Fist-Sized Sushi @ Uoshin

Do you remember those times when you go to a sushi bar and you got shoved with very little fish meat and a lot of rice in your sushi? Yeah, I have been a victim of those encounters. This place does exactly the opposite! My goodness, their sushi are humungous! Each was like the size of my fist! I was like where's the rice?? Although I must admit the quality of the fish wasn't quite the same as say a more expensive sushi bar but it was still relatively decent quality for the price let alone the portion!

Without realizing how much the pictures on their menu were very not to scale in a good way for the consumers, I ended up ordering more than I could handle. I ended up having to ditch some of the rice to at least finish the proteins! If you are ever in Osaka and see this place, don't underestimate the size of their sushi! This was quite a unique sushi experience that I never had before and I think it's worth a visit!

Store Front

Name: Uoshin
Location: Osaka, Japan
Google Maps: Click Here!
Food: Sushi

haha...Butchigiri Sushi

Yummy hot savory Egg stew

Only two Nigiris on this massive plate!

Same for this!

And this!

Even these were still pretty large, plate was actually really large...

Dessert of they Day: Peanut Powdered Green Tea Red Bean Stuffed Mochi

For all the dessert lovers that don't like things too sweet but not too sweet, I give to you Mochi! Mochi is a sticky treat made of rice flour and makes for a surprisingly light dessert. I came across a busy spot in Nara, Japan where they show you how it's made and it's pretty intense. They come with the unpressed Mochi dough and insert it into some wooden Mortar and beat the living crap out of it with their hands and a wooden hammer in rapid strokes. It's quite an interesting demonstration and you start to appreciate Mochi a little more after how hands on it is to make. Do you like Mochi? Where do you get your Mochi? The one I got here was quite a mouthful as it was Peanut Powdered with Green Tea Mochi stuffed with Azuki (Red) Bean. It was pretty good and for only 130 YEN or ~ $1 USD, can't really complain!

130 YEN!

Hammering and Reshuffling away!

Mochi maker

Peanue Powdered!

Azuki (Red) Bean stuffed!

Sweet Taiyaki (Japanese fish-shaped cake) and Kasutera (Sponge Cake Mini Balls) !

Taiyaki literally means "baked Sea Bream". In Japan, the Sea Bream or in Japanese it's referred to as "Ma Dai" is prized for its flavor and is often served during New Year's and other festive events such as weddings. I got the opportunuity to have fresh Sea Bream sashimi and it was really delicious. Reminded me of the Amberjack Tuna for its buttery but yet really clean fresh taste. But this post isn't about the actual fish but the dessert!

Taiyaki is a Japanese fish-shaped cake that usually has some fillings inserted. The most common is the red bean paste filling from sweetened Azuki beans but you could also have custard, chocolate, cheese, or sweet potato. It's made with some kind of waffle or pancake batter and is poured into very detailed molds. I ended up getting the custard one as we recently had Azuki red beans in our Dorayaki (Click Here for the Details)!

They also had another popular pastry called Kasutera which basically were sponge cake shaped into tiny balls.

You can kind of think of it as a lighter, fluffier, and most likely healthier version of a Boston Cream donut. What do you think? Let me know!

The place we went to was called Kasuteira Taiyaki. We just randomly came across it and it was found near the entrance of a subway station called  Tsuruhashi in Osaka.

Name: Kasuteira Taiyaki
Location: Tsuruhashi station
Google Maps: Click Here

Store Front

Hello Fishies

Insertion of Red Beans

Sea Bream!

Inside Custard!

Kasutera- Sponge Cake balls

Dorayaki - Red Bean Pancake Sandwich!

I was referred by a local Japanese friend that there's a place in the Ueno district of Tokyo that serves great Dorayaki so I thought I'd check it out on a recent visit to Japan!

Dorayaki is a red bean pancake which has two small pancake-like patties stuffed with sweetened Azuki red bean paste. The current shape of how Dorayaki is made was invented in 1914 in the same area! Talk about going to its origins!

For all those people that love Japanese manga and anime, there's a popular character named Doraemon who loves Dorayaki and falls for any trap involving them every time!

Have you had one before? If not, here's just the place to get one for only 180 YEN (slightly more than $1 USD).

