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Y'all. If you follow me on Instagram, you probably know that I've found the best ramen in Dallas. I've been disappointed in the ramen scene in Dallas for quite some time, but we're actually starting to get some good ones. Some of my go-tos... Wabi House, Monta, and Santouka (inside Mitsuwa's food court). But Oni Ramen blows them all out of the water. The other ones all have their strong points, but overall, Oni shines in all accounts.
Apparently there was already a location in Ft. Worth that I wasn't aware of, but we went to the new Deep Ellum location a few weeks ago. Since then I've been back already. I rarely go back to a restaurant within a month these days. I've never been to the Ft. Worth one so this review is purely for the Deep Ellum location.
Oni Ramen - Deep Ellum
2822 Elm St.
Dallas, TX 75226
(469) 620-2162
www.oniramen.com
Price: $$
The layout of this place reminds me of ramen shops in Japan. It's pretty small. A few tables, some bar seating, and 2 tables outside in the back. You can either order at the computer screens or sit at the bar and get full service. I've gone twice now... first time we did the kiosk, second I sat at the bar. I'd have to say I prefer the bar seats because I always like to ask questions and potentially have substitutions and stuff. Yes, I'm one of "those" people. haha. Plus you get to chat with Brett, who mans the bar. He's a super cool dude. :) But seriously, you can't go wrong either way here. The food is ultimately good both ways of ordering.
The first visit. We did the kiosk orders and then went to go find seats. It's self service this way so there's a water station where you can get your own water.
At first glance, the bowls look freaking fantastic. I was impressed by the amount of toppings that come standard to their noodle bowls. And even the add-on's are reasonable in price.
Kyushu Tonkotsu (garlic-white pepper pork broth with pork belly, bamboo shoots, woodear mushrooms, mustard greens, red ginger, green onion, black garlic oil, and egg) $12~
My husband got this. First thing that draws my eyes were the 2 massive pork belly slices on top. The color on these were perfection. And they are "chopsticks" tender. I can use my chopsticks and cut right through. The broth had so much flavor, and was surprisingly not too salty. That's one of the main problems I find with ramen in Dallas, and in general... after a while it becomes too salty. This wasn't the case. The flavors were bold and rich and you can continue to taste them til the last bite. The noodles were chewy and curly. My favorite kind. The black garlic is always a good choice, it adds another depth of flavor. Plus the black looks cool. hehe.
Rich Tonkotsu (rich pork broth seasoned with soy topped with pork belly, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, woodear mushrooms, and green onion) $9~
Soft Boiled Egg +$0.50~
Leafy Greens +$0.75~
Medium Spice +$1.00~
I love that they have a lot of vegetable toppings. Another thing I don't like is typically ramen doesn't come with a lot of veggies. I really enjoyed the leafy greens in there. The soft boiled egg, a must, was cooked perfectly and actually had great flavor! I got the medium spice in the ramen and it gave a good level of heat. Wasn't super spicy so I enjoyed it tremendously. My sister got the demon spice on the side. (Oni means demon in Japanese... so they've got a demon spice add on as well as a Oni Reaper ramen.) With the demon spice on the side, my sister said it wasn't too spicy. But I suspect if she had gotten it mixed IN the broth, the heat would've built up quickly. I'm OBSESSED with their pork belly. And you get TWO!!!! They are large, thick cut, and so freaking tender.
My bro in law got the Tan Tan Men (spicy sesame seasoned dashi broth topped with tempura shrimp, woodear mushrooms, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, leafy greens, green onion) $11~ This one can be made vegetarian or vegan.
Chicken Thigh +$2~
The flavor on this was different than the others. You can actually taste the difference between each type of broth. He enjoyed it a lot. And this one comes with a slightly thicker noodle... also curly. :)
Second visit. I went with 2 friends that wanted to go after I told them about it.
Signature Miso (rich pork broth seasoned with sweet and nutty soybean paste topped with pork belly, bamboo shoots, buttered corn kernels, bean sprouts, and green onion) $9.50~ My friend is a ramen snob. She's really picky, and she could not stop texting people about this place. Yaaassssss!!!
