39 replies to this topic

[banh cuon]

mmm... I thought their shio ramen (at least in the Shibuya location) was sort of ramen-light, made with very good broth, but of course it can't be as deeply porky because it isn't as deeply fatty

I had the toro-niku version of their ramen in Tokyo and it was pretty much one big oil slick (but so tasty). Looked like I had lipgloss on during the whole meal

[Orik]

mmm... I thought their shio ramen (at least in the Shibuya location) was sort of ramen-light, made with very good broth, but of course it can't be as deeply porky because it isn't as deeply fatty 

I had the toro-niku version of their ramen in Tokyo and it was pretty much one big oil slick (but so tasty). Looked like I had lipgloss on during the whole meal

I'll try that next time

[senter]

Just to confirm, Yoahon is definitely now Mitsuwa. It seems there are less samples now then there used to be in the Yoahon era, but the food is as good as before.

[pim]

Found buckwheat flour in my local Mitsuwa today. It's the nearest in appearance to sarrasin or farine de blé noir that I've used in France.

Other buckwheat flours I've seen in America have large bits of buckwheat, sometimes look like tiny insects or something. They taste fine, mind you, but make slightly odd looking galette.

These Japanese stuff look quite promising, with very fine flecks of black bits, similar to the stuff in France. It also came in a vacuum pack, which presumably keeps it fresher. I'll try a batch of classic galette and will tell how it turns out.

[awbrig]

I haven't seen that with buckwheat flour that I have bought. I love using the stuff to make blini for caviar or smoked salmon...

[pim]

I'm not talking about a few big bits here and there....just that in general the black specks (in regular buckwheat I've seen in this country) are bigger than the black bits in the French or European sarrasin. I chalked it up to stylistic difference, not that there was anything wrong with the stuff in the US.

This Japanes bag I bought have very fine black flecks, similar to what I've seen in Europe. But then again, the proof is in the pudding, or the galette.

Will see how well it works.

[Orik]

There are a couple exciting developments upcoming at the Mitsuwa Market in Edgewater, NJ. The first is their annual Hokkaido festival is returning this weekend. This is where they set up a large number of booths in-store that feature the foods of the Hokkaido region; I went last year and it was a good time. They will be having a special on hairy crab and taraba crab flown in from Hokkaido, and are serving freshly made fish cakes, fresh king crab-over-rice bowls, king crab pressed sushi, hokkaido-style ramen, croquettes, shumai, and various sweets from the region. Also upcoming is the opening on Sept. 16th of a Santoka Ramen restaurant in their foodcourt. It's a chain from Hokkaido, and they serve a really great bowl of shio ramen with an amazing deeply porky broth. This should blow away most Manhattan ramen places in terms of quality. The other US franchises are in the Los Angeles area, also in Mitsuwa market foodcourts.

Finally had the Santoka ramen at Mitsuwa. Good, but not nearly as good as Setagaya (I would say comparable in quality to Minca in the early days). The shoyu ramen stock had a very strong pork flavor, but was a bit dirty and I thought both it and the spicy miso had a too high noodle/stock ratio. The soy eggs were disappointing. The total cost of the visit, as usual, was in the high $$$s.

By the way, a good alternative to going there on the bus on a beautiful day like yesterday is to take the ferry to Port Imperial and then walk/bike/skate up to the shop. This used to be a bit unpleasant as parts of the walk were in the middle of nothing (and there was no sidewalk), but that's improved a lot and a portion of the walk is along the hudson.

[Orik]

In case anyone is interested, I have $30 in Mitsuwa dollars, due to expire 3/31 that I'm not going to use, yours free if you pick them up.

[Orik]

In case anyone is interested, I have $30 in Mitsuwa dollars, due to expire 3/31 that I'm not going to use, yours free if you pick them up.

Sold

[StephanieL]

In case anyone is interested, I have $30 in Mitsuwa dollars, due to expire 3/31 that I'm not going to use, yours free if you pick them up.

Sold

And much thanks to Orik for making them available. We splurged on a whole porgy, a blue mackerel filet, and a large salmon filet, plus assorted groceries.