Yo! Burger - is it worth it?

I have been DYING to try out a rice burger for ages! And I mean since I've seen them in pictures. So when Yo! Sushi decided to do a limited version of their rice burger called Yo! Burger (costing £8 ¬,¬"), I really wanted to try it out!! (It's been out for weeks, more than a month, and it's only now that I've just been able to go out and try it!)...

It's really hard to find a person to go out with. They either have no money to spend, they're on duty, can't get away from work so early or just don't like sushi... So I dined alone. Not ashamed of it. I have started to learn how to dine alone in case friends decided to bail out on me. It's actually quite fun, as you get to choose the timing of when you want to eat and leaveat your own accord... Must do it more often :D

I ordered the Salmon Yo! Burger which has kimchi in it, and it's served with nori crackers, pickled salad and misochup (ketchup made with miso apparently!).

My tray of food

As I looked at it, and taking pictures of it, I thought this is so small... plus how the heck am I supposed to eat it?! I felt like I was being served a dinner tray actually ¬,¬ ... I'm not in school anymore! (Fact about my geeky life: In all the schools that I went to, I never had food trays with compartments...).

Salmon Yo! Burger from the side view

I couldn't see the kimchi. I think I saw about 3 pieces of cooked salmon though covered in probably a kimchi sauce. There were courgettes and other vegetables (possibly the kimchi) - I can't even remember what was in the burger. I tried eating it with a tissue wrapped around it, but it was hard to eat as the rice 'buns' were still hot! ¬,¬" In the end I had to stop and eat it layer by layer... The sensible Geek strikes again! o(^_^)O

Bad close up of my Salmon Yo! Burger

The nori crackers were nice, but they just tasted like normal prawn crackers. However the misochup was great stuff! I thought it was a curry sauce at first as it tasted like curry, but I read about it later and it's actually miso paste made into a 'ketchup'-like sauce... Tasty stuff!

Hmmm wasn't too keen on the pickled sides, but I had lots of it in the end.

I also had a few other plates of sushi, fruit and gyoza... Was hungry...

Just added this in... I love sashimi!!

So My Geeky Results! Is it worth it or not worth it? ... It's a YES and a NO, 50-50, half and half... ^_^ You get the point...

YES - it's worth it just to try it out and if you have a small appetite, but,
NO - it's not worth it because of the price and size of the burger if you have a bigger appetite! You can get a bigger burger (not a rice burger) in other places for the same price!

In the end I spent £30.10!! Blimey what did I eat?! I went over my budget by £10.10 :( ... Nevermind... Less spending next month then!

Shiro Japanese Restaurant - London Percy Street

As I was walking back down from Paperchase heading towards China Town I was dying to eat Japanese food. Ramen especially. On Tottenham Court Road there are a few places that serve Japanese food, but there is this one place I have passed many times and have wanted to try out their food for a long time... According to other blog posts I have read (after I've been there) they didn't seem to have a good experience... It was empty. Not a single soul in this restaurant. Only the cook and a waitress. Anyway, I entered thinking I must try it out and to see why no one is in there!

Outside Shiro Japanese Restaurant

Well for one thing, I'm not even sure if the staff are Japanese. The place was very clean but no music. What a shame that there were no customers...

Inside the restaurant

Opened door

Empty restaurant :( ... 

There was a lot of choice on the menu, but I had my heart set out for any noodle dishes on the menu. So in the end I chose the shoyru chicken ramen and ebi prawns plus a calpico drink.

First came the ebi prawns and the soy sauce that came with it. Definitely dip your prawns in the sauce as the prawns have no taste to it. These were expensive at £7.50 but worth it. I like fried food and I know I shouldn't eat too much of it.

Ebi Prawns ^_^

My Calpico drink

Next came the ramen. Ooooh. It looked good. The soup wasn't salty, it had the right texture and flavouring. There was hardly any fat sitting on top of the soup. The chicken was tasty and fresh, and very juicy. The ramen itself tasted very good. Not over cooked or under cooked, and it was still al-dente... it was none of that instant noodle business we make at home! I would have had the whole soup if I hadn't added some chilli oil into it... Oh well!!  It was a very good price at £5.90.

Shoyru Chicken Ramen... if only there was an egg on top of that!

I don't know why people are avoiding this place. I actually think it's ok despite the bad reviews they have had recently and plus it's a refurbished, renamed restaurant. The restroom could do with some more refurbishing though. Mr Bear saw the pictures a few days later, and said, "uh, how comes you never told me about this...?!"... Well he hasn't been in the office for a bit, he's doing other important stuff... so next time I will take him there... eventually!

