Little Tokyo Gastronomy Tour

One of the highlights of my friend's visit to LA was a gastronomy tour that we took of Little Tokyo. Having lived in LA for about 5 years, it is a little embarrassing that I have never stepped foot into Little Tokyo. So this Six Taste Little Tokyo tour was the perfect chance to rectify the situation and get some yummy Japanese cuisine in my belly.

Before our tour began, our tour guide Bryan ran us through what we could expect and some small rules and guidelines. I heard two things- 1. there will be a lot of food today! This is a gastronomy tour so pace yourself and 2. do not be shy, if you want seconds, don't hesitate. In typical Nic style, I chose to ignore the first and follow the second.

Green Tea Mochi Mochi (Left) and Melon Pan (Right)

Other baked goods from Yamazaki Bakery

While we were standing around getting to know each other, Bryan passed around some treats from Yamazaki Bakery - merompan or melon pan and green tea mochi mochi (and yes, you have to say mochi twice). The melon pan is a sweet Japanese bread that is reminiscent of Mexican sweet bread with a sort of crispy cookie dough layer on top. Despite its name, melon pan does not taste like melon but its name was derived from its melon-like shape. According to Bryan, the melon pan is an example of Eastern influences on Japanese baking. The mochi mochi on the other hand is a classic Japanese treat. Made from pounded rice, the mochi mochi had an addictive chewy texture to it and I appreciated that the flavors were not shove-in-your-face obvious but more subtle and sweet.

Our first stop on our gastronomy tour was Oiwake. There we were served beef tataki (seared filet mignon slices on top of ponzu slivered onions), gyoza (fried pork and vegetable dumplings served with a chili soy sauce) and some California rolls. The tataki was nicely seared, the ponzu sauce was perfectly sweet and the onions helped cut the rawness of the beef. On the other hand, I was not impressed by the gyoza (which were limp and soggy) or the California rolls (truth be told, I don't think a California roll can ever be impressive in my book).

While at Oiwake, Bryan ran through some basic Japanese eating etiquette, all of which I already knew. However, I welcomed the reminder to not de-splinter my wooden chopsticks at the table (an insult to the chef) and to dip only the raw fish portion of my sushi in the soy sauce and not the rice or the ginger (which is meant to be a palate cleanser between fishes).

We next visited Fugetsu-Do, a small traditional Japanese sweet shop that has been around since 1903. There we sample little cubes of fruit flavored mochi and I found myself gravitating toward the lemon flavored one which deliciously chewy was not overpoweringly lemony.

One of the thing I love most about Japanese culture is their emphasis on presentation. I remember on one of my first trips to Japan, I found that all stores would gift wrap your purchases for free and all you had to say was "presento" and nod/bow a couple of times throwing in a few "hi's" here and there. It must be said that no one does gift wrapping quite like the Japanese. (NB: now this "presento" trick could have been entirely false. For all I know, the workers in the stores could have just been having a good laugh at the silly little foreign kid in their store, but the point is, that's how I remember it :D)

This emphasis on presentation also applies to their food as evident in how it is packaged and presented in neat little boxes all gussied up ready for purchase. How can you say no to something like looks so pretty. If you've ever been to Japan or just the Narita airport and visited a couple of food stores, you'll know what I mean.

Sakuramochi- Tokyo style (Left) and Kansai style (Right)

Anyway I digressed a little there, but my point was that everything looked so pretty, my friend and I could not help but purchase some additional sakuramochi to go- mochi, sweet azuki bean paste (red bean paste) wrapped in sakura or cherry blossom leaves. We bought a Tokyo style sakuramochi (which is made rice flour) and a Kansai style sakuramochi (which is made using glutinous rice flour). I loved the saltiness of the pickled sakura leaves and how they brought out the sweetness of the red bean paste. Personally, I preferred the Tokyo style sakuramochi as I felt that the glutinous rice flour was a little too much competition for the overwhelmed azuki.

Munching on our sakuramochi, we were next led to Wakasaya where we sat down for a negitoro don (raw tuna bowl) served with some dashimaki (rolled omelet) and nori (seaweed) and a small portion of hot udon noodles. The negitoro was very fresh and had the right mix of o toro and chew toro to make it just fatty enough. I had my negitoro don with a little sprinkling of don buri sauce (think light soy sauce but sweeter and lighter) and some very very intense but authentic wasabi. I haven't had wasabi like this since... the last time I was in Japan? It's the kind of wasabi that a wiff of will set your eyes watering, and a taste of will clear any sinus infection. I like!

Negitoro bowls remind me of a training camp I once attended in Yokohama, Japan (at least I think it was Yokohama? It could very well have been Fukuoka but all my Japan trips seem to blend into one.) That was the first time I truly discovered the little gem of a don buri that is negitoro don! Fresh raw tuna, minced up and served a top a lot fluffy Japanese rice... who could ask for more!

Next up were Imagawayaki (Anzuki bean paste filled um pancakes?) from Mitsuru Cafe. I am not going to lie, I love love love Imagawayaki especially ones that are hot and fresh off the "waffle" pan used to make them. This Imagawayaki did not disappoint. Pipping hot of the stove and perfectly crisp on the outside, the red bean paste was beautifully sweet and salty at the same time. Just heaven!

In keeping with the dessert theme, we ventured to Mikawaya for some mochilato- mochi with gelato. Mikawaya is known for pioneering mochi ice cream and if you've ever bought a box of mochi ice cream from Trader Joe's or WholeFoods, it was most probably a box of Mikawaya ice cream mochi. For my mochilato, I ordered the hazelnut chocolate and to be honest, it could have been mochi ice cream and I would not have known the difference. Either way, I love mochi and I love ice cream so I was happy.

Our very last stop of the day was Chop Suey/The Far Bar. Chop Suey was initially opened in 1935 to introduce Chinese American food to the Japanese in LA. Apparently there is a lot of history associated with the restaurant but by this time in the tour, I was so stuffed/going into a semi food coma state that I missed a lot of what Bryan said. Either way, Chop Suey was still being restored and we dinned at The Far Bar instead. Located through a very narrow passage way between two buildings, The Far Bar basically occupies the outdoor patio portion of Chop Suey. There we dined on some spicy tuna rolls and french fries with a wasabi dressing. The wasabi french fries were definitely very interesting but I think I am going to stick with my fries and ketchup combo, you don't mess with a classic that is that good.

After a 3 1/3 hour gastronomy tour, I had tasted the food of Japan in LA, walked the streets of little Tokyo and learned a little about the cultural history of Japanese Americans. Tired but satiated, I was ready to go home.

Details:
Yamazaki Bakery
123 Japanese Village Plaza Mall
Los Angeles, CA 90012
213-624-2773

Oiwake
122 Japanese Village Plaza Mall
Los Angeles, CA 90012
213-628-2676

Fugetsu-Do
315 E 1st Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
213-625-8595

Wakasaya
335 East 2nd Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
213-621-2121

Mitsuru Cafe
117 Japanese Village Plaza Mall
Los Angeles, CA 90012
213-613-1028

Mikawaya
118 Japanese Village Plaza Mall
Los Angeles, CA 90012
213-624-1681

Chop Suey/The Far Bar
347 E 1st Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
213-617-9990