Kaisugi Ramen

This ramen place has been on my list for some time now, and I finally made it! What took so long, you ask? Well.... they don't open until 1900 and I'm usually starving by then. I need to eat by 1800 or 1830 at the latest, or I become slightly cranky. Okay. Maybe a little bit more than just slightly. My good friend, Tina, was leaving me though and she really wanted to eat here so we made plans to try it out before she flew out.

I wasn't sure where it was located, but I got the pin from their Facebook page and headed towards downtown Iwakuni. I knew where I would park and figured it would be a short walk from the parking lot. As soon as I started to make the turn into the parking lot though, Google maps stated that I had arrived at my destination. What??? Tina and I started laughing and looking around, and there it was! Right next to the pay parking lot I was pulling into.


Yay! We found it! -

Once we sat down, I picked up the menu and started looking it over. The menu is pretty simple, but I wanted to try everything on it. Tina already knew she wanted spicy ramen, and I decided on the chashu ramen. Chashu is the pork slices you usually find in ramen. While I was looking over the menu I also noticed that they have handmade gyoza. A lot of ramen places I have been to use frozen gyoza (the kind you can buy in a grocery store) so I get very excited when I see that a place makes their own!

When my ramen came to the table, I couldn't wait to dig in! BUT, I did wait long enough to take this picture -

...aaaand when they brought Tina's, she was kind enough to wait so I could take a picture of hers too -

You can choose your level of spiciness for your ramen. Tina ordered a level 1.


The gyoza -

The ramen was delicious and the chashu was so tender and flavorful! Tina really enjoyed her spicy ramen too, and we both loved the gyoza. I think I have found a new favorite place to get my ramen fix! I just wish they opened before 1900!!!

The prices were very reasonable too. Our total bill was a little over 2,000yen which was less than $20 at the time.
They only accept yen.

Hours: 1900-0300
Telephone: 0827-22-1000
Address: 麻里布町6丁目2-1, Iwakuni 740-0018

View Larger MapDriving Directions

Grand Chief Burgers

I am not a huge beef eater, but every now and then I like a GOOD burger. A REAL good burger. Not a fast food burger. Unfortunately, it's been difficult to find here. I could find a great hamburger steak (which I also love), but not a good hamburger. Until now.

I read about Grand Chief on Facebook when a few ladies posted about it, and then got more information when the Iwakuni Explorer did a post about it. I knew as soon as I read the post about it, that I had to check it out.

I told my friend Cynthia about it and we decided to have lunch there last week. It was super easy to find. We just went out the Main Gate and took a right at the very first light. Followed that road until it came to a T intersection and then took a left. At the light we turned right onto Route 2. Grand Chief is located right after the Eneos station on your left so stay in the left lane once you get on the 2. Look for the Teepee or the Airstream trailer (I think that's what they're called).

Or you can look for this sign

Or you can look for this teepee

It kind of stands out so I don't think anyone will have a problem finding it.

We looked over the menu and I just could not decide what I wanted so I went simple and got a regular burger with avocado. I love fries so I got the regular set. Cynthia ordered the Grand Chief burger (recommended by the owner). We sat down and waited. It was a beautiful day to sit outside so we didn't mind at all. They were kind of busy while we were there. Quite a few people just come by to place take out orders.

The wait wasn't very long at all...maybe 10-15 minutes. We grabbed our trays and sat down. I couldn't wait to unwrap my burger. I did munch on a fry or two before I opened my burger. I couldn't resist. The fries are good.

Here's my burger -

Here's Cynthia's burger -

Don't they look delicious??? They are. I have now found a place to get a good burger. I like it so much that I went back today and ordered the Teriyaki Ginger burger. That was pretty tasty too. Not a heavy ginger flavor at all. They also have a Cajun Chicken sandwich that I am curious about. If anyone tries that, please post a picture on my Facebook page and let me know your thoughts.

The sign says they open at 10am, but there is nothing listed for a closing time. I drove by it a few nights ago (I think it might have been around 8pm-ish) and it looked like they were still open.