Total cost came to £17.90. I took a picture of the bill to remind myself of the costs... It is quite pricey, but aren't all Japanese restaurants charging too much these days. I didn't realise there was a £2 service charge, and I gave them a £1 tip as there was no one there... ¬,¬" I felt sorry for them.. I would definitely go back for more ramen... Maybe the chasu shoyru ramen and some sushi next time! They are only taking cash at the moment as their phone line is bad, so there's a HSBC and Natwest opposite if you need money!

Also to note, they have a karaoke room and the meat they serve is Halal...

My geeky rating: 4.5/5

Good points:

- Gave you time to look at the menu (the waiter/chef had good timing!)

- A quiet place to eat

- My ramen and prawns tasted really good!!

Bad points:

- A bit too quiet for my liking, they need more guests

- A bit expensive, mainly the prawns, but the ramen price was ok

- Although service was ok, they could smile a bit more!!

Address: 19 Percy St London W1T 1BZ
Telephone: 0871 971 7849 (this is a weird number for a London number...)

Website: http://www.shirolondon.com/ (It's too bad there's no menu online to show you their prices... This website needs a revamp on everything)

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Feng Sushi - London Southbank

Saturday was a nice warm day for London. It was also a nice day to meet up with my cousin who came all the way from Hong Kong on was on vacation for one week with her friends in London.

I met up with her in Waterloo Station, and she was late, so she said she'll treat me to Japanese food... She asked if there were any Japanese restaurants nearby. All I could think about was Feng Sushi because I have never been there before... And I did try to suggest Yo! Sushi at the station, but I forgot there was another one nearer to the river, and I also forgot about Wagamama's until my cousin pointed it out later... Whoops!! XD Sorry cousin!! I like any Japanese restaurant that serves good food!

I didn't want to choose, and my cousin said she wanted sushi, so she picked the 22 piece sushi which costs £18... You make think this is not a lot for two people, but it was! It's really filling after a few pieces.^_^

22 piece sushi set - £18

Quality wise, it was exceptional, or should I say outstanding. There was none of that stale rice, and the fish and seafood was good! No extra charges for the wasabi, but soy sauce could've been in a pot instead of those boring soy sauce packets that you have to rip open...

Dragon Flower tea - £3

Not sure what the total price was, but I'm guessing it was £25 which included two of those dragon flower drinks... I think I need to try this place again and try their hot foods and bento.

And here's a couple of pictures after eating. My cousin wanted to look at local life where tourists hardly go, so I took her to Peckham before she went to meet her friends... Was thinking about Brixton too...

Took this in Peckham Library - Children's section! ^_^

And this is at Trafalgar Square. It was London Pride weekend! 

London Pride Festival

My geeky rating: 4.9/5

Good points:

- Good quality sushi

- Nice tea too

- Ok service

Bad points:

- Soy sauce in a packet... maybe swap for a bottle in case people can't open the packet, but I can understand why they don't... spillages...

- A little expensive (I seem to be going to a few ££ restaurants when I don't mean to!)

Address: Royal Festival Hall, Unit 9, Festival Terrace, Southbank Centre Belvedere Rd, London SE1 8XX
Telephone: 020 7261 0001

Website: http://www.fengsushi.co.uk/

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Tokyo Diner 東京ダイナー - London China Town

Ah Tokyo Diner 東京ダイナー. It's my second time coming to this place, first time I went there was with Miss Money and Mr Games and I think that was in the early 2000's... And if you have not read the last two posts, my phone is "lost" (to me it has been stolen). So there will be very minimal pictures in this post.

When I first dined here many years ago it was filled with many people. Sometimes I pass there and it's filled. But on this day that I went, it was a little empty until a bit later. I guess restaurants have their moments of quietness. This place has been in China Town for many years, since 1992 (it's boasted on their website), and I think they have changed their seating arrangements since then... I remembered the tables used to be tightly squashed together, and you could hardly pass through! I guess someone complained!

Taken on 29/06/2013

My receipt that I kept... 

Anyway, I dined there alone that day after watching The Story of Yonosuke. Was dying to find a place that made Japanese ramen, but unfortunately Tokyo Diner does not offer this. Instead they serve cold soba noodles. Not what I wanted... It took me a while to choose, so in the end I chose a favourite. Chicken Katsu Curry... Plus a bowl of cold cooked aubergines...

