B-Dama (Oakland)

DINNER DATE: March 3, 2012 @ 7PM

Japan is one country in Asia I have not been to yet eventhough my Filipino-Japanese loveones have been calling Japan "home" for decades. For years they have been inviting me to come and visit. They have regaled me with stories of fun drunken nights at many izakaya in their hometown of Nagoya.

An izakaya is a type of Japanese drinking establishment  which also serves food to accompany the drinks. They are popular, casual places for after-work drinking.

Despite my very limited experience with authentic izakaya, B-Dama gave me a sense that it is the real thing. The chefs are Japanese.  Being housed in a newly built commercial building does not diminish its feel of authenticity. As soon as you walk in you will be facing a "messy" kitchen where the grilling is being done. A step down is a the tiny dining room with sushi counter that seats about 10. Dining tables are tightly packed. B-Dama is how I imagine the izakaya in Japan to be like--casual, unpretentious, homey and relaxed. Little hand-made cutout menus are pinned on the wall  in addition to separate grill, sushi, soup and drink menus at the table.  Even the sign was crudely spelled and pasted on the glass window.



Honestly, Enrique and I felt "lost" while perusing the menu.  This is not a typical sushi place which we can navigate without having to look at the menu.

I am more familiar with the concept of izakaya than Enrique so I took care of ordering the yakitori (grilled items). Most of these grilled items can be ordered  prepared with sauce or salted. He took care of the sushi/sashimi part.

We were welcomed with complimentary pickled cucumber and radishes which were very nice palate cleansers:

For the YAKITORI, we had the:

SHORT RIB AND QUAIL EGG $3.5
*Very nice and flavorful. Slightly chewy but tasty. The beef and quail complimented each other texture-wise.

CHICKEN HEART $2.5
*I tried one and it was fresh, not chewy and with just the right amount of gaminess. However, now I remember that I really do not like chicken heart even when I used to eat them as street food when I was a kid in the Philippines.

SOFT-SHELL SHRIMP $3.5
*3 fresh shrimp with shell and head still attached. You bet I ate the whole thing--head, shell and "feet" and all!

CHEF'S CHOICE 10 DEEP FRIED SKEWERS $10
*Enrique was slightly disappointed because he said it was mostly veggies with some seafood. I tasted what seemed to be "fake" crab leg. It was good but I was really there for the yakitori.

We also ordered nabemono (soup), sushi and sashimi:

TARA NABE  (Black Cod Soup)  $12: Arrived in a traditional cast iron pot, this soup was one of the best fish soups I have ever had in a while. The soup came with generous slices of very fresh black cod, tofu and veggies. The broth was not salty at all. I did not suffer from temporary dehydration whenever I eat MSG-laden Asian soups. This soup at B-Dama was so delicate and divine. The pot looked small compared to the big bowls of ramen we are used to but it was more than enough to truly satisfy me for the evening. A wonderful soup that I will definitely get again and again!

SASHIMI PLATE $17: Enrique was still slightly hungry (Surprise! Surprise!) and decided to order a sashimi plate. It came with about 10 pieces of assorted fish. We did not pay attention to what kind they were but we recognized tuna, salmon, halibut, etc. They were fresh but not melt in your mouth sashimi that I have experienced at other Japanese restaurants before. It came with a pile of grated radish which speaks to the authentic presentation of a traditional sashimi.

TAKO SUSHI $4.5: This is how we test the freshness of the sushi at a Japanese restaurant. We order tako or tuna sushi. The tako has to taste fresh, not rubbery or previously frozen.  B-Dama's was definitely the fresh kind!

CHECK: $65 including tax before tip and 1 Japanese soda.

VERDICT:
I love the casual, non-pretentious vibe of B-Dama while feasting on delicious small grilled dishes. It is a fun place to bring your friends and order everything on the menu.  Overall quality is remarkably high. The black cod soup was exceptional. Even the green tea (another factor I used in judging the quality of a Japanese restaurant) was very nice--not bitter and appropriately hot.

