We all know how much I love Oyogu's sushi, well they also make fantastic soba noodles served hot or chilled (I always opt for chilled) with tempura ($10). The tempura ususally includes shrimp and seasonal vegetablies like lotus root, pumpkin and squash. Great portion size and quality noodles, you really can't go wrong.

Oyogu Japanese Fusion Cuisine- 1164 First Ave Between 63rd and 64th Street, Ny, Ny, 10021, 212-751-3316

I guess we should write a little about ourselves. We are vegans, we like cooking and we like political theory. This blog will be a mix of these things, as well as a general outlet of the aggression and hatred you get from living in a capitalist world. We hate our jobs, we hate our bosses. Reading Marx (and other men with beard) and eating fucking awesome food is one of our ways of getting a little closer to communism, of storming heaven.

August 21, 2008

After a nice start to my Thursday morning at Balthazar, I sat down at my desk to get back into my work. There was a status meeting conference call, which lasted about 45 minutes, during which - while the phone was on mute - my co-workers and I talked about the next food event of the day. Lunch at Lure with some reps and a girl who used to work at the company. The reps were young and fun, there was good food, great conversation, and it was all in all a fantastic way to continue a delicious day.

Lure Fishbar

www.lurefishbar.com
142 Mercer Street
212.431.7676

Lure is situated half a flight below street level, under the Prada store in SoHo. The restaurant is decorated to resemble the inside of a luxurious yacht with high, round windows for portholes, a wood-finished interior, and a few booths like those you'd see in the cabins. Because of the themed decor, the general atmosphere of the restaurant was more relaxed, as if one was floating far out at sea instead of situated in the busiest area of SoHo. However, is wonderfully surprising to know that even in the dead center of a city that is surrounded by not-so-great fishing water, you can still get fresh and delicious raw fish.

Just a quick note - Six of us shared the Appetizers and a few also shared the desserts. So once again, no, I did not eat ALL of the following.

Appetizers:

• Raw Wild Fire Island Oysters with Cocktail Sauce - I love raw oysters, and these were just as delicious as any I've had before. I guess I'm not a proper oyster judge, so I'm not sure what to say except that they tasted fresh, and the cocktail sauce was delicious.
• Salmon Tartare with Creamy Horseradish, Salmon Roe and Dill - Difficult to share because of how it breaks, but tasty. Wasn't my favorite though - it was a little bit tasteless to me and was missing some element to give it a spark.
• Tempura Shrimp with Spicy Sesame Mayo - This dish was served Asian style in a bowl, and somewhat resembled Sesame Chicken or General Tso's Chicken. The sauce was creamy, but had a good little kick to it, and the shrimp was well fried in the tempura.
• Lobster Croutons with Golden Garlic, Chilis on Sourdough - Mini bites of lobster meat set atop tiny pieces of crisp sourdough bread. You can't just eat one.
• Bread Basket - Though complimentary, obviously, I wanted to mention the bread because they adorably resembled little loaves of bread. They were rather delicious as well, but don't fill yourself on it because the other appetizers are too good to pass up.

Favorite Appetizer: The Raw Oysters even though they take the least amount of cooking preparation, but it was the only dish that left me wanting more. And of course, I love oysters, so it is a biased opinion. Lobster Croutons would come in second.

Main Course:

• Sushi and Sashimi Combo which includes Four pieces of Sushi, Four Varieties of Sashimi and One Spicy Big Eye Tuna Roll - My first taste of New York sushi was a great experience. What I loved about the Sashimi* at Lure was the fact that they already added some Wasabi under the slices and over the rice - which is actually the proper Japanese way to serve it. There were about 5 or 6 different types of fish - the typical Salmon, Tuna, Yellowtail Tuna, and some other ones I forget now. The Spicy Tuna roll in particular, (which was the one roll of which I was able to choose), needs to be mentioned because the spicy tuna was wrapped with crispy tempura flakes, which gave the roll a more crisp texture and better taste. All in all, there was a good amount of fish, so you can probably think about ordering two appetizers and the combo if you're on a date and don't want to pass out from food coma after the meal.

*Just a quick fact for those of you may not know, Sushi is the raw fish that comes in the rolls with rice and seaweed wrapped around, and Sashimi are just straight up slices of raw fish, sometimes laid on top of a bed of rice.

