If you are lucky enough to have an Asian market near you and have been too intimidated to walk in (yes, it can be intimidating, especially if it’s laid out so the first thing you see are live turtles.) go do it anyway.  They’re great places to just wander around if nothing else.  You may very well stumble across that sauce or spice or snack you’ve had before somewhere and have never been able to find anywhere else.

But today I had errands to run that had me right there, so I had to pop in, if for no other reason than chopsticks, as I’ve just about exhausted my supply that I bought in Chinatown a while back.  Let’s face it, there are just some things that really should be eaten with chopsticks:  Chinese take out, Japanese sticky rice, Ramen and Soba just to start with.  And I like all these things, so I need chopsticks.

This market also happens to have a great little housewares section with tons of cups and bowls and plates and a positively dizzying array of rice cookers.  I picked up a couple proper bowls for sticky rice (or miso) and a couple plates that will make perfect spoon rests, even if that wasn’t the original intent of the designer:

Then to the chopsticks.  Picked up a pack of metal ones, and a couple packs of what I thought were wooden, except I now realize they are plastic.  So, I am set for chopsticks until I die.  (The plastic ones were incredibly cheap, so there are still no worries over losing one in a lunchbag or in the garbage disposal.)  I almost made the mistake of getting Korean ones, which isn’t the worst thing in the world, but they’re more oval shaped than round and a little harder to use, and I don’t feel like accidentally flinging ramen across the room.

On to the noodle aisle – because I can. :)  Spied some Soba noodles with the bonus of English cooking directions on the back.  (My knowledge of Kanji is non-existent.  3 years in Japan and I was still doing good to be able to sound out Katakana symbols, the most basic of the language.)  Now, just to figure out how to season them properly!  (I’m already thinking cooking in chicken stock might be a good place to start.)

Of course I had to hit the candy aisle.  And of course I had to grab a box of Pocky.

And some orange bubblegum that I used to get all the time when we were overseas.  (It’s just like Chiclets, but better somehow.)

Now, I’m off to enjoy some sticky rice the way it supposed to be enjoyed:

(Let’s just pretend that the Mountain Dew I’ll be drinking with it is a traditional cold accompaniment for sticky rice.)

If you like ham, and you like green onions – get yourself over to Just Bento today and check out the Ham Negimayaki recipe & pics that have been posted.

I’ll have to give this a whirl myself sometime, because it just looks great.  Thing is, I don’t remember ever having anything like this when I was in Japan, but it’s also been a very long time since I was there, and I wasn’t exactly a foodie at the time.

When I spied these in the market, I had to try them.

In my mind, my reasons for giving them a go were quite sound.

– I love yakisoba.
– We don’t exactly have a plethora of Japanese restaurants in the area.
– It’s a traditional Japanese food made by a Japanese company, so in theory they should be able to get it right.

Couldn’t be quicker or easier.  Add the veggie pack and a cup of water.  Microwave for 4 minutes, let it sit for another minute.  Add the flavor pack, mix up and it’s done.

The verdict?  I am horribly torn.  It wasn’t the worst thing in the world, but it just wasn’t really right, either.  The cabbage in the veggie pack does make it smell like you’d expect it to (if you like yakisoba, then it will be a familiar aroma), but the flavor packet is kind of weird.  There isn’t much water left after microwaving, so it sticks to the noodles.  Perhaps it’s by design, but it doesn’t seem to dissolve as well as it should.  The noodles do have that familiar ever so slightly oily mouth feel to them (it’s hard to describe), but overall, something is either missing or overdone, but I just can’t say for sure what it is.

Maybe my expectations were too high, having eaten a decent amount of yakisoba when we were stationed in Japan.

However, everyone’s tastes are different and I’d say it’s worth buying one and giving it a shot to see if you like it, it’s not at all expensive and won’t take up half your day to prepare it.  Myself, I doubt I’ll buy it again, though.

I think it will be worth my while to get hold of some real soba noodles and hunt down a good seasoning recipe, even if it does take longer.  (But doesn’t it always seem to work out that way?)

Walked in and I was the only customer. Bummer. Don’t know if it was cause it was a weeknight, or maybe they do more via carryout, or maybe the entire local Korean population eats Greek & Italian at the place a couple doors down. But, hey, not the worst thing in the world to have the entire staff working for you. The tables all have gas “charcoal” roasters built into them – obviously not for the Japanese food, but they do a lot of Korean BBQ there.

First thing – if you go there, do not make the same mistake I did. Do NOT think you can order a starter and a main and be able to finish it, unless you are a linebacker for the Washington Redskins.

Started with a Coke and perused the menu. Korean definitely seems to be the favored cuisine, but there was more than enough Japanese to take care of me. They bring a glass of ice and a can of Coke. Works for me – certainly easier for them to order a case of Coke than to try to keep a fountain machine maintained, and the Coke is never flat.

Ordered the veggie & shrimp tempura for a starter, then the tonkatsu for the main. I noticed something at the bottom of the menu saying that the mains came w/ sides, but didn’t mention what. I figured it would be whatever the chef was in the mood to make and as long as I get my sticky rice, I’m a happy girl.

First came the miso soup. Really, really good. Best I’ve ever had in the states and as good, if not better. than some I had when I was in Japan.

Then the tempura. Perfect. Light and crispy and hadn’t been in the fryer too long. Shrimp, broccoli & carrots. (Tempura carrots are pretty much my fav tempura veggie, right up with sweet potatoes.)

As I got towards finishing that off, they brought out the sides. Oh. My. God. Good sized bowl of sticky rice. Score! Then – eight, yes EIGHT, other sides. Very small sides to be sure (little dishes about 4″ across), but EIGHT of them. The tonkatsu was also HUGE. Enough to feed 3 people, easily. But, it was very good and made me happy.

I had to try something off all the sides, and these were all definitely from the Korean side of the house, but great. There was a wilted spinach with a very spicy vinagrette. Then spicy pickled bok choy, and a spicy pickled crunchy something. Broccoli & fake crab (they made no bones about it being fake) – lightly steamed and had *something* on it, but I couldn’t tell you what it was – it was very light and refreshing. Pickled bean sprouts, pickled onions (see a theme here?), another version of pickled bean sprouts, and then a pickled wilted cabbage. I liked all of them, but really couldn’t manage more than a bite or two of each because there was just too much.

Overall, I was very pleased with my dinner and I’m sure I’ll return again.