Niwa Japanese BBQ

My good friend, @basicbrunches, was moving at the end of June. *Tear* So that means we gotta send her off with style! The two of us along with @catchows decided to go to Niwa for her farewell dinner. Thanks so much to Niwa for hosting us! It was the perfect dinner to send off a food blogger, and she this was her first Japanese BBQ!! What an experience!

Niwa Japanese BBQ
2939 Main St.
Dallas, TX 75226
(214) 741-6492
www.niwabbq.com
Price: $$$+

The owner, Jimmy, came and greeted us after we were seated. He, along with another waitress, took care of us the entire meal. We all felt so honored that he personally took care of our table and introduced all the dishes. He basically told us that he was just going to send out a bunch of things he thinks we should try. He also asked if we were adventurous eaters, and YES! We are! :D (Note: a lot of these dishes are reduced portions since we were trying so many things, but the prices I'm posting are for the full portions on the menu.)

We started with some drinks...

(On the left) The Hummingbird (tropical citrus, Benedictine, hand crafted grenadine, Hum liquer, Hayman's Royal Dock Gin, house bitters; served over ice) $15~ @basicbrunches said it was good, and strong, I think.

(On the right) Okinawa Ice-Tea (passion fruit, cloudy apple, citrus, cold-brewed green tea; shaken) $8~ Both drinks were cute. The tea was a little tart for my taste but quite refreshing.

Hot Genmai Tea $3~ I decided to stick with my standard hot tea. :)

Spicy Edamame (with chili threads) $5~ I really enjoyed this. This is the first time I've had edamame with sauce on it and it's delicious! It's not really spicy but it had so much flavor. A solid starter to get your appetite going.

Niwa Salad (green cabbage, radish, corn, carrot, tomato, hard-boiled egg, roasted sesame dressing) $7~ This was my favorite out of the 2 salads. I think it was mostly because of the sesame dressing and corn. The dressing was slightly creamy and I loved all the flavors of the elements together.

Wafu Salad (seasonal greens, cucumbers, arare, daikon, Japanese wafu dressing) $7~ My two friends liked this one better. I mean, I liked this too, but I liked the other better. hehe. I always eat my greens! The arare (crispy rice balls) were a nice touch on top for some crunch.

Buta Kakuni (braised pork belly, ginger, mustard, ajitama egg) $9~ 

Jimmy had asked if we specifically wanted anything from the menu and this is the first thing I asked for. I freaking love braised pork belly. That egg on top was great. Perfectly soft boiled and had lots of flavor. The pork belly was tender and fatty, just the way it's supposed to be. I really wanted a bowl of rice to go with this and it would just totally bring back childhood memories. The only thing is that there was something in there that was a little too sweet. I think it was the mustard greens, I can't be sure. But that threw me off a little.

Horenso No Goma Ae (sesame seed cold spinach) $5~ 

I got really excited when we got served this dish. You don't typically see this in Dallas... at least I don't know where to get it. The only time I've seen it was in Japan, and also a Japanese restaurant in Brooklyn that served a traditional Japanese set meal. The sesame gave it a nice nuttiness. Loves it!

Spanish Octopus (fingerling potatoes, aji amarillo, shiso coulis, sudachi aoili, nasturtium leaves) $12~ 

We found out this dish is actually not on the menu. The kitchen prepped it just for us. And it was one of our favorite dishes of the night. Gorgeous colors. The char on the octopus was fantastic. And it was super tender... None of that typical octopus chewiness. I also loved all the various flavors of the different sauces. It was a bold dish, and very well rounded. Hopefully with all the rave reviews, they'll actually put it on the menu?

Sweet Butter Corn (soy butter) $5~ 

This was kinda fun. It was served in a foil pack and placed on the grill to heat up. Once the bag puffs up a little, the waitress came to empty it into a bowl. Such a simple dish... it's just corn. But you can definitely taste the butter and it goes so well with the steamed rice.

Ribeye, NY Strip, Hanger, Beef Belly, Berkshire Pork Sausage. 

We got a sampler platter with a bunch of different meats. I remember the belly was my favorite. It was so thinly sliced and the strip of fat adds so much flavor. The other meats were marinated. The hanger was the most tender if I remember correctly. But I loved the marinade on the ribeye. The pork sausage was just like a hot dog. A mini one. hehe.

Filet Mignon (cherry wood smoked, butter) $12~ Very cool presentation. It comes in a covered bowl to keep the smoke in to flavor the meat. We all had our cameras out to video when he pulled off the lid. hehe. You get just a hint of the cherry wood. It wasn't overwelming at all.

