Ducky Solo in Maryland - 09/28/2013

The day just started out as just a simple ramen lunch run...

Sakuramen

Tonkotsu Red ($16)

Sakuramen (http://www.yelp.com/biz/sakuramen-washington) This is one of two ramen places that have 4 or higher rating on Yelp in Washington, DC.  Toki Underground (http://www.yelp.com/biz/toki-underground-washington#query:ramen) is the other one, but they do not open for lunch.  I felt like tonkotsu ramen, so I ordered the tonkotsu red.  They asked me for spiciness I said 3 or 4/ 10.  I assumed it would only be a very mild burn.  Since this was Japanese, I assumed it would be very mild.  Boy.  Was.  I. Wrong...  The ramen came and I saw all this red chili oil floating on top.  I took one sip of the soup and almost coughed.  The chili oil was so strong and almost overpowering the tonkotsu soup.  I could barely taste the porkiness of the tonkotsu.  If I were to come back, I will see if I can get it without the chili oil.  I am not much of a spicy eater, so the chili oil pretty much ruined the noodle soup experience.  When I eat noodle soups, I want to be able to drink some of the soup with my noodles.  The chili oil was so irritating that every sip made me want to cough and hack.  The ramen came with some chashu, wood ear fungus, green onions, and a sheet of nori. The noodles were of normal firmness as expected of ramens and the chashu was nice and soft.  Of what little of the soup I could taste, it was okay.  I'm mot much of a spicy eater, but if you are it might just be perfect.  I am not, so... Ducky -3/5

Ducky's Monster Falafel ($7.21)

It started off as a simple day to get lunch.  I then saw signs and realized that there is a Smithsonian Zoo nearby.  I spent the whole day at the zoo and decided to grab lunch near the station before I headed back to the apartment.  Kitty doesn't usually go for Mediterranean, so I took this opportunity to go to this highly rated falalfel shop.  Once I went in, I knew I was in for a treat.  They have a salad bar area next to the cash register for the self serve toppings for the falafel.  Basically, you order either a small or a regular falafel and then you move to the toppings bar and pack whatever you want on it.  I went crazy and packed a little bit of everything.  I love yogurt sauces, so of course I drenched the top with a nice layer of yogurt sauce.  This definitely made up for my lunch.  The falafel balls were perfectly deep fried and flavored.  They had a nice crunchy outside and a crumbly savory inside.  The toppings were very fresh and flavorful.  Definitely a must.  Ducky -4.5/5

Ducky Solo in Maryland - 09/27/2013

Round 2 of the Westfield Mall.  Back again.

For lunch, I hunted for some Chinese noodles near the Mall.

Roast Duck Noodles with Wontons ($12)

Full Key Restaurant (http://www.yelp.com/biz/full-key-restaurant-wheaton).  I saw that they had a lunch special with entree and a side of soup, but I was craving for some roast duck and noodles.  While I was there, I decided to add wontons to it too.  Ah, tastes just like home.  I believe the restaurant is a Hong Kong Style restaurant.  The workers were all speaking in Cantonese and many of the patrons were as well.  The soup was just how I expected it to be and the egg noodles as well.  The roast duck and wontons were great as well.  The noodle soup definitely hit the spot.  The soup was a little greasy, but that is to be expected from Cantonese style roast duck.  However, not worth $12 to me.  Might be good price for out here in Maryland, but this would never fly back home in California.  Good flavor, not so good price. -Ducky 3.5/5

Peruvian Rotisserie Chicken ($10.76)

For dinner, I ordered take out from El Pollo Rico (http://www.yelp.com/biz/el-pollo-rico-wheaton).  On a side note, I was surprised by the large number of Mexican restaurants here in Maryland.  I understand California having a large Mexican population, but Maryland?!?!  So, I yelped for some good cheap restaurants nearby and found this little Peruvian chicken place.  I ordered half a chicken to go with a side of fried plantains. I didn't eat the chicken till much later.  I reheated it in the microwave and it was still delicious.  The skin is a little crispy and the chicken is savory and salty.  The skin is where much of the salty flavor is and it really complements the meat of the chicken.  The pinto beans go nicely with the rice.  They also give you some small containers of their green and yellow hot sauces.  The texture of the plantains was not so good after being in the fridge, but still has a nice taste.  Might have been better to eat the plantains fresh.  I would go back and bring Kitty if she wants to try.  Ducky 4/5

Ducky Solo in Maryland - 09/26/2013

Another shopping day.  I found the Westfield mall in the area and decided to be a mall rat for a day.

