Foo Foo Tei@Hacienda Heights ★★★

Cozy Japanese Restaurant with Great Quality. Everything was great. Tuna Yamakase was sweet and amazing. Soup Base Nan Chatte Tonkotsu Ramen was silky, smooth, and tasty. OM Rice was perfect with the egg not fully cooked. Lower price point with generous portions. Wide range of appetizers. You can add $2 to a side order to make it a value set with Salad, Rice, and Miso Soup. Miso Soup was a bit watery and had a raw water smell though. Have beer, sake, and wine available. It gets busy for lunch. Need to be here by 1pm for lunch, and the last order is 1:40pm. Walk-in only.

Nan Chatte Tonkotsu Ramen Noodle Soup $11.00
with white cream soup

Salad (Comes with OM Rice)

Tuna Yamakake $9

Fried Liver $6

OM Katsu Curry $15

Nan Chatte Tonkotsu Ramen Noodle Soup $11.00
with white cream soup

Green Tea Calpico $3.50

Foo Foo Tei
15018 Clark Ave
Hacienda Heights, CA 91745
(626) 937-6585
www.foofootei.com

Ise-Shima@Torrance ★

Extensive Course Dinner. Miyako Couse comes with Miyako Salad, Tempura, Vegetables, Main Dish of your choice, Miso Soup, Rice, and Mochi Ice Cream. Apple Ginger Dressing in the Miyako Salad was amazing, especially well with the sliced almond chips. Sushi is just ok. A bit too big. Sesame Mochi Ice Cream is the best flavor. Service is nice, but Maître d' at front desk is rude.

Nigiri Sushi Gozen (Miyako Course) $47

Miyako Salad with Apple Ginger Dressing (Miyako Course)

Tempura (Miyako Course)

Nimono Vegetables (Miyako Course)

Cod (Miyako Course) $52

 

Caterpillar Roll $20

Sesame Mochi Ice Cream

Green Tea Mochi Ice Cream

Ise-Shima
Miyako Hybrid Hotel
21381 S Western Ave
Torrance, CA 90501
(310) 320-6700
www.ise-shima.us

Nanban-Kan@Sawtelle ★★★

Best Yakitori in Town. Best paired with beer. The winner of the night is definitely Potato - cooked to surprisingly crispy perfection and served with sour cream and spring onions. Quality is great but not as consistent as Shin-Sen-Gumi. Sometimes it’s not grilled long enough and sometimes it could get a bit too burnt, like our Black Cod. Keep in mind that most skewers came in 2, so it could get you full quickly. Better to split in 2-3 orders to pace out the serving time. Super friendly service (but also slow due to staff shortage). It is impossible to book because they almost never pick up the phone due to staff shortage. Best to call around 4:30pm. I also showed up in person to book. That worked too. They will also seat you if they have table available when you arrive early. Best seating is at the bar. Wine corkage is $15. Sake corkage $30.

Potato $2.50

Large Asahi Beer $7

Brussels Sprouts $3.50

Shiso Maki $3.50

Shiromi $7.75

Tebasaki $4.75

Shiso Chicken $5

Kaibashira (Scallop) $10

Kawa (Chicken Skin) $5

Colored Pepper $3.50

Garlic $3.50

Okura Maki $3.75

Australian Lamb $14

Ginnan $3.25

Onion $2.50

Black Cod $9.50

Green Tea Mochi Ice Cream $2

Nanban-Kan
11330 Santa Monica Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90025
(310) 478-1591

Yamakase@Sawtelle ★★★

Exquisite Kaiseki Ryori Experience. Lots of Uni and Truffle. Yama-san is very friendly and easy-going, making the dining experience fun and cozy. Everyone in the restaurant pretty much became friends at the end of the dinner. Dinner took 3.5 - 4 hours. One seating per night at 7pm. By invitation only, but you can request invitation on their website. $425 per person with tax and tips included. $0 corkage fee! Just share the booze with Yama-san! 

Hot Tea

Brought our own 3 bottles
Reisling and 2 bottles of Sake

Brought our own Riesling

Shirako with Truffle

Jellyfish

Blue Fin Tuna

Fresh Water Eel

Hokkaido Hairy Crab

Duck Noodle Soup

Yamakase
11901 Santa Monica Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90025
www.yamakase.com