Dessert:

• Mocha Crunch Torte - Light, just the right amount of mocha, not too sweet. I only had one bite of this, but I most likely would not have finished the whole thing since it was a good portioned dessert. Can definitely be shared by two.
• Assorted Ice Cream Sandwiches - There were four different types of ice cream sandwiches, and no they aren't those generic ones you'd find at the supermarket. Four types of ice cream are sandwiched between what seemed to be homemade cookies, some of the sandwiches were sprinkled with chocolate chips or chocolate flakes. Bite-sized and fun. (I actually ended up wolfing a half sandwich down while walking out of the restaurant, hurrying back for a meeting. That was very classy.)
  

Favorite Dessert: Assorted Ice Cream Sandwiches for the ingenuity of turning something normally associated with the supermarket frozen foods aisle and turning it into a gourmet dessert.

Side Note: I would definitely recommend Lure if you're interested in hosting a business lunch or dinner. The atmosphere is somewhat relaxed, yet not completely without structure. The server was extremely attentive, and Sashimi doesn't leave pieces of spinach or parsley stuck in your teeth.

Price: The Sushi & Sashimi Combo Platter was priced at $40, which I figure is not exorbitant for New York City. The other appetizers were not ridiculous, and I think it was average in terms of pricing for seafood in the city.

Overall on a scale of 1-10: 9.0 because of my partiality towards fresh, melt-in-your-mouth sushi and desserts that make me smile.

I eat here not because the sushi or food is particularly good, but rather that it isn't particularly bad. And most of the food isn't bad. The tonkatsu is always crisp without being too oily, the sushi meshi is seasoned well enough, the fish is fresh. The noodles, however, are either done with the subtly of a sledge hammer or not at all. The udon is little more than a thin kombu broth, noodles, and a little of whatever you may have in it (tempura, beef, etc.). The yakisoba and soba noodles are inundated with so much sauce that I almost want to dunk them into my glass of water to clean some of it off. The hibachi is unremarkable. Like any other hibachi place, it is about the show and not the food. I am sticking to a bowl of chirashi.

Service has gotten only slightly better since they opened. Their servers are inexperienced and have the grace of 5 year olds. At least they no longer hover over your table or congregate in front of the sushi bar looking stupid anymore. And they refill drinks with large pitchers of whatever it is (iced tea, Coke, etc.) that their section orders. I am seeing this more often and it smacks of laziness and a lack of professionalism.

Decor is boring at best and dyslexic at worst. Naturally stained tatami booths and sushi bar with white and pink walls/ceiling evoke the image of a designer who gave up halfway through the project. There are tacky noren (short door curtains) stapled over the openings to the hibachi rooms. The door to the kitchen is the first and only thing the front dining area sees. But hey, maybe they weren't going for your traditional put together atmosphere that completes a dining experience.

Still, Kumo has rice that doesn't have the consistency and flavor of mini marbles. The specialty rolls are not outrageous. They still seem to be conceived by someone missing half of the taste buds but that is better than the specialty rolls at Sushi Ya which seem to be conceived by someone missing all their taste buds. A dinner with appetizer and entree along with a drink (they do have their liquor license) will be around $25 - $35 per person barring any additions from the sushi menu. If you are looking for a memorable sushi experience, go to One World in the metro Detroit area. If you have a sushi jones that needs attention immediately with passable sushi, go to Kumo.

Kumo Hibachi and Sushi

6396 S Westnedge Ave Portage, MI 49002-3572

-Hungry Wanderer

We have excess batter from the ebi tempura we made so we decided to make mixed vegetable tempura and kani Tempura from the excess surimi from the california maki roll

Kani Tempura if different from Kani Furai in kani furai you must cover the surimi with nori dip it into the tempura batter and roll into bread crumbs before deep frying 

Ingredients:

onion rings

sliced carrots

sliced potato

surimi or artificial crabsticks

tempura batter

japanese flour or any superfine flour

water  and ice cubes or ice water

1 egg

tentsuyu (tempura sauce)

1 cup dashi(japanese soup stock) you can buy dashi granules and mix it with water as an alternate to dashi  or just use plain water if dashi and dashi granules not available.