Beef Tongue (shallots, green onions, garlic, lemon) $10~ 

I love beef tongue. It was a first for @basicbrunches and it took some getting used to. haha. I don't think I've had tongue in such big slices before. You can basically see the sections/muscles of the tongue! TMI? :P It's delicious! It wasn't the most tender beef tongue I've had but I enjoyed the texture. It was also served with a sesame oil/salt/pepper mixture to dip in since this wasn't marinated.

A Miso Soup Intermission... :P

Outside Skirt (miso marinade) $10~ and Short Rib (karubi marinade) $10~ 

These were Happy Hour portions. HH Pick 2 Meats is $11~ Their happy hour specials are pretty killer y'all. So if you can go M-F between 2-6PM, you are getting a really good deal. I loved the flavor of the skirt cut. The short rib was a little tough. But by this time we were all getting really full so I wonder if the enjoyability was diminishing too. haha.

Berkshire Pork Jowl (with housemade Yuzu Kosho) $11~ 

Yuzu Kosho is a paste typically made from chili peppers, yuzu peel, and salt. They made theirs in house and it was done with Thai chilis. That means it's got a kick to it! Loved the combo. And seriously... any cheek or jowl on any animal or fish is the most tender. Trust me.

We were finally winding down. Oooooof. So full! But we haven't had the Pièce De Résistance... the Wagyu!

We got to compare the American vs Japanese Wagyu. Can you guess which is which??

Texas Wagyu (Chuck Flap; 2 oz.) $18~ From A-N Ranch in Sherman, TX. It had beautiful marbling and color but sliced thinly, you can't really appreciate the quality. It was not soft like butter... but was still tasty.

A-5 Japanese Wagyu (NY Strip) $47~ From Miyazaki, Japan. OMG. This is the real deal. We lightly seared it on each side and it basically melted in my mouth. Didn't even need sauce or anything, just wanted to cherish the pure beefy goodness. It was amazing, and was perfect to end our wonderful meal. Guy and girls, take note, if you want to impress your date, get this! It's foodgasmic!

We were down for the count. But of course they sent out desserts. Deep breath! We can do this!!

Panna Cotta (Madagascar vanilla, yuzu strawberry coulis, chilled raspberries and a matcha sugar). 

Beautiful presentation. The panna cotta was soooo jiggly! We had fun with some videos of that. hehe. So light but you still definitely get the vanilla flavor. I'd say eat this one first if you get multiple desserts just because the flavors are so delicate. I think this just edged out as my favorite of the night.

Semi-Freddo Cheesecake (Lemon cheesecake, ginger blueberry compote, lemon curd and a graham crumble). It's like a super rich cheesecake ice cream. Again, beautiful plating. If I wasn't so full I would've killed it. But it's quite rich so I finally gave up. haha.

Coffee Jelly (Full City Rooster's Guatemalan coffee, sweet cream, hazelnut powder and candied almonds). 

This was very interesting. It tasted just like a tiramisu. But the texture of the jello threw me off. It's a very light dessert. The flavor makes me want a denser cake or something instead of the light jello. But then again, I tend to gravitate towards more decadent and rich desserts anyways. This is @catchows's favorite.

What a fantastic meal. We expanded @basicbrunches' culinary horizon and sent her off properly. Thank you so much to Jimmy and the Niwa team for taking such great care of us. I highly recommend checking them out. The Happy Hour specials are a great way to try it without spending the big bucks. Or just go all out if you want to impress someone. And this is a great place for a date... they have suction vents right at the rim of the grill so all the cooking smoke gets sucked in. So you don't smell like you've just been standing next to a smoke grill. haha.

Also, I wanted to mention a series of Sake tasting events they are currently hosting. The first 2 have passed but there are 2 more!! July 23rd and August 6th. Sake Nights. They feature 5-7 sakes for each date. Every date has different ones so the point is to go to all of them to try it all. Plus you get this cool booklet to document your notes from your tastings. Sounds like a fun event with friends!

*The meal was comped but all opinions are my own.*

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

Wabi House Soft Opening

Wednesday night was the soft opening of the new ramen shop in Lower Greenville, Wabi House. To be honest, I heard about this place a while ago and had completely forgotten about it. But thanks to all the food publications I subscribe to... I found out a week prior that it was opening. And they take reservations!! So I got a group of friends together to go check out their first night of business. I also made another reservation for 3 weeks later so we can see how their soft opening is vs business after a few weeks.

