Yummy Yakitori in Osaka

There's something very special with how Japanese people "bbq" their meats. Not only are they so keen to detail/treat cooking as a very sophisticated yet delicate art; they also go that extra mile by grilling with domestic Japanese chicken and using binchotan! Binchotan is a kind of charcoal made from oak which burns without smoke and is considered the most favored charcoal in Japan. It's also known as the highest  quality activated charcoal for purifying water! Once you've gone Binchotan, you can't go back!

I somehow got a seat without a reservation in a very packed house. After struggling with the language barrier; I was just told (via some other local eater that spoke some English) that if I could finish after 1 hour I could dine right now. If you don't speak much/any Japanese then prepare to write in Japanese what you want using your smartphone as they don't have an English menu and not much pictures to point at. With all these obstacles I had to face, it was still one of the best Yakitori spots I have encountered yet so far. Everything was cooked to perfection with the right seasonings. For those daredevils, I tried their raw chicken and although I wouldn't say I loved it, it was not bad. Don't worry there's a much higher quality standard in Japan when it comes to Chicken that you don't need to worry about getting "Salmonella" from consuming raw chicken. Each item I ordered were all highlights to me but if I had to get really picky, their Karage (Japanese fried chicken) was one of the best I ever had. Highly recommend this place to eat authentic Yakitori if you are in Osaka. I was the only foreigner in the building. Share if you like this post! =)

Front Entrance - hidden in a random alleyway

Name: Takadori Umedaten (たか鳥)
Address: Naka Dori Ranger Building 1F, 16-12 Doyamacho, Kita-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka
Google Maps: Click Here! 

The Professionals!

Marinated Chicken with Onions and Carrots

Binchotan Grill! (smoke is from the chicken reacting with the charcoal)

Grilled Chicken

Chicken Gizzards

Chicken and Green Onions

Crispy Chicken Skin

Chicken Wings

Chicken Intestines

Seared Chicken - Rare!

Chicken Meatballs - Tsukune

Japanese Fried Chicken - Karage

Peace! I'll see you again!

Back to Italy but not really....

The last time I went to Italy was probably about 5 years ago and boy do I need to go there again! It brought many memories and epic Italian food! I recently came across a place that brought back a glimpse of what I missed! The entire staff all seemed to have a thick Italian accent so it definitely felt very authentic! I have gone there twice now and I am convinced it's one if not the best Italian restaurant you can get in San Diego. I give to you Buona Forchetta! Everything I ordered so far have been very delicious, perfectly seasoned, and very authentic to what you would expect if you went to Italy for food. I don't praise many Italian restaurants but this one is without a doubt worth mentioning and sharing! I might regret doing this though because then I'll have to wait longer before I get seated =)

Store Front

Name: Buona Forchetta
Yelp: Click Here!
Google Maps: Click Here!

Here are items I have tried; sometimes pictures will speak volumes of how good it is so I'll just leave the photos for you to drool on!

Wild Boar Ragu Polenta Cake

Pork Shoulder Mushroom Risotto

Lobster Fettuccine

Salmon Arugula Ravioli with Saffron Sauce

Lamb Shank Risotto

Margarita Pizza

Hainanese Chicken Rice at Home!

Not going to lie, I'm pretty sure I just made the best if not one of the best Hainanese Chicken in San Diego and maybe perhaps all of SoCal. The white meat was so tender and juicy that you could get confused that you were eating dark meat! It was that good! I don't think I'll be craving to eat out for Hainanese Chicken Rice anytime soon. Here's what I did! Share if you love Hainan Chicken Rice!

Ingredients:

4 lb fresh whole Chicken
Salt
3 Green Onions branches
Ginger slices
Water
3 Garlic cloves
1.5 cups of Rice
Chicken Broth
Sesame Oil

Instructions:

Chicken:

1) Rinse the whole chicken with running cold water
2) Clean the chicken by pouring generously salt all over the chicken as well as on the inside
3) Now rub the salt against the skin and on the inside with some pressure (should sound sandy when rubbing)

4) Now rinse the chicken with running cold water again and pat it super dry with paper towels
5) Sprinkle salt again all around the chicken (inside as well) for seasoning
6) Cut green onions into 2" lengths
7) Slice ginger into 4" length (1/4 " thickness)
8) Stuff the green onions and ginger inside the chicken

9) Place the whole chicken (breast side up) into a pot and fill it up with cold water with ~ 1" above the chicken and cover

10) Set temperature to HIGH to bring the water to a boil
11) Once it has started boiling, lower the heat to LOW/SIMMER and set timer to 34 minutes (8.5 min/ lb)
12) They'll be some foams of bubbles surfacing on the top layer and be sure to sift them away!