1/4 cup mirin( japanese sweet rice wine)

1/4 cup kikoman(japanese soy sauce)

1/2 tbsp sugar

1 daikon radish (horseradish) grated

ginger grated

To Make:

Dip the vegetable and surimi into the batter and deep fry.

Serve with tentsuyu or tempura dipping sauce( To make sauce, mix all liquid ingredients into a small pan bring to a boil, set aside and let cool then add the grated daikon radish or horseradish and grated ginger)

Best served hot to experience the crispy taste.

Whenever I eat in Japanese Restos aside from my favorite California Maki and  Angus Beef I always look forward to eating lots of tempura-shrimp(ebi) tempura

When I was a teenage girl until I grew up I often wondered how the shrimp straightened out and how the batter stick to the shrimp.

My dad attempted doing squid tempura but it turned out that the batter separated from the squid and the cooked tempura was soft.totally different from what I ate in Jap Restos.

Early this year, I have asked my doctor friend Bids who loves to bake the tempura questions that I have in mind. She shared me the Tempura secrets:

The batter should be cold i.e once mixed you must put ice in it.

You slice the inside of the shrimp to straighten it out.

To make the tempura flowery or appear larger than the shrimp, you sprinkle batter while frying it

but eventhough Ive learned the secrets Ive never tried it until Jedd a Japanese cook at Tokyo Tokyo helped me with this one in the picture. Its actually easy when you see it with your own eyes and tried doing it rather than reading it in recipe books.

Ingredients:

ebi

shrimps/tiger prawns

tempura batter

japanese flour or any superfine flour

water  and ice cubes or ice water

1 egg

tentsuyu (tempura sauce)

1 cup dashi(japanese soup stock) you can buy dashi granules and mix it with water as an alternate to dashi  or just use plain water if dashi and dashi granules not available.

1/4 cup mirin( japanese sweet rice wine)

1/4 cup kikoman(japanese soy sauce)

1/2 tbsp sugar

1 daikon radish (horseradish) grated

ginger grated

To make:

1. Remove heads and shells from shrimps without removing tails. Devein the shrimps. Make two or three incisions in the stomach sides of the shrimps.Using a knife, remove the dirt from the tails of shrimps.Press the back of the shrimp to straighten it out. If you are in a hurry you can just press the shrimp against a Japanese knife( thanks Jedd for the tip)

2. Make the batter by mixing all the ingredients.

3.Dip the shrimp into the flour before dipping it to the batter

4.Deep fry the shrimp in oil. If you want it to appear a little bigger sprinkle some batter while frying it

5.Mix all liquid ingredients for the sauce.Bring to a boil. Cool down then add grated horseradish and ginger

for best result serve tempura warm

Two important things to know right off the bat: the service is horrible, but don't leave; don't order the water, it'll just taste like it was drained out of the fish cooler.

This trip I opted for the pork tonkatsu and teriyaki beef, a combination even DJ Fishr Pryce can't scowl at.
Your meal starts with a bowl of miso and a small salad. The salad is doused in that ginger-applesauce-vinegar goodness. They don't give you forks here off the bat, use your damn chopsticks. The miso soup is good, doesn't taste like they just added water to a bag of powder but if they did oh well. Seaweed is big and plentiful, tofu small and delicious.
Next comes the main event...that happy little box. The pork was breaded and lightly fried to perfection. And while the beef was slightly over-cooked, the sweet sweet teriyakiness of it compensated.
Here's something you need to know about Genroku - it's the ONLY place where I've had well cooked sweet potato tempera. Every other damned Japanese restaurant never gets it right, but every time I've been to Genroku the tempera hasn't failed to deliver. The breading is light and crisp, and doesn't get too soggy too quickly, the tentsuyu sauce is actually full of flavor, and all the vegetables are cooked through instead of hard in the middle.
The only thing wrong with this meal are the rolls it comes with. They are lackluster and small and don't taste that good at all.

Portions are amazing. The pork tonkatsu was like two breaded pork chops. Teriyaki beef is who-knows how many ounces, but more than 10 pieces. If you order the shrimp tempura you'll get five large shrimp that are gentlemanly in their ability to please.

Conclusion:

If you've never had a bento box get one. And if you're in Dallas, make the drive down Greenville or 75 and go check this spot out.