I was excited to see that they were offering dry ramen (mazemen) and dipping ramen (tsukemen) in their menu. I've definitely never had either in Dallas yet. And I like those better than broth ramen in general. :)

Wabi House
1802 Greenville Avenue, Suite 100
Dallas, TX 75206
www.wabihouse.com
Price: $$-$$$

We arrived a few minutes before our reservation at 6:30PM. The place was still empty so we were seated immediately. We were greeted quickly by our waiter. He was very friendly and seemed excited that we were there! He was very eager to give us recommendations on the menu items which was cool. We were still waiting for 2 more people so kinda took our time.

Finally we decided to go ahead and get some appetizers while waiting for the rest of the group. We got a few things to share at the table.

Hama Rayu (hamachi, rayu, mustard vinaigrette, cilantro, scallion. sesame) $15~ 

This was really really tasty. The hamachi (yellowtail) was fresh. But the star was the sauce. Between the mustard vinaigrette and rayu (chili oil), the flavor was great. I loved the extra hint of spice. However, each order only comes with 6 pieces, which I think is a little expensive for $15... 

Beets 'n Brussels (brussels sprouts, cashews, fried beets) $7~ 

I always have to get the Brussels Sprouts. This was also very good. The beets were shaved thin and fried which was a nice contrast to the brussels. The beets also added a sweetness to the dish. And I had forgotten there were nuts, they were hidden on the bottom. It added another layer of flavor and texture to the dish. I enjoyed it a lot.

Crispy Pork Ears (deep fried pork ears with house seasonings, bonito aioli) $9~ 

I love pork ears. Grew up eating them my whole life but rarely fried. I felt like they were sliced way too thin so it basically became crispy/oil sticks. It was a little heavy and I really didn't get any of the texture of the pork ears, which is the best part of eating it. The bonito aioli tho... yum! I put some of that on the brussels. hehe. I think this has room for improvement. As long as the pork ears are thicker, I think it'll be great.

So far so good. We were all excited to try the ramen!

Tonkotsu Ramen (chashu, woodear mushrooms, butter corn, egg, mayu oil, negi) $11~

 

Pretty much everyone got this except me. Everyone had their own variation though by adding extra toppings. Some added extra corn, some got extra eggs and chashu. It certainly was a pretty bowl. It looks like ramen I've gotten in Japan. So the noodles are the thin straight ones... booo. I really don't like those. I feel like they lack the chewy texture. I really prefer the curly kind. :( Everyone said it was good, but not the best they've had. Pretty much everyone in this group has had ramen outside of Dallas and has pretty high standards. They rated it average 3-3.5 out of everything they've ever had. I'd say that's a decent start for first night of business. The broth needed more depth of flavor, everything else was fine. One friend said the "umami" that ramen broth is supposed to have was lacking a little.

Dry Garlic (fresh garlic, garlic chips, dashi butter, chashu, nori strips, poached egg, cucumber) $11~ 

 

 

I got the dry ramen (mazemen). I prefer these because they normally have thicker/chewier noodles. And this was no exception. The noodles were way thicker than the broth ramen and they were awesome. Cooked perfectly al dente. I loved it. The poached egg was also fantastic and very necessary. It created a richness to the dish and held everything together. The flavor, however, left much to be desired. The garlic was definitely not lacking, but everything else was. It needed more salt, or spice, or something... I added some of my friend's extra spicy rayu in there and helped some. If there wasn't that poached egg, this dish would've failed. The cucumbers were a nice touch of freshness but were sliced too big... I think thinner slices would mix together with the noodles much better. And I felt they were a little stingy with the chashu. My piece of pork was barely a whole slice. It was nice and tender though. I ended up eating the entire bowl still just because I loved the noodles so much. And it was a huge bowl... way more than the broth ramen. I was so full!!!

Extra Toppings:
Chashu +$3~ (pork)
Egg +$2~
Woodear +$1~ (mushroom)
Corn $1~
Spicy Rayu $1~ (chili oil)

We had a good time. I think the food in general was good and shows a lot of promise. We're excited to go back in a few weeks and see how they've improved. As far as soft opening goes, I think they did a great job. Service was good, our waiter was nice, and our checks were separated properly. I'll be really happy if they improve and we actually have a good ramen place in Dallas! I had pretty much given up hope by now... Next time I want to try their tsukemen (dipping ramen)! The only other thing is that the price is a bit high. In Japan (or Cali), you can get an awesome bowl of ramen for around $10 and you can even get extra noodles for free. For some reason Dallas thinks ramen should be almost $20 a bowl after you add all the extra stuff. Booo... But IF they can match the quality to the price, I might feel better about paying it. haha.

