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Archive for sushi

roll with it at blue c sushi

2010/07/15 at 01:00 · Filed under architecture/interior/design, environmental, food, location, restaurant, sushi, us: WA

the first place i wandered around in seattle was downtown seattle. walking from the washington state convention center, it appears to be malls after malls and starbucks after starbucks.

but in midst of the shopping and coffee, this cute little japanese place caught my eye. a japanese restaurant with conveyor belt sushi.

from cold foods to hot foods, maki rolls to sushi, desserts to drinks, the conveyor belt has it all! you can also watch staff making the rolls to keep the conveyor belt supplied with food.

blue c sushi takes the transportation theme into their restaurant design. little colored plates named by japan’s tokyo indicates different prices of the dish and is one of their t-shirt designs. big projection screen of japanese daily commuters as well as big posters of cartoon art adorn the walls.

after the meal, i checked out a little mart they have in the front of the store. there was a cute variety of gifts — from snacks and drinks, to toys and t-shirts, to posters and plates – that i did a little shopping for friends there! my favorite was a t-shirt that had a picture of a tree in the front and in the back, it says:

“take care of the earth. it’s the only one with sushi.”

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eat at Blue C Sushi in seattle, wa

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teppanyaki at midori matsu

2010/06/20 at 00:00 · Filed under cooking, food, food presentation, location, restaurant, sushi, us: NY

it has been a long time since i’ve been to a japanese restaurant that had a teppanyaki* chef that cooked food for you on a large iron plate. so it was fun to find one to take my dad for father’s day. located between forest hills and kew gardens in queens is a restaurant named midori matsu.

there are 2 rooms in the restaurant – a large room for those who want teppanyaki and those who don’t. we, of course, did so we could get a variety. we ordered some sushi rolls as well as shirmp, scallop, lobster and chilean sea bass to be cooked on the large hot plate by a teppanyaki chef. our chef flipped utensils, caught shrimp tails in his breast pocket and lit an onion volcano on fire. oooooh. ahhhhh.

we enjoyed the show, had a good meal and spent some time with dad.

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eat at Midori Matsu in queens, ny

fyi: sometimes the word hibachi is incorrectly used at restaurants to refer to teppanyaki style cooking

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empanada

2009/12/05 at 00:00 · Filed under cheese, cooking, corn, egg, food, meat-beef, meat-chicken/turkey, meat-pork, recipe, snacks/appetizers, spices/herbs, sushi

i have been looking for a good empanada recipe and this one comes close. i made it with pie crust, which was ok, but i hope to find empanada dough and try it again!

Ingredients

1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/4 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 pound ground beef, pork, chicken or turkey
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
Pinch ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes *optional
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup frozen corn, defrosted
1/4 cup shredded white Cheddar
6 store-bought (6-inch) empanada wrappers ~ if you can’t find empanada wrappers, try samosa wrappers, pie crusts or pizza dough
1 egg, lightly beaten

Preparation

In a skillet over medium-high heat, add the olive oil. When the oil is warm, add the onion and saute until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and saute 1 minute more. Stir in the meat, spices, and salt and pepper, to taste. Saute, stirring often, until the beef has browned, about 10 minutes. Add the corn and the Cheddar and set aside to cool.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Working with 1 wrapper at a time, scoop 2 heaping tablespoons of the filling into the center of the wrapper. Brush the edges of the dough with beaten egg, then fold the dough over to form a half moon, pressing out the air with your fingertips. Use the tines of a fork to pinch and seal the edges, creating a border about 1-inch wide. Repeat with remaining filling and wrappers. Transfer the patties to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake according to dough package instructions, or until puffed and lightly browned, about 20 minutes.

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original recipe from Cooking for Real: Bay Ridge Empanadas

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all the flavors of the rainbow

2009/10/03 at 02:00 · Filed under food, seafood-fish, seafood-other, sushi

when i am not tempted by the sushi pack feet for a tekka maki roll, my roll of choice is the rainbow roll. maybe it isn’t all the colors of the rainbow but it as pretty as a glimpse of the rainbow.

topped with probably the most common of the fishes you find in sushi restaurants: tuna, salmon and yellowtail are decorated on top of a california roll (avocado, cucumber and crab — if it’s a good restaurant, it’s king crab … if not, it’s imitation crab).

but rainbow rolls can come in other varieties, which i also enjoy. instead of a california roll, the three fishes are in the center of the roll – not on top – and it is the wrapper of the roll that changes. two varieties i like are the iso maki roll (left) and the rainbow naruto roll (right).

the iso maki roll (left) is similar to most maki rolls except instead of black seaweed wrapping, it is white seaweed. white seaweed has a lighter flavor than black seaweed and it is also less chewy. it is not found in all sushi restaurants but if you do see it, give it a try!

the rainbow naruto roll (right) has no rice. it is one of my favorite versions of maki rolls because it is wrapped in cucumber instead of seaweed — not that i mind seaweed but i love cucmber! when i am in the mood for sushi but want a lighter version, i get a naruto version of the roll. the cucumber also provides a nice crunch to each piece.

most sushi restaurants make at least one version of a rainbow roll which is great for me cuz if i see it, i’m likely to order it. YUM!

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i love sashimi!

2009/10/03 at 01:00 · Filed under food, seafood-fish, seafood-other, sushi

it is really a shame that there is a concern about fish consumption. japanese are known for their long lives, in part due to their consumption of fish. if i could eat good raw fish every day, i would! i just love it.

when i try a new restaurant, i like to order the sashimi appetizer. it is a nice sampler of 8 to 10 pieces of sashimi and shows me the fish quality at the restaurant. if i don’t order the sashimi appetizer, what i often like to order is chirashi. it is very similar to sashimi but over a bed of rice. depending on the restaurant, sometimes the chirashi includes fish roe, japanese pickles and/or seasoning. yum!