My parents and sister are all ramen lovers; so my sister decided to take us to Yakitori Yakyudori, a recently opened yakitori (skewers) and ramen place on Convoy in Kearny Mesa, a virtual mecca of Asian restaurants.

Note: When we visited, the restaurant had only ramen; they had yet to start doing yakitori. Another reason for going back, I suppose.

Starters: Takoyaki, (dumplings filled with chopped pieces of octopus, topped with mayo, a thick, sweet and sour sauce and bonito flakes, in the foreground) and gyoza (pan-fried pork dumplings, in the background). Both served piping hot and still sizzling (the waitress even warned us that the innards of the takoyaki were extremely hot and we would risk burning ourselves if eating right away). Both are two of my favorite “snack foods” from Japan, and these were delicious.

My order: I wasn’t in the mood for ramen, so I decided to go for a rice-based dish. I originally ordered the shiso-topped rice, but was informed that they were already sold out (sadness). Instead, I opted for the tofu-topped rice.

It sounds quite boring and pedestrian (chopped, mashed tofu on rice?), but its simple, light, subtle flavors were just right. The tofu was lightly seasoned with soy sauce and sesame oil (I think?) and when eaten on top of the freshly cooked, chewy Japanese rice, this really hit the spot.

Miso ramen. Sister’s order. A hearty, full-bodied broth. Heady on the miso flavor. I think this is for those who like stronger flavors, or for those who don’t mind being thirsty after their meal. Quite delicious, but I don’t know if I’d be able to eat a lot in one sitting as I prefer lighter brothed soups.

Shio ramen. Mom’s order. Clearer broth, not as hearty or salty as the miso ramen, but full of flavor nonetheless. I preferred this one as the miso broth was a bit too strong for my taste.

For some reason I didn’t have a picture of my dad’s order of Chashu ramen, but he assured me that it was delicious.

Chashu (thin slices of fatty pork) comes in all the ramen varieties, and so often ramen places either skimp on the chashu or serve thick, tough, dry slices. At Yakitori Yakyudori, the chashu is quite soft and almost melts in your mouth. A success in my book.

Yakitori Yakyudori
4898 Convoy St., Suite 101
San Diego, CA 92111
(858) 268-2888
Mon-Sun 11:30 a.m. – 3 a.m.

My sister and I decided to hit up a local vegetarian place (Sipz) for dinner:

My “caterpillar” roll: Brown rice, shitake mushrooms, avocado, yam, and some veggies, topped with avocado, teriyaki and sriracha. Isn’t it cute?

It was pretty delicious too. I kind of wish the rice had been seasoned more like sushi rice (vinegar, mirin and sugar, in the Japanese style); it’s the only thing that would have made this roll better than it already was. But it was good nonetheless. And incredibly filling.

My sister ordered their “chicken” chow mein: Eggless noodles stir-fried in a savory brown sauce with vegetables and their faux vegetarian chicken. I normally shy away from vegetarian faux meats (I don’t really agree with the idea and most meat alternatives that try to imitate meat fail miserable in both taste and texture). But this “chicken” was eerily chicken-like; if I didn’t know it was vegetarian I would have thought it was really chicken. It had me wondering what kind of process and ingredients they used (gluten? Too chewy. Soy? Beany tasting and would give you the wrong texture). Amazing. I imagine if you were someone who recently turned vegetarian but were missing meat, Sipz would be your to-go place.

This place was hopping on a Friday night and now I understand why. Their menu is extensive, offering Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai and even Italian-inspired dishes. Apparently their vegan desserts are legendary for being super delicious (I glanced around at my fellow diners; most of them ordered some kind of dessert), but after our meal, we were simply too stuffed to eat sweets (what can we say, we’re lightweights!). In any case, it’s a definite reason to go back and try some of Sipz’s other offerings.

Sipz Vegetarian Cafe
5501 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92117
(858) 279-3747
Mon-Sun 10:30 a.m. – 9 p.m.

