Okawa Japanese Cuisine

We recently found out about a new Japanese restaurant that opened up in Rockwall. There's not too many interesting places to eat in Rockwall (and we've been to all the good spots) so it was nice to have something new! Looking at the online reviews, the place seems like it has a lot of potential! Great reviews, nice looking food pics, so we decided to go check it out.

Okawa Japanese Cuisine
2927 Ridge Rd Ste 105
Rockwall, TX 75032
(972) 722-2888
www.okawajapanesecuisine.com
Price: $

It's located in the same shopping center in Kroger (just around the corner from it). There was only 1 other table when we got there, it was pretty slow on a Sunday night. It's a small place, not much on the decor side. The front of house was an Asian lady. There didn't seem to be that many people working there. My guess is 1 person in the front and 2 in the kitchen? She was pretty friendly but I could tell immediately that her English was somewhat limited.

We ordered some hot teas since it was freezing that week. And she took our order.

Crunchy Beancurd (deep fried tofu with special sauce) $6.95~ 

I ordered this purely based on the picture from yelp. It looked pretty awesome and different from other fried tofu at Japanese places I've seen. However, it was exactly like all the other places -___- haha. Basically Agedashi tofu, the name usually used on Japanese menus. It was piping hot. The tofu was soft on the inside and lightly fried on the outside. I thought it was a little light on the flavor but I was ok with that. So... it was good, but pretty standard.

Okawa Salad (mixed greens with house dressing) $7.95~ 

I also wanted to try this because of the picture cuz it had sprouts in it! I love sprouts. We were wondering why this salad is more expensive than the others. It is topped with white wood ear mushrooms. I'm guess that's the reason. The ginger dressing is light. The salad is pretty good, but I wish it was bigger in portion.

Unagi Don (grilled eel with eel sauce over rice) $9.95~ 

It's rare to find Unagi Don for under $10 so we each ordered one. However, the waitress only put in order for 1 even after my fiance double checked with her that we ordered 2. I think it was language barrier there. So we waited around for them to bring the 2nd one and it never came. Finally I asked her and she thought we only ordered 1 the entire time. However, while eating, I overheard her talking to the kitchen. She was Chinese, so I started speaking Chinese to her and she seemed like she relaxed a little. She quickly put in another order and I got my own unagi. :) It's a good portion. The dish came with ginger and some pickled vegetables. The unagi had good flavor, but the skin on the bottom was quite tough. And there were some bones so watch out. I'd say it was ok. Not sure if I would order it again. But I took half of it to-go for my lunch the next day! We also reserved some of the sprouts from the salad and mixed in with our rice.

Chicken Yakisoba (stir fried noodle) $6.50~ 

We also ordered this so we'd both have leftovers for lunch the next day. I thought this was tasty. I liked all the veggies in there. I think because we also ordered this, she thought we only got 1 Unagi.

I had some small talk with the lady. She seems really nice. They'd only been open for about 2 months at that point... so maybe almost 3 months now. The food is decent. For the price point we'll probably go back. There's some other stuff on the menu I'd like to try still. I've heard that's not the greatest location, so I hope their business picks up!

Quality of Food:

Service:

Ambiance:

Value:

Overall Experience:

~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

Japan 2013: Tokyo - Casual Dining

*EDIT 8/7/13*
I totally forgot about these places we tried in Asakusa!! It's my favorite place to visit in Tokyo!

This place had a window in the front where you can see a guy making noodles. Totally cool! So we had to try it.
Soba Set (cold soba with mini tempura rice bowl) 1,200Yen~ Great texture, very refreshing. 

 

Japanese Udon (served cold with dipping sauce) 700Yen~ I think I like cold udon better than cold soba! The udon in Japan is always cooked to perfection. Nice and chewy. And cold noodles are great for a hot day!

 

 

Pork Dipping Noodles 880Yen~ I wanted tsukemen, which is dipping ramen but this wasn't what I expected since I've tried it elsewhere last year. It was still good, but didn't satisfy that craving I had. haha. TONS of noodles... I couldn't finish it.

