Category Archives: Restaurants

Restaurant: Shin Sen Gumi (Monterey Park)

By Azusa | Published: January 28, 2010

Recently, when my mom visited LA, we took her to some of our favorite spots and she liked Shin Sen Gumi Yakitori and Shabu Shabu the best. The restaurant is on the second floor in an outdated Asian mall-like structure on the corner of Atlantic and Garvey in Monterey Park. I remember passing it countless [...]

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Restaurant: Ippudo

By Azusa | Published: December 9, 2009

Soy sauce and wasabi flavored ramen noodles topped with wasabi leaves, slices of berkshire pork, menma, fishcake, tempura bits, nori seaweed, and scallions.
I was having a hard time imagining what this Ippudo ramen would taste like. Would the wasabi over power the dish? I was worried the first bite would be heaven, then slowly peter [...]

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Restaurant: Oms/B

By Azusa | Published: September 27, 2009

It so happens that a teeny tiny onigiri/omusubi shop In New York validated some of my long-held views.
Oms/B has a beautiful selection of omusubi. This isn’t your run-of-the mill umeboshi or okaka. The selection is vast and imaginative. Take a look at their menu—it’s not easy to settle on just three. For a quick, on-the-go [...]

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Restaurant: Soba-Ya

By Azusa | Published: August 13, 2009

The first words to come out of my mouth when I finished my meal at Soba-Ya was, “I want to come back here.”
On our trip to New York, we came armed with a 7-paged list of restaurant and things to do, mostly suggestions from friends and research we’d done ourselves. Soba-Ya wasn’t at the top [...]

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Obon: Nishi Hongwanji

By Azusa | Published: July 16, 2009

Obon in America is a curious thing. To me, they’re more like natsu matsuri—a summer festival—than a traditional obon. I wonder how obon in America evolved (and continues to evolve) over the years…
In Japan, obon is observed from July 13–15, a time when families come together and welcome home the spirits of their ancestors. I [...]

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Obon: Senshin Buddhist Temple

By Azusa | Published: June 29, 2009

We kicked off this summer’s obon season at Senshin Buddhist Temple on Saturday. Everyone packed Senshin’s parking lot, moving in synchronized fashion as they danced bon odori. The people who live across the street from (in this South Central neighborhood) were in their front yard, curiously watching the festivities from a distance.
This was my first [...]

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Restaurant: Daikokuya

By Azusa | Published: June 17, 2009

I’ve loved Daikokuya from the time they first opened their doors. They had replaced an okonomiyaki restaurant (which at the time I sadly mourned) but was happy to discover what was to replace it. This is ramen as it should be.
Daikokuya’s tonkotsu ramen is made from kurobuta and is the best ramen I’ve eaten outside [...]

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