Sushi Gen: best Japanese lunch deal

My first visit here was actually for dinner. This was also the first Japanese restaurant that I've been to in LA, and I was impressed by their chirashi until I visited Sushi Go 55. I could get a much better deal at the same price there.

The fresh oysters were tiny and did not impress. I would prefer to go to EMC Seafood for their $1 oyster happy hour.

Fresh Oysters ($15)

Their chirashi bowl did not really impress me. The portion wasn't big either. It's not worth it's price for dinner, but this is only USD$17 for lunch.

Chirashi Deluxe ($24)

I came back again for their lunch deals. It was a lot more worth the money. Their sashimi set lunch came with a large plate of a variety of sashimi, a side (Japanese tofu), miso soup and rice. There was too much sashimi compared the rice, which is pretty uncommon. However, I wouldn't recommend this for picky eaters who only want specific types of sashimi. One of the things I really enjoyed was the shredded chicken that was so flavourful. It managed to help cleanse my palate from the rawness of the sashimi.

Sashimi Combination ($17)

My friend ordered the uni set lunch, which came with a box of sea urchin, assorted sashimi, miso soup, a side (Japanese tofu), nori sheets and rice.  Anyway, because the uni is so soft and creamy, sheets of seaweed were provided for us to wrap the uni with rice. I think this is super worth it. I don't think we will ever find this much good quality uni with sashimi for SGD$60 in Singapore.

Uni with Sashimi ($42)

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Ice Cream Lab: Nitrogen-chilled fresh ice cream

Decided to try this new establishment at the plaza in Little Tokyo after having udon at Monzo. I've never had freshly made ice cream that was chilled using liquid nitrogen, which was what brought me here. 

I took a long time deciding on what flavour to get because I wanted something unique but not out of the world (like blue velvet...). Thankfully there was pomegranate on their daily special menu, and I decided to go for it because it was fruity. I first discovered how amazing these pomegranate seeds taste when I was at the Thanksgiving dinner, and it was added to the fizzy fruit punch like a mocktail.

The service was pretty slow but I'm not complaining because they made each and every order diligently. You could watch them mix milk (or some liquid form of ice cream) and the other things to create your order. For mine, pomegranate juice was added, and it was topped with pomegranate seeds.

Pomegranate Ice Cream ($5.50)

The price might be considered high for this because a pint of Ben & Jerry's or Haagen Daz ice cream is only USD$3 to USD$5. However, I guess the thrill of watching the machines creating your ice cream using liquid nitrogen is something worth experiencing.

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Marugame Monzo: Handmade udon

Decided to come to Monzo to try their highly raved sea urchin cream udon and to see how handmade udon is made. It was also my own way of celebrating my birthday since most of my friends in LA did not remember or did not care enough to celebrate it with me. But I guess I was lucky to have reconnected with a senior whom I had met in St. Nicks. She took me out, and we were lucky to be seated at the noodle bar, where we could see the chefs kneading the dough, folding them and cutting them into udon noodles. I appreciated how udon was made fresh daily. Handmade udon is comfort food for me. 

Uni Cream Udon ($16)

The uni cream udon was basically a large bowl of handmade udon that was boiled and then drenched in uni cream sauce, and topped with ikura. I had this before I had the uni pasta at EMC seafood, so I thought this was really good because you could see bits of sea urchin swimming in the creamy sauce. However, after trying both, I think this pales in comparison to the uni pasta. The uni taste is not as strong, although I guess it was meant to be that way because no cream was added to the uni pasta. Nevertheless, it was very comforting and I think this was the only time which I had real udon in my 9 months in Los Angeles. (The dining hall often claims to serve udon but it's always some kind of off-white noodle that will never be considered udon by Asians.)

Monzo also serves a lot of other items, and I thought their curry udon which my friend had was pretty good as well.

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Men Oh: Best ramen in Downtown LA

I know most people would argue that Shin Sen Geum Mi is the best in the area, but I think Men Oh is better. I've had a lot of Japanese ramen in Singapore, and I've had the best from Ichiran when I was in Tokyo, and I would say Men Oh appealed more to me. It is my go-to comfort food place all the time. I think I've had it at least 5 times in my 9 months in Los Angeles. It is also one of the cheapest dining options for a hearty meal, since American fast food would cost about USD$8-10 anyway.  

Tokushima Ramen ($9.50)

Men Oh has a very limited menu for their ramen, but each of the 4 has a different soup base. I love their Tokushima Ramen because the broth is richer and it has some stir fried pork belly as well. Nevertheless, it may be too thick and heavy for people who prefer something lighter. But you can always go for the Tonkatsu ramen ($8.95). The difference lies in the soup base, and it only has char siew in it with the pickled red ginger.

Tokushima ramen [black bowl] and Tonkatsu ramen [white bowl] 

Another reason why I would say Men Oh is the best ramen in downtown LA is that there is usually a short wait for a table, while Shin Sen Geum Mi always has a long line formed outside. I think it is due to the position of Men Oh, since it is not facing outside and many people are unaware of its existence. You'll know what I mean when you see where Men Oh is located. Men Oh is opposite Sushi Gen, just in case it gets hard to identify this hole-in-the-wall ramen establishment.  

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Sushi Go 55: Most value-for-money Chirashi

My guilty pleasure. I keep coming back for their Chirashi Jyu Sushi Box Matsu whenever I crave for sushi and sashimi. Food in LA isn't cheap, and so I grew to look beyond the numbers and this is what I think is most value-for-money. It's a bang for the buck for a chirashi of such quality and quantity. It's not the best place for sashimi (and yes I know Victoria Beckham said Nobu is her favourite), but it's one of the better at an affordable price in Little Tokyo. After tax and tip, I paid about USD$34.

It came as a double stacked chirashi box, as you can see. The fact that thick slices of sashimi were spilling out of the box excited us so much, even though it was because of the bed of radish below. 

The assorted sashimi on the top box includes:

- Uni (sea urchin)

- Hotate (scallop sashimi)

- Sake (salmon sashimi)

- Maguro (tuna sashimi)

- Tai (sea bream sashimi)

- Saba (mackerel sashimi)

- Kanpachi (yellowtail sashimi)

- Amaebi (shrimp)

- Tamago yaki

- Shiitake mushroom

- Fresh green seaweed

- Fish cake

- Yamagobo (pickled burdock root)

The bottom box consisted of the following on top of a bed of sushi rice:

- Ikura (salmon roe)

- Masago (capelin roe)

- Toasted nori seaweed

- Shredded egg omelette

Nevertheless, I should think that the selection of sashimi may be dependent on season and what the restaurant was able to import as well. There is also a less expensive version of the chirashi without uni, hotate and ikura at about USD$20, not including tax and tip. (It is the round version shown at the top of the picture below.) 

Chirashi Jyu Sushi Box Matsu

For those who are willing to spend and are looking for the best sashimi, I would recommend trying to sit at the bar at Sushi Go 55 and Sushi Gen. (The best sashimi is usually only served at the bar.) These are probably 2 of the best places for decent sashimi in the downtown area of Los Angeles. Other popular places include sugarfish and octopus, although I was so satisfied with Sushi Go 55 and Sushi Gen that I never tried other alternatives.

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