I started off with the aubergines (or eggplant as they call it in the USA and Japan), well it came first. It's called Aubergine Age Bitashi, and the aubergine is soaked in some cold dashi stock and served with a slice of bamboo root. I still remember the taste of it. It was a bit oily and had minimal soy sauce in it... Very tasty!! So instead of a picture, here's a YouTube video I found on how to make it... (well, it's something similar, there's no dashi stock used in this video). I want more of this! I might make my own if London decides to get hotter during the summer... (actually it already is!)...

Next came the curry. I noticed later that a few others had ordered the same dish!! Well, a curry dish anyway. It's an expensive dish for £10.60, whereas in other places I can get it for cheaper, but the carrots and potatoes were cut largely in this plate. I had a small amount of rice, and if you want more rice, I think you have to pay 50p more... The chicken katsu was slightly on the burnt side, but it still tasted good... And I should've had a bit more rice!

My chicken katsu curry taken from my Instagram online

So total cost came to £16.20 that's with a drink too... Green tea comes free, and they top it up for you.

If I dine there again in the nearest future, I will add some more pictures at the end!! Want to try the cold soba or a bento box next time plus have more cold aubergines!! ^_^

My geeky rating: 4/5

Good points:

- Nice friendly service

- Tasty cold aubergine

- Loved the interior designing and the way they have re-designed the seating plan
- Don't except tipping (I don't tip that much anyway)

Bad points:

- A little expensive for my liking 

- I wish they served ramen, I'm sure they could get more customers that way (but would it become a noodle bar?)...
- Chicken katsu was slightly burnt (or they may have used some old oil to fry it)

Website: www.tokyodiner.com

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Japanese Kit Kat Dark Chocolate and Taro Mix from Oyatsu Cafe

Yipee!! Thanks to @grocerygems for introducing this website!! Grocery Gems has a 15% discount code ("GROCERYGEMS") you can use which is unlimited and can be used worldwide!! Wow! I'm amazed. Unfortunately I am a bit stupid and had entered the discount code into the wrong box. Instead of going onto the Shopping Cart page (which is where you are given the option to "use coupon code" or "calculate shipping") I somehow got onto the Checkout page and had entered the discount code in the comments!! Dumb Geek!! I bow my head in shame... :( ごめんなさい！(gomen'nasai - I'm sorry). But I will show you where to go at the end of this post.

Anyway, back to the snacks. (^_^)v

Japan Centre sells their Kit Kat for a very expensive price. But after being introduced to this site they sell their Kit Kat (there's only two flavours by the way - matcha green tea and dark chocolate) for a cheaper price at US$6.99. Postage and packaging is even cheap! Vastly cheap!!!!!

So as usual, here's a packet of 13 mini dark chocolate Japanese Kit Kat. I also bought myself a UK version to compare.

Packet of 13 Japanese Dark Chocolate Kit Kat's

On the back of the package

Definitely mini!

The Japanese version tastes so much better!! It has a real biscuity taste that makes you want more. The dark  chocolate itself is not as dark as the UK version. And both smell rather different. The Japanese version tastes more like milk chocolate than dark... The UK one tastes rather sweet and bitter, and it takes away the biscuit taste. They are both of the same width, but the Japanese one is smaller than the UK one. The UK one is heavily coated with dark chocolate.

So small XD

Comparing the UK and Japanese version

The Japanese one...

More dark chocolate in the UK version (right) than the Japanese one (left)

Verdict: I like the Japanese one more!

Now here's something different. It came in a little nice bag. 

Cute paper bag!

I was intrigued by this Taro Mix. And yes you may have guessed why... It was the wasabi flavour that caught my attention! I love all wasabi snacks! These snacks are a bit different as they are made of cod paste and are coated in different flavours. These cost US$3.49 for the 5.

5 mixed Taro

Okonomiyaki-san Taro (お好み焼きさん Mr Japanese Pancake) - smells like worcester sauce or okonomiyaki sauce. Tastes a bit salty and fishy like dried cuttlefish that you can get in Asian stores. It's a bit sticky to the teeth at first too.

Okonomiyaki-san

A piece of dried cod paste

Yakiniku-san Taro (焼肉さん Mr Roast)- smells sweet, like candy floss. Spicy. Has a very kimchi like taste! ^_^. Lightly fishy and salty taste to this one. Reminds me of sweet dried pork slices that you can get in Hong Kong.