Genroku Japanese Restaurant
400 N Greenville Ave
Richardson, TX 75081-6202
Phone: (972) 783-8688

I bring to you in this entry, a tempura prawn hand roll, the exquisite Uni Sushi, and a famous nibble from Kansai - takoyaki.

First of all, we have the tempura hand roll, aka temaki sushi. This is a pretty popular dish I believe, and it tastes great with some Japanese mayo and tempura prawn. One complaint with this one, is that the tempura prawn doesn't really look like tempura prawn xD.

Next up, is the Uni Sushi. Uni is basically sea urchin roe, and has the distinct aroma when you eat it. It is strong tasting, and i strongly suggest you not to have much soy sauce with it, as it ruins the aroma and aftertaste you get from it. Highly recommended, and it's not that bad to spoil yourself once in a while. =P

And last but not least, we have the takoyaki. Takoyaki is like a batterred ball with cuttlefish inside, sprinkled with Okonomiyaki (Japanese Pancake) sauce, and some Japanese mayo. It's the best thing to warm you up on a cold winter day. You might get a surprise though, as the first time I had it in Japan, I didn't expect it to be so boiling hot! Unfortunately, I don't have pics of what official takoyaki is like, but I promise that I would show you, if I ever get to take a snap of it.

You can find all the above from Sushi on the Run in Fortitude Valley on Wickham St I believe? Go have a try sometime. =)

DIY recipes for those willing:
Veggie Rolls
Tempura

Afterwards the waitress laughed at me for asking if they had vegan desserts (some of them are really good!), so I left and got a chai tea with soymilk.

Edit: Gasp! The tempura had egg. Oops.

Fish balls and curry, with rice. Makes me feel like cooking some up right now, heh.

Check it out, more dishes and other pictures inside!

Just something from the Food Network site, Asian-style pork. I didn't see too much "Asian" about it, heh...just that it uses some Asian ingredients. Aside from that, just a regular dish, but it tasted pretty good.

Just some bagged salad, and chicken breasts. Easy chicken parm to make, with Shake and Bake, add cheese and tomato sauce after, bake it for a little more, and there you go. Pretty tasty for a quick, simple meal.

On a side note:

...Candy apples! This was as I walked by the candy shop's window at Downtown Disney. Geez they looked so good, but I had the willpower to resist.

Back to some more food...

Vegetable Tempura...at least I'm getting my vegetables, right?

That's that for July, everything else was just college-student meals, lol. Sandwiches and cereal and milk!

Luckily, there's now a number of shipping companies (here, here and here) that double as fruit bearers to loved ones back in Japan. Freshness is guaranteed; all you have to do is choose from the catalog.

They offer rare items like papaya, avocado, green mangoes, and seasonal treats like Raineer cherries (June-July). The bill amounts to a little more than what you'd pay to ship it yourself, but considering the hassle by agricultural inspectors, I'd say it's worth it.

And it doesn't stop at all things round and sweet. The treasure trove includes Pepperidge Farm cookies, Godiva chocolates, booze, foie gras, fresh seafood and raw steaks. And for $60 they'll even ship a birthday cake to your favorite pen pal in Tokyo. It's fully decorated, though she'll have to light her own candles. (Hopefully someone could sing to her.) Japanese birthday cakes all come the same: cute, light and spongy. So it'd serve a great cultural lesson to give an American cake to a Japanese person. "This is why you Americans are so fat!" you'll have them saying.

Of course, with all the great food you can get in Japan — sushi, tempura, Pocky — why ask for more, right? Well, with anything in excess, even good things, the palate grows tired. That's when you start calling your friends back home, begging them to send you a big, fat care package. Blueberries, check. avocados, check. Fillet mignon with all the trimmings, check.

Himawari

—————————————————————————
Thinking of doing business in Japan? We can make it easy for you!
JPBizDirect, a Los Angeles based company, provides practical solutions for U.S. ? Japan business projects. Our experienced Japanese staff will support all phases of your business project to seize business opportunities and turn your vision into a reality. >> Learn more
—————————————————————————

14 Passive-Aggressive Appetizers.

Money shot:

9. Tempura makes great finger food, and the batter locks the flavor of just about anything in a savory, opaque crust. Impress your friends with creative choices, from squash blossoms to mislaid car keys to the two-carat engagement ring that Cheryl gave back to you after she “reassessed things.” Surprise!