Chow Mein (fried noodles) 850Yen~ Basically yakisoba. I liked that it had a lot of veggies in there. Good flavor too!

Melon Cream Soda 

 

 

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This year I didn't do much research at all for food spots. There are too many good food everywhere so we just walked around and looked at different places and narrow it down from there! Tough choices sometimes since everything looked great. Especially when you're hungry! hehe. 

Here are some places we randomly ventured into in Tokyo... 

First day in Tokyo, we stopped in Shinjuku station to pick up our JR passes and just walked out in search for some lunch. We found this underground udon place, Hanamaru. Appears to be a chain, and I went to a very similar style udon restaurant in Hawaii and it was awesome. It's cafeteria style where you grab a tray, pick up the tempura you want, then order the noodles and they make it right there and give it to you to check out. Seating is community tables, first come first serve. 

I got the Cold Udon with Pork and a Soft Poached Egg (small for 399Yen~) The noodles were cooked PERFECTLY. The texture was amazing. So chewy! I liked that it was in more of a sauce instead of full on soup. It had tons of flavor, and so many different textures. I topped mine with some tempura crumbles. The egg was amazing, soft and runny. 

 

The bf got a Hot Udon with Pork (small for 399Yen~)

Also got Octopus Tempura 147Yen~ and a Salmon Rice Ball/Triangle (Onigiri). 

First meal in Japan, and it's easily one of my favorite meals of the trip. Simple but done perfectly... YUM! 

For dinner the first night, I don't even know which area we were in... We saw the signs and pictures outside of Za-Watami and was lured in. haha. Later, I also realized this was a chain because I saw it everywhere! It's an Izakaya which is a type of Japanese drinking establishment which also serves food to accompany the drinks. We had to take our shoes off at the door and put it into little cubbies. Fun! :) 

We started with some cocktails. We ARE on vacation after all. hehe. Cassis & Orange 499Yen~ Easily one of my favorite drinks. I discovered it last year in Japan. It seems to be a very common drink in Japan. It's like juice, so it's good for people who don't really like the taste of alcohol. 

Bf got this Mango Yogurty Cocktail thing. Looked really pretty. But since I'm allergic to mango, I can only appreciate its presentation. 

We got these little appetizers that came with our drinks. (We realized after that they charged us for it!! What?!?) 

Apparently a lot of places in Japan have a "sitting fee". I'm assuming it's to cover the rent of the space? Not sure, but we were so confused why our bill was so high so we asked the waitress. Her English was very limited and ended up just removing the charges because she saw how confused we were. haha. These apps cost as much as the cocktails!!! Whoa! 

I wanted some veggies so we got a Salad. So pretty, and bigger than I expected. Topped with a crab salad and soy sauce dressing on the side. It was delicious. So fresh and crisp and the creaminess from the crab salad paired perfectly. I didn't even need to use the dressing. My favorite item of the night. 

5 Skewer Combo 699Yen~ We had Chicken, Chicken & Scallions, Chicken Hearts, Scallions, and Okra. We also added a skewer of Mushrooms. Not the best yakitori I've had but still pretty tasty. 

 

Butter Corn 349Yen~ The picture on the menu looked better than the actual product. Could've used more butter. haha. 

The 2nd day, we visited the Tokyo Skytree. Which is pretty cool. You gotta wait in pretty long lines but it's got a great view at 450 meters from the 2nd observatory. We wandered into one of the department store's restaurant level for dinner. Found a tonkatsu place that didn't have such massive lines as some other places. Saboten Tonkatsu. Staff's English is pretty limited (as was most places), but they had English menu. 

Bf ordered the Saboten Combo (pick 5). He picked Barley and Rice, Pumpkin Salad, Side of Chicken Cutlet, Side of Asparagus Roll, and Pork Loin Cutlet of Kenbiton (a higher quality of pork) 1,680Yen~ 

 

 

 

With the meals we also got unlimited shredded cabbage, rice and miso soup. SO. MUCH. FOOD. The tonkatsu was fried to perfection. Juicy and moist on the inside, nice and crispy on the outside. There was just enough fat on the pork to give it moisture and flavor. My bf loved it so much. He's had tonkatsu in Dallas before but never cared for it because it's usually thin and dry. This is the real deal! It also came with sesame seed with pestle and mortar.. You grind the sesame seeds and then mix it with the tonkatsu sauce. NOM! The pumpkin salad was yummy as well, I could've just had a tub of that. 

