It's a Celebration Meal!

Ok folks, let's face it, I have been very erratic with my posts! No schedule or regularity and I truly apologize.  With nursing school coming to a close my priorities have been elsewhere but at the cost of my beloved blog!  I plan on creating more regular posts, so hopefully not too many of you have moved on!  On that note, thank you to loyal readers.  Also, just so you all know, this sacrifice was not wasted.  In the past month I passed my exit exam for school, graduated, studied my booty off for state boards and am now a legitimate license holding Registered Nurse!  It's only natural I have a celebratory meal and this post is definitely a doozy, so sit back, relax and take a peek at the meal that literally ranks as the best I've ever had!

Despite my deep love affair with food, I rarely find myself in a fine dining situation, not only where fancy food exists but often the most innovative.  I pride myself in finding the small spots, the local favorites where innovation and taste meet for a friendly budget.  This night definitely was no regular night for me, and I mean that in the best of ways.

This brings us to Aburiya Raku, found in the corner of a strip mall center in Chinatown, soo inconspicuous you could miss it if you weren't looking for it.  Despite it's low key appearance, Raku has been considered a top restaurant in the city of Las Vegas, often recognized as a semi-finalist for the national James Beard award.  Their specialty revolves around traditional Japanese charcoal grilling, using Binchotan charcoal.  Binchotan charcoal is shipped straight from Japan, the only place it is found, and offers a unique flavor found with no other charcoal.  All their dishes are classic, some with modern gourmet twists, each prepared with their own special sauces and rich flavors.  The restaurant itself is very small and intimate, offering up their dishes in small well thought out presentations.

The Comforts of Japanese Izakaya

When it comes to Japanese Izakaya these days, restaurants have become a dime a dozen.  For those that aren't familiar, Izakaya by tradition is a sake bar that serves an extensive list of small Japanese food plates.  It's rare to find a spot that takes this concept and pushes the menu toward modern sensibilities while maintaining traditional dishes.  This brings us to Ichiza, found in the Las Vegas Chinatown.  This place is almost hidden, found on the second floor of a shopping mall.

When you sit down at this place, the first thing you will notice are all the postings on the wall.  No they aren't soliciting second hand furniture, at closer inspection they are actually food offerings.  Although I love the menu's selection of yakitori, grilled fish and bowls of ramen, I can't help but go by the writing on the wall.

Here you'll find a menu that's a little more creative than what you'll find anywhere else.  First written in Japanese, you also get an english translation.  Even when translated, the dishes are just as foreign, adding to the intrigue.  You'll find things such as marinated salmon belly, garlic kobe beef fried rice or even a seafood quesadilla. 

Today I wanted to try something new, and for this I looked to the wall and found Unagi(eel) risotto.  This is definitely not what I expected when I ordered though.  Risotto is traditionally a rice steamed and cooked to a creamy consistency.  This was more like a rice porridge with egg, 3 different kinds of Japanese mushroom and eel.  The broth is light, probably a dashi fish broth which absorbed well into the egg and rice.  The mushrooms were enoki, shiitake and shimeji all found commonly in Japanese soups and each with their own earthy nutty flavors.  The whole reason I got this was the eel, which I'm a huge fan of.  The eel was like anything you'd find on unagi sushi, with a slight bbq flavor and soft fatty fish texture.  Eel definitely has it's own unique flavor difficult to describe, for the adventurous it's a must try.  Although this wasn't what I intended to order, I quickly got past that fact with a great tasting and filling dish.

 

A few visits ago I found this little gem on the wall and it has become a favorite of mine.  This is the deep fried marinated squid.  Squid legs marinated in what seems to be a soy/ponzu mixture which is then breaded and deep fried.  Along with the squid you'll find sliced onions to the side.  The squid itself has immense flavor.  The marinade really comes through and even tenderizes the inherently chewy calamari.  The onions also take on great flavor and add a nice contrast to the seafood.  For less than $5, if you're a calamari fan, TRY THIS.

Everyone I know that has tried this place loves it, 4/5 stars on Yelp is definitely deserved.  Ichiza offers some really different flavors and dishes but also caters to the more traditional tastes if that's what you crave.  Icing on the cake is that this place is open up to and past 3 on the weekends, so go and get your sake and tapas on!

Ichiza

4355 Spring Mountain Rd
Las Vegas, NV 89102

(702) 367-3151

Roast Pork Belly, Roast Duck and Char Siu BBQ...Need I say more?

