Mori

Mori - JR Tokyo Station Yaesu basement Central Exit 1-minute walk

The food scene in Tokyo Station is something I recommend you checking out. Yes it can feel like a tourist trap, but it's one of those places you have to walk through at least once. We stayed in Ginza so walking to Tokyo Station only took about 15 minutes. What's great is how accessible it is to get from one destination to another. We had little hesitancies to go to different areas of the city because of that.

With plenty of food in Tokyo Station, I recommend going for what you really want to try or crave. It's also fun if you want to do a restaurant crawl down here and there's plenty of walking if you feel it's needed to digest. And... a Starbucks is also around for quick pick-me-ups.

View fullsize

I checked out Mori not because of the lines. Because there was none. But because I was craving beef tongue. And if you've ever had Japanese beef tongue, you will understand why the cravings were legit. The perfectly scored meat with the subtle smoke of the binchotan incasing it as the fat drips down. It's spectacular and there really isn't anything like this flavor.

View fullsize

Here is their beef tongue curry. Simple, but very delicious. Tender beef in a rich curry sauce to be accompanied by rice and fukujinzuke (best w curry).

View fullsize

View fullsize

My beef tongue came with rice, the most amazing scallion soup made with beef bones, and an incredibly delicious salad. I like to eat each piece of beef with a little wasabi followed by their pickled greens.

I can't really explain the comfort level of this dish besides it making me happy every freaking time. I assume this is oxtail tongue as it reminds me of Gyutan Tsukasa here in California (can find GT in Mitsuwa, Costa Mesa).

Hikari - Torrance CA

Just laying it out there that this was the best tasting Yakiniku I've ever had. I guess this place used to be something else. If you ever go on Yelp which I do to solely look for restaurants in the area I'm currently in, you will see photos of other items from the previous restaurant.

2383 Lomita Blvd Ste 102 Lomita, CA 90717

The most amazing first bite was their prime short rib... but before I get there, let's just start with an apple slaw salad.

View fullsize

This is Yukke. Raw beef seasoned lighting topped with an egg yolk and slivers of shiso.

View fullsize

Thick Cut Beef Tongue

Thick cut fatty beef tongue. This was cooked to medium. Perfect with a squeeze of lemon.

View fullsize

Prime Short Rib

For $16.8, this plate of decadence is yours. Season on one side with just a sprinkle of their rosemary course salt, sear for 45 seconds on one side, flip, sear for another 15 seconds. Dip the meat after in their tare sauce for maximum umami sensation. I can eat this whole plate by myself.

View fullsize

Flank Steak

Never thought flank can be so flavorful and tender. This had the right amount of fat where you can still appreciate the beefiness of the cut. This was served with a spicy tare sauce (not spicy).

View fullsize

Thick cut pork belly

View fullsize

Unless you have a large group, I would skip this. But, still very delicious and was served with lettuce, garlic slices, and chili peppers.

View fullsize

Came back twice within the same week and it was everything I hoped it to be. Ate a lot more of other meat dishes, but after a few beers, whose counting anymore?

2383 Lomita Blvd Ste 102 Lomita, CA 90717

Gyutan Tsukasa - Costa Mesa

Gyutan Tsukasa is located in the popular market, Mitsuwa. As much as this market is known for selling Japanese ingredients, a lot of people know Mitsuwa for their food court. Most popular is Santouka, Hokkaido style Ramen. As much as a I love getting the ramen, there's a restaurant at this food court that I love just as much if not more. Gyutan Tsukasa serves everything Ox tongue. They serve the tongue in a curry, a simple broth, stew/demi glace, and my favorite over charcoal.

It's charred to perfection and served with a side of wasabi and pickled/preserved veggies. I eat each piece with a little wasabi and a dash of Shichimi (Japanese spicy red pepper). Each bite will also get a big scoop of fried wheat rice.

This right here is the perfect bite. If you've never had beef tongue, it's not as weird as it sounds. Just think of it as just beef. I know the texture is unique, but it's also fatty. And when it's cooked perfectly, it will have a nice snap, but well slowly melt in your mouth. Beef tongue is one of my favorite items to order, always, at a Japanese restaurant. It's normally priced high for a small portion, but it's definitely manageable here at Gyutan Tsukasa.

I highly recommend this if you come. The food court in Costa Mesa now serves draft beer. 