For lunch, I had Chipotle.  Ah reminds me of home.

Burrito Bowl

Ah chipotle.  Always hits the spot.  This tasted like any other chipotle bowl.  Just in case you did not know, you can always ask for extra of non-meat and non-guacamole when they prepare your order.  I asked for 3 extra scoops of corn.   Nothing else needs to be said.

Peruvian Rotisserie Chicken ($10.76)

For dinner, I ordered take out from El Pollo Rico (http://www.yelp.com/biz/el-pollo-rico-wheaton).  On a side note, I was surprised by the large number of Mexican restaurants here in Maryland.  I understand California having a large Mexican population, but Maryland?!?!  So, I yelped for some good cheap restaurants nearby and found this little Peruvian chicken place.  I ordered half a chicken to go with a side of fried plantains. I didn't eat the chicken till much later.  I reheated it in the microwave and it was still delicious.  The skin is a little crispy and the chicken is savory and salty.  The skin is where much of the salty flavor is and it really complements the meat of the chicken.  The pinto beans go nicely with the rice.  They also give you some small containers of their green and yellow hot sauces.  The texture of the plantains was not so good after being in the fridge, but still has a nice taste.  Might have been better to eat the plantains fresh.  I would go back and bring Kitty if she wants to try.  Ducky 4/5

Ducky Solo in Maryland - 09/25/2013

I saw this pizza place on a tour suggestion website for the Washington DC area.  It is called Matchbox (http://www.yelp.com/biz/matchbox-chinatown-washington).  They specialize in New York Style thin crust pizza in a large oven.  The oven was visible to the bar area on the lower floor of the restaurant.  It fills the ground floor with a nice woody smell.  

Matchbox Meat Special

I just ordered the meat special.  Sorry about the picture, I made the mistake of ordering it to go, but with the transit I did not make it back to my apartment until about an hour later.  It was an OK pizza.  Not sure what the praise is about.  I felt like the crust was a bit burnt.  I could taste the charred edges and they looked dark black.  Might have been more delicious fresh, so I cannot give a good review for this.  Ducky 3/5

I also stopped for gelato from Pitango Gelato (http://www.yelp.com/biz/pitango-gelato-washington-2).  Possibly the best and most expensive gelato I have ever had.  They pride themselves on using organic milk from a farm that is next to the gelato making facility.  There are posters on the wall describing the family that runs the farm and how everything is organic and cows graze on fresh grass, etc.  A small cup is $5.  Smaller than a pinkberry cup.  The gelato was super smooth and silky.  The flavors were very clean too.  Definitely will come back with Kitty.  Ducky 4.5/5

Ducky Solo in Maryland - 09/24/2013

Hi people.  This is Ducky and recently I had to move to the Washington, DC area for a 6 week internship. So, I will be doing some solo posts on some food places I have gone to on my own without the lovely Kitty.
Without further ado...

I was just exploring the area and scouting possible places I can be buying groceries to feed myself for the next 6 weeks.  In the plaza across the street from a Safeway, there is a little italain deli called Santucci's. (http://www.yelp.com/biz/santuccis-italian-delicatessen-silver-spring).

Italian Cold Cut

Most of the reviews suggested the cold cut, so that was what I ordered.  You can also get the bread toasted for free, which I did.  The sandwich itself is of a decent size.  The bread is nicely toasted and it has a good balance of oil and vinegar for the sauce of the sandwich.  It was not too watery, so the bread stayed nice and crisp.  However, there is quite a bit of sauciness that can come dripping out, so be careful where you eat it.  It was not so special that I would have to come back to eat it again, but it was definitely better than a Subway sandwich.  Well, it should be considering it was $8.  -Ducky 4/5

Mixed Veggie Pad Thai

For dinner, I decided to make a run to the little downtown area of the Silver Spring.  I had a craving for some kind of Asian food, so I settled on Charm Thai (http://www.yelp.com/biz/charm-thai-silver-spring).  I ordered a mixed veggie Pad Thai.  Tastes pretty good, but it was definitely more costly than what I was used to for Pad Thai at $9 (no meat).  -Ducky 3/5

Science of Milk Tea

Intro:

I have recently found great favor in The Boba Guys' muscat oolong tea....but I knew I just couldn't keep driving to the city, hunt down parking, pay for excessive parking, and then another $5.50 for this tasty business.

"As an addict, Kitty decided to hunt down the supplier." - Ducky

Method:

I politely asked the owner where he got his leaves from, and he pointed us to Aromas Tea Shop, a local business in the Richmond district of San Francisco. We also read online that Lupicia Tea Shop has a muscat oolong tea that is also very popular, so we stopped by the mall for some as well.

Aroma's tea shop cost a whopping $32 for 4 oz of the leaves while Lupicia's cost only $6 for 50 grams (~1.7 oz)

After acquiring the tea, we set out to see if we can replicate it. Thankfully Boba Guys uses beakers so it was easy to estimate the quantities of each ingredient. From what I saw the recipe seemed like:

• 100 mL of Strauss Half and Half
• 50 mL of Simple Syrup
• Two tablespoons of tea leaves steeped for 2-3 minutes in 150 mL of water
• Total volume is approximately 300 mL

For the simple syrup, we found a recipe that Boba Guys posted: Syrup Recipe

We were only making 2 cups so we halved the recipe using 1/2 cup of water, 1/4 cup of white sugar, and 1/4 dark brown sugar.

We also wanted to be sure we weren't biased so Ducky devised a double blinded test to see if the expensive tea leaves were the real deal. This was the following method:

1. Ducky packed the tea leaves in their own tea bags without me looking and then holds them out one in each hand (so he'll remember which tea bag was in which hand, but I won't know which tea is in which hand)
2. While Ducky wasn't looking, I took the tea bags, remembering which hand which came from, and put them in their own cups of hot water (so I'll remember which tea bag was in which cup, but he won't know which one was in which cup)

This method insured that neither of us really knew which one was which. 

Result:

We tasted each of them and we both concluded we liked the tea in the owl cup more. In result, Boba Guys' source Aroma Tea Shop really delivered the flavor.

Conclusion:

We both agreed that 50 mL of syrup made the milk tea too sweet. The fault may have been from using dark brown sugar since the recipe called for light brown sugar, but we both concurred to use 25 mL of syrup next time.

We usually try to make our own milk teas at home but the fault was that we always used whole milk but it only made the final product seem watery. After using half and half, the milk teas really achieved their signature creamy texture. So really...it should be called Half and Half Tea.

Finally in terms of differences of taste...they both exhibited the muscat flavor. Lupicia's tea had a more floral and light flavor while Aroma's tea was more pungent and strong. From now on we will probably use Lupicia's tea to just enjoy as its original state, and we'll use Aroma's tea whenever I get the hankering for the muscat oolong milk tea. 

If only we can figure out Purple Kow's iced milk recipe....

Japan Trip 2013 - Day 19 & 20

Day 19

It was our last full day in Japan....so we decided to make a spontaneous trip to Tokyo Disney Sea. The weather also decided to create a huge typhoon with 37 mile per hour winds that day. But that's okay...we grabbed some rice balls from a convenience stores and headed towards the train station....

Salmon Seaweed Onigiri

Wasabi Flavor Onigiri

Yay onigiris! They are great cheap snack items (only a little over $1!) that come in a lot of flavors here in Japan...whether it's mayonnaise tuna, seaweed, chicken kara-age, sour plum, beef....the possibilities are endless! I always get the seaweed ones...their seasoned flavor has a special place in my heart. Meanwhile Ducky's soft spot is for wasabi things...but he got a little disappointed since his onigiri tasted more like soy sauce chicken. It was good, just not the wasabi goodness he yearned for.

Katsu Sandwiches

The railway to Tokyo Disney Sea was suspended due to the typhoon so we opted for the bus. Everyone had the same idea so it was a very long line. While we waited I spotted a bakery...and my vision zoomed in on these delectable looking, perfectly shaped with crusts cut off katsu sandwiches. Insta-buy! They had a light tonkatsu sauce that was enough to flavor the pork but not make the bread soggy. We devoured them during the bus ride.

Maple Churro

Once we got to Tokyo Disney Sea we had to battle storm winds and some rain....so perhaps a churro would cheer us up. It was supposedly maple flavored but we didn't taste much maple.

Strawberry Popcorn Stand

On the other hand though, Tokyo Disney Sea is very known for their popcorn. You can buy a souvenir bucket and bring it back every time you go back to the park and have it refilled at a discounted price. There are several of these popcorn carts scattered all over the park and each cart has a different flavor.

Strawberry Popcorn

Curry Popcorn

Milk Tea Popcorn

We thought the strawberry, curry, and milk tea were the most interesting ones to try. The other available flavors were black pepper, sea salt, and caramel. Overall Tokyo Disney Sea (and I assume Tokyo Disneyland) has a number of special snack carts that are only available at certain parts of the park, making it a little food scavenger hunt. Perfect for foodies.

Tiramisu Ice Cream Sandwich and Sea Salt Monaka

Tiramisu Ice Cream Sandwich and Sea Salt Monaka Unwrapped!

The ice cream was less harder to find...these were everywhere. The sea shell layer was really cute....though didn't taste too much sea salt..perhaps a hint of it. The ice cream sandwich was decent as well.  The sandwich did not taste too much like tiramisu, but tasted more like coffee.

Black Gyoza Halloween Bun

We were pretty confused what the gyoza bun was, so we decided to get it because we read that it was one of the more popular snack items. It's basically a steamed bun with gyoza filling inside, but this one was decorated for Halloween. The little pumpkin had a slightly sweet filling inside. This was great especially on a cold typhoon day.

Ukiwaman

Otherwise Known As: Life Saver Shrimp Bun

This was too cute to pass up. The way they packaged it made it look like Donald really was reaching out to us through that lifesaver. It was basically a steamed bun with minced shrimp filing. Another warm and delightful snack.

Little Green Men Manju

Lastly we hit up the Toy Story area. We were able to ride nearly every ride except for this one because of its usual long wait, plus we were running out of time. But we were able to snag us one of these. They were manjus of the Toy Story UFOs! They each came in a different flavor: Cream, Red Bean, and Strawberry. 

Hands down we were impressed by Tokyo Disney Sea's creativity in the food arena. There were other snacks and foods as well but in interest of riding rides as well we had to pass some of them up, but we were glad to catch some of the more popular items that the park was known for.

And because we didn't want to go back home with just popcorn and sweets in our bellies. We swung by Shinjuku quickly on our way home and scrounged around for some traditional Japanese cuisine. After all, we were leaving in a day!

Set Meal Side Dishes

We ordered 2 set meals and they both came with the following appetizers: Pickled Cucumber, Tofu, Tororo (aka slimey yam paste), Tofu and Beans, Sauteed Vegetables and Tofu Skin. They also came with salad and red miso soup.

Fish and Karaage Set Meal

Pork and Crab Cream Croquette Set Meal

These meals were incredibly satisfying...it was a $17 set meal. Although not as cheap was the $6.30 meal of a family style restaurant, the price definitely reflects the quality and amount you get as well.  Kitty ordered the chicken karaage and fish set and Ducky ordered the pork and crab cream croquette set meal.  The restaurant also had the option of white rice or other more decorated rices.  Kitty got the seasonal rice and Ducky got the other rice (we don't remember what it was called ).  The karaage had a thin crispy crust and was not greasy.  Each piece was dense, but not dry.  The fish was nicely grilled and had a crispy skin layer.  The fish was only lightly seasoned with salt, but that was all that it needed.  Ducky's croquettes had a crispy panko crust on the outside and hot creamy center.  They were some of the best croquettes either one of us had ever eaten.  The pork was served with onions and ginger.  Apparently, pork and ginger was a popular combination in Japan.  The pork was thinly sliced, but had a rich hearty flavor.

Day 20

This was our last and final day....but that didn't stop us from getting some last minute Japan in our belly. We scrambled around Tokyo Station with our luggage, battling through salary men and office ladies on their lunch break until we found this quaint little restaurant with a seaside theme...possibly Okinawan.

Goya, Spam, and Egg Champon with Stewed Pork, Salad, and Soba in Ginger Soup

Tuna Rice Bowl with Soba in Ginger Soup

The restaurant had a menu with pictures for each of the set meals available at lunch time.  Kitty chose the goya and spam set and Ducky chose the tuna rice bowl set.  We weren't quite sure if this restaurant was Okinawan until we got the set meal and noticed all the large wine bottles.  The set meals feature pork or goya heavy dishes much like the other Okinawan place we ate at a couple days ago.  Kitty's goya and spam dish was a bit simple, but was nonetheless delicious.  It was also served with a side of pork belly and soba noodle soup.  Ducky's meguro bowl had two pieces of tuna sashimi, two pieces of grilled tuna, and two pieces of lightly seared tuna.  The rice was sweet and sour much like sushi rice.  The rice bowl was served with a side of seaweed and pork and a bowl of soba noodles.  Overall, the set meals were what we wanted for our last real Japanese meal before we get on the plane.  

Hand Made Udon At Its Finest

Despite being full from lunch....Kitty STILL wanted to try the hand made udon that we have been passing by. At first it was too full but after the meal, the line died down and there was more space...and believe it or not she went for it...

Kitsune Udon

It's because I have a soft spot for noodles! Especially udon noodles! And especially especially for kitsune udon noodles! Watching them handcraft these noodles instantly allowed me to grow a mini stomach to fit an extra bowl of carbs in. Everything was self serve at this restaurant, save for the noodles being placed in your bowl. From filling your bowl with broth to the toppings of green onions, side orders of tempura or onigiri...it was the epitome of fast food. The noodles themselves were just the right amount of firm and chewiness that I loved and coupled with the inari tofu and simple dashi broth....I was in bliss. And this piece of bliss was only $3....too good...too good....

And that concludes our eating adventures in Japan. Until we meet again!!

Japan Trip 2013 - Day 18

Day 18

Today was just a day of relaxation and shopping. We were perusing around the top floors of Shibuya's Hikarie department store and chose this place called Rikyu that specialized in gyu-tan, otherwise known as cow tongue. Of course we got one of the lunch sets.

Stewed Beef Appetizer

First we started with a cold appetizer. It was very soft, and very tender. Like many of Japan's stewed meats, its a soy sauce flavored base.

White Rice and Beef Bone Soup

 This set was promptly followed by a hefty bowl of rice and soup. The rice had barley mixed into it, giving it healthier spin. The soup was one of my favorites. Instead of a usual miso, we were given this very light soup broth seasoned with white pepper and green onions. It also came with some of the boned meat that contributed to taste of this wonderful soup.

Gyu-tan deliciousness

Time for the main course to make its appearance! For $16 the set includes 8 slices of juicy grilled beef tongue. It also came with some pickled cabbage and a little mound of pickled spicy vegetables. Some of you may be raising your eyebrows, but believe us when we say beef tongue is delicious, especially when made by this place! Texture wise it's a little more firm...not chewy..simply firm. And the taste of the tongue is a little fatty that's evenly spread out through the tongue....argh! I'm just not doing justice on how great beef tongue is!

 After our bellies were full we made a quick last minute run to Akihabara. Shopping and playing UFO catchers expends a lot of energy of course that calls for a dessert break. We found a place called Honey Toast Cafe. We already had a honey toast once and didn't feel like we could totally conquer one with just the two of us, so I ordered a milk drink with honey and a palette of cakes.

Honey Milk

 This was so appropriate for the rainy day. Nothing like steamed hot milk laced with honey...I can see why it's featured in children's stories and comics here in Japan. There is something extremely complementary about these two flavor coming together..I really have to replicate this at home.

Cake Pallette

 There were seven cakes to choose from and we ended up with:

• Strawberry Shortcake
• Early Grey
• Pumpkin Mousse with Vanilla Cream and Orange Jelly
• Honey Mousse with Lemon Cream and Honeycomb Chocolate
• Praline Mousse Tart with White Chocolate Cream

We both liked the simplest one the most: the strawberry shortcake. The other cakes were very good in their own ways as well. Praline and and honey mousse was something we haven't had before, but thoroughly enjoyable. None of the cakes were overwhelmingly sweet. The pumpkin mousse cake came in a very pretty jar but we ended up liking in the least since it had a weird bitter flavor that we didn't know how to appreciate.

For dinner we really wanted to just sit down and try 家庭料理 (katei ryouri), which is basically a home style restaurant. These type of restaurants specialize in simple set meals that reminisces the parents' home cooking. This is a very healthy low-cost alternative for busy people who can't afford the time to cook (or people who just don't want to cook). 

Homestyle Cooking Restaurant

It was a small shop run by one middle aged guy. Even the restaurant itself had a very homely feel...there was nothing fancy about it at all and all these mismatched bowls and plates definitely reminds me of home. I asked for his recommendation and just went with it. In a few minutes we were greeted by a plethora of dishes.

Ducky's Fish Set Meal 

Ducky's meal came with a whole Pacific Saury fish and grated daikon, sauteed eggplants and bellpeppers, pickled vegetables, rice, and miso soup. He thoroughly enjoyed it since it was not heavy at all...a simple taste yet a hearty meal. The fish had a crispy grilled skin and only lightly salted.

Kitty's Pork Soup Set Meal

 My set came with rice, grilled mackerel, kinpira (sauteed gobo and carrots), pickled vegetables, and tonjiru (pork soup). It was a very well balanced meal, lightly seasoned, and a good amount of things to eat with rice. The soup was my favorite part...it was a rich miso pork soup with onions, carrots, gobo, and konnyaku.

Overall Ducky and I really loved this homely meal, and each of these sets was only $6.30!!! If I lived in Japan I would probably give up cooking and eat at places like these everyday.

Bear Hokkaido Milk Cake

For dessert, we picked up one of these at Tokyo Station. More than anything I got this because of the bear. The cake itself was a little more dense that we would have liked. At least it wasn't strongly sweet. I ate its head and gave the rest to Ducky....

Japan Trip 2013 - Day 17

Day 17

I think I have gotten into the bad habit of getting a Pon de Ring from Mister Donut everyday now. These days the Banana Pon de Ring has been released but I am quiet hesitant to try it because it's the last few days and I just want to enjoy my original flavor. Anyway....we headed off for a day trip to Yokohama. Ducky decided to whip out a snack at the station.

Green Tea and Chocolate Sandwich

We bought this a while ago, but we finally got around to eating it today.  It is a green tea and chocolate wafer sandwich.  Imagine a box 1 inch in height made of wafer with green tea and chocolate flavored cream in the middle.  That is pretty much what this snack was.  The snack was interesting, but not something I would get again.  It was a little too sweet as well.

Gyu Don

We arrived too early and had some time to kill...so we spent our free 40 minutes finding a Yoshinoya just so we can say we ate it at its motherland. It came fast and it came cheap. 10% beef and 90% rice...that's how Japan likes to fill you up, but it's only $3 a bowl....for this tasty morsel. The bowl contains a layer of thinly sliced beef and onions all flavored with gyudon sauce.  No complaints here.

Moyashi - Yaki Tonkotsu Ramen

Tonkotsu Seaweed and Egg Ramen

We took the train from Tokyo to Yokohama for another enriching experience at the Ramen Museum! After looking at all the different types and styles of ramen from Japan, we got hungry and decided to eat some, you guessed it, RAMEN.  The museum also hosts 9 unique ramen restaurants from across the country.  We settled on Men no Bo-Toride.  This shop specializes in tonkotsu ramen.  The pork bone soup is supposedly simmered for 20 hours for the ramen.  My ramen had slices of chashu, a soft boiled egg, and some bean sprouts and seaweed.  It was a nice rich flavored soup and the ramen noodles were done nearly perfectly. I also thought it would be funny to use a "ramen fork" instead of chopsticks.  The fork actually does work and helps in eating ramen.  The mounds on the fork keep the noodles from sliding off as easily.  The fork probably works equally well with any form of noodle or pasta. Kitty's bowl was hearty, filled with both chashu and soft pork simmered in soy sauce for a long time. You can't go wrong with any of the ramen restaurants in the museum.

Green Tea Iced Latte

 After the Ramen Museum, we walked around Yokohama for quite some time.  We decided to take a break at a cafe in the World Porters building.  I ordered a green tea iced latte but it was too bland. Drinks were too expensive and not worth it...but the toast box Kitty ordered was another story.

Ultra Honey Toast Box

Can't leave Japan without indulging in one of these suckers. This was decorated with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, condensed milk, and fruits. What I really liked about this toast box was that the inside toast pieces were buttered! That slightly salted savory contrast tasted so good before diving back into this sugar Everest. We had three people though so this was gone in no time.

We were back on our feet exploring Yokohama well into the evening until we got hungry, so we grabbed a train to Shibuya and see what this fashionable district had to offer us. We decided on Okinawan food! Although we didn't get a chance to visit those lovely islands...I guess this will be the closest it will be.

Pork Ear Salad

 The pork egg salad was given to all of us as a mini starting appetizer.  The salad had pig ear, goya, and some other pickled vegetables.  The goya added a bit of bitterness and a nice crunch to the dish.  The ears were savory and also added a bit of a crunch to the dish.  Overall, the salad was very refreshing and a great way to start off our Okinawan meal experience!

Peanut Tofu in Soy Sauce

 Next, we ordered some peanut tofu.  The tofu was very interesting.  The tofu had an almost gummy mochi-like consistency.  Each bite of the tofu filled our mouths with a nutty flavor from peanut powder added to the tofu.  Recommended for anyone that loves tofu or want a gummy textured food store. Those with nut allergies should stay away.

Soy Sauce Grilled Pork

 This tasted very much like the typical Japanese stewed chashu but its Okinawan counterpart was a little sweeter. The meat was very tender...almost as tender as the fat itself which melted in our mouths. Combined with the green onions, this dish was a pleasant experience.

Simmered Pork Feet

More pork. We are starting to suspect that Okinawan cuisine is heavy on the pork. This time it's pigs feet that's been simmered in a very mild dashi broth. It was very tender and had a light taste. We did not find this dish particularly strange since we often seen it in our own culture's cuisine, but we still recommend this for the adventurous foodie.

Sauteed Goya and Eggs and Tofu

 The goya, eggs, and tofu dish was healthy and refreshing. The dish was savory and had a nice variation of soft from the eggs, firmness from the tofu, and a crunch from the goya.  The goya added a bit of bitterness that works well with the savoriness of the dish.  Although it was delicious, Ducky noted that this dish was something similar to what his father would make, so to him it was a bit "common".

Stewed Pork with Sesame Paste

 This one caught us by surprise. The meat itself is similarly prepared to the dish we ordered above, so the meat was very tender. In addition there was sesame paste on top which turned out to be sweet. It was definitely different...sweet and salty...not a bad different at all though....since we at it all anyway!

Deep Fried Taro Paste

 This was our favorite dish. Normally I am not fond of taro, but somehow molded into this round mochi like shape and then deep fried with a very light and crispy crust....it became incredibly appealing.

Okinawa Style Pancake

For our final dish, we ordered an Okinawa Style Pancake.  The pancake is covered in bonito flakes and topped with some pickled ginger in the middle of the bonito flakes.  The pancake is very similar to an onion pancake in Chinese or Korean cuisine.  However, the pancake is more soft and flimsy than those found in other cuisines.  The pancake itself was nearly flavorless except for a little hint of green onion and bonito flakes. It went great with the slightly sour soy dipping sauce that came with it. We would recommend this dish for anyone that wants to try a different style of pancake.

Overall Ducky and I found Okinawa food kind of similar to Chinese food...but it definitely had its own original taste. Perhaps next time we could enjoy the actual islands themselves.

Convenient Store Pudding

On our way back we picked up a pudding. Ducky wanted to try it...but it tasted too much like the flan I made so he didn't like it. I however really liked it...soft wiggly cold pudding with a little bit of caramel syrup on the bottom. I think I got a premium cup since it had absolutely no artificial flavor at all. Mmmn....