The storefront:

Once you are seated, you’re presented with a small tray of pickled daikon, one of the specialties Sakura offers. Served chilled, the daikon is pleasantly crisp; it’s marinated in soy sauce and vinegar yet still manages to preserve the natural sweetness of the vegetable. Each time I visited Sakura, I couldn’t help but eat the entire plate.

Getting sashimi in Taiwan is hit or miss; the raw fish here is always extremely fresh.

I ordered a Wafu Salad; a refreshing blend of lettuce, sprouts, corn, thinly sliced apples, raisins, cucumber and tomatoes in a light vinegar-based dressing.

Next came something that my grandmother was dying for me to try: these are deep-fried spring rolls, hefty with the addition of both fresh durian and taro root. In addition to the durian and taro, these were stuffed with real crab meat and asparagus. As you might have guessed, these were pretty darn rich but delicious. It was actually my first time eating durian (I have heard stories about its stink before but never got a chance to try it); and while there was a hint of stinkiness, there was none in the taste. Durian is delicious; its texture is creamy and if you can get past its smell, you’ll discover it’s actually very sweet. All in all, this spring roll was a good first introduction to this much maligned fruit.

My grandpa ordered the grilled sanma (秋刀魚, or saury), served with grated daikon and ginger. This was perfectly done; broiled so that the skin was crisp yet the flesh was still juicy and moist. The sanma was not gutted; some people choose not to eat the intestines as they’re pretty bitter, but my grandpa and I find that this is often the most delicious part.

A beef dish; this was also exceptional, tender and served with an addictive garlic sauce. I’m not a meat eater by habit but I’ll admit this was very good.

Fresh greens, stir-fried and topped with deep-fried shallots and a light soy broth; this was on-the-house and was a good break from the protein-heavy dishes.

The last dish to come was the special futomaki and inari. In Taiwan, non-raw futomaki (fat maki rolls) are very popular, with fillings that usually include tamago (a sweetened egg omelet), cucumber and pork floss. However, the sushi chef at Sakura is quite innovative with his version, choosing to fill them with unagi (broiled eel), crabmeat, deep-fried shrimp tempura and asparagus tempura, pickled vegetables, pork floss, and deep-fried yam. Additionally, some of these futomaki were rolled up in a very thin layer of taro root (how he managed to cook the taro root so that it was pliable and creamy without being mushy I’ll never know), which offered an additional level of richness to these “upscale” futomaki. It seems like a crazy amount of food to stuff into a roll, but all the tastes and textures were there: sweet, savory, sour, crunchy, tender, and chewy. They were huge so I could only eat one but if I could, I would have polished off the entire platter.

Omgz deliciousness.

At the end of the meal, freshly cut oranges and sweetened, chilled azuki bean soup were served for dessert. A nice ending to a wonderful meal.

I ended up coming to Sakura four times in the course of two months. There are several reasons why I believe Sakura is an exceptional restaurant:

1. Many Japanese restaurants may have exceptional sushi but horrible cooked offerings or vice versa. Sakura does their sushi/sashimi and their cooked dishes equally well.
2. Their cooked dishes are different and innovative; it’s not your standard run-of-the-mill bentos, teriyaki and donburi. Additionally, you can tell that the food here is artfully crafted and carefully prepared; not only is it delicious, it’s presented in a beautiful way.
3. Exceptional service, the waitstaff is attentive and polite, which is not standard in Taiwan.
4. Good value; one can dine very well without having to spend much cash here.

There you have it; I’ve basically written an online love-letter to this restaurant; if you’re ever in the area, please do go and try it, you won’t be disappointed. I will try to post photos of my later visits if you need more convincing . . .

櫻屋日本料理
台中市西屯區大墩十九街193號
04-2327-2625

Sakura
No. 193, Dadun 19th St., Xitun District, Taichung City, Taiwan
04-2327-2625

Luckily, the day we went, we had been at the doctor’s office all morning and arrived way past the lunch rush; within 5 minutes, we were seated and had placed our orders . . .