Oto Oto Izakaya - Monrovia - Brother's 30th

Talking about Oto Oto will be a bit personal for me. I don't talk much about restaurants in my posts because I only want to feature the offerings as well as the ambiance. In terms of the actual flavors and whether I like it or not, I don't dive too into it because that is something I want you to be the judge of.

Oto Oto on the other hand... I've worked here in the past for 3 and a half years while finishing my college degree in Business Marketing. I haven't been back since leaving over 2 years ago. I think the reason was the clean break from the restaurant. I wanted to eat new things. Italian cuisines, French, American, and contemporary cuisines whatever that means. The spark for Japanese food just vanished. It wasn't that I stopped coming here only, I also stopped my Izakaya and Japanese food craze unless a friend or family member wants it.

This is why we came here tonight. My brother, David, was turning 30 that night so we wanted to have a nice dinner followed by a countdown. I made a gesture to eat at a place like Oto Oto "Izakaya-style" so we can drink and just snack on items. But turned out, he was really excited to go back to Oto Oto and eat all the food he loved when they used to visit me during and after work.

Without going into detail today, my true drinking habits started here. I've also learned a different side of Japanese cuisine I wasn't familiar with. Izakaya. I immediately fell in love. Not just by the food, but also by how the chefs work. The main chefs are from Japan to continue this restaurant group here in America. IF you have to know, I believe they have over 150 chains in Japan. Oto Oto Monrovia, is their flagship in the U.S.

The restaurant is louder and much livelier than your typical conservative sushi dining experience. The best way to describe the whole Izakaya experience, is to start with a drink, order a few appetizers, and then order more drinks. Continue. I like to start with beer or sake. And order little appetizers like chicken karaage:

My first time eating this was here. I ate at least one piece of this every day. And when I am super hungry, I would order this with a bowl of rice. I would squeeze the lemon all over the chicken and my rice so I'll have the lemon flavor throughout. This, by the way, is fantastic with beer.

So you cheers a little and snack a little. One of the next dishes are all my favorites to eat here while enjoying great company, with drinks.

Yakitori

Here is the chicken skin, chicken liver, and special heart which is the fatty membrane around the heart of the chicken (DELICIOUS). Everything was eaten with a dash of togarashi pepper. 

Additional hearts were ordered. 

Ankimo in ponzu. This is monkfish liver served in a bowl with ponzu, spicy grated daikon, seaweed, shredded cucumbers and minced green onions. I used to also eat this with rice. The flavor is mild yet creamy in texture.

Half shell oysters - 1 ordered with UNI - Sea Urchin (recommended). Served with spicy grated radish, minced onions and ponzu. Super fresh and clean.

Wagyu Carpaccio. I know these are all my favorite foods here, but you have to order this. Tender wagyu beef over mixed greens, sliced red onions, sprouts and minced green onions with a savory tataki sauce. Everyone at the table was happy about this.

Salmon cut roll. We always order this wherever we go. 

Yellowtail belly. Just melts in your mouth. I eat this with a touch more of wasabi even though it's already added with a dash of soy sauce. Your eyes will roll back.

Dragon roll. Yes, unagi is good and we love avocados. But did you know they use real snow crab in all their rolls? Think again when you want to pass on their rolls. And hey, you are eventually going to need something to soak up all that alcohol.

For the next few years, I suffered with the syndrome to call this Spicy tuna at every restaurant. It is called spicy tuna pizza here at Oto, but a lot of other restaurants have the same concept with different names. I loved the seasoning of the spicy tuna.

More yakitori. Beef tongue and Pork calbi. Both are recommended.

They were sold out of their tebasaki karaage (fried chicken wings) so we ordered their chicken wings yakitori instead. I like this version, but the boys wanted fried.

Shiso gyoza. I knew what I wanted, but so did my brother. He made sure we ordered this even though we were extremely stuffed. His eyes rolled back after taking a bite. Served with citrus ponzu. If you love gyoza, you haven't loved it until you had it here. Made in house.

Limited quantity: Miso Marinated cod bones. Don't be fooled by the name, these are packed with flavor and meat. I've had this at other restaurants, but it just doesn't compare to here. It just tastes so fresh and not like it's been sitting in the fridge for a long time. The portions are also generous. Pairs fantastically with beer.

We also had a simple straightforward snow crab roll and ended our night with watermelon shaved ice.

If you plan on visiting let me know, I love it here.

OH and Happy Birthday again brother.