Service was friendly but hurried. We absolutely loved our server that Enrique tipped generously. She was nice and very attentive. Be ready to patiently wait for drink refills as the staff are very busy.

Now that we are familiar with the menu, we will have a better time navigating and enjoying the dishes. B-Dama is a neighborhood gem. Enrique and I took advantage of the beautiful evening to walk here from our home.  A sense of adventure is a big part of izakaya dining.

And lastly, izakaya are sometimes called akachōchin (red lantern) in daily conversation, because these paper lanterns are traditionally found in front of an izakaya. B-Dama has one which further convinced me of the authenticity and integrity of its owners:

GOOD TO KNOW:
1. B-Dama tends to get packed. Get a reservation.
2. Prices of yakitori are reasonable between $2.5 to $3.5 each small plate.
3. Fenton's is directly right across the street if you want ice cream for dessert after dinner. (Which you bet was what we did!)

Sushirrito (Sushi and Burrito)

Sushirrito has been on the top of my list since I first heard about this Mexican-Japanese fusion almost a year ago.  This is definitely a new, intriguing concept. For a self-proclaimed foodie, I just cannot pass this up. Except I do NOT do lines. I do not wait in line for my food. My philosophy is San Francisco has a plethora of delicious food options that no food is worth the 1 hour wait. And just like any newly opened, highly-raved food in San Francisco, the record wait for Sushirrito has been close to an hour.

Today, I finally tempted fate by going to Sushirrito at 1:15 in the afternoon--and NO line!!! Either the novelty of "sushi-burrito-in-one" lunch option has worn off or after 1pm is just the perfect time. I went back twice both on weekdays around 1:15 pm and the average wait time was 3 to 5 minutes.

Somehow I imagined Sushirrito to be a food truck or a food stall. (Maybe too many visits to "Off the Grid.") I was pleasantly surprised to find a spartan modern deli with about 3-4 men behind the counter making sushirritos as you order them. A simple menu on flatscreen above the counter is easy to decipher.

EL TIGRE:

El Tigre was made with ahi tuna, shredded veggies, rice cracker, avocado and green onion, sushi rice wrapped in nori. The menu warns "It is very spicy!" It tasted okay and not spicy at all. The ahi tuna tasted fresh and fairly portioned. The crunchy veggies made up most of the sushi, not a lot of sushi rice and a crunch added by the rice cracker. It was like eating salad wrapped in seaweed.

El Tigre

SUMO CRUNCH:

Shredded crab, avocado, cucumber, cabbage and red tempura flakes. This sushi was "too busy." It was like a kitchen sink of ingredients but the flavors did not come together. Despite all of the ingredients the sushi tasted bland. And my biggest complain, the rice crackers made both sushi greasy to the point I felt nauseous.

Sumo Roll

SO, WHAT IS A SUSHIRRITO?


According to the website, "Sushirrito offers made-to-order, hand-held sushi burritos stuffed with savory Asian and Latin-infused ingredients and flavors."

In my opinion, Sushirrito is really nothing but a ginormous and uncut American sushi. It looked and tasted like the giant sushi. I did not find any Latin influence on mine unless the chef considers putting avocado and green onion in the sushi will make it "Latin." It was not spicy at all except for a little hint of wasabi--still Japanese. Something crunchy and greasy hit me which gave me a brief nauseated feeling. I later on found it out it was the rice chips.

The rice was sushi rice. I wonder what would have happened it they put tomato-flavored Mexican rice instead, or mix chorizo or carnitas with the raw tuna?

In the end, Sushirrito is just sushi. A good-tasting, filling and healthy lunch. It is portable and convenient to eat on the go although the sushi does not really hold up that well.

VALUE: I paid $10.50 for El Tigre and I though it was reasonable. A sushi roll will cost you that much. El Tigre is probably equivalent to 2-3 sushi rolls. However, Sumo Crunch set me back $13 (including tax)! Originally priced at $8.50 but the 2 extra tempura shrimp costs $3.50. I barely tasted the shrimps. This pricey lunch was not worth it!