I did take a picture of the menu so you have an idea of prices.

Check out Grand Chief and let me know what you think!!

My Temple and Shrine Stamp Book or Shuin-cho (WARNING: This is not a food post)

I debated about this for a little while and then decided I should just do it. As it states in my intro, I love to travel. I especially love to travel and take photos and experience local foods. So.... a post about my travels every now and then won't be weird...right?

Last year I went up north with my friend Tina and her husband to visit our friends, Courtney and Tom. We were going to climb Mt Fuji together (maybe I should write about that crazy experience....), but we also had some sightseeing planned.

The day before our climb, we headed over to Kamakura. I was super excited because I had never been and it was on my super long list of places to visit. Our friend Courtney had told us about the temple book (shuin-cho) she got when she was visiting Kyoto. I had never heard of a temple book so I was pretty intrigued and once I looked at hers, I was hooked. She said she carries her book with her everywhere and she gets a stamp (shuin) from each temple and shrine she visits. I knew I had to get my own shuin-cho! It's quite beautiful and I really love to watch them add my shuin when I am able to. Someone at the temple places a stamp or two onto your book and then writes in calligraphy, the name of the temple and the date. There is typically a 300yen charge for each shuin. I have heard that there are some that are more expensive, but so far all of mine have been 300yen. Some places will ask you to leave your book and come back in a few minutes. It hasn't happened to me too many times, but it does happen. They will not allow you to take photos. I have tried a few times and most places have a sign posted stating no pictures allowed. I even asked if I could just take a photo of their hands as they worked on my shuin, but I was told that was not possible either.

It is such a great souvenir for yourself to remember your time here in Japan, and all of the temples and shrines you visited while here. I also think it's a great gift to give someone visiting you or just arriving to Iwakuni! Kind of a "Welcome to Iwakuni" gift!

My excitement level for travel is always already super high (dancing around the room and jumping up and down while squealing - high), and I try to go somewhere every weekend. Even if it's some place close by that I have already been to many times. I love going to the same places over and over again, but at different times of the year. Where was I going with this?.... OH! Yes. My excitement level is even higher now (I know that just doesn't sound possible, but it's true) and I am constantly looking for new temples and shrines to visit. More stamps for my book!!!!! It also leads me to places I have never been. I have added quite a few places to my very long list.... sometimes I wonder if I will ever get through it. Part of me hopes I don't... what will I do then?? I'll have to move or something. Well, I do have to go back to a lot of the temples and shrines I visited before I got my shuin-cho. This means I will have to add to my list again.... maybe I won't ever have to move after all.

When I was in Kyoto last November with Courtney and Tina, I forgot my temple book (wouldn't be the first time...*sigh*). I ended up buying a book at Kiyomizu Dera (one of the most famous places in Kyoto) because I couldn't stand the thought of not getting any shuins while I was there, or buying the loose paper with the shuin on it that I would have to glue down into my book when I got home. The shuin-cho there is a little bit smaller than the one I bought in Kamakura so it fits nicely in my purse. Hopefully this means that I won't forget my book anymore! However, now you know that even if you forget your book, you can still get a shuin for it.

Here are some pictures of my temple book -

I try to be really good about writing down the name of the temple or shrine and the date I visited, on the bottom of the page. I did say "try" right?



You can buy a temple book at almost any temple or shrine, but some are definitely more ornate than others. Some are also more expensive than others. Courtney has filled one up already (I need to get busy and visit more temples and shrines!!) so she had to buy one when she came down for a visit. Her plan was to get one at the Itsukushima Shrine on Miyajima Island. Their book was very plain though so she decided to wait until we went to the Daisho-in Temple to see what theirs look like. Before heading there though, we stopped off at the Daigan Temple to check out their books. They have beautiful books there so she ended up getting one there for 1,000yen or so (I think it might have been around 1200 or 1300yen actually). I wish I would have taken a picture of her book. Mine was less than 1,000yen, but it is also not quite as pretty as Courtney's. I think I know where I'll be buying my next book...