Chef's Creation: Miso with Black Garlic (rich pork broth, pork belly slices, diced pork belly, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, buttered corn kernels, leafy greens, shredded leeks, toasted seaweed; soy marinated soft boiled egg).
The chef created this for me. I feel so special! The black garlic oil covered the entire surface of the broth. It was pretty damn cool. So yummy. TONS of flavor. I especially loved the black on the noodles as I pulled them up from the broth. Serious food porn here, y'all. He also gave me a mountain of diced pork belly below the slices. Tip: if you want a bunch of meat, get the diced, it's $1 less as an add on, but it's just as tender and I think you get more! This was amazing. And so far I've tried several flavors now and they are all consistently excellent.
Like I said, best in Dallas. It's legit. Speaking from someone who's been to Japan twice. And the first time in Japan, I made a point of basically doing a ramen tour... hit up more than 7 or 8 ramen shops while I was there. And comparing prices against other places in DFW, you get the most bang for your buck here at Oni. Most of the toppings come standard, and you get a lot of it. The overall portion size is good too. I have yet to finish my bowl. Although both my friends, both small Asian girls, killed theirs. haha.
You KNOW I'll be back soon. Thanks for feeding us, Chef Jesus!
Also... this is NOT HOSTED! I just love it so!
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A couple weeks ago, I got invited out to try Chef Eddy T's new restaurant in Colleyville, Sai Fine Asian Bistro. Chef Eddy has had several restaurants open and close in the past few years... this is his latest venture. From the pictures of the food I've seen online, I had high hopes for this place. It really looks and sounds delicious. And it's an hour and 15 minute drive for us from Rockwall, so I'm really hoping for a great dinner.
Sai Fine Asian Bistro
5005 Colleyville Blvd. Suite 240
Colleyville, TX 76034
(682) 325-4050
http://sai-restaurant.com
Price: $$$-$$$$
I made it a date night with my husband. We went on a Sunday night (during Memorial Day weekend). The restaurant is tucked in the back of an unassuming center. Not really even a strip mall... it was definitely hard to see from the road. Walking in, there's a lot of Asian style decor. The restaurant has a main dining room and a separate section with the bar, which was not open at the time. We waited at the front for quite a while. Looked like they didn't have a host/hostess that night, so I just stood at the archway to the dining room in hopes that one of the waiters will see me. Finally the waitress saw me and came to greet us. She knew immediately I was there by invitation and sat us at a table right under the light. Thanks! That'll really help with the photos as the rest of the dining room was really dim. There seemed to be only 1 waitress and 1 waiter working, and there were only a few tables dining. It IS a holiday weekend so it wasn't too unusual for the sparse dining room. The waitress was super nice... gave us the menus and went to go check with the Chef on how our dinner was going to proceed. The Chef basically said we can order whatever we wanted on the menu.
The menu items all looked so good. Our server was the waiter, Grant. He was also super nice and accommodating. After asking some questions, we got some appetizers to start. I still couldn't decide from the entrees. haha.
Braised Pork Belly (Chef Eddy's signature braised pork belly with pickled daikon and pickled mustard greens) $8.88~
This was one of the recommended dishes. It smelled great. And I loved the flavors. It actually brought back childhood memories of eating roast pork in Taiwan. That's pretty legit imo. I also really enjoyed the combination of the pickled mustard greens and daikon to help contrast the fattiness of the pork. I really wanted a bowl of rice with this. hehe. Chinese roast pork is like one of my all time favorite things. The only complaint is that the sections of the pork that's not next to the fatty part was a bit dry. But I just made sure I had a little bit of fat with every bite of lean meat and it was fine.
Fried Brussels Sprouts (golden crisp Brussels sprouts served with chili plum sauce and crispy shallot) $7.88~
Just like pork belly, if I ever see Brussels sprouts on the menu, I have to order it. The sprouts were charred nicely! I thought it was too sweet though... that plum sauce overwhelmed all other flavors. My husband, on the other hand, thought it was great. He tends to eat a lot sweeter than I do.