We ordered some side dishes to accompany our donburis; the first to arrive was young asparagus topped with mayo:

There was an insane amount of mayo! Taiwanese people seem to enjoy their Kewpie-style mayo as much as the Japanese do. The sweet taste of the mayo does pair nicely with the blanched, chilled asparagus but I do admit it was a bit excessive.

I ordered one of my favorite summer dishes, cold silken tofu topped with thick soy sauce and shaved bonito flakes.

Perfect for a hot summer’s day!

We also ordered two skewers of grilled shittake mushrooms:

These were grilled and basted with the same sauce they use on the unagi donburis; we weren’t expecting much, but these mushrooms were fresh, plump and juicy. Too many restaurants try to substitute reconstituted dried shittake mushrooms in lieu of fresh ones (I guess in their defense, it is difficult to find a good source of fresh shittakes; I have yet to find one back home in the states) and many times, the refreshed dried shittakes end up making the dish taste stale.

My grandfather ordered one of his favorite fish: grilled 鮎 (あゆ, ayu). This dish was also exceptional since the ayu was also very fresh and seasoned simply with a dash of salt, allowing for the fish’s natural sweetness to shine through.

The main event: Our donburis! We ordered 3 small-sized donburis (they come in either small or large sizes).

To be honest, when I opened my box I was slightly disappointed as the portion seemed quite small; the eel barely covered half of the rice; furthermore, the bed of rice was probably only 1 centimeter thick. I realize I did order a “small”, but the portion seemed pretty lacking; perhaps I am used to my American super-sized portions?

However, I later realized that the portion was just fine; the eel is so rich that you get full pretty easily. I actually ended up not finishing mine . . .

As for the taste? As expected, the eel was delicious; grilled just to the point where you get those great crispy charbroiled edges, yet the interior was still moist. The sauce was only slightly sweet (I’ve had some unagi donburis were the sauce was so sweet I felt like I was eating dessert), which was perfect. The rice was also fluffy and chewy at the same time, preserving that “QQ” quality that Taiwanese prize so much. (For a good explanation of what “Q” or “QQ” means, see this post at Feast Meets West).

Does the eel live up to the hype? Yes, to some extent. If you’re a hearty eater you might be disappointed with the portions, but that’s easily solvable, just order multiple portions!

大東屋活鰻料理專門店
台中市朝富236號
04-22513447
營業時間: 10：00 ~ 22：00
公休日: 無

Daito Live Eel Restaurant
No. 236, Chao-Fu Road.
Taichung, Taiwan
Tel: 04-22513447
Hours: 10:00 am ~ 10:00 pm
Open 7 days a week

What do you do when your mom makes an angel food cake and kindly asks you to dispose of seven eggs yolks? Since I was gifted with an ice cream attachment for my KitchenAid mixer for my birthday this year (something that I was eyeing for a VERY long time, trust me), the first thing that came to my mind was some sort of ice cream.

I was planning on making David Lebovitz’s Vanilla Ice Cream, but it only called for five egg yolks; faced with this sort of dilemma, I did what I normally do: throw caution to the wind, modify the recipe and pray for the best.

Pulling out several tupperware cups worth of heavy cream and milk out of the freezer and defrosting them, I realized I only had 1 cup of heavy cream and 1.5 cups of whole milk; at this point, I just thought “to hell with it” and soldiered on with the custard preparation. I remembered there was a jar of matcha powder languishing in the pantry, and at the last moment, decided to throw two tablespoons into the cream mixture to turn it into a matcha ice cream.

1) Sister scooping ice cream after lunch. 2) Dad’s portion, in a paper dixie bowl and topped with slivered almonds, cause that’s how he rolls.

Despite all my changes, the ice cream froze and scooped wonderfully. Even after a few days in the freezer, it was still scoopable; the matcha taste was definitely there but not overpowering. My dad, who loves super fatty-creamy ice cream, deemed this my best ice cream yet. I’d like to think I was just lucky.