Pick up a shuin-cho the next time you go to a temple or shrine and start collecting beautiful temple stamps! If you can't figure out where to go for a temple stamp, just say "shuin" and someone at the temple will point you in the right direction.

What to do with Renkon (Lotus Root)

I am such a HUGE fan of renkon! I get really excited when renkon season is here and I eat it as much as I can until the season is over. Hard to say what my favorite way of eating it is though... I love renkon tempura! I love reckon kinpira. I also love the renkon creme brûlée Trois serves for dessert. Sounds odd, I know, but it is sooooo good!

Many of you have probably seen renkon in the grocery store though, and just didn't know what it was or what to do with it. I'm hoping this will help to make you feel more comfortable about buying this delicious root vegetable and giving it a try.

There are so many ways to prepare renkon, but I just want to share a couple of recipes to get you started.





RENKON NO SUNOMONO - This is a delicious, marinated renkon. You can substitute the yuzu with another citrus fruit like lemon or kabosu (a citrus fruit similar to yuzu). You can also leave the citrus out, but I personally think it's so much better with it.

1 1/2 - 2 cups thinly sliced renkon
1/4 tsp salt
1 TBSP sugar
1/4 cup rice vinegar
fresh yuzu peel (just the outer part of the peel) and yuzu juice

Bring a small pot of water to boil. Add thinly sliced renkon and continue to boil for about 2 minutes. The longer you leave them in, the less crunchy they will be so don't leave them in for too long. Drain and while still warm, add the salt, sugar, and vinegar. Mix well. Taste and adjust by adding more salt or sugar if needed. The vinegar will be very strong, but will mellow out as it sits so don't worry if it seems very tart. Add a squeeze of yuzu juice and some yuzu peel and mix well. Cool completely and serve. I can just sit and munch on these all day.


RENKON NO KINPIRA - This is a renkon stir fry that goes very well with rice. If you want it to be a little heartier, you can throw in some ground beef.

1 1/2 - 2 cups thinly sliced renkon
2 TBSP dashi shoyu
1 TBSP sugar
1 TBSP sweet rice wine (mirin)
1 TBSP sesame oil
1 TBSP sesame seeds


Soak the sliced renkon in a bowl of water for a few minutes to get some of the starch out. Drain.
Combine the dashi shoyu, sugar, and mirin in a small bowl and mix well. Taste and adjust as needed.
Heat sesame oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add sliced renkon and stir fry for a minute. Add the sauce mixture and mix well. Stir around for another minute or two before turning off the heat. Crush the sesame seeds between your fingers as you sprinkle them over the kinpira. Transfer to a bowl and serve with rice.

Oh! Renkon is a good source of dietary fiber and Vitamin C. They taste good AND they're good for you!

Another interesting fact about renkon is that Iwakuni is very well known for renkon, and I have heard from quite a few people that the Iwakuni renkon is unusual because there are nine holes instead of the usual eight holes that are in the renkon. Of course I had to count them. It's true. There really are nine holes.

Are you feeling like you need to rush out and buy some lotus root now? The season is coming to an end so don't wait too long!

I should mention that I did not slice the renkon all nice and pretty. My knife skills are not the greatest. Toshiko and Keiko have amazing knife skills though and they are the ones who sliced everything up for these recipes. I just took pictures and tasted and took more pictures and tasted some more.

Japanese Grocery Stores - The Basics Part 1

Hmmm.....I probably should have written this one before I started writing the one on sauces. Anyone who knows me though, knows that my brain is all over the place and doesn't function the way normal brains do (what is "normal" anyway???), so I'm sure my friends are not surprised by this at all. Ha!

So, you've moved to Iwakuni (Welcome to Iwakuni!!) and you've checked out the commissary. Hey. It's not as bad as it used to be. I think our commissary does very well with the limited amount of space they have. With that being said, I do buy almost all of my fruits and veggies out in town. I also definitely buy all of my chicken and eggs out in town. I prefer fresh chicken and have had issues with freezer burn in the past. I also love ground chicken and I can get fresh ground chicken out in town too. As for the eggs..... I think once you try it you will see why I only buy Japanese eggs.