Yakiniku-san

Sudako-san Taro (酢だこさん Mr Vinegar) - very wet to the touch. Vinegary wet surrounding. It tastes very vinegary. So if you like pickles you will definitely like this one! (By the way, wasn't the girl in The Ring called Sudako?! O_o)

Sudako-san

Wet vingery taro

Kabayaki-san Taro (蒲焼さん Mr Grilled) - wasn't sure what flavour this next one was, but I started sucking on it. And it tasted like the roast meat one. Reminds me of Hong Kong snacks...!

Kabayaki-san

Wasabi Nori Taro (わさびのり wasabi paste)!! - No strong wasabi smell. But there is a strong wasabi taste to it! Prepare to get some water.

Wasabi Nori ^_^

Finally to enter the discount code, click on "CART", then you must go to "Calculate Shipping" as shown in the screenshot below.

Then select "Use Coupon Code", and then enter "GROCERYGEMS". Then finally go to CHECKOUT. It's that simple, and I didn't even notice!

Happy, happy shopping!! ^_^

Arigatou gosaimasu Katherine (thanks Katherine ^_^).

Website: http://oyatsucafe.com/

Nissin Noodles - Black Oil Garlic Tonkotsu & Shoyu Tonkotsu Flavours

Ummm. Noodles. My first post purely on instant noodles. So what can I say about them? Well ever since I was young (about 4 or 5 years old) I ate noodles. It was the Hong Kong Doll brand. I didn't like them very much because my mother always overcooked them or under-cooked them. :( By the age of 10 when I was able to see the top of the pan on the gas stove, that's when I started cooking instant noodles (with the supervision of my mother of course!). When I was in my teens I used to eat the Nissin Seafood flavour a lot, and then I used to add white pepper just to spice it up! (I don't do that anymore! Hah!). It has taken me years to perfect it to the way I like to eat it, and nowadays, I like it al dente. 

Some people would probably say noodles is noodles. But there's so many varieties and variations of noodles, which I will definitely not go into. Too complex to talk about as I've seen a few shows (mainly from Hong Kong) and read a few blogposts explaining how these noodles are prepared etc., etc... From memory, instant noodles (like these ones I will be showing) are fried and dried before they are packaged. There are definite health risks if you eat them day in and day out, so I recommend to everyone to eat instant noodles once in a blue moon (like once a week / month). But if you get cravings or are a poor student or a struggling  lousy cook... then, well, I recommend twice a week or none at all - eat healthy foods! ¬_¬"" (And don't be like me eating two in one day for this blogpost!).

So here's what I bought yesterday from See Woo Supermarket 泗和行 (si wo hong), Shoyu Tonkotsu and Black Oil Garlic Flavoured instant soup noodles. Nissin is a popular brand for noodles and favourited by many Asians and non-Asians! (Morrisons even sell them!).

I bought two of each in case they taste good

Black Garlic Oil Tonkostsu Flavour 黑蒜油豬骨湯味 (hak syun yau zyu gwat tong mei)

Shoyu Tonkotsu Flavour 醬油豬骨湯味 (jeung yau zyu gwat tong mei)

A lot of people I know cook instant noodles in different ways:

Method 1: Boil water, add noodles, then add soup base and seasoning whilst the noodles are still cooking in the pot, serve in bowl.

Method 2: Boil water, add noodles, cook the noodles, place soup base / seasoning in a bowl and then add the cooked noodles into the bowl and mix.

Method 3: Boil water, add soup base and seasoning, then add noodles, cook for 3 minutes and then serve in a bowl.

Method 4: Cook in the microwave!

I often cook my noodles using Method 3. I've tried all the other ways, but will always choose Method 3!

First up is the Shoyu Tonkotsu Flavour 醬油豬骨湯味 (I had this for lunch yesterday). The soup has a very light soy sauce but not the salty type of soy sauce. It also has a touch of vinegar type of taste to it. The noodles and the soup were plain in taste. The flavour isn't too strong like it's predecessors (i.e. Duck or Beef flavour). This one was ok. But not my favourite from the Nissin noodle range and I'm not sure what Shoyu Tonkotsu is supposed to taste like... Well, shoyu is Japanese for soy sauce, and tonkatsu is a fried pork cutlet... hmmm...

Noodles, soup base and seasoning sauce

Cooked noodles!

