Omakase of the Day (Chef’s Special) – 7,000 yen

Uobaka only offers two menu, Omakase (Chef’s Special) 5,000 yen and 7,000 yen. Both courses are entirely seafood, and  changes daily depending on the fish caught in the morning. 7,000 yen course consists of Sashimi dish, Live Squid Sashimi, Grilled Fish, Nimono (boiled dish), Fried Fish, Soup, Sushi, and a side carefully prepared by a female chef Sae Iwamoto. They also have extensive list of Sake and Shochu.

In the picture (clockwise from center): Alfonsino, Moontail Bullseye, Octopus, Grunt, Bluefin Tuna.

2-2-19 Ginza Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan 104-0061                                                                                                                                         Phone: 03-3563-4100

Tonkatsu – $11.00 (lunch)

This pork loin, tender part of the pig, is from the Berkshire pig or kurobuta as the Japanese call it. The decision to use kurobuta instead of the conventional American pig, gives its meat a juicier and  more flavorful taste because the meat is genetically predisposed to be fattier even though loins tend to have little fat. The pork loin is breaded with panko (Japanese bread crumbs) and deep fried. This dish from Shiki shall be well praised for not being over-fried and for its juicy and tenderness. Most places use cheap meats and tend to be dry and chewy. Tonkatsu sauce made from vegetable and fruit puree is provided along with mustard wasabi for you to dip. There are the cabbage and mayonnaise mini cucumbers on the side, but I never eat them.

9 Babcock Street Brookline, MA 02446
Phone: (617) 738-0200

Anmitsu

Sobaya is an authentic Japanese Teuchi Soba noodle restaurant in East Village. Soba is Japanese buckwheat noodles, and Teuchi means that noodles are hand-made at the restaurant. Sobaya is famous for its variety and authenticity of soba noodle dishes, but they offer other dishes and desserts as well.

Anmitsu is a popular Japanese dessert consisting agar jelly, sweet red bean paste, Shiratama (soft mochi ball), variety of fruits and often a scoop of ice cream. Pour some Kuromitsu (brown sugar syrup) over Anmitsu before eating!

229 East 9th St. New York, NY 10003
Phone: (212) 533-6966

http://www.sobaya-nyc.com

Kurobuta – $10.00 (dinner)

This little dish is not a full entree, but one of many dishes to have at an izakaya. In Japan, an izakaya is a drinking establishment and a place to have pub food similar to Spanish tapas bars. At Shiki, its more like a restaurant than a pub. The Kurobuta is literally translated as black pig which is the same as the Berkshire pork prized by many chefs and regarded as highly as kobe beef. This grilled pork tenderloin can either be finished with teriyaki sauce or shioyaki (sea salt). To appreciated the natural fat marbling of the pork and taste, go with the shioyaki. Lime on the side for the extra citrus kicker. All together and you get this tender pork cutlet with a salted grilled crust on the outside with mild citrus acidity.

Shiki
9 Babcock Street, Brookline, MA 02446
Phone: (617) 738-0200

Linguine ai Ricci di Mare – $19.00 (smaller portion available)

Truly a delectable experience. The linguine has a bounce to it when you chew on the pasta (relatively good indication that they know how to make pasta). Not only was the pasta cooked right, but the linguine was stirred within a huge parmesan cheese mold using the heat from the pasta to slowly cover the pasta evenly with cheese in a laundry-like process. To top it off, fresh uni (sea urchin) was generously scattered below the plate with the addition of the house-made pink sauce. The pink sauce and the uni brought subtle sweetness to the uniformly covered parmesan linguine.

Uni – $8.00 (2 pieces of Nigiri)

Few Japanese restaurants give you a large partition of sea urchin like Nozumi does. Nozumi gives you whole pieces of Uni that are the freshest in town and a good indication of that is the unique sweetness of sea urchin and the lack of unpleasant sea taste.

100 W Higgins Road, Suite J-30, South Barrington, IL
Phone: (847) 783-5995

Muzuki Moon – $16.00 (lunch)

A tempura spicy tuna roll surrounded by cucumber and avocado mamenori roll, topped with diced crab, scallops, and spicy shrimp, yuzu sauce, chili tobiko, and unagi sauce. This roll is crunchy from the tempura spicy tuna, but held together with the soft soy-based wrap with avocado that gives this dish a spicy and refreshing taste. Not to mention the diced seafood extravaganza on top with crunchy flying fish eggs.

100 W Higgins Road, Suite J-30, South Barrington, IL‎
Phone: (847) 783-5995‎

Fried Hamburger and Grilled Sanma – $8.50 (lunch)

This amazingly inexpensive bento box daily special at Torishin is a gem. Although the fried hamburger comes in a fairly small size, it is unique and delicious. Unlike most hamburgers, the patty is made from grounded pork mixed with diced onions and is fried with panko bread crumbs. Also, it is eaten without a bun, but with rice and ponzu sauce, a somewhat sweet and citrus flavored sauce. In the bento box are also a typical salad with ginger dressing and a grilled sanma, mackerel pike. This fish has a lot of small bones, but most of it is soft enough for you to chew and swallow. The fish’s meat is sweet and tender and can be easily removed from the spine and ribs. A+ I forgot to mention the complimentary mayonnaise noodles and steamed string beans, but those aren’t anything spectacular.