One thing you should definitely know before venturing out to the Japanese grocery stores. Carry cash with you just in case. Some of them (especially little stands and smaller stores you might happen upon as you explore the area) do not accept credit cards. I've also heard from some people that they had problems when using their credit card so I try to make sure I have some cash on me when I go.

Be sure to take a shopping bag with you too. Almost every grocery I have been in does not offer free plastic bags anymore. You will have to ask for one and you will have to pay for it. It's usually 5yen or less, but if you take your own you won't have to ask for one AND you'll be helping the environment. Not the end of the world if you do forget though. I'll be the first to admit that I have a lot of shopping bags that never seem to make it back into my purse or back into my car. If you're like me and forget to bring one, just ask for a "fukuro" (bag) when you are checking out.

Do you want to buy some fresh fish, but don't want to cut the head off and gut it? Yuk. Me neither. Many grocery stores offer these services for free.

I took a picture of this sign that is posted in Fresta. You can just point at what you would like them to do for you and they'll take care of it. For free!

I know there are quite a few lactose intolerant people out there who drink soy milk so I checked out the soy milk section at Fresta and I was impressed by the many different flavors! They have banana soy milk!!

Some of the flavors in this photo are grape, yuzu (a Japanese citrus that is delicious), mango, and vanilla ice cream.

They also have organic soy milk -

If you're in a pinch and need some cottage cheese, you can find it out in town. It is pretty pricey though. This one in the picture was 378yen and it was a pretty small container of it.

I hope that this helps you feel more comfortable as you navigate your way around the grocery stores off base. In part 2 of my grocery store series I'll talk about point cards, sale days, and more! Let me know if there is something in particular that you want more information about.

Japanese Grocery Stores - Sauces Part 1

So, I posted on my Facebook page about doing a grocery store post and I received quite a few comments and requests. A couple of people wanted to know more about the many sauces sold in Japan so I thought I would do a series of posts about shopping on the local economy. Starting with this post on sauces. I am certainly not an expert on Japanese sauces, nor do I claim to be. I am just a foodie who grew up in Iwakuni and also grew up eating foods prepared with some of these yummy sauces. I hope this helps you as you go out and explore the many grocery stores in Iwakuni, and I hope you will pick up a new sauce or two and give it a try!

I think that the most important sauce of all in any Japanese home is soy sauce, or "shoyu" as we call it. My mother always cooks with shoyu, but when I was little there was just a small selection of shoyu at the store. The biggest and most popular brand (and quite possibly the only brand carried at most majoy grocery stores) at the time was Kikkoman. When I moved to the states for the first time as an adult, I bought a bottle of Kikkoman shoyu and I was so excited to be able to find Japanese shoyu! Then I tried it and ..... I spit it out. It was disgusting. I didn't realize it was made in the U.S. and "geared to American taste". I don't know who thought of that, but I think they were way off base! That bottle of shoyu went right down the drain and I called my mother to see if she could send me a care package with a bottle of the "real Kikkoman shoyu" as I put it. Fast forward a few years (okay...maybe a little more than just a few), and it's amazing to me how many different types of shoyu there are now. Grocery stores in Japan have a huge section of an aisle that is just shoyu. There's regular shoyu, usukuchi (lighter flavor) shoyu, sashimi shoyo (which seems a little thicker and smoother), and on and on. I could probably do an entire post on the different types of shoyu, but I know a lot of people are wondering more about the other sauces they sell in Japanese grocery stores. Before I get to those sauces though, I do want to post a picture or two of some organic shoyu that is sold at Fresta. I know there are quite a few people out there who are very interested in organic products.

The shoyu in these two photos are all organic.

Let's check out the other sauces....