We decided to add in a salad. I wanted more veggies. Miso Caesar Salad (romaine hearts with crostini and Parmigiano-Reggiano; served with Chef Eddy's famous miso caesar dressing) $8.88~
The miso addition to the dressing sounded so interesting. We both enjoyed it. The miso added an umami flavor to a standard caesar. I felt it was dressed just the right amount. I hate it when restaurants drown the salad in dressing.
For the entrees... I really couldn't decide... I wanted everything. So I ordered 2 from each section, "From the Street" and "Only at Sai". Our table was too small.... XD
Peking Duck Fried Rice (fried jasmine rice with pulled duck, onions, cherry tomatoes, eggs, soy sauce, scallions) $17.88~ This was also a recommended dish. The presentation was very nice in the Chinese style clay pot. The duck was tender and moist. It was a yummy dish.
Curry Laksa Noodles (Malaysian curry with egg noodles, baby bok choy, crispy shallot, red onions, bean sprouts, smoked chili, coconut milk) $14.88~
Served with chicken or tofu. I literally wanted everything with curry in it. I love any curries made with coconut milk. This was definitely one of my favorites of the night. The presentation was cool with the tower of crispy noodles on top. The curry was amazing. So much flavor, with a slight heat to it. It was rich, full of spicy, and comforting. I would order this again in a heart beat!
Massaman Short Rib (48 hour braised certified angus beef short ribs in Massaman curry with coconut milk, onions, cherry tomatoes, roasted peanuts, bell peppers, and sweet potatoes) $29.88~
I had my eye on this dish ever since their grand opening. It just sounds amazing. TOTALLY LOVED IT. The short rib was not fork tender but was still super tender when you put it in your mouth. Which I'm ok with... I don't want mushy meat! The curry was a different flavor than the noodles so that was a nice variety. This one was not spicy at all. At first bite, it wasn't as bold as the Laksa noodles, but as I ate more, I think I liked this sauce better... it was milder but was so well rounded. It comes with white rice which pairs great. We pretty much finished all the meat, but still asked for the rest of the sauce to go. I made fried rice with it later and it was bomb! Highly recommend!
Salmon Miso Truffle (grilled salmon with butternut squash, brussels sprouts, wild mushroom, in a miso truffle cream sauce) $27.88~
Initially we wanted the Five Spice Duck but it was unavailable that night. So we opted for the salmon since it was also a recommended item. Loved the presentation. That crispy skin on top was a great garnish. The fish was cooked well and I liked all the elements in it. However, it tasted a little too salty for me for some reason. I think the miso cream sauce overpowered all the vegetables. But my husband didn't think it was too salty. He gobbled up the entire dish!
We were too full to order dessert. I was a little sad, but I really could not have eaten another bite. Plus we have a longgg way home so we didn't want to be in a serious food coma. We ended up taking quite a bit of the entrees to go. They all reheated nicely so we had some good meals later too.
The Chef came out to meet us after the dinner. I told him I loved all the different Asian flavors. He definitely knows the Asian flavor profile well. It's very rare where something I eat brings me childhood memories. It was a great dinner. I can totally vouch for the food. The service was great too. Grant and the waitress were really busy since it was only the 2 of them but I think they handled everything well and always had a smile on their faces. I hope this place sticks around....but maybe they should move a little closer to us. haha. 75 min drive is a bit too far for any meal... I'm not really sure why Chef Eddy's previous ventures didn't pan out, because he makes some great food. Thanks so much for having us!!
*The meal was comped but all opinions are my own.*
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Dallas, it's time to rejoice! We now have a good ramen shop. Yaaaaassss!! Just last week, the Las Vegas ramen shop, Monta Ramen, has officially opened. Now, I've never been to Monta in Vegas, but I've always heard good things about it. Plus, I've had Japanese food in Vegas (off the strip) and they have some legit Japanese food. I was very excited when I found out they were opening a location here.
