The Joy of Discovering a Food Startup

If you were in Vegas last week, you were very aware of the festival happening at Silverton Casino.  It is afterall, right off the 15 on the way to the strip.  The festival was Las Vegas Foodie Fest, calling upon all foodies to taste the offerings of food trucks originating from Vegas, California and everywhere in between.  I came to try trucks from everywhere except here but got hooked on a local start-up shop.

From across the way, the big yellow sign really caught our eyes.  "Kaba Curry," tugged at our curiosity and we made our way in that direction.  So here we were, finally figuring out they serve the beloved Japanese style curry.  The curry itself comes with the standard bits of beef and veggies(carrots/onions/potatoes?) for $5.50 which can be dressed up with corn, cheese, rakkyo(pickled scallions,) spinach or the traditional pickled ginger, each for less than a dollar.  For protien you have the option of chicken katsu or marinated beef, being a huge fan of katsu curry that's what we went with, even opting for an extra serving of katsu for a buck.






This is what our order came out to look like, a nicely sized bowl with a scoop of rice immersed in curry with katsu pieces floating up top.  For less than $7(because we added extra katsu,) this was a perfect serving.  Before taking my first bite, I had one question to ask..."Is this made from scratch?"  Seems silly but you'd be surprised with the lack of commitment to fresh ingredients these days, luckily this was not a problem for Kaba Curry, the answer was a definitive yes!








The biggest test for me was the curry itself obviously.  The curry sauce did not disappoint, with excellent balance of consistency.  I get turned off when the sauce is too thin, a sign of diluted flavor, or too thick where it's simply overpowering.  With Kaba, you get a great curry flavor from their scratch-made sauce, where garam masala really comes through but not soo much that you're afraid to speak to people after eating because of the smell.  The tender bits of beef and veggies are a nice compliment to the sauce and the little chicken katsu nuggets were tender, playing their role as the meat compliment to the dish.  Overall a definite Success.

After investigating a little more, we talked to Keiko who I am convinced is one of the owners, to find out more about Kaba Curry.  Keiko said that they started out as a clothing design company, taking their Hippoe mascot and talents to the stove.  After much trial and error they found a curry they can call their own and Foodie Fest sprouted their first vending location.  I feel like nothing is more pure than a start-up food spot.  A commitment to fresh ingredients and flavor, not soo jaded over the money side of the food business.  Ever since the fest, I've seen little spots on the internet proclaiming their love for Kaba Curry, and they have every reason too.  I hope they get their truck soon and we will all be able to find them on the streets of Las Vegas to fulfill our curry needs.  Who knows, maybe I'll be nursing that craving with a curry topped with cheese soon!

Kaba Curry
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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

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