horizen gourmet (west hollywood)

horizen gourmet
8385 beverly blvd
los angeles, ca 90048
(323) 653-0470
www.hirozen.com

few years ago, my cousin and i stumbled upon this little treasure hidden inside a mall complex at the corner of orlando and beverly, and to this day, it is still my favorite sushi place to go.

on this particular visit, these are what we ordered (yup, we skipped breakfast to have a satisfying ‘branch/lunch’ :)

ankimo (monkfish liver) – yummily good, if you like the texture :)

toro & foie gras tower (layered grilled foie gras, toro & banana with black bean sauce) – this is good, and who wouldn’t love foie gras! although after learning how foie gras was produced, i no longer allow myself to indulge in such cruelty since four years ago :(

nasa soboro (eggplant, minced chicken with snow peas) – my cousin didn’t really like this one, but i love eggplants, though the minced chicken with snow peas tasted like a homemade dish i’ve had. this was probably our least favorite that day

uni (sea urchin), ikura okizuke (smelt eggs), and kobashira (scallop) – omg, just look at those uni and tell me you’ve had plumber ones! d best uni i’ve ever had! thinking about it and looking at the pics made me drool all over again :D the kobashira are so fresh! this is my favorite ‘combo’! :)

variety roll (tuna, salmon and white fish) – pretty good :)

apple sushi – very creative… it’s the first time i’ve ever had an apple sushi, so it was an interesting surprise :)

purple yam pudding – yam-mily good but nothing new

sauteed banana – they’re good, but i’ve had better ones :)

green tea

the owners are very nice and knowledgeable. (they do consulting work, too!) i’m so bad with names and i feel so embarrassed about forgeting the name of the lovely lady who came by and chatted with us. she was first curious on why i was snapping food shots each time a dish was served to us, and probably thought we might be ‘spies’ :p but she was very gracious knowing that taking food shots has been a ‘hobby’ of mine, and even after learning that my cousin’s family is in the restaurant business. :)  all in all, i heart hirozen….lots!!! :) all the staffs are super friendly and attentive. and their wide variety of small dishes on the menu never ease to gastronomically surprise and satisfy any picky palette. :) ingredients are fresh, the flavors of the dishes are well balanced, and beautifully presented. a lovely small dining place, so don’t forget to make reservations, and i wouldn’t recommend it for large groups. if you wanna save on valet parking, find a street parking instead. :) hmm hmm hirozen-licious! :)

unagi + ikura with brown rice (home kitchen)

ikitchen
marina del rey, ca 90295
yumyuminthetumtum’s home kitchen

after a couple of days with a back pain and lost of appetite, i was finally feeling hungry today and made myself a quick and easy dinner for one. easy as i only needed to cook the brown rice. quick as to just slice and heat up the unagi (eel) in the microwave for about 30 seconds, add some ikura on top, squeeze out some wasabi, and voila, dinner was served! :)

misasa + china table tokyo hanten (venice)

misasa
11am-7:30pm daily

china table tokyo hanten
11am-7:30pm daily

mitsuwa marketplace japanese food court
3760 s. centinela avenue
los angeles, ca 90066
(310) 398-2113
www.mitsuwa.com

(photos on this entry taken by my iphone.)

straight from LAX, we were too tired to drive around for dinner, and i wanted to do some grocery shopping before heading home, so we decided to have dinner at the mitsuwa marketplace. this is one of the places i frequent for grocery shopping and quick meal with friends at their food court. convenient, fast, cozy, fulfilling. this time, i ordered a beef and tofu don from misasa, and my friend had a burger dinner from china table tokyo hanten.

the beef and tofu came with a bowl of miso soup, a little tofu cold dish, and a cup of tea. it was statisfying. :) the burger dish came with a little shredded side salad, a patty burger and fried rice, and a cup of clear mushroom soup. this dish is a beyond disappointment… the burger was unacceptably mushy and tasteless. my friend, who isn’t picky on food, couldn’t even finish half of it and was still feeling hungry afterwards. :p

uni don (home kitchen)

ikitchen
marina del rey, ca 90295
yumyuminthetumtum’s home kitchen

i prepared myself a quick and simple dinner-for-one. :)

ingredients used: uni (sea urchin) + aonori-ko (seaweed flakes) + ichimi togarashi (ground red chili pepper) atop multi grain rice with wasabi

itadakimasu ~ ;)

garlic fried rice (home kitchen)

ikitchen
marina del rey, ca 90295
yumyuminthetumtum’s home kitchen

when my dad was ill and had lost his appetite, one day, he asked if i could cook some garlic fried rice for him.  though i’d never cooked it before, but i remember the ones i had observed a numerous times of those teppanyaki chefs at the japanese restaurants dad used to take us when we were kids.  while the chefs were cooking in front of us, i used to imagine myself being their apprentice and cooked those dishes in my head. :D  so, when presented with the random request, i tried my best and whipped up this dish from memory.

…so, this was my dad’s favorite garlic fried rice that i used to cook for him alot, back in sydney few years ago… ^^ (i had not cooked this again since, …until this one, which i cooked back in may) … a simple dish if you want a quick meal and love garlic. ^^

ingredients used ~
– chopped onions
– lotsa finely chopped garlic (for this portion, i used only one whole bulb)
– spring onions
– olive (or veggie/corn) oil
– egg
– ground pepper
– sukiyaki sauce (sometimes i use soba sauce, or terriyaki sauce which is abit stronger/saltier in taste if you prefer)
– multigrain rice
… served in green bell pepper as bowl (i eat that, too… no food being wasted :p) and alfalfa sprouts (leftover from homemade sandwich :p) atop as garnish

(…after you’ve heated the pan/oil, start with the garlic first, then onions… the eggs and spring onions last after the rice)

bon appetit! enjoy ~ ;)