DISAPPOINTMENT:

I just wished it had been more Japanese-Mexican fused like chorizo with ahi, Mexican rice, tortilla and seaweed together, etc. It was a disappointment in that respect. Sushirrito did not really live up to its name. But otherwise, I am glad I tried Sushirrito but I do not think I will be returning anytime soon.

Foodie Girl's Rating: 2 Stars


Key:
0 Star: Never again!!! These people should not be in business.
1 Star: Chalk it to bad experience. Live and learn.
2 Stars: Some are good. Some are okay. Some are bad.
3 Stars: Like! I will return!
4 Stars: Love! I will be dreaming of you at night!
5 Stars: Perfection (or close to!)

Ajisen

Eating at Ajisen Ramen is like teleporting yourself to malls in Asia where young people bond over a hot steaming bowl of noodle soup. Not only it is very filling and tasty, but the prices won't drain a young student's allowance.

DECOR:
And of course, at the malls in Asia, the decor is very important to attract these young kids. They have to be cute and cool. Ajisen's mascot is a cute Asian girl who is forever winking at you. *Wink Wink*

SOCIAL SCENE:
Ajisen seems to attract the young crowd and Asian. (It must be the cutesy decor since we share a DNA with Hello Kitty.) And of course, pretty much every hungry mall shopper. However, the two times I've been there I was sitting right next to mostly very young Asian kids. There were two teens who were having a lively discussion on what to order based on their budget. They decided to order the cheapest ramen on the menu so they had more money for shopping. I thought that was cute.

SERVICE:
Contrary to complaints of slow and lackadaisical service posted by others, the service was efficient, quick and friendly. There's a lit up menu board but you get seated first and your server will take your order. No need to go up to the counter.

SF SHOPPING CENTER LOCATION:
What I really love about Ajisen is the convenience factor. For someone like me who uses BART as the major public transportation, it delivers me right at Ajisen. It is located at SF Shopping Center's Food Court. I get off BART, slurp my noodles at Ajisen, walk around the mall for a little bit to burn the calories, then jump back on BART without having to step on the streets.

SIGNATURE AJISEN RAMEN:
I've have been to Ajisen twice--first time was on a cold storming day in SF. I had the Ajisen Ramen with pork based broth, meat and veggies. The broth was very "creamy," pork-y, flavorful and nice. I did not eat the thin pork slices but I heard a young person right next to me saying to her gf in between slurps, "I like the meat. It's good!"

VEGGIE RAMEN:
Last Friday, on a super gorgeous day in SF, I came here again after shopping in SF. Since my guy is working a little later I decided to not go home yet. Although the weather was warm and sunny, I had the Veggie Ramen. This was a pretty and colorful bowl. The shoyu broth was lighter than the pork-based one but very nice and flavorful. It was loaded with veggies including shitake mushroom that added a nice earthy flavor to the ramen experience.

LOWDOWN:
Contrary to some of the reviews that the ramen at Ajisen is bland and lacking in flavor, I found the soup to be flavorful, comforting and filling --just like how a bowl of soup should be. The noodles are okay; neither soggy or chewy.

PORTIONS: The portions are generous and enough to satisfy your hunger.

SNACKS: Ajisen also sells apps like gyoza, fried tofu, etc. and rice plates like eel, pork katsu, etc They also sell flavored iced teas and bobbas. I had the Mango Iced Tea ($3.50) with my veggie ramen and it was refreshing.

PRICES: About $8.99 to $9.99 per bowl. A little bit more expensive than pho, but very reasonable for the portions, IMO.

Foodie Girl's Rating: 3.5 Stars

Key:
0 Star: Never again!!! These people should not be in business.
1 Star: Chalk it to bad experience. Live and learn.
2 Stars: Some are good. Some are okay. Some are bad.
3 Stars: Like! I will return!
4 Stars: Love! I will be dreaming of you at night!
5 Stars: Perfection (or close to!)

Hecho (FiDi)

Gal Foodie Lunch Date: April 29, 2011 @ 11:45 AM

After an excessive consumption of champagne, cucumber gimlet and pear martini at Lime the night before with my gals, both me and my gf Heather met up at Hecho the next day nursing a hangover.

