Was in the neighbourhood, so did some shopping and picked up a bunch of take-out for lunch today.
We tried the tonkatsu curry from Tanuki. A crispy on the outside, tender on the inside pork cutlet served over rice, with a rich Japanese-style curry sauce with sweet potato. Scrumptious!
We usually get onigiri (basically a triangular wedge of rice, with a tasty filling, and some nori to wrap around) from Heisei. However J-Town By the Sea had a few different ones, so decided to give them a try. Takoyaki was just as promised, with tasty takoyaki bits inside the onigiri. Sukiyaki beef was OK, but not a must-have. Ume-shiso was expectably great, with the fresh shiso elevating the sour salty plum paste (and thus a step up from the ume-only version at Heisei).
There is a new little stand inside J-Town By the Sea that featured Japanese-style hot dogs. We had the fairly standard version with kewpie, bonito flakes, and nori, which was lots of fun. They also had their own versions of onigiri, so we tried one with yakiniku beef (thinly sliced, flavoured with mirin and soy sauce) that was delicious. They also had some tasty homemade gyoza that were boiled and then you could briefly fry at home to crisp up.
To finish off, we had two of the daifuku mochi from Sasaki Pastry. One was a presumably seasonal sakura version, flavoured with cherry blossoms and filled with a bit of bean and whipped cream. It was delicate and lovely. The other one was the standard mugwort, which is one of my favourites.
Although we didn’t hit them this time, I should note that the takeout bento from Cafe Green Tea, Famu, and Niwatei have all been very good. And the baked goods from Nakamura range from the standard and delicious to the somewhat odd and still delicious.
Unfortunately we had a dinner at Tanuki because Ju was unexpectedly closed the day we went. The seafood croquette was a mess. Oysters were normal but the habanero side was too overpowering. Oxtail was MIA. The pig knuckle was ok but nothing special. Mackerel app was supermarket quality. Don’t sit outside if you want service. I don’t think this joint is going to last long.
I love Sasaki though. Not many places pound the mochi enough but Sasaki does.
From Happeace I had the oden, which is sort of a soup with various ingredients simmered in a broth. This version included daikon, konnyaku (a sort of gelatinous cake made from a plant), bamboo shoot, potato, several different types of fishcake, an egg (still runny in the middle), age (deep-fried tofu), and curiously a hot dog wiener. The broth was a light dashi and everything was well-flavoured. It came with a strong mustard dipping sauce and a sweet soy-based dipping sauce.
I had two lovely onigiri (no photos) from J-Town By the Sea. One was filled with beef curry and the other was umeshiso (pickled red plum paste with fresh shiso leaf).
Then for dessert, I had a light and delicate mugwort daifuku mochi from Sasaki Fine Pastry.
Wow!!! One minute lunch way-up-north, next minute dinner at downtown Carbon Bar! You sure are one avid foodie who does not mind travelling around for yummy food!!!
Maybe one day we’ll meet up somewhere for a mini-chowmeet??
I just had lunch there today. My sister-in-law will be having dinner there tonight. My wife decided not to join because we’ve been eating out too many times already this week!