Monta Ramen
800 North Coit Rd, Ste 2550B
Richardson, TX 75080
(469) 333-7777
www.montaramen.com
Price: $$
We went on Saturday, 2 days after they opened, for a late lunch. We arrived at 1:30PM and there was a fairly long line out front. I wrote our names down on the list and counted 7 groups ahead of us. On the wait list, you can indicate if you want to sit at a table or at the bar. I put both so we can potentially get in faster. The wait wasn't super long.. I'd guess about 20-25 minutes, but their waiting room had no AC... only a small fan. It was pretty damn hot.
Finally, it was our turn. Our group of 3 were seated at the bar. It was a pretty small space. Maybe 7-8 seats at the bar and about 10 or so tables of 2 in the entire space. It looked like there was a small section of the dining area not yet being utilized... maybe they'll open that up in the future. It can probably fit another 2 tables of four.
We've already been studying the menu while waiting. I wanted to try everything. This is the first time I see a menu at the ramen place in Dallas that reminded me of the restaurants in LA. They offered the same items as many LA ramen shops. Several different types of ramen broth, fried rice, and various appetizers. And guess what, the prices match LA as well! All the ramen were under $10. Now that's what I'm talking about. Ramen is NOT supposed to be ridiculously expensive. But it seems like the trend it's been taking since it's considered a "novelty" in Dallas?! Places like Ten Ramen and Wabi House where, after you add a few toppings, becomes like a $18 bowl of noodles. That's just crazy to me. You don't even need to pay over $10 for a bowl of amazing ramen in Japan!
Anyways, we decided to order a whole bunch of stuff. Whatever we don't finish is going to be leftovers for dinner. :P
Gyoza (handmade pan-fried pork and vegetable dumplings) $5.95~
These looked good. They had a nice sear on the bottom. Unfortunately, the meat inside was quite dry. I could see that it was dry when I look at it too. Flavor is not bad. They might wanna tweak their filling recipe a little.
Takana Fried Rice (mustard leaf, onions, green onions, egg, chopped chashu pork with rice) $6.95~
This is one of my favorites when I go to a ramen place in LA. Shin-Sen-Gumi makes a great takana fried rice. I like their fried rice better than their ramen. haha. Monta's was pretty good. Not LA caliber but a good fried rice still. The chunks of chashu was a little dry but overall I enjoyed it.
Chashu Bowl (slices of grilled chashu prok served over rice with green onions) Reg. $5.75~
First of all, TOTALLY did NOT look like the picture on their menu. hahaha. :( The slices were no where as impressive looking. However, the pork we did get was super tender and moist. The flavors were good too. The rice texture was nice and chewy. Maybe just a bit more pork on top would make this a good side dish, or even main dish.
Chashu Buns (steamed buns filled with chashu pork, served with Monta's original spicy bun sauce) $5.95~
My fiance really wanted these, I was on the fence since I saw a pic of them and it looked pretty sad. And they were kinda pathetic looking... Kinda flat, with a piece of iceberg lettuce sticking out. But guess what? This was the best appetizer we got. The buns were steamed perfectly fluffy. The pork was super tender and the flavors were just right. I mean... they could've put more pork, but the amount that was in there was definitely enough for the buns to meat ratio. And the lettuce added a touch of freshness. Thumbs up.
Hiyashi Chuka Cold Noodle (pork chashu, egg, cucumber, bean sprout, kikurage (woodear mushroom), and tomato. Choice of sesame or yuzu sauce) $9.50~
I got this. I've had cold ramen in the past and I've always loved it. I've always preferred dry noodles to broth since I'm not much of a soup person in general. And cold noodles are so refreshing on a hot day. This was loaded with toppings. They certainly didn't skimp on anything. The sesame sauce was good. It had a slight tang to it. It wasn't as good as the one I had in Taiwan...but then again, nothing is as good here as in Taiwan. :P The noodle texture was spot on, nice and chewy. I liked it a lot. And my fiance loved it. haha.