Hecho was the perfect choice since I consider sushi my "morning after" guilt-buster remedy for overindulgence.

WHERE:
Hecho is the new kid on the block residing at the former home of now-closed Midi.

EAT JAPANESE/DRINK MEXICAN:
And Hecho, despite his Spanish name, does not have an identitiy crisis. Actually, he is solidly rooted and comfortable in his Japanese roots. One cool thing about him, though, is he knows that while he could provide the fresh and delicious Japanese bento, his Latin brother could provide the good times in a bottle (or 80+) of Tequila.

So Hecho is a Japanese restaurant/Tequila bar. We sat downstairs where the extensive tequila bar covered the walls that continued on to the sushi bar. The tables were made of wood with matching backless stools. The decor is definitely Japanese, minimal and handsome.

SUSHI PURIST:
And you won't find crazy Godzilla rolls here. It is all about fish purity and freshness.

* 2 SPOT SHRIMPS NIGIRI AND 1 OCTOPUS NIGIRI ($4 each): Pricey for 1 nigiri but the freshness is so pronounced! They melt in your mouth and meant to be savored.

BENTO BOXES:
In my hangover state, drinks were out of the question. I glazed over the short but adequate lunch menu. I really just wanted to fill my alcohol-induced hunger pang:

CHIRASHI ($18): Whenever I see chirashi on the menu, I am like Pavlov's dog. I start to salivate and get fixated on it. My meal was nicely presented with the chirashi placed in a ceramic boat-shaped bowl. It came with miso soup and a salad. I had 6 pieces of adequately cut assorted fish pieces which were very fresh. I love that my rice was not hot since the hot rice would cook the raw fish.

GRILLED SALMON ($22): It was also a bento box with a generous piece of thick salmon, salad and miso soup. I tasted a piece of her salmon which was simple but very fresh. Heather commented that the fish did NOT even have a hint of fishiness.



TAB: $60 including tax and tip without drinks. ($30 per gal.)

LOWDOWN:
Splurgey meal but you get what you pay for which is good quality fish. Portions are adequate but you might leave the place still a little hungry. Service was professional but very friendly. Most of the folks eating there were in business work suit.

I do not usually spend $30 for lunch on a daily basis but once in a while I like to hide and runaway from work for an hour to sit down and have a quiet satisfying meal.

Hecho fits the description if not the expensive bill but I will definitely return. A good choice for a day off with Heather spent on a super-gorgeous day in SF! Next stop, Ferry Building!!!!

Foodie Girl's Rating: 3 Stars


Key:
0 Star: Never again!!! These people should not be in business.
1 Star: Chalk it to bad experience. Live and learn.
2 Stars: Some are good. Some are okay. Some are bad.
3 Stars: Like! I will return!
4 Stars: Love! I will be dreaming of you at night!
5 Stars: Perfection (or close to!)

Bushi-Tei

Saturday Date Night (Dinner and Movie): January 8, 2011 @ 5:30 PM

I once met this girl who is half-French and half-Japanese. I thought "what an exotic combination!" Bushi-Tei, a once Michelin Star awardee,  is like that girl. The fusion of Japanese and French cuisine produced a delicate culinary artwork.

For the first Saturday Date Night of the 2011, Enrique and I decided to have dinner at J-Town where we could also catch "The Black Swan" at the Kabuki later on. We had 2.5 hours to spare between dinner and the movie. We decided to relax and play it by ear.

I was surprised to find Bushi-Tei as a very elegantly decorated restaurant in contemporary design. You see transparent glasswork everywhere including the dining table, except for colored potteries on shelves which are the focal point. The chairs are leather and the utensil are steel except of bamboo chopsticks. Simple but very classy.

All throughout dinner, at one point, 4 servers were attending to us: our main waiter, the assistant waiter and 2 busboys. Our main waiter was very well-versed on that evening's menu yet relaxed and friendly. He explained every dish and came back after each course to check on us. Our water never went down pass the half the glass before it was filled again.

