Kyushu Ramen- VAN NUYS, CALIFORNIA

(See, it's in Kanji, not English)

Los Angelenos know that if they want to find the best places for Ramen (Japanese Noodles) that they can go to either Little Tokyo, West LA, or Gardena/Torrance. But what is the average Valley-ite to do when they crave these delicious noodles soaked in warm sumptuous broth. Look no further than Kyushu Ramen in Van Nuys. This is a restaurant located in a small mini-mall surrounded by a Japanese Video Shop, a Donut Shop, a Starbucks (of course), and an Italian Restaurant. It might be hard to locate as the main store signage is in Japanese. The Mini-mall sign though has it all in the good old-fashioned English alphabet.

Kyushu Ramen previously had a very unremarkable interior, which consisted of fold out tables and chairs in a stark all white room, with little if any decor. When it was like this you would be hard pressed not to believe that it was closing down or the owners didn't much care. It didn't even have a restaurant feel, but more of a cheap diner feel.

But recently with an interior remodel, it is all red wood paneling, and organic looking wood table tops and wood chairs. There is now a shared communal table/bar in the center. It truly does look like a Japanese restaurant now. It's actually a pretty cool place inside now.

I ordered the Shōyu ramen soup which has as soy based sauce added to the clear stock. I had the chicken topping with this ramen. The soup was warm and tasty, and the chicken pieces were nice, juicy and flavorful. Unfortunately there was not that many noodles in my ramen. Usually when I go to a ramen house it is loaded with noodles, but this dish had only a fair amount.

Shoyu Ramen

We had some Karaage on the side, which is fried chicken that is marinated in with soy sauce, garlic, ginger and then deep fried. The Karaage in this place is always good, and you get a decent amount and the chicken is always juicy and tender. This is probably my favorite place for Karaage. This crust was perfectly crisp with a nice crunch. If I have the chance next time, I'll order one for the restaurant and one to take home to snack on later.

We also had the fried rice, which is always a nice cheap side dish. There wasn't anything particularly special about this fried rice, but it is always so damn good, I end up bringing some home just to eat! I don't know what addictive drug they put in it, but I always end up eating inhuman amounts of this stuff!

(Mmmm... addictive fried rice.)

The service was kind of so-so, and toward the end of the meal we felt like we were being rushed. It could be that there was only a single server and the restaurant was already approaching packed levels that afternoon.

If you don't want to travel to downtown or the Southbay, and you want some decent Ramen Noodles in the SFV, try out Kyushu Ramen.

Kyushu Ramen
15355 Sherman Way
Van Nuys, CA 91408
(818)786-6005

Mikado- PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA

They say that dining is not an event solely for nourishment, but also for entertainment. Perhaps you are entertained by the style, decor or ambiance of a restaurant, or perhaps you are entertained by the variety and creativity of the dishes. But sometimes the act of watching your food being prepared is a show in itself.

The restaurant I'm reviewing is not going to win any awards for true gourmet dining, nor would most jaded diners consider it to be very entertaining, but when viewed through the eyes of someone who's never experienced Entertainment Dining, I found a lot that I could enjoy.


The Mikado Restaurant is located in the Desert Springs Marriott located in Palm Desert a few miles east of Palm Springs. It is a Japanese Teppan Grill Restaurant, where the chef prepares the food in front of you on a grill. (a la Benihana's) We started our dining experience by taking one of the water taxi's from the interior of the hotel out towards the back of the hotel which is surrounded by a man made lake. This in itself is pretty entertaining and romantic. Sure you could use one of the many walkways to get to the restaurant, but the experience of being transported on a boat to your destination evokes many a memory of being on a vacation far far away from normal life.


Upon reaching the dock in front of the Mikado Restaurant you are greeted by two large copper Japanese Dog Dragon Statues, and you make your way through various bridges surrounded by flowing water and miniature waterfalls until you reach the entrance of the Mikado. In the center of the restaurant is a Japanese Garden, which is very serene with water features, bridges, and benches for you to wait for your table to be prepared.

Sitting at the Teppan Grill in a U-Shape which surrounds the Chef, you are asked for what meats you want prepared prior to the chef's arrival. I ordered the New York Steak, Mrs. Chicken Fried ordered the Filet Mignon, and Grandma & Grandpa Chicken Fried ordered the fish and scallops. Our chef seemed kind of sedate for a Teppan Chef, but he was mildly entertaining. We saw many other tables filled with laughter and applause at really spirited and creative chef's performing for them. Ours on a scale of 1-10 was probably a 6 in the spirited department. He started off, but giving us an appetizer of shrimp which was quickly and expertly grilled, and sliced with precision in front of us. He then started on the Fried Rice which was pretty good, but I wish that he saved the crunch bits for me. Part of the entertainment involves fire, in which he ignites some cooking oil inside onion slices forming a faux volcano. Pretty good stuff the first time you see it.