Kuro Ramen Black Garlic (pork broth, two slices of pork chashu, kikurage (woodear mushrooms), bamboo shoots, green onion) $8.95~
I told my fiance to get this. I also told him to get it with the thicker noodles. It normally comes with thin. He loved it. He couldn't decide if he liked this or the cold noodles better. hehe. This is the first time I've seen black garlic ramen in Dallas. I liked it a lot when I had it in NYC and Japan. This was delicious! The broth had a ton of flavor, but it wasn't too salty. We did notice half way through that it didn't come with an egg. But to add an egg is $1.50, cheaper than all the other ramen places. It does have TWO pieces of chashu though, and the meat was super tender. The thicker noodles were the same as in my cold noodles. Cooked perfectly chewy, it makes all the difference. I find the thin ones don't have enough texture and usually ruins the whole bowl for me. Personal preference... but try the thick noodles vs the thin and decide for yourself. So the ramen is good!! Definitely closest thing to ramen I've had in LA. Will definitely be back to have this again!
My friend got the Tonkotsu Ramen (pork broth, two slices of pork chashu, kikurage (woodear mushrooms), bamboo shoots, green onion) $7.95~
Normally comes with thin noodles, my friend requested thick noodles. She loved it. The broth also had a lot of flavor without being overly salty. Which seems to be a struggle for most other places in Dallas. Salt does NOT equal flavor, people!
Great first experience. They have a few kinks they need to work out with the appetizers. So I'll be back in a few weeks to test them out again. The waitresses were all very nice. And I noticed the majority, if not all, of the staff were Japanese, which is a very good sign. I also heard that they are under the same owners as Mr. Max in Irving, which is a fantastic hidden gem for Japanese food. The only big complaint was the AC... remember how I said the waiting area was too hot? The dining room barely had AC at all too. I was so glad I got cold noodles. haha.
Soooo happy the Dallas ramen scene is finally on the map now, with a place that has good ramen and reasonable prices. :) AND a great location! Yay!
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July 4th was our first (and last) engagement anniversary. By this time next year, we will already be married! Gotta do it big for this eh? I made a reservation for the new Uchi in Dallas. I've always wanted to go to the one in Austin but never made it.
I also heard that their happy hour is pretty good and it's for the entire restaurant, not just at the bar. I love that. Makes it easier instead of having to fight for a space. So I made our reservation for 5PM, right as they opened for dinner service. This way we can take advantage of the Sake Social (Happy Hour 5-6:30PM daily).
Uchi - Dallas
2817 Maple Ave.
Dallas, TX 75201
(214) 855-5454
http://uchirestaurants.com/dallas/
Price: $$$$$+
We arrived 10 minutes before 5PM. We were the 2nd group to show up. The first couple were waiting by the front door. They haven't even opened up the restaurant yet. Within the next 5 minutes, more and more cars pulled up and in the blink of an eye, there was a long line waiting at the front door already. A waitress came by with little sushi rolls for all the people waiting in line. That was a nice little treat.
At 5PM, the doors open and we all filed in to check in with the hostess. We were immediately seated (obviously). The decor is modern and sophisticated but felt warm with the wood paneling on the walls and the tables. I really liked the decor. For our party of 2, they gave us a table for 4, so that was nice to have the extra space. I also said it was our anniversary when I made the reservation so from the hostess, to our waiter who sat us, to the waiter who took our orders, all wished us a happy anniversary. That was really thoughtful. :)
Our waiter brought us some water and gave us the rundown of how things operated. Their dishes are more tapas style... smaller plates, meant for sharing. And we can order as we go but just not order one dish at a time since that tends to slow down the kitchen. Makes sense. So we decided to do it in rounds.
I had a big list of things to try. hehe. So we started with the Sake Social menu. The portions are smaller but they are from the regular menu so you can try it before paying the full price.
ROUND 1:
Koshu Hot Sake $3~ I don't like sake, but I drank a small cup. For $3, it was a really good amount. Their sake bottle is bigger than some other Japanese restaurants.