Name: Ueno Usagi-Ya
Google Maps: Click Here
Website: Click Here
 

Store Front

om nom nom!

Flying Sushi - Into the Future

Flying sushi is no longer a thing of the future.  You can experience this at Uobei Sushi.

Uobei Sushi  一貫入魂 魚べい 渋谷道玄坂店

Address: Japan, 〒150-0043 Tokyo, Shibuya, Dogenzaka, 2 Chome−29-11 第六ｾﾝﾄﾗﾙﾋﾞﾙ1階
Google Maps: Click Here!
Website: Click Here!
Phone:+81 3-3462-0241

Sure, the plates don't have wings, and the sushi don't come to you on hover boards, but they certainly do "fly" out at you in a mystical and almost magical way.  You will never get the chance to see the people who prepare your food, and it only takes a matter of seconds to minutes for your order to appear.

So here's how it works:
1) You get seated at a bar-like table. All your friends will be seated alongside you. Or you can eat alone. That's a common thing in Japan.

2) You order through a touch screen. There is an English menu. Or you can just go with the colorful pictures and choose what looks appetizing.

 
3) You may order 3 things at a time. There is no limit on how many orders total you can make, and you can make orders as frequently as you want.
4) Serve yourself some matcha green tea! (free of charge)
5) In seconds to minutes, you sushi will "fly" down the rail on plates like a bullet train and stop right in front of you.

Flying sushi too fast to capture on camera!

6) Take your food. Don't forget to return your "train" back into the kitchen!!
7) Enjoy. Repeat steps 3-7 until you have a stack of plates as high as Mt. Fuji.

Couple of items I ordered:
- salmon (average)

- Uni (it was awful, not fresh, and had an odd bitter flavor)

- Orange clam (chewy but fine)

- Geoduck clam (chewy but okay)

- Unagi (average)

- Hokkaido Scallop (surprisingly okay) 

- Fish Roe and Mayo (don't ever get this unless you really super super salty roe!)

- Chu Toro (Fatty Tuna, average/mediorce)

- Conch (not so good, sandy..)

Eating at places like these, there are it's pros and cons:

Pros:
- insanely cheap sushi; the cheapest plate is Y105 per plate (<$1 USD for two pieces of sushi)
- fast food, literally
- a fun and innovative experience
- great for groups and friends because it's just exciting!

Cons:
- when in a group, you are seated linearly
- you don't see the people who are making your sushi
- the quality of the sushi is very mediocre (you get what you pay for!)
- your evil friend sitting just "upstream" of you can snatch your order! Beware!

Ramen Newbie? Try this place and you'll wonder why you waited for so long!

Yes that's right! The worst kept secret is revealed! One of the places to get the various interpretations of ramen is somewhere in Japan. This place is called Ichiran (一蘭) Ramen. Unfortunately they don't like the idea of franchising outside Japan but recently they cave in into allowing one in Hong Kong but I'm sure it took a TON of convincing as Ichiran has been around for over 50 years. Don't get too hopeful on expecting one in the United States anytime soon :(

Their specialty is Tonkotsu Ramen and its soup is pork-based broth. Much like KFC, Ichiran's original red sauce consists of 30 types of spices and it's only known by 3 of their "experts". Their sliced pork is so naturally sweet and complements the broth and noodles very nicely. They claim that they have a special water filtration system in place to make their noodle tastes amazing and easy on the stomach and liver. I can kind of believe this as I have drank their broth completely on multiple occasions and never felt bloated or uneasy at all afterwards. For the health minded individuals, it has 0% trans fats!

On to the details, you have the ability to customize the ramen to your preferences by choosing the following:

• Flavor Strength
• Richness (oiliness)
• Garlic
• Green onion
• Sliced pork (shoulder meat)
• Red Sauce
• Noodle texture

They are so keen to detail that I was able to distinguish the differences in the above (richness and spice level) with my friend's bowl that tagged along to try this place.

Without a doubt, this is a must-try ramen joint in Japan! It is one of the best ramen out there.

Name: Ichiran (一蘭)
Location: Shinjiku branch, 新宿3-34-11 ピースビルB1F, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan 160-0022
(Don't worry they have a ton of branches throughout Japan)
Website: Click Here
Google Maps: Click Here

Order from a Vending Machine

Tickets are printed

Perfectly Cooked Egg!

Victory!