So... see you soon, Wabi House. We're coming back! Their grand opening is this Saturday, 6/26. And I believe they are donating their proceeds to charity. I won't be able to make it, but you guys should go check them out! :) They also have a full bar, I believe, and I've heard their cocktails are good.

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

Modmarket - Plano

So...last week, while we had snow day, I discovered this amazing new place basically in my own backyard! I've heard about Modmarket and their opening but I didn't realize it was 2 minutes from my house. Another healthy food place... I was skeptical and didn't pay much attention to it. Usually they either don't fill you up, or is too expensive, or both!

Modmarket
8400 Preston Road, Suite 100
Plano, TX 75024
(469)573-6074
http://modmarket.com
Price: $$

So on our snow day last week... (I get cabin fever really easily btw) I was working from home and I called up a friend of mine who works near by to see if he wanted to lunch! He'd been to Modmarket before and said it was pretty good. I literally drove for 5 minutes (the extra 3 due to the slush on the roads) and I'm there.

I love the look and feel of the place. Lots of wood paneling and tables, very cute, health food-esque feel. You order at the counter and they give you a buzzer. Sometimes they bring the food out to you too.

My friend got the Thai Coconut Salad (mixed greens, sweet potato, cucumber, grated coconut, roasted chicken, peanut mango dressing) Full $9.10~ 

It was huge!! I tried a little bite since it had coconut grated all over it. Not a fan of that. It didn't even need the dressing. Lots of flavor already. I can't have the dressing anyways since it has mango, but he said it's very peanuty.

I couldn't decide so I got 2 things.

Crimini Kale Pizza (roasted crimini mushrooms, kale, red onions, organic red sauce) Half $4.50~ I just got half on this since it was just for me. This dish is vegan btw. It was huge! And looked so good! Lots of toppings, lots of flavor, and it was under 200 calories. Wow! The pizza is super thin, but the crust was still doughy and chewy which I like. No complaints what-so-ever! And I ate the whole thing. :P

 

Cashew Butternut Soup (with a whole wheat toast) $4~ This is gluten free and vegan. It was a bigger bowl than I expected. The toast on the side was a bit dry but the soup was fantastic. It was warming on such a snowy day. And I liked dipping the pizza crust in it.

Red Velvet Cookie $1~ This was an impulse buy since they had homemade treats all around the front register. It was really good. Soft and pillowy and you can really taste the red velvet. Wasn't artificial tasting as sometimes red velvets can get. It was just a little small. hehe.

Needless to say. I loved it!! And my over all meal (minus the cookie) was only like 360 calories or something. They include the nutritional information on your receipt. :)

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I loved this place so much, I was telling my sister and some friends about it later that night and they wanted to go. I was gonna go home for dinner but I decided to tag along. haha. It's so good!!

Farmer Salad (mixed greens, roasted chicken, grapes, feta, corn, almond, champagne vinaigrette) Full $9.50~ 

This is gluten free. I got it to share with a friend. Again, huge portion, lots of flavors, we didn't even need the dressing. We both didn't liked feta so we took that off. Everything else was great. Mixture of flavors from the sweet grapes, to the smokey roasted corn, to the tender chicken. And all sorts of textures too. Loves it! I will totally get this again. And it was so big we only made it through 2/3rds of it. I took the rest to go as my lunch the next day.

Basil Chicken Sandwich (roasted chicken, basil aioli, tomato, onion, provolone, arugula; on ciabatta) Half $4.50~ 

I got this to supplement the salad. I loved the basil aioli on this. The chicken was super tender and the bread held everything together really well. Thumbs up!

Bianco Pizza (roasted garlic puree, baby spinach, fresh mozzarella, grape tomatoes, basil, parmesan) Half $5.50~ My friend who I shared the salad with got this. All the ingredients were really fresh. It was yummy.

My sister and another friend shared the Wild Mushroom Pizza (seared wild mushrooms, creme fraiche, gorgonzola, red onion, 3 cheese blend, wilted arugula) Full $9.50~ 

It looked so delicious. They both loved it. I tried a bite...if you love mushrooms this is totally for you. They each got a soup to supplement the pizza. (sorry no picture) We were all extremely full after.

So yea, one of my favorite new places. Yummy, healthy and affordable! And it's so close! I will definitely be back for sure. In fact, I think I'm going again tonight!! :P

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~