Machi Cure (smoked baby yellowtail, yucca crisp, marcona almond) $6~
This was different than what I expected. But good. It was like a yellowtail nacho. But with yucca. The yucca was sliced super thin and fried. The yellowtail was super fresh. I liked all the elements together in one bite. There was about 4 yucca pieces in this dish. Small portions for sure!
Yokai Berry (salmon, dinosaur kale, asian pear, blueberry, yuzu) $6~
I was interested about this one. When everything's eaten in one bite, it's pretty good, but on their own, it's quite underwhelming. The salmon is super fresh which was great. But eh, I was bored. I didn't get much flavor from it all.
Walu Walu (oak grilled escolar, candied citrus, yuzupon, myoga) $8~
This seemed to be a popular dish from all the people that have already been to Uchi. I wasn't nearly as impressed with it. The fish was cooked ok. Could've been more tender. I loved the candied citrus on top though, an interesting flavor combination. The yuzupon sauce on the bottom, however, was way too sour for me. If it hadn't been for the candied citrus, it was way too acidic. My fiance liked it better than I did.
Bacon Otoshi (pork belly, kimchi, onion, jalapeno) $6~
Yum! Thick chunks of pork belly. And I loved the texture with the thin rice chips or whatever it was. The Korean flavors definitely came through on this one. Bold. A mixture of tangy and salty and spicy. I liked it a lot.
Brussels Sprouts (crispy brussels sprouts, lemon chili) $7~
This was the only item in round 1 that's not on the happy hour menu. But it's brussels sprouts, so we must get it. Plus I heard great things about it. The waiter also said it's the best.. and he doesn't even like brussels sprouts! Well that just totally hyped it up. And of course, it didn't meet my expectations. It was really delicious, don't get me wrong. But I've had my fair share of brussels sprouts and this is not the best. haha. It definitely had a great char on it. But flavors weren't mind blowing. One of the best ones we've had is still the late Village Kitchen in Highland Park Village that closed down mid 2014. :( Sadness. I miss it.
We're ready for Round 2! Since the portions from the first round was small, we went all out for the next one... looking back... probably not the best idea, since these are now all from the regular menu. haha.
ROUND 2:
Kabocha Tempura (japanese pumpkin) 2pcs. $2.50~
Expensive for 2 pieces of tempura, but really yum! It made my top 5 list for the night. The kabocha was perfectly tender, the tempura was light and crispy, and the seasoning was spot on. Reminded me of something I had in Japan.
Karaage (fried marinated chicken, sweet chili, fish caramel, seasonal pickle) $10~
This was highly recommended by the waiter. We were skeptical... he said they won some award with this recipe or something. But why not? It was sooo yummy! The chicken was sooo juicy. Fried really well and that sauce was delicious. Korean flavors... tangy and a little sweet and spicy. It's in my top 5 as well. I didn't care for the pickles though. My fiance ate all of them.
Nabe (duck, mushroom, chili) $24~
I heard really good things about this dish so I wanted to try it. It comes in a clay dish and so the rice gets crispy. Love that! The dish was served with the egg yolk on top. I wasn't fast enough to get a picture before the waitress mixed it up for us. Then she told us to let it sit for 5 minutes or so to get the rice crisp up. It smelled really good. So... I don't think 5 minutes is enough for the rice to crisp so we left it in longer after I tried a bite. Everything was good except there's a really sour taste in there. I thought it was the sauce she poured in before she mixed everything so I just continued eating. Later, my fiance realized that a certain mushroom in there... the one that looks like a giant enoki mushroom, was the culprit. I tried one... yes! OMG it was so sour. Not sure if that's how they marinated it, or it was bad...? But I picked all of them out and then the dish was great. At first it was a little underwhelming, but with each bite, the more and more I liked it. So at the end, it still made my top 5... MINUS the super sour mushrooms!
Oh... during the meal, they came and gave us some scallops, compliments of the kitchen. Yay! The scallops were cooked to perfection. So tender. I loved the combo with the sauce and mini potato chips.