 

I wanted to try something different and got the Mizore Combo (Pork loin cutlet with Mizore sauce which includes chopped scallion, bitter orange juice, grated white radish, and grapefruit) 1,350Yen~ Very interesting. The radish and citrus gave the fried cutlet a level of freshness. I also loved the barley & rice. A little nutty and difference in texture.

 

We both finished our food. I'm shocked. haha. But it was too good not to. Can't get quality like this in Dallas that's for sure...

Another lunch we had was close to our hotel at Nippori Station. It was inside another hotel. We didn't realize it was a smoking establishment though. Bleh!! We ate quickly and got on with our day. haha. Keeping it light, we got the Yakisoba 680Yen~ and I got a small salad 380Yen~ The food was good. Too bad we couldn't stay long to savor it. 

 

This next location is pretty cool. I specifically hunted this place down. I always wanted to try the live octopus... where the tentacles are still moving and stuff. Wanted to do it in Korea but didn't know how to order, and didn't find it in Japan last time. I found out that this dish, called Sannakji, is a Korean dish, so we went to "korea town" outside of Shin-Okubo station. We basically walked around and looked for pictures and signs outside for the octopus. Only found 1 location. So here we go... 

We asked for it at the door and the waiter showed us the menu. As soon as we ordered it, we see him go to one of the many fish tanks and pull out a live octopus 2,000Yen~. Pretty quickly we had a bunch of squirming tentacles in front of us. How cool! It came with sesame oil and chili paste to dip. 

 

The octopus itself doesn't have much flavor so all the flavor comes from the dipping sauces. The texture is the most important. It was definitely fresh! haha. The sensation is a new experience. You can feel the suction cups sticking on your tongue and inside of your mouth. I'd recommend chewing thoroughly before swallowing! Don't want them to stick to your throat. We enjoyed it. And had fun battling the food. haha. It was a feat just to pick the things up, since they suck on to the plate. :P If you are adventurous, I'd recommend trying this at least once. The picture doesn't do it justice. But if you google Sannakji, you can see them in action... 

We also got Jap Chae to supplement our dinner. haha. 

Next day, before we headed off to Osaka, we had a quick lunch at Ranmen in Tokyo Station. 
Soba, Tempura and Rice 950Yen~

Katsu Don and Soba Set 950Yen~  

~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

Japan 2013: Osaka - Fooding

Santouka Ramen is one of my all time favorite ramen places in the US. They've got several locations in Cali which I've been to. So when I found out there's one within walking distance from our hotel in Osaka, I had to go get the real thing and compare it to Cali.

Santouka Ramen
山頭火西新地店‎
２丁目-１−１８ Sonezakishinchi
OsakaKita Ward, Osaka Prefecture 530-0002, Japan
+81 6-6343-6565
santouka.co.jp

 

#21 Tokusen Toroniku Ramen - Kara-Miso (simmered pork cheek, spicy fermented soybean paste) Small 1,100Yen~ 

 

 

 

 

The main thing that makes this place awesome is the special pork. Instead of the normal Shio ramen I get in the states, I went for the spicy ramen. Super delicious! It wasn't too spicy but the broth was rich with flavor. The noodles were cooked perfectly. And oh the pork... melts in your mouth delicious! So good! And guess what, the Santouka in Cali is just as good as Japan!!

#13 Tokusen Toroniku Ramen - Miso (simmered pork cheek) Regular 1,150Yen~ The bf got the miso broth. He just dumped the entire plate of pork into the bowl and went at it. haha. He loved it!

