucchini, and slices of kabocha squash, which was certainly the best one of the three.  Zucchini sort of has no flavor as it is, and onions are onions (think these were sweet onions of some sort). Kabocha is a nice winter squash, not unlike pumpkin in taste or appearance; it's used a lot in Japanese cooking during the cooler months. (I came across it a few times during my recent October trip to Japan.)

We chose two of the rolls, the #11 Rock 'n Roll (with tempura shrimp, avocado and carrots), and the #13 Spooky (with tuna, avocado and salmon). Both very fresh, and the larger one being a bit more difficult to eat!

And then the Tonkatsu Ramen bowl. This was downright fabulous! The broth is made by simmering pork leg bones for hours on end....the breakdown of the marrow is what gives the broth it's milky color and sumptuous flavor. From the 12 o'clock (okay, 11:55) position, that's a piece of nori (seaweed -- what is used for wrapping sushi rolls) sticking up, and next to it are some type of greens (chard? not sure what it was), corn, slices of pork belly, soft-boiled egg with fried onions or shallots, kamaboko (pressed fish cakes), and what looks like carrots on top is actually slices of pickled ginger. Oh, an while you can't really see them, there were a whole lotta nice fresh noodles under all those toppings. Really a delicious bowl! And the waiter had brought a sesame seed grinder and white pepper, which I had forgotten about until we were mostly through the bowl, but they do add a nice little extra dimension.

The serving dishes at Kome are a nice mix of your typical Japanese pieces, like the tea cups, and the small bowls for dipping sauces, and then your whiteware pieces like what the tempura and rolls were served on. Decor is sparse, but it emphasizes the clean interior lines. I liked how the vertical support beams had various Japanese labels on them, I think many from sake bottles. The staff was friendly, and our waiter helpful with suggestions. It definitely feels like a neighborhood hangout, nothing stuffy or pretentious about it.

Kome, which translates to rice,  has recently been written up in Austin 360, mentioned by Eater Austin as one of the most exciting new places to open, and has been receiving a host of other press, well chronicled by their Facebook page. And I'd say it's certainly well-deserved. Their lunch and dinner menus are completely different, so I look forward to going back and trying new dishes with foodie friends who like to share.