13) Once time has elapsed, quickly pick up the whole chicken and dunk it in a pot of cold water to stop the cooking process and firm up the chicken

14) Before you commence portioning the chicken, pour 1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil all over the skin.

Rice:

1) Mince the garlic cloves and ginger and heat them on a pan with cooking oil to bring out the aromas for the rice

2) Cook the rice in your rice cooker and use chicken broth (or broth from cooked chicken) and water (70-30 ratio), throw in the minced cloves and ginger, and 1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil into the mixture.

Soup:

Simply filter out the fat from the chicken broth and serve as soup! Salt if required. Mine turned out just fine without any modifications.

Anthony Bourdain Approved Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice

In my recent visit to Singapore, it was all about the Hawker centers (food courts). Inside the Maxwell Food center, there was a little shop that got Anthony Bourdain's attention so there was a pretty decent line to get their infamous Hainanese Chicken Rice when I was there. I could confidently say the people at Tian Tian know what they are doing and this place has one of the better Hainan Chicken Rice dishes I've had. Chicken was poached to perfection and all the natural flavors come through and through. It was very tender and juicy. The rice was flavored very well. Only minor complaint I had was that the sauce they poured all over the chicken was kind of slimy and personally unnecessary I think.

Don't get confused at which place to go as there are many other food vendors in this food center that have basically copied their sign (blue background white font) to look identical and confuse the uninformed.

Store Front

Name: Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice
Yelp: Click Here!
Google Maps: Click Here!

Menu

Anthony Bourdain

Infamous Chicken

Takes your order and move on!

Half a Chicken

Perfect Golden Crispy Pork Tonkatsu in Kyoto

Japan is not like many train stations around the world. Not only are the trains bullet trains and not only are they super on-schedule all the time but they also serve great tasting meals. There was a whole floor dedicated to dining and I came across a place that had a pretty long line so I decided to try it out. They are renowned for their perfect golden crispy Pork Tonkatsu.  For those that don't know what is Pork Tonkatsu is, it is a pork chop that has been breaded with flour, egg and Panko (Japanese bread crumbs) that is deep fried. The sauce you dip the pork in tastes like a thicker version of the Worcestershire sauce (BBQ sauce). My meal was served with barley rice, miso soup, pickled vegetables, and thinly sliced cabbage. I got the Sangen Premium Tenderloin Cutlet set. Please Share if you love Pork!

Sangen Premium Tenderloin Cutlet Set

What I love about Japanese foods is that it requires some work to eat your food. We were provided a Mortar to grind the fresh sesame seeds into a powder form to mix with your BBQ sauce which is then used to dip your pork to consume.

Grinding Sesame Seeds

This has a special place in my heart or shall I say stomach! Would come here again in I'm in the area!

The Lineup

Front Entrance

Name: Katsukura Kyotoekibiru the Cube
Address: 901 Higashishiokojicho, Shimogyoku | TheCUBE 11F, Kyoto 600-8216, Kyoto Prefecture

Google Maps: Click Here!
Website: Click Here!

Store Sign

Menu

Sauces!

Miso Soup!

Epic Tsukemen Ramen at Rokurinsha

Situated somewhere on the basement floor of the busy Tokyo station lies one of the best Tsukemen Ramen I've ever had so far. Tsukemen is a Japanese noodle dish consisting of ramen that is consumed after first dipping it in a separate bowl of soup. There seems to always have a lineup regardless of how late or how early you arrive; it's honestly that good. Just when you thought you could beat the system, there's a ton of other locals and foreigners alike that are trying to do the same thing as what you're doing.

Tokusei Tsuken

I ended up ordering the most expensive item on the machine since I didn't want to settle for anything less after waiting for over 30 minutes. It was the one that was priced at 1050 YEN which has the addition of shredded pork in the broth. The noodles were cooked perfectly "Al Dente" - nice and chewy. I don't usually praise much with how noodles are cooked but boy it was perfection. I don't know if anyone could master what they did to it. The broth was made of both chicken and pork bones with many dried fish flakes (bonito, mackerel, sardines). It also had green onions, fish cake, a slice of Chasu (fatty braised pork) and seaweed. There was also what I believed to be some sort of dry fish powder which gives it a very fishy flavor to the broth that I never had tasted ever before and it surprisingly works very well together.Without hesitation, I would come here to eat my Tsukemen when I'm in the area.

Ramen Vending Machine

Egg soft-boiled to Perfection!

Store Front

Name: Rokurinsha Tokyo Tokyo Ramen Street
Address: Tokyo Station Ichibangai B1, Tokyo Ramen Street, 1-9-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda, Tokyo 100-0005, Japan
Google Maps: Click Here!
Website: Click Here!