 

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Found this little stand inside one of the department stores in Osaka Station. Good for snacks. We had some on a rainy day while doing laundry. haha. And good to take on the train!
Pao Pao
Buta-Man - Steamed Meat Bun (pork, onion, mushroom) 168Yen~

 

Seafood Bun 210Yen~

Red Bean Paste Bun

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Having had so much good (but rich) food, I really wanted something healthy and fresh. This place was a 2 minute walk from our hotel...
Miyama Cafe - outside Osaka Station
Fresh salad bar (with dips). Super fresh veggies with various dipping sauces. So good! I especially loved the different turnips and radishes.

 

 

 

Chicken with Vegetables 880Yen~ 

Roasted Vegetable Soup. It was a rainy day so I was craving some soup. The chef was making this as we walked in so I pointed to it and said "I want that!" Rich and creamy and warmed me up. Hit the spot!

Black Bean Tea

Vegetable & Fruit Juice

Delicious and healthy food. I ended up over eating, as usual. haha. But at least it's good for me, eh?

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Hirashima - Conveyor Belt Sushi. We walked by this place on the way to the food court area in one of the department stores. Conveyor belt sushi is always fun. We don't have many chances to do that in the states so we went for dinner one night. The plates ranged from 100-500Yen~ indicated by the plate color.

Flying Fish Roe

 

Fluke - never seen or had this before. The texture reminded me of Skate, kinda like a wing. Pretty mild flavor. 

Salmon - a classic.. one of my favorite fish to eat raw in general. 

Whelk - never had this before either...

Egg

Young Yellowtail

Surf Clam Mayonnaise Salad

Squid

 

Skipjack Tuna

Mantis Shrimp - this looked weird. AND was weird to eat. The texture was almost like crab? But it looked like a bug or something.. ew. Wasn't a fan. 

Octopus

Seared Tuna 

Others that I can't remember...

 

I ate more than half these plates myself btw. hahaha. Don't get between me and sushi! :P

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I've always liked Italian food in Asia. Asians know how to cook their pasta/noodles. For a quick lunch one day we just stopped into one of these cafes. A lot of cafes in Japan offer Italian food along with pastries and coffee and stuff.
Pronto Il Bar
Pepperocino Spaghetti (with small scallops and split peas) 680Yen~ The flavors were very light. I expected more stuff with the pasta, but the pasta was cooked perfectly. So I got what I wanted. hehe

Plus drink and salad +270Yen~

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Time for a snack after visiting Osaka Castle. Food Truck Yakisoba 500Yen~

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We were searching for a particular bar in the area, but never found it. We came across this place instead and it was time for dinner. The pictures looked yummy so we just walked in!
Kioh Ramen - "Turtle King"

 

 

They specialize in Abura Soba - A kind of ramen-like noodle dish that has no broth. Typically, they offer a wide variety of toppings and spices (like minced garlic, sesame oil, vinegar, ginger, and chili oil). You add in to your taste and mix it all up.
Cold Abura Soba (with egg) 720Yen~ I've never had this before. It was delicious. Again, the noodles were cooked perfectly. The egg was beautiful. Golden orange yolk that ran all over the noodles. The pork was succulent and I wanted more! Loved it! If we had more time I'd totally have this again.

 

 

The bf got the Kyushu Abura Soba (noodles seasoned in a special sauce made with soy sauce, olive oil and topped with a slice of roast pork). Regular for 620Yen~ But he made his a combo meal that came with a small rice bowl on the side. +150Yen~ Roast pork with shreds of egg and topped with nori. He dumped the rice into the rest of the sauce after he finished his noodles. Genius! :P

 

This was a great find!  :)

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Before we got on the Shinkansen (bullet train) back to Tokyo, we got some food to eat on the 3+ hour ride.

Bento Box. These bento box stands can be found in pretty much any big train stations. They have a bunch of different varieties. We found out that they're meant to eat at room temp. There are no places where you can heat them up... Eh, not bad, but I find them to be pretty expensive in general. But it's a cool experience to take on a long train ride.

 

Cold Noodles. I got this inside one of the department store food courts. It's meant to be eaten cold so I didn't worry about heating it up. Fresh and light. :)

 

~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~