AMUSE BOUCHE: Complimentary "tuna puffs." Nice free food but it was not better than canned tuna.

DRINK: Torrontes for $8. So reasonably priced, generously poured yet so refreshing. They allow a tasting of your wine before you decide on it.

BREAD: Artistically presented tasty nutty bread flavored with rice and a flat cracker.

APPETIZERS - We decided on two apps:
a) Yuzu marinated calamari, cherry tomato, fine herbs, cucumber vinaigrette 12

*Surprisingly, Enrique hogged this whole plate of marinated calamari. We were supposed to share! The calamari was simply-prepared. The flavors were simple, delicate yet refreshing to the palate.

b) Lobster and Crab, Chrysanthemum leaf, papaya, bacon, ginger cream, curry oil 18

*I got nice chunks of crab meat and lobster, papaya in cream but not heavy. I didn't know it had bacon which I did not like to eat (I thought I was eating dried fish) which sort of overpowered the dish. Otherwise the papaya complimented the dish.  I still like it very much.

MAINS:
a) Day boat sea scallop, saffron Yukon potato chowder, pop over 28

*Once again my carnivore guy surprised me when he ordered scallops as his main dish. I think he was so inspired by the calamari. And as accurately as our waiter explained, the tastes of the scallops were delicate and prepared medium rare. I had a bite and it was great!

b) Big eye tuna, rock shrimp risotto, crispy shallot, coconut red curry 28

*Popular dish according to our server. The tuna could have been cooked more rare but the rock shrimp risotte in curry wowed my palate but did not overwhelm me. It was just right. The clean taste of the tuna brought out the fun exotic taste of the curry risotto.

DESSERT -- Enrique and I were really having an unexpectedly simple but enjoyable culinary experience that we went all out:
a) Espresso for me. I wish they served this with my dessert instead of before but it was still nice to sip on this bitter-strong coffee.

b) Caramelized banana: Black rice pudding, banana ice cream 8 Exotic version of fried banana with a kaleidoscipe flavors going on in our mouths.

c) Apple dumpling: French vanilla ice cream, caramel sauce 7.5 Ordering this with the banana just doubled/tripled/quadripled the fun!

*One was exotic and the other one was traditional. Now I am glad that Enrique nsisted that we get a dessert each. They were just simply divine and delcious!

d) ) Almond cakes and truffles: Very thoughtful compliments of the house but I still recommend to make room for the desserts above:

Tab: $122 after tax, before tip and before $40 Groupon. Even with the Groupon our final bill was still $102 with 20% tip included.

OVERALL:
Despite the mixed opinions on Bushi-Tei's culinary strengths (or weaknesses), Enrique had one of the most enjoyable fine dining experiences in a while. It helps that we went to Bushi-tei devoid of any expectations except for a hope of a beautiful date night.

The flavors of Bushi-Tei's cuisines are not overwhelming or strong. They were mellow, delicate and simple.If you want strong flavors which will induce explosive culinary euphoria, Bushi-Tei is not the place; although all throughout dinner we heard exclamations of foodie ecstacy from tables surrounding us:  "Superb," "Oooh, this is sooo good!" "Delicious!"

TIBDITS:
* Bushi-Tei once held a Michelin Star.
*The bathroom is probably one of the fanciest if not the fanciest in the City. We're talking about front wash, back wash and drying mode including heated seat. (Nope, I am not talking about a fancy carwash.) Check this out:

FOODIE GIRL'S RATING: 5 Stars --With the delightful and above average culinary experience we had on the evening we had dinner at Bushi-Tei, I can understand why it was awarded a Michelin Star. I continue to wish Bushi-Tei all the best.


Key:


0 Star: Never again!!! These people should not be in business.
1 Star: Chalk it to bad experience. Live and learn.
2 Stars: Very disappointing but there it has some good things to offer.
3 Stars: It is okay but do not expect much. I will still return.
4 Stars: I like it! I will be singing your praises!
5 Stars: I will be dreaming of you at night!
6 Stars: Perfection (or close to!)