Photo by pointnshoot

• 1 calabacín



• 1 berenjena
• 1 zanahoria
• 1 puerro
• harina para tempura
• aceite de oliva y sal

Tiempo de preparación: 20 minutos

Modo de preparación:

1. Lavar y cortar el calabacín, la berenjena, la zanahoria y la parte blanca del puerro en bastones.
2. Diluir la harina en un poco de agua hasta obtener una pasta ligera para freír.
3. Rebozar las verduras en la pasta y sazonar al gusto.



4. Calentar abundante aceite en una sartén y freír las verduras hasta que estén crujientes.
5. Retirarlas del aceite y dejarlas escurrir sobre papel absorbente para que suelten el exceso de aceite.

El secreto para hacer una buena tempura consiste en conseguir un rebozado muy ligero y crujiente. Actualmente existen harinas especiales para tempura, que se pueden encontrar sin dificultad en grandes superficies.

Podéis acompañar estas verduras con una salsa romesco que dará muy buen resultado.

Buen provecho.

Como yo no estaba demasiado inspirada, pensé: "vamos a lo fácil, que no por ser fácil es menos bueno!", así que preparé una Tempura rápida, sencilla y muy resultona.

INGREDIENTES

• Flores de calabacín (la cantidad, según comensales)
• 2 cucharadas de harina de espelta (o blanca de trigo, claro)
• 1 cucharada de harina de garbanzo
• 3 cucharadas de agua
• 1 cucharada de leche de avena
• 1 cucharadita de levadura o bicarbonato
• sal
• 1-2 vaso de aceite de girasol o de semillas (según el diámetro de la olla)

PREPARACIÓN

1. Para hecer la Tempura, mezclar con las barillas las harinas con el agua y la leche de avena hasta que quede una pasta fina y homogénea, sin grumos. Añadir la sal y la levadura y dejarlo reposar unos minutos.
2. A parte, lavar las flores de calabacín con agua fría y secarlas. Después poner las flores limpias en la Tempura que hemos preparado.
3. En una ollita echar el aceite (tiene que haber suficiente para que las flores queden flotando en él) y cuando esté caliente pero sin humear, tirad las flores dentro, una a una.
4. Girarlas cuando estén doradas y sacarlas cuando estén hechas por los dos lados. Escurrecerlas en un colador y/o sobre un papel de cocina para que absorve el aceite sobrante.

Son ideales para picar, acompañar una ensalada, etc! Bon Profit!!

先週末、妹と和宏へ行った。教会の礼拝の後、家の近くカタン・モール（Katong Mall)へ行った。ずっと前から、食べに行きたいですが、いままで機会がない。当日、両親はジョホールへ行ったですから、外食ができた。

驚きました―店はちょっと小さいです。

サービスのサラダ。

妹は注文の「今日のランチセット」（Today's Lunch Set）。海老天ぷらと煮物と刺身。もちろん白ご飯とサケみそ汁と漬物もある。

海老天ぷら。

私は注文の串焼きランチセット。店の専門は串焼きだから、食べてみたかった。もちろん、白ご飯と刺身と漬物もある。

美味しい焼肉！豚肉と鶏肉とレバーとアスパラガスと イチョウナッツ。

刺身です。

サケみそ汁。タマネギのみじん切りたぷりたっぷり入った。

お会計：$18(一人）－安い！

So I'm starting to really develop a kindergarten crush on soba noodles which is why I really want to try the new Jean George restaurant in the old 66 space (it's mainly dedicated to soba noodles) in the meantime I've heard quite good things about Soba Ya in the East Village and decided to hit up for lunch after my very early morning on Iphone release day.

I went with the lunch box ($15) which includes a stellar salad, a piece of fish (it was good old salmon this day), mixed tempura, seaweed, steamed root vegetables with chicken, a plate of cold or hot soba or udon noodles (I went with cold soba) and a flan like dessert garnished with a strawberry and single shiso leaf.

Aside from two very annoying women bothering me about my god damn Iphone every three minutes everything was spot on. The lunch box was more than filling while being quite light, the soba was amazing and the dessert was the perfect simple end to the meal. Soba Ya also offers a variety of different types of soba some of which i certainly hope to return and try.

