Eat. Travel. Eat!

We wanted to visit Shaab Japanese Cuisine in Pasadena, CA again recently, but at the entrance stood a different restaurant: Osawa. Quite confusing, considering Shaab has existed for so many years in Pasadena! (consequently, photos taken with my phone, a Nokia Lumia 920) Though we were about to change course, we had to first do some analysis of the lunch specials and  winter specials--which vary upon the day--as well as the regular lunch menu . All of the menus expressed quality ingredients, and with that thought, we walked in.

Three new vendors have joined Costa Mesa's Mitsuwa Marketplace food court: Sanukiseimen Mugimaru, Don Don Tei, and The Loft Hawaiian Restaurant. On my last visit, one companion and I tried out Sanukiseimen Mugimaru while my other companion went to Miyabi-Tei. Sanukiseimen Mugimaru has a cafeteria style layout; first, line up at their udon pictures, and then tell the employee what you would like to order from the menu. With udon, the freshly made noodles will be heated/boiled up at that time and the noodle bowl will be heated up in the same cooking water, with the employee moving the bowl around. I find that unsanitary, but they did pass certification! For onigiri or tempura, continue to the counter where you can select as many items as you would like. The next stop is the cashier, where you can get utensils as well as condiments including sauces, ginger, green onions, and fried tempura batter bits for extra crunch on your udon. During our visit, the menu was quite limited, b...