What's fascinating is watching the chef slice through pieces of meat on the grill in a manic state. I could probably slice as fast as he could, but I would probably lose a digit or two. All of the food is prepared at one time, and he hurriedly switches from different diner's meals to the other. I ordered my New York Steak medium rare, and indeed it actually was served to me Medium Rare. My steak was very tender and had a great char on the outside coupled with the soft velvety interior of the steak. Mrs. Chicken Fried's Filet was very delicate and soft, and had a distinctly different flavor than my New York Steak, it was a bit gamier in my opinion. I didn't get a chance to sample Grandpa and Grandma Chicken Fried's Fish and Scallops, but they seemed to enjoy it. But the true purpose of coming here wasn't the food, it was the entertainment. During our meal, there were pieces of meat being tossed in the air directly into diner's mouths, pyrotechnic displays with our food, and skillful knife handling that kept us smiling and hoping for more. Yes we did envy other tables that had chefs with more dynamic and exciting performances, but seeing as how Grandma and Grandpa Chicken Fried never experienced this before and were truly entertained was the reason we were here.

Mikado is a pretty nice place for dinner if you've never been to a Teppan Grill before, and I recommend it when you have guests in from out of town who you want to show a good time. As for me and the Mrs. it's old hat, but going with people who had never been there, let us enjoy vicariously through them.

74855 Country Club Dr
Palm Desert, CA 92260
(760) 341-1725

Gyu-Kaku, Woodland Hills- CALIFORNIA

Last night we continued Mrs. Chicken Fried's Birthday Celebration with a dinner at Gyu-Kaku. Gyu-Kaku is a chain of Yakiniku (Grilled Meat) Restaurants that originated in Japan and eventually spread to the United States and beyond. You could describe it as a combination of Korean BBQ Restaurants where you grill your own meat tableside and a Churrascaria with different cuts and types of meat brought out to you. No you won't smell like BBQ after your meal as all the grill have down draft ventilation and virtually no smoke is emitted from the grill.

(Smokeless BBQ Grill at Table)

We ordered the Unlimited Menu where you whenever you ran out of meat to grill, the waiter would bring you a new batch. The meats available for us to grill were Harami Steak (Beef marinated in miso), Sukiyaki Beef (Thin beef strips marinated in Sweet and Spicy Marinade), Chuck Rib Beef marinated in Garlic Sauce, Chicken Breast, Nakaochi Cubed Short Rib (The most flavorful in my opinion!), and shrimp. For $28 a person, for unlimited meat as well as unlimited Salad, Noodles, and Sushi Bar, well it was definitely a bargain!

Gyu-Kaku had a very rustic Japanese minimalist decor combined with a modern clubby vibe. The servers were very friendly, and you could here them yelling a Japanese greeting to customers as the entered or exited the restaurant.

My favorite dish was by far the Nakaochi Cubed Beef Short Rib. The meat was very flavorful and juicy. You could taste the marbling of this meat, and if I didn't load myself up on the salad bar and other meats, I would have just spent the whole night eating this. Some of the thin cut beef not sure if it was the Harami or the Sukiyaki was too salty for my taste, but still delicious. Chicken was well.. just chicken, no big deal there. This is a great place for entertaining large parties or even if you want a nice date place to take someone. There is also a Happy Hour that occurs twice a night.

There are numerous locations in Japan and abroad. We went to one of their newest locations which is located in the Westfield Shopping Center in Woodland Hills. This is definitely a place I will return to again.. I'll just make sure I go on an empty stomach next time.

Go to their website for locations and specials:
www.gyu-kaku.com

Samsala in Northridge- CALIFORNIA

If I didn't give this restaurant a second chance, I wouldn't have been able to find one of my newest favorite restaurant.

Samsala is a Thai, Japanese, Teppanyaki Restaurant. The outside of the restaurant resembles that of a Thai Palace. It has bamboo planters and some modern art type organic fountains in front of the entrance of the restaurant. The inside is decorated in all light wood, with Thai decorations throughout. The layout of the restaurant is unique. It is split into 3 sections. There is a separate dine-in section with an ample number of booths and tables. It is nicely decorated with with Orchids and various Thai Ceramics. There is a Big-Screen LCD TV mounted for all to see.

The second section is a revolving sushi room. This has the standard sushi bar with conveyor belt distributing sushi to the patrons.

The third section is a Teppanyaki Room where you can get Benihana Style Entertainment as a Teppan Chef cook your dinner in front of you.

All of these sections are separate and each have their own unique personalities. It feels like being in 3 different restaurants.

Originally I went to Samsala to try out a new Thai Restaurant. This was shortly after they opened. I really was not thrilled with the food. It was just okay. Fast forward 6 months later. Me and the Missus have a dine-in meal and order at least 6 different kinds of sushi. The specialty sushi they had was amazing! Just thinking about it makes me want to go back and get more. They had a Triple Crunch Sushi which had some Spicy Tuna on top of a fried noodle square, it was excellent! They also have an appetizer called Golden Cups which little fried wontons shaped into a cup with various meat fillings. The Thai food is much improved from when we first dined here, and you can tell that Samsala's Chefs definitely have hit their stride.

The service is excellent and the waiters and waitresses are very attentive. Prices can get pricey especially ordering specialty sushi. This is an excellent place for large parties, as the variety of food can accommodate almost anyone.

I am returning to Samsala probably in the next few days (I just had dinner there last night), and I will definitely try out their other offerings. Maybe the Teppanyaki Room.. I'll report on my next visit real soon..