1584 South Busse Road, Mount Prospect, IL
Phone: (847) 437-4590

Katsu Curry – $9.50 (lunch)

Torishin offers a delicious curry pork cutlet entree. The Japanese curry has the distinct taste of curry, but less spicy and if done right, sweet. All that curry is then poured onto the pork cutlets that are fried with panko bread crumbs. The rice accommodation is cooked till fluffy and sticky with the addition of red pickles to the side. An amazing alternative to the typical sushi/sashimi options in most Japanese restaurants in the states.

1584 South Busse Road, Mount Prospect, IL
Phone: (847) 437-4590

Milk Chocolate Jasmine Sweet Tofu – $9.00

Kyotofu is a specialist at tofu as you may notice in the restaurant’s play of the word tofu in its name. The restaurant’s dessert selection was my main motivator to seek out this unique destination. Their Milk Chocolate Jasmine Sweet Tofu is a delicate blend of Jasmine infused sweeten tofu and a soft gelatinous form of milk chocolate. The two quintessential  mixtures are layered together and still separated in a glass cup on a cold plate with genmai shortbread cookies. Extremely light and satisfying dessert for those who don’t want overdo. Tofu as a dessert is fairly common in Chinese cuisine, but at this Japanese fusion restaurant, they definitely take tofu to the next level.

705 9th Avenue, New York, NY
Phone: (212) 974-6012

Sake (Salmon) Toro

An order of four piece Sake Toro which is basically the belly part of the salmon fish. The Toro (belly) is the fattier part of the meat that makes it so much more soft. The rice is under the salmon is in small quantity as it should be and the salmon sashimi is appropriately partitioned, not the most generous giving, but still satisfied.

NOTE: Not listed on the menu. Order the Sake sushi or sashimi, but specified to the waiter/waitress that you want the toro or belly.

825 South Waukegan Road, Lake Forest, IL
Phone: (847) 234-9950

Marinated Yellowfin Tunafish — Euro 165 (part of 5 course meal)

This marinated yellowfin tunafish with black garlic, coconut and mechouia sauce was extremely delicate. The sauce pairings provided a unique expirience with every bite. The design was very appealing as well matching colors and playing with tones in the food. This was similar to the other dishes which were all very light in general. The restaurant is one of 9 three star Michilen restaurants in Germany and ranked number 57 in the world by the Pelligrino list. Chef de Cuisine, Sven Elverfeld, well-known for his imaginative talents in creation of excellent dishes as well as for his aesthetic presentation, was named Chef of the Year 2007 by the gourmet magazine “Der Feinschmecker”. If there is interest gathered by comments I can provide the additional courses as well.

StadtBrücke 38440, Wolfsburg, Germany
Phone: +49 (0) 5361-607000

Sauteed Pork Tongue – $9.00

Grilled and sauteed pork tongue with spicy soy sauce on the side. A chewy delight.

61 Grove Street, New York, NY
Phone: (212) 242-3699

Japanese Veal Liver Sashimi – $9.00

The veal liver sashimi has sesame for the added texture and scallions to accentuate the taste with the spicy soy sauce. A small bite.

61 Grove Street, New York, NY
Phone: (212) 242-3699

Chocolate Souffle – $7.00

The hard-to-make Chocolate Souffle has raspberry sauce and vanilla ice cream to accompany it. It has a crispy crust on top and filling chocolate cream mixture on the bottom. The preferable way to eat this is to break the souffle crust on top and pour the raspberry sauce in and dig into Chocolate Souffle with the vanilla ice cream.

Basement 1, 211 East 43rd Street, New York,  NY
Phone: (212) 953-7253

Omakase

Omakase is not a name of a dish but a verbal consent to the chef that you trust him/her with your meal, the sushi chef picks the best of best from a variety of sea creatures. Ridiculously fresh!

204 East 43rd Street, New York, NY
Phone: (212) 972-1001

Tonkotsu Ramen: 2 pieces of roast pork, bean sprouts, bamboo shoot, scallion, pickled ginger and sesame seed – $8.00

This bowl of ramen is exceptionally flavorful. The noodles are bouncy and bathed in the concentrated pork broth. When you walk out the small restaurant, you will be smelling like a bowl of ramen which you can enjoy for the rest of your day.

60 West 56th Street, New York, NY
Phone: (212) 757-1642

神戸のギュタン
Kobe Beef Gyutan: Kobe beef tongue 6.00 (per skewer)

Unlike many other places that serve beef tongue in extremely thin slices, Yakitori Totto offers their extremely tender beef tongue in thick chunks.

251 W. 55th Street 2nd Floor, New York, NY