Roasted Beets (skyr yogurt, bitter greens, local honey) $8~
Super fun and colorful dish. The beets are prepped 3 ways. I don't remember it all, but one was "brioche", which I thought I misheard. But it was basically like a beet crouton. Crunchy and crumbly. Wasn't my favorite. The other 2 preps were fantastic though. There was one that just kind of melted in your mouth. Top 5. Yup!
Foie Nigiri (seared foie gras) $9.50~ per piece.
This was the last thing we ordered. We were hesitant to since it's $10 a piece. A PIECE!!! Whoa. But I've heard rave reviews and neither of us had ever had a really good piece of foie. I've mostly had it as a mousse and never saw the hype behind it all. Plus it was our anniversary. Go big right? So we each got one. The waitress said usually nigiri is inserted right side up when you eat it. But for this, we should turn it upside down so the foie touches our tongue first. It's a little tricky... the rice started falling apart when we did that. So I chucked it into my mouth. I immediately put my hand to my mouth because it was SO GLORIOUS!!! OMG. THIS IS SO GOOD. WHY HAVEN'T I EVER HAD FOIE GRAS LIKE THIS BEFORE?!?! I had this giant grin on my face... and I almost teared up. SERIOUSLY... one of the best bites of my life, to date. I never knew foie gras could be that good. I'm a believer now! It was just so perfectly buttery, literally melted in your mouth. And the combination with the rice texture was PERFECTION. And that sear?? WOW! Get it, just do it, you'll thank me after. Best thing ever, definitely was my number 1.
We were pretty stuffed by now. The rice and chicken sure filled us up. So we were thinking we were only going to try 1 dessert. However, we were curious about another and the waiter basically talked us into trying it as well. :P
Fried Milk (chocolate milk, toasted milk, iced milk sherbert) $9~
We knew we wanted this one. Quite interesting... especially the iced milk sherbert, it was so light! But you can still taste the milk. My favorite was the milk chocolate mousse/bar thing on the bottom. So freaking silky. And I liked the texture from the corn flake bits or whatever it was. The fried milk is on the left side, and it's actually like a custard (and you can see the vanilla bean specks in it) and the dough on the outside. That was my fiance's favorite part but for me, I could've done without it. The chocolate bar was my fav.
Lime Cream (puffed rice, seasonal fruit, herbs) $9~
The waiter said the cream on the bottom is standard but the fruit/flavors on top change frequently, which is kinda cool. So you can try different variations all the time. The seasonal fruit was watermelon. So they had these Dippin Dots type frozen watermelon balls. There's also compressed watermelon in salt. It was such a cool looking dish. It's like a terrarium! Almost not sure if we wanted to eat it or grow it. haha. But uber interesting!!! So many textures and flavors. I particularly liked the puffed rice that was on the bottom. Added that crunch and the compressed watermelon added a savoriness. I've never had anything like this before. Be adventurous and try this at least once. I can guarantee 100% that it won't taste like anything you THINK it might taste like. It made my honorary top 5 for the night.
It was a great meal. I was a little surprised by how I felt overall. I had the expectation that everything was going to be just absolutely amazing. And while everything was fresh and cooked well, I wasn't super excited by most of it. The foie gras was the only thing that was MIND BLOWING. So I'm not sure if I will return. If anything I'll just order 5 pieces of foie gras nigiri and call it a day. hahaha. :P And also, all of my top 5 dishes are non-seafood. I had the perception that since this is Japanese, then sushi would be at the forefront. But honestly, most of the beginning fish dishes were not very memorable, albeit tasty. The service was great. I particularly like one waitress (we had several serve us), because she would explain the dish but also tell us why SHE likes it, I thought that was a nice personal touch. All in all, the bill came out to be around $150 after tax and tip. Wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. I think going for the social hour helped a lot. And we were stuffed!
I still remember the flavors and my reaction when I put the foie gras in my mouth. I think I'll go back just to have it again. haha. If I was just rating this one dish... it would be a 10 out of 5 cookies. :P
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