Sumika is a small low key Japanese restaurant in downtown Los Altos, hidden away on a sidestreet. You really need to seek out this two year old restaurant. The focus on home style comfort foods with rice bowls during lunch and Kushiyaki or Charcoal Yakitori grill for dinner. They use organic chicken and other ingredients. Read the rest of this entry »

Tsukiji Sushi is a Japanese Restaurant in downtown Mill Valley that opened in July 2009. Haruo Komatsu is the Sushi Chef, he was the head sushi chef at Sushi Ran for many years. Tsukiji uses Koshihikari rice (a super-premium rice) and rice bran oil for their frying. The restaurant is named after the Tokyo Tsukiji fish market, the largest fish market in world. Most fish is sourced from this market. We decided to try this place because we’ve been to Sushi Ran so many times. Read the rest of this entry »

Downtown San Mateo has a very high concentration of Japanese restaurants. Almost one on every block.This one is one of the best and most economical.  No surprise, there is a line out front most of the time. We’ve tried pretty much all the nearby Japanese restaurants. Sushi Sam and Kisaku are also good but more expensive. Read the rest of this entry »

Bar Masa is the latest outpost for Masayoshi Takayama, famous for ultra expensive, three-star Michelin star Masa and Bar Masa Japanese restaurant in New York City. This restaurant is located on the Las Vegas Strip the new City Center, Aria Hotel on the first floor. He also runs Shaboo, an even more expensive ($500 per person) Omakase Shabu Shabu restaurant next door. Do not visit Shaboo until you have experienced and enjoy Shabu Shabu hot pot dining, otherwise you will be wasting money. No one was dining there when we visited. Read the rest of this entry »

Jin Sho Restaurant is a ‘Executive-Class’ Japanese restaurant run by 2 chefs formerly of Nobu in New York, Noriomi Kaneko and Ichiro Takahashi. They bought several dishes with them from their past experiences. It opened in late 2007 and is located in Palo Alto’s California street shopping district right off of El Camino Real. They serve everything from classic sushi rolls, sashimi, omakase, to more western entrees. Read the rest of this entry »

Shabu House is a Japanese Beef Fondue restaurant with locations in San Francisco and Burlingame. Shabu Shabu is a Japanese culinary dish which inspired from the Mongolian tradition of nabemono, or “one pot” cooking. In traditional shabu shabu, thin slices of beef are placed in a communal pot of boiling water and swished back and forth until cooked. We went to the new Burlingame location, open since late November 2009. The San Francisco one opened in late 2007. Read the rest of this entry »

Shabuway is a Japanese hot pot restaurant in San Mateo and Mountain View. You cook vegetables and thinly sliced beef at your table in a your own boiling pot of water. Read the rest of this entry »

Yuzu Sushi and Grill is located in a sleepy shopping district in San Mateo. It is a sister restaurant to Burlingame’s well respected Sake Sushi. We decided to try it to see if it was a lower cost version of Sakae Sushi. Sakae Sushi has lots of exotic seafood air freighted in from Japan. Yuzu has prix fixed 7 course dinners. Read the rest of this entry »

Prime Rib Shabu is a new hot pot or fondue restaurant in San Francisco’s inner Richmond district. You cook raw meats and veggies by dipping them in a boiling pot of chicken broth. It is run by Luke Sung, who also runs Isa and Domo. All you can eat meals are available. Read the rest of this entry »

Wagamama is a Trendy, Modern pan Asian restaurant with over 100 locations in several countries including locations in Boston and Washington DC. It was started back in 1992 in London by famed restauranter Alan Yau. (Hakkasan, Yauatcha) We visited the location in the London Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 that has been open since March 2008. They serve everything from traditional breakfast to Japanese breakfast, to Salads, Noodles, Udon, Ramen, and rice dishes. They goal is to ‘to combine fresh and nutrition food in an elegant yet simple setting with helpful, friendly service and value for money’. Read the rest of this entry »

Santa Ramen is a very popular Japanese noodle house in San Mateo. It has a legendary cult following and long lines. Read the rest of this entry »

Himawari is a Japanese Ramen Noodle house in downtown San Mateo. Every block down here has a Japanese restaurant. Their chief rival a couple miles away is the legendary Santa Ramen. They have a broader menu than Santa Ramen, with Rice Bowls, lots of appetizers, and many ramen options. We came on hot day and noted no air conditioning, just ceiling fans cranked up. Read the rest of this entry »