P.S. Soba Ya is right down the block from Angel's Share which I also have to check out very soon!

Soba Ya - 229 East 9th Street (Between 2nd and 3rd Avenues) NY, NY, 10003, 212-533-6966

         I would like to share one of my favourite foods from the East. Japanese Food! Yesterday, I was alone strolling at Jusco Seri Kembangan, don’t have any aims to eat or what to eat. I end up myself at Sushi King. My favourite places to be. I dare to say that I’ve been to most of the Sushi King’s outlets at the Klang Valley

        When I was sited in front of the chefs where I like to see he or she makes sushi.. When I was there most of my favourite’s sushi are there at the table top of the moving belt. Grab myself a plate of Kani Mayo, Kami Tama Maki, Golden Ball, Tori Karage, Deep Fried Prawn, Egg Mayo. I ordered an Ala-carte, Takoyaki. Then this time a special order! Not every Sushi King’s outlet the managers will place this orders. I ask.. “Do you have just the SALMON SKINS? You guys last time do sell them in a small bowl.” And the manager reply, “Yes, Sure.. last time we do have.”

          Spending almost 30 minutes stuffing all the sushi into my stomach and eagerly waiting my salmon skins. Then the manager brought the salmon skins from the kitchen. I was.. OMYG! Here it comes! The manager place a bowl of salmon skins in front of me and ask me to enjoy.. The salmon skins were so huge compare to the last time I ate. It was like the size of a sea weed and is tempura style! First taste was without the soya souce. It was perfectly TempuraED! Is hot..is crispy.. Is still remains the smells of the salmon skins! Wo ho ho! Second taste was with the sweet soya sauce, it was refreshing!

 Kudos to the Manager at the outlet and the chef who deep fried my salmon skins! Good service also. I’m very pleased that the manager able takes my order. Forgotten to take down his name.. If I had then his name will appeared here.

Thanks!

Beni-e «Un des restaurant préféré du Lonely planet de tempura (friture) à Nara. Excellent menus.»

Sanshui-tei «…un des plus beaux jardins de Nara. On y mange assis sur des tatamis tout en contemplant le jardin… la spécialité … le tororo (plat de riz mélangé à de l’orge, recouvert de d’igname rapée; 2 choix : avec ou sans anguille…»

Un petit en-cas dans le train (beef jerky: petite viande séchée) entre Nagoya et Takayama

… et tant d’autres, semblables, à découvrir au détour d’une rue…

The Machine Girl

Genre: Action, Gore, Horror

Synopsis: A Japanese schoolgirl, Ami, continues to move forward as she supports her younger brother, Yu.  Despite the death of their parents, this young tomboy seems to be content with her life.  After another death in the family, Ami seeks revenge and fights through everything to get it.

Review: The story of Job tells us a story about a man who loses everything in his life and still has faith in God.  Now, if Job was a Japanese schoolgirl who turns to Death and kills everyone responsible for the deaths of her family then that's pretty much the story of Ami.  To give you a more accurate picture, Robert Rodriguez gave us Planet Terror while Noboro Iguchi gave us The Machine Girl sharing a lot of similarities.  If you've watched Planet Terror, I'm sure you didn't care about the acting, the realism, or the storyline as long as the action kept rising to higher and ridiculous levels.  That is what The Machine Girl brings to the table but with Japanese culture brought into the mix.  This movie has the look of a film student creating a low budget movie but has a unique heart of something I'm going to call fantastic fakeness.  By no means is this movie a realistic gorefest like Hostel.  The props used in this movie look like they've been stolen from an old Mighty Morphin Power Rangers storage facility and added tremendous amount of fake blood and guts.  The acting is horrible!!!  During some long ass scenes this movie has moments resembling a horrible train wreck you can't look away from.  All of it adds to the fantastic fakeness only the Japanese can provide (eg. - Wipeout and I Survived a Japanese Gameshow).  This is a movie you either get or you don't.  If you enjoy getting your asian cinema fix once in a while then you might like this movie.  If not, then stay away.  I like some Asian movies but this was a mixed bag for me.  This is a movie I could have fallen asleep to but I enjoyed the absurdity of it.

RomTalk Movie Rating - 6/10

Links -IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes