Asameshi Maeda Honten Ramen

Another belated post! This is from back when the Ramen tours were going on in Mitsuwas across California. Unfortunately, I came across news of the tour a bit late and was only able to catch the last shop--Asameshi Maeda Honten Ramen--as they finished their tour in San Diego.

Mitsuwa, San Diego

This was a tonkotsu-shoyu ramen, which is my favorite type by far! I love the meaty broth of a good shoyu ramen. Dadami Ramen from 688 Baker St, Costa Mesa is the best shoyu ramen I've had in the States, so I'll be using their noodles as comparison.

Here's what Asameshi Maeda Honten served up:

Okay, so it ain't the prettiest picture of ramen. Sorry! It was 2pm and I was famished, so I dug in before realizing HEY! I BROUGHT MY SLR.

As you can see this bowl is topped with the usual boiled egg, bamboo, green onions, and slices of pork. Okay I paid a little over $7 for this bowl of ramen, and all I get for toppings are a meager paper thin serving of meat and a QUARTER of a boiled (AND unseasoned) egg? Come on now... Dadami charged the same price and was quite generous with the pork and also served a great seasoned egg(whole).... Regardless, I enjoyed what little meat there was. For such thin and lean slices, I was pretty impressed at how tender they were. Probably goes without saying that the slices of pork were pretty damn flavorful.

Noodles here weren't quite al dente (they were on the soft side), but that's partly my fault...I guess? Maybe I should have specified how I wanted my noodles done when I ordered--much like how you order at Shin Sen Gumi. Despite these shortcomings, the broth totally blew me away. This was by far the richest broth/soup base I have ever tasted...such intense pork flavor! Overall, a good bowl of ramen...it would have been a great bowl if more meat was given and that quarter of an ordinary boiled egg was replaced with Dadami's.

What a damn shame I missed the other ramen shops' tours... You guys can read about them here.



Asameshi Maeda Honten Ramen @ Mitsuwa Marketplace
4240 Kearny Mesa Rd. #119,
San Diego, CA 92111
(858) 569-6699

Akasaka

Every neighborhood ought to have a good sushi or Japanese restaurant. Akasaka has been around for quite a long time and they have the pictures to prove it! I love it when family-owned restaurants take pictures with their regulars and put them up as decoration. Shows that they'd care about you on a personal level.

This is my second time at the restaurant, but apparently my family frequently has lunch there. THANKS A LOT YOU GUYS. From what I hear, the sushi bar is top-notch. Comparable to Sushi Go 55 on Alameda (Little Tokyo in Downtown LA). Today though, we sat down for their lunch plates which are a real bargain. I guess most people in the area know Akasaka has a steal of a meal during lunch hours. The place was packed when we arrived.


Albacore:

This huge bowl is offered as an appetizer for $25. My brother made it his lunch instead. Generous chunks of avocado, crisp Japanese cucumbers, and a slather of hot sauce adorn a bed of sliced albacore and julienned radishes. There is also a good amount of sauce at the bottom of the bowl. I've tasted something similar to it before, but sorry I don't know what it's called. I've often seen it drizzled on albacore, though. The taste is savory and mildly tangy. Akasaka is extremely generous when it comes to fish, and this "appetizer" is no exception. We are big eaters in my family and even my brother had a hard time finishing a huge bowl of albacore. The bowl is huge. HUGE. A must-order for albacore lovers.


Lunch Special:
This plate cost a mere $12. Wow! The grilled fish of the day was yellowtail. Last time I was here I had salmon teriyaki and was extremely impressed with both their sauce and grilling technique. The fish today did not disappoint. As for the sashimi, you can clearly see how generous Akasaka is with their portions. And of course, I guess it goes without saying that the sashimi was really fresh. Ya can't stay in business if you don't serve great fish! (Oh wait...Todai, Puente Hills is still in business...)


Rainbow Roll:
In retrospect, the picture would look nicer if I angled the roll, but like I've mentioned before, I take poor pictures when I'm hungry! Hell, I do nothing right when I'm hungry. Anyway, Akasaka is reputed to serve some ginormous rolls, so my mother took the plunge and decided to order the rainbow roll. Holy cow this thing was a beast. True to Akasaka's style, huge chunks of yellowtail and salmon are sandwiched inside the roll along with avocado etc etc. They even managed to sneak in some tempura batter in there somehow to give a delightful crunch with every bite. The contrasting textures of soft fish and that fried batter was quite fun.

I've had quite a few rainbow rolls in San Diego with friends and I have to say: Akasaka makes the best one! To be fair though, the few times I've eaten rolls in San Diego are at mediocre joints with mediocre fish. (That's why I never let those guys & dolls choose restaurants anymore. They have let me down way too many times!) I didn't know rainbow rolls could taste this good until I had it at Akasaka.


Akasaka totally rocks. It irks me when chefs are stingy with sushi and charge a huge premium. (I'm looking at you, Sushi Ota.) Akasaka serves fish that is just as fresh as any great sushi restaurant and charges a very reasonable price not only for sushi but also for entrees as well. Akasaka is the Sammy Sushi of Hacienda Heights. Kirk of mmm-yoso knows what I'm talking about.


Akasaka

14926 Clark Ave
Hacienda Heights, CA 91745
(626) 336-0871

Honda Ya

Apparently Honda Ya has been much blogged about by the Orange County food blogging community and has received some raving reviews. After dropping by on a Saturday night, I can totally see why.

I went with some pals at 9:30pm to find eight parties ahead of us waiting for a table. "Shit. Sorry guys," I said. Well, the wait was actually not all that bad and we were promptly seated (on a tatami!) after about 40 minutes. Normally I would have been in a foul mood after waiting for so long, but time really flies when you're with good company. Eating and hanging out with friends is such a great pleasure in life.

Honda Ya has quite an extensive list of items to order from and I was completely overwhelmed. Hell, if I could, I'd order every damn item on the menu. While my buddies and I were still deciding what to order, we had a pitcher of Sapporo brought over to help us think. I settled with Fried Oysters, Crab & Cheese Croquettes, Takoyaki, and some items from their yakitori menu (not pictured). These items ranged from $4-6. Keegan "The Generous" bought our party two premium bottles of sake. Thanks a lot bud!

Sorry for the crappy pictures. My excuses?
1) I was getting pretty fkin' hungry. I have little patience when I'm hungry.
2) Dim lighting and no room to use a (mini)tripod.
3) Well...I was kinda buzzed. So buzzed that I forgot to get photos of the yakitori items.
4) IT'S KYLE'S FAULT, YOU GUYS!


Fried Oysters:
Came with tartar sauce and what tasted like tonkatsu sauce. I enjoyed them a whole lot more with the tartar sauce and a squeeze of lemon juice. I'm not a fan of oysters because of what I describe as the "rotten+sea taste," but these oysters had no trace of that. The batter was light and fried to a gorgeous golden brown. Delicious! I'd definitely order them again.


Crab & Cheese Croquette:
I love how flash photography makes the oil in fried foods glisten as it does here. The croquettes didn't feel very oily, though. I ordered these to compare them with Cafe Hiro's croquettes (which they call crab cakes). This was the downer of the evening. The croquettes were unremarkable in flavor. Plain. Uneventful. Very boring. Cafe Hiro makes better ones, but at more than double the price.


Takoyaki:
Hot damn this plate was a real winner. I've only had takoyaki here California so my exposure is quite limited, but I gotta say...these are terrific! Honda Ya's takoyaki is a tad larger than what I'm used to, but that's because a generous hunk of squid is wrapped up inside. Other than the sauce you see drizzled on top, there is also a dab of mayo on the right side. ....tasted so fkin' good with the mayo... Takoyaki here is better than at Genki Living. I'm ordering two sets of these next time.


Sake, courtesy of Keegan:
The bottles (300mL each, enough for 1.33 drinks for 4 people) were served cold. Apparently, you only serve lower quality sake warm as to mask undesirable traits. I was too buzzed to remember the names, but I do remember how each tasted. The one on the left was fruity and slightly sweet. I really really really hate sweet alcohol. The one on the right was dry, aromatic, and very smooth. I'm a sake newbie, so I really can't say much more, but I like the bottle on the right a whole lot better then the left one. Thanks again, Keegan!


Yakitori items:
We ordered from the Yakitori menu pretty late into our visit, so needless to say we had a nice buzz going by now. Well...I had a good buzz going cuz I'm a lightweight, I'm not sure about the other guys. I tried a "Specialty" item (steak + mushrooms) and a skewer of pork belly. As good as the skewers of meat were, I can't justify paying $3-4 for 2.5 bites per skewer. I just can't. In any case, the steak was some fine quality beef. Salt was all the seasoning it needed. But $4 for it? I don't know...
Keegan and James ordered some Eel, which looked really good. Honda Ya was very generous with the Eel. I think each order required four skewers to hold it together?


What a great night. Honda Ya is without a doubt worthy of many revisits. There are still so many items I want to try. Of course, having a DD is essential! Thank you Kyle for the ride...sorry we kept you up so late.