I added dim sum to it ^_^

Next up for dinner last night (I'm a greedy person) was the Black Oil Garlic Tonkotsu Flavour 黑蒜油豬骨湯味. Hmm. The soup was slightly salty on my first taste. Again the noodles and soup combined were very plain in taste. There was no garlicky taste to it. And unfortunately this isn't a good flavour for me either... :( I think I was supposed to add the seasoning after I had cooked the noodles instead of adding it into the noodles to cook with! Whoops! 

Again, noodles, soup base and the seasoning sauce

Cooked noodles again!

This time I added Chinese white cabbage and a fried egg ^_^

Both didn't give me that oomph or that feeling of wanting to eat more of it. So would I buy them again? Probably not. I think my tastebuds like strong flavours. My favourite flavours so far are the Tonkotsu and the Miso flavoured ones... Strong flavoured and thick soups!

Price: 42p (CHEAP!)

Where to buy: See Woo Supermarket, Lisle Street, China Town (or other Asian supermarkets - if you can find them...)

p.s. Definitely, definitely add the seasoning oil after you have cooked the noodles! It tastes better!!!!!

Japan Centre - London Regent Street

If you have been reading this blog regularly, you would know I LOVE Japanese food because it's so tasty (plus I get tired of eating Chinese food from time to time). So once in a blue moon I go to Japan Centre to buy authentic Japanese style food.

Outside Japan Centre (it's the shop in the middle)

I have been a long fan of Japan Centre. I remembered when it used to be on Piccadilly Road before it moved to various places in London. The supermarket used to be on the lower ground floor (used to be quite small). The restaurant on the ground floor. The bookshop was on the top floor and I can't remember if there was anything in between... I'm sure there was even a Japanese travel agents there too. Then it had expanded to using the building next door to the original! That was even bigger and better... How I have missed that one!

Well now they are all split up. One of the popular ones is now on the top of Regent's Street (opposite Tesco and Whittards). Piccadilly, I would say is London's Japan City for me! :D You will see a lot of Japanese stores (clothes and hidden food stores in the backstreets).

I find myself always wandering around in Japan Centre because you will find some foods that you can't find in other places. For example their 'character breads' or curry pan (curry bread). There are similar breads in China Town and a bit cheaper but sometimes I cannot escape from the Japanese versions. ^^

Character Bread (this one had a red bean filling)

Curry bread and Custard bread ^^

I also find shopping in Japan Centre a little expensive. I'm sure I can find cheaper ones of the same brand in China Town :P ... but there are things you can find cheaper in Japan Centre like nori (dried seaweed) or their brand of miso. It's always good to find the offers too - and they always have them!! Sometimes their snacks are also cheaper too!

Cheap nori and expensive ramen ~~~

Japan Centre's Mugi Miso

Strawberry and Custard Dorayaki a.k.a Pancakes but with fillings in between!! Yummy!!

Curry Pretz!! Woah!!

The best thing to also try out is their sushi - some are good, some are bad. They've recently put a little refrigerator next to the front door with their new range of sushi! I didn't particularly like the Smoked Salmon Philadelphia one. Cream cheese? Really? (I think the avocado went off too). The Japanese have a strange taste as well... Sausage and mash sushi?? I prefer sausage and mash by itself with ketchup. :P And by the way, I never got my free azuki bean mochi. :(

New range of sushi

Also check out their little food/ snack bar (it's like a mini noodle bar there) AND their fresh fish / meat section... I love sashimi :D (didn't take pictures of those sections... sorry!!). Plus their small bento range - they used to have loads in the old stores, but there's been a cut down. :(

The final part you need to check out are their frozen foods... A particular Japanese favourite are fishcakes which can be found there. If you are looking for the naruto one, they have them too but sometimes they run out of stock (I don't like the naruto one - it's really fishy!). Instead, try out the pink (or white) kamaboko (this is a bit sweet and not fishy) or the baked fishcake (this one is fishy). ^^ You should look out for the ice cream too!! ^^

Frozen fishakes

Sliced up fishcake!

In the end of my probably 15 minute shopping spree, I spent over £38! (A couple of the items are not in this post which had added up to the total cost)... *SIGH*. That's why I only shop there once in a while...

So, using some of the ingredients I bought, here's a spicy and tasty ramen I made... It was DELICIOUS (but a little salty).

My delicious home-made ramen! ^_^

There are other Japan Centre stores - so definitely check them out. However the one in Acton, you will need to be a member of...  

Website: www.japancentre.com

Address: 14-16 Regent Street, London SW1Y 4PH



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