Doing my usual browsing on Yelp, I came across Asian BBQ and Noodles, specializing in Hong Kong style BBQ at affordable prices.  What really caught my eye was the menu of roast pork belly and duck, and yes with simply that, I made plans to make a visit.   The restaurant itself is very low-key and under normal conditions I'd probably just pass it by.  When you walk in you're relieved to see it full of Chinese customers.  I'm a huge believer in judging restaurants by the amount of people from the culture choosing to eat there.

The menu is small with various BBQ choices, side dishes and noodle soups, but with all the raving about the roast pork belly, we ordered the 3-combination BBQ special(Char Siu pork, Roast Duck, Roast Pork Belly,) for $12.95.  It's served with a bit of pickled white radish (daicon,) and carrots but make sure you order your rice on the side!

With all the wonderful meat, I added pickled mustard greens to the side ($3).  I'm a fan of mustard greens on their own as they add a nice bite and contrast of flavor to meat, but pickled you just get that extra dimension that plays well with Chinese bbq.  The pickling is sour from the vinegar base with hints of sweetness from the added sugars.  The greens themselves are slightly bitter and they maintain a nice green vegetable element to the food.

The First thing I try is the Char Siu BBQ pork.  The flavors were all there, a sweet honey and hoison glaze on slices of pork that had hints of five-spice.  Even though the flavors were all there, the meat itself was a little dry, I'm not sure if that was because the meat was soo lean or simply overcooked.   Either way, the pickled veggies were necessary in adding that extra bite to the meat, distracting away from the dryness.

The next to try was the roast duck, and the experience was a lot better than the char siu pork.  The meat was tender, and you can tell the duck was roasted well as the skin was slightly crisp but softened up by the natural fat during the slow roast.  Again the flavor of five-spice was there along with a nice soy-sauce finish.  I used the hoison sauce and chili oil as a dip on the side to round out the flavors the way I like it.  This was really good and a must order.

Last but not least, my favorite part of the plate, roast pork belly.  Although throughout the dishes, five-spice was the major seasoning, when put with the pork belly it creates a really deep flavor.  Pork always takes on flavors really well, and this case is no different.  Along with the great flavor you definitely notice that the pork meat is tender,  with a small layer of fat before you get to the pork skin.  A lot of the time when I order Chinese roast pork, I get a soggy skin and you can tell if it was cooked quite a while ago.  Here at Asian BBQ and Noodles, the pork is made recently and served often.  This equates to a nice layer of crispy skin, my personal requirement for a successful roast pork belly.  I can't say this enough, this is a must order, if you decide to just get one thing here, this should be it!

I may be biased by my love for pork and crispy skin, but if you share this affinity, you definitely need to make a trip if you're in the Las Vegas Chinatown area.  Ordered alone, each meat with rice is under $8 and that just can't be beat, especially when the meat has quality exceeding the cost.  I'll even give the char siu a scratch.  The flavors were all there, it may have just been an off day for the cooking so I might give it another shot.  With the low cost and great flavors this place is a no-brainer, I'll definitely be back to nurse that craving.

Asian BBQ and Noodles
3400 S Jones Blvd
Ste 5C
Las Vegas, NV 89146
(702) 202-3636


 

A trip to Wendy's...hold the burgers and fries

Tonight I was on a mission to try this Asian BBQ and Noodle house in Chinatown but was disappointed to find it closed on fridays!  When this happens I always like to take it as an opportunity for adventure, using yelp and what I see to make a new plan for the night.  Luckily there was an interesting little spot across the street that caught my eye, "Wendy's Noodle Cafe," which had an interesting menu to match.

The menu is a mix of typical chinese dining and modern eastern/western twists.  With all the choices I went a little overboard and ordered way more than we could eat, but it was a great opportunity to try some interesting dishes :).

 The first thing that caught my eye was a tapas list on the front page of the menu, each for only $4.95.  Looking through the list, I noticed I've never even heard of Portuguese curry, so I tagged it as a must try.  It came out in a hot clay pot bubbling and was actually a bigger serving than expected.  The curry was simple with carrots, peas and onions then about 6-8 whole shrimp(way more than you'd expect for a tapa!)  The most unique flavor in this curry was the mix of cumin and heavy coconut milk.  The coconut milk is strong, almost buttery creamy throughout.  That with the shrimp heads made this dish go from good to amazing.

Considering this is a noodle house I just had to opt for a big bowl of their soup.  This is the assorted seafood and pork with rice noodles.  The broth was a clear beef broth, pretty average but refreshing and the noodles were the thick flat rice noodle.  What made the dish was all the toppings. The fishballs, fishcakes and squid were average but the shrimp, ground pork, pork slices, cilantro and chinese broccoli were fresh and added that needed flavor to the mild broth.  Adding hot chili oil, sriracha and a little hoison added that extra depth of flavor I usually enjoy in light broth soups.  Overall good, especially on a chilly night.

