Our friends have been telling us about a new ramen joint called Santouka Ramen that opened up at Mitsuwa Marketplace in San Jose, CA. We’re always on the hunt for good ramen places as you guys know, so we decided to give this place a try today. Since Santouka Ramen in located inside of Mitsuwa’s “food court,” the hours are a bit weird. I asked the cashier, and she said there’s no official hours but only that they usually open around 11am and close around 7:30pm. This definitely isn’t a late night ramen run kind of place.

Since the place is still rather new, there’s of course a line waiting to get in. We stood in it for roughly 20 minutes and then waited another 30 minutes for our food.

So how do we rate it? It’s a bit of a mixed liking. The Toroniku (special pork) was quite yummy, but the noodles and Salt Flavor broth were only alright. Tami’s Miso Flavor ramen was much tastier than mine, but the regular pork that came with it was only alright as well.

I’d say give it a try if you happen to be in the area, but I definitely wouldn’t make a special trip out for it. Ippudo in NY and Suzu in SF are still my favs!

These D-Sized Salt and Pepper Battery Shakers were definitely made with gear heads in mind. Designed by Antrepo Design Industry in Turkey, they are available in red and turquoise, or black and white.

Shake Shack is a modern day burger stand located in the middle of Madison Square Park in New York. Not the usual place you’d find a burger stand, but it’s a huge hit with the locals and tourists. Tami and I wanted to try this place out after watching Samantha Brown cover it on her Travel channel show.

The burgers are delicious and the fries are nice and crisp. People say it’s the best damn burger in New York. It was good, but I’ve definitely had better. I prefer my burger’s charbroiled like they do at Kirk’s Steakburgers in Palo Alto, CA.

It was still a great experience and worth a try if you’re in the NYC area. Where else can you buy a burger in the middle of a park and enjoy a bit of nature?

To avoid the long lines, you can check the webcam on their website before you arrive. Luckily we did, because the line started to wrap around the block soon after we got there!

There’s a new late night food craze sweeping the Los Angeles area, and it comes in the form of a taco truck. I’m not talking about the Mexican taco trucks we’ve all come to love, but a Korean BBQ taco truck!

Mark Manguera who has worked for a number of prestigious 5 star hotels in L.A. came up with this brilliant idea to fuse the taste of Korean BBQ with the portability of tacos and burritos and it’s been a smashing success.

The Korean Short Rib taco is their signature dish and crowd favorite. It includes their own special marinade topped with sesame-chili salsa roja, julienne romaine lettuce and cabbage tossed in Korean chili-soy vinaigrette, cilantro-green onion-lime relish, crushed sesame seeds, sea salt and garnished with lime wedge, orange wedge and red radish wedge.

They’re always on the go, which means if you want a taste of Kogi Korean BBQ, you’re going to have to follow their live twitter account to find out where their next location is going to be.

I’ve made it a point to find myself a plate of roast goose in Hong Kong. Last time I was here, I had no idea there was such a thing. I’ve eaten my fair share of fabulous roast duck (especially since I literally grew up in a Chinese restaurant), but I’ve never had roast goose.

My gramma told me it’d blow the socks off roast duck, and she’s right. Roast goose is intensely richer in taste and flavor than duck, although a tad bit gamier.

The only problem is that richness comes at the expense of also being extremely fatty. I could only eat two pieces before I felt like I was going to yack. I’ll think I’ll stick with plain old roast duck from now on.

Ramen shops in Tokyo are a beautiful thing. Huge bowls of yummy tonkatsu (my fav) and miso ramen (tam’s fav) for 600 yen or roughly 7 U.S. dollars. What more could a guy ask for?

The lovely thing about it all is that you order and pay straight at ticket vending machine. No need to wait for a waiter or waitress to take your order or having to thumb through some old menu.

They really should do this back home!

I wanted to start a new post category this year dedicated to sharing our life here at Kineda. Hopefully, it’ll give you a peek at the places we love to shop, how we play and most importantly… what we eat! First off is one of our all time favorites — shabu-shabu. We found a nice little place in Roppongi that served all-you-can-eat shabu-shabu for a roughly $40/person.

There was an hour wait in the freezing cold (Tami’s nose was literally an icicle here), but well worth it.

Mmmmm… yummy broth.

Mmmmm… even yummier broth after all the meats and vegatables cooked in it.

I thought it would be a good idea to start exploring different cultures and different types of food. I’m pretty excited since I love food and I would love to hear all of your favorite recipes.

I have come across a recipe that is Shanghai inspired. As most of you know, Shanghai sits on both a seacoast and a river so you can literally find fish and seafood all over the place. With Shanghai cuisine, you will experience the tastes to be somewhat tartful and salty, but with a twist of sweetness.

In Shanghai restaurants, the soy marinated fish is typically served cold, which brings out the most flavor. Traditionally, the fish is smoked, but as time has passed, modern cooks now skip this step. However, the Shanghainese still call this “Smoked Fish.”
For those of you interested, you can try the recipe below. I don’t expect all the men to try making this but maybe if you are extra nice and sweet to your girlfriends and wives, maybe they’ll make it for ya! Let me know how it goes. Sounds yummy doesn’t it? I haven’t personally tried it yet. Let me know if you gals or guys beat me to it.

FISH – 6 Appetizer Servings

• 1 1/2 pounds fillets (3/4 inch thick hake or pollack fillets, cut into 2×3 or 2×4 inch pieces)
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions
• 3 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
• 3 tablespoons Shaoxing wine (Chinese rice wine) or dry Sherry, divided
• 2 tablespoons peanut oil or vegetable oil, divided
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce

For Fish: Rinse fish and pat dry. MIx green onions, ginger, 1 tablespoon rice wine, 1 tablespoon oil, and soy sauce in 11×7x2 inch glass baking dish. Add fish and turn to coat. Let it marinate for 1 hour at room temperature (do not refrigerate).

SAUCE

• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons Asian sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons Shaoxing Wwine (Chinese rice wine) or dry Sherry
• 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
• 1 whole star anise
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions

Bring first 6 ingredients to boil in heavy small saucepan, stirring to dissolve sugar. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until sauce is slightly thickened and reduced to 1/3 cup (about 4 minutes) Remove star anise sauce from heat and cool.

Now after the fish has been marinating for an hour, remove fish from marinade and place on several layers of paper towels to drain, be sure to reserve marinade. Pat fish dry.

Heat flat bottomed wok over high heat until drop of water added to wok evaporates on contact. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to wok, then fish pieces, spreading evenly.

Cover and cook 30 seconds. Uncover and loosen fish with metal spatula.

Reduce heat to medium and cook 1 minute. Turn fish pieces over, 1 minute. Add remaining 2 tablespoons rice wine and reserved marinade from fish. Cover and cook 1 minute .

Remove wok from heat and let fish stand covered until opaque in the center. Drizzle with star anise sauce. You can choose to chill it or eat it warm.

Enjoy!

With Mother’s Day coming up, Sunday, May 13th, I have thought of a fantastic gift to give your moms!

Some moms love flowers, and some just think flowers are a waste of money and will die shortly after.

Well, why don’t you get her an edible arrangement? That beautiful arrangement of edible flowers that are made of fruit. It’s unique, delicious and nutritious. Whoever came up with the idea is genius!

I want one…but darnit, I’m not a mother. Anyone want to send me one? I’ll act surprised, promise!