The second dish we ordered was pork cutlet, we definitely did not picture this when we ordered.  The pork is thin and tender, probably tenderized pre-breading and had an interesting flavor that seemed to come from a soy-based marinade.  The pork cutlet overall was unique with subtle flavors.  On the side there were green beans sauteed with garlic which was good but what was really great with the dish was the rice.  At first glance the rice seemed normal other than having an orange hue to it.  With my first bite I noticed the rice was unique.  After asking I found out they stir fry it with mushroom sauce which is another first for me.  The unique flavor  the rice took on was paired really well with the sauteed green beans and fried pork cutlet, the dish was really cohesive and overall a nice surprise.

Right before the food started coming out we noticed on the wall they offer some off the menu dishes and when we saw rib eye bao we just had to order it out of sheer curiosity.  So here it came out, three bao that were actually pretty big compared to the bao I've had in the past (Check my Great Bao post,) and even came with a decent sized salad on the side.  The bao itself wasn't as soft as I'd like and had rib eye sliced thin and cooked with onions in a sweet soy sauce.  The rib eye was good but if it was sliced just a bit thicker the bao would have had a better bite to it.  The salad on the side was a mix of greens and bell peppers with a dressing I can only describe as lime based.  Mixed with the bao, you really had an interesting mix of flavors that made the dish go from average to a possible repeat order on the next visit.  Overall the dish was interesting and had a generous serving with flavors that were worth trying.

Wendy's Noodle Cafe was a great experience, I tried new things which was not really expected but happily welcomed.  I'll definitely be back for more to try out other parts of the menu that had my curiosity going and maybe a repeat dish or two to nurse that craving!

Wendy's Noodle Cafe

3401 S Jones Blvd
Las Vegas, NV 89146

(702) 889-3288

The new kid in town: Ramen Sora

I'd like to start by saying this one is gonna be a long one kids, so let's make sure we've got our snacks ready and a comfy chair in place.  Many don't know that I lived in Okinawa, Japan for almost 6 yrs because I was a Navy brat, and because of that, I have a love for Japanese food and culture that will probably follow me for the rest of my life.  Here in Vegas I've been a strong advocate for Monta's creamy tonkotsu ramen and to be honest, the day I decided to visit Sora Ramen was simply due to the fact Monta's line was way too long.  Am I happy with the decision? Well you'll have to read on to find out!


 The restaurant is not big but has a typical Japanese feel to the decor and is staffed by mostly Japanese people (sometimes a good sign).  There is a deceptively good amount of seating and could easily accommodate large parties although no private rooms are available.










Sora's claim to ramen is having it's roots as one of the most popular shops in the Sapporo area of Japan offering a clear pork broth Shio soup base which is noted to have pork bone boiled into it over a day, and a Miso broth that integrates some of the pork shio.






The Ramen Menu is pretty decent with Nori (seaweed,) Negi (green onion,) corn and butter (self explanatory,) Chashu (bbq pork) and Menma(bamboo shoot,) to go along with the Miso and Shio broth choices all ranging between $7.50-9.  Green onion, bambo shoots, half a semi-boiled egg and a few slices of pork are standard in all soups with a few variations towards whatever specialty you decide on.  There's even a deluxe ramen for $10 which seemed to be bigger with a little extra everything, had I been hungrier this would've been my choice.

Our soup order ended up being a Spicy Shio and a Corn and Butter Shio ramen.

The backside of the menu contains small bowls, fried rice, and other sides.  Here we opted for the mini chashu curry bowl and seared premium pork chashu.  I'd like to note that you can order a hot barley tea fresh brewed from a pot instead of a can, many won't notice this but to those who are frequent tea drinkers, this makes a huge difference.

The first thing to come out is the mini chashu curry bowl.  Yes it's small but for $2.85 you have to keep expectations in check.  The curry sauce itself has great flavor and consistency.  I was never great at determining whether curries are made from scratch or not but either way I liked this one.  There are a few standard veggies like carrots, onions and potato with the real star being the little chunks of chashu pork which was not as tender as I'd like but still had great pork flavor despite the strong curry sauce.


 Next to come out were our soups, the first I'll talk about is the spicy shio ramen.

The spicy shio is a decent size and comes with the standard toppings listed earlier with some ground pork added in and a little bit of spicy oil giving a dash of red tint to the bowl.  The shio broth was a bit oily but still had a light flavor to it without overpowering, and you do get the slight flavor of the pork bones they boil into the broth.  The bamboo shoots are plain and the egg is cooked to have a slightly soft cooked yolk although I enjoy it more "rare."  The slices of pork are tender with just a thin layer of fat in it, you can tell it was roasted without much seasoning to flavor the meat so it went well with the mild broth lending to more porky goodness.  The spicy factor was mild to non-existent and I had to order extra hot oil but that isn't a deal breaker, overall the experience was still tasty.

 I've always been a fan of butter and corn in my ramen, the butter usually adds a depth of flavor to ramen broth that plays well with the corn.  I think maybe the clear shio wasn't the best choice for this, the miso might have been a better mix for the two flavors due to the unexpected oily nature of the shio ramen.  As you can see, a few additions and this soup could've been called a "spicy," ramen as well but I digress, it still had good flavor and all the toppings were well executed.


My only gripe with the ramen would be the noodles.  The noodles were thicker than I'd like and they had a chewy texture that I didn't enjoy.  I prefer a bit thinner noodle and a bit softer texture, but i suppose details like this are very personal as I understand others might be the opposite.

The best dish of the meal ended up being the side of premium seared pork chashu.  The order comes on the side with some green onion and a sweet bbq sauce drizzled on top.  Unlike the chashu in the ramen, these pieces had a bit more fat on them.  They tasted great, soft enough to breakaway with chopsticks and a sweetness from the drizzled sauce that set off the flavor of the pork.  I was a little disappointed by the steep price of $3.98 for only three pieces, but if you're a pork fanatic like me you might not mind the cost.


I'll definitely be back to try more of the menu and definitely go for the miso broth next.  It seems the reigning champ has competition although really the choice is going to come down to personal preference.  The real winner here is Las Vegas as we have another excellent alternative to choose from, and not only because the line is too long at your original choice.

RAMEN SORA
4490 Spring Mountain Road
Las Vegas, NV 89102
702.685.1011

Thai Style Noodle House

So when it comes to Thai restaurants, I'm used to the normal menu of curries, stir fried noodles and and basil laden dishes.  Thai Style Noodle House definitely has a menu that isn't typical.  Our little party originally didn't plan on coming here but passing by and noticing how busy and potentially unique it seemed to be warranted at least a look and see.

Along with the typical fare of Pad Thai, Panang, Larb and Tom Kha you can see some unique dishes on the menu I definitely don't see at many other Thai restaurants.  The biggest thing you notice is that a good portion of the menu is dedicated to different soups, and on top of that you can even customize your choice of noodle.  Although Panang curry is typical, it's not commonly served with avocado and salmon, so this definitely was on our order.  So we ordered a Thai tea(which was textbook tasty,) an avocado salmon Panang, roast duck soup and a Thai style tom yum noodle, both soups ordered with thin rice noodles.

The salmon/avocado Panang was pleasantly familiar yet surprisingly new.  Lots of curry sauce surrounding a small mixture of avocado and salmon pieces.  The curry itself stood up well against other restaurants and the creaminess of the avocado played well to tame the pungent curry and round out the flavors of the salmon.  Now that i think of it, avocado and salmon is actually a common pairing, never would have thought so in a curry though.

My pops ordered the Thai style tom yum noodle.  It was ordered at a medium spice and along with the thin rice noodles had fishcakes, Fishballs, shrimp, ground pork and sliced pork garnished by a little cilantro.  This soup has that perfect mixture of sweet, salty, sour and spicy that you want from a tom yum with a broth that was kind of addicting, or at least addicting to my palate.  The pork was a perfect vehicle to absorb the taste of the broth and the fishcakes added that nice seafood contrast that goes well with the Thai flavors presented through the broth.

My personal choice for the night was the roast duck soup, and although I would normally get the Chinese style of noodle I was on a little bit of a pho noodle kick and went with the thin rice.  There was a decent portion of sliced duck in the soup and a few pieces of bok choy garnished with green onions over the top.  I might not be an expert on roast duck soup, but this was really good.  The broth was rich and the flavor had a deep duck flavor to it.  Every bite of this soup had me excited for the next.  The pieces of duck itself were very tender and there were little pieces of skin mixed in which I always like that complemented well with the bok choy that still had a little crisp bite to it.

Overall this was a great way to experience a different Thai menu with excellent soup and unique style of Panang.  I will definitely be back soon and I think my visits will concentrate on other soups just because they do it so damn well!  Till next time folks, keep nursing those cravings.

Thai Style Noodle House
3516 Wynn Road Las Vegas, NV 89013
(702)873-8943