YAKINIKU SAUCE-

Yakiniku means "cooked meat" or "grilled meat" and it's what you usually eat when you go to JanJaka. You can make something similar at home. There are so many different types and brands of yakiniku sauce that I can't tell you which one is the best. I think I buy a different kind each time so I can see what the difference is. The problem is that I forget to take notes and remember which ones I really like. You can also get different levels of spiciness. Please keep in mind that sometimes when it says "spicy" it doesn't necessarily mean hot spicy. Sometimes it means "salty" or spices spicy. So, they have "Amakuchi" which is not spicy at all and means "sweet taste", "Chyukara" which is "medium spicy", and then "Karakuchi" which is "spicy taste". I personally like to mix the amakuchi with the chyukara because I don't like my sauce sweet, but I don't like it too spicy either. Mixing the two usually balances it all out for me. There are different ways to cook with yakiniku sauce. You can marinate some thin slices of meat in it and then grill the meat. Another way to do it is to grill the meat first and then just dip it in the sauce or pour some sauce over the meat. I have also taken thinly sliced beef (thickness is really up to you, but I like mine to be sliced pretty thin), sliced onions and sliced green bell peppers and stir fried it all in a little bit of oil. Right before you take the pan off of the stove, pour some yakiniku sauce on it, stir it around to get it on everything and then remove from heat and serve with some rice. Make sure you don't put the sauce in too soon because sometimes the sauce will burn if it cooks too long in a hot pan.


SHOGA YAKI SAUCE -

One of my favorite dishes is Shoga Yaki. Shoga is ginger and yaki is cooked. In this case, it is pork and cabbage that is sauteed with this delicious sauce. Some restaurants serve "Shoga Yaki" and a lot of times it is just thin strips of pork sauteed and covered in this sauce. I am a huge fan of pork and cabbage together (may have something to do with always eating tonkatsu and cabbage together....don't know what tonkatsu is?? Hmm..I feel another blog post coming..) so I usually take thin slices of pork and some cabbage, saute them together and when it's almost done put some of this sauce on it. Remove from heat right away so the sauce doesn't burn. Personally, I don't think this is super heavy on the ginger flavor so even if you aren't a big fan of ginger you should give this a try.
I know some of you are looking at the photo for this sauce and thinking the main bottle in the front is slightly out of focus, but the one behind it on the left is in perfect focus. I meant to do that. Uh huh.... yup... sure did. Wanted to see if anyone would notice.

YAKITORI SAUCE -

Yakitori is the little pieces of chicken on a stick. You all know what "yaki" means now so I'll just let you know that "tori" means "bird"...which in this case means chicken. Yakitori are mostly found at izakayas and you can get yakitori at just about any festival in Japan. You can make yakitori at home with this sauce and some chicken and some sticks. You can buy the sticks just about anywhere (they just look like super long toothpicks). If you are grilling these, I highly recommend you soak the sticks in water for a little while. It keeps them from burning. Cut chicken into chunks big enough to put on the stick. Don't make them too big or too small. I had to play around with it because I kept making them too big. It's fine, but it takes longer to cook. Place about 4 pieces of chicken on each stick. Lightly (very lightly) salt both sides and throw on a hot (medium heat) grill. You really have to watch these so don't walk away too much. When they are almost done, dip them into some yakitori sauce and throw them back on the grill for a few mimutes... maybe 1-2 minutes on each side. Are you like me and don't own a grill? No problem. I take a chicken breast or thigh and cut it into chunks and because I like the fat green onions (I'm not sure what they are called in the US... but they are like big green onions... and I believe they are in season in the winter months), I'll cut up one or two of those also. Saute the chicken and green onions in a pan and right before it is done, cover everything with a little bit of the yakitori sauce. Stir it around for a minute, remove from heat, and serve over a bowl of rice.

Am I starting to sound like a broken record with my statements on making sure you don't add the sauce too soon because it may burn? I think that because a lot of sauces have soy sauce, they tends to burn a little easily. Burnt sauce does not taste good. At all. How do I know you ask? Well..... I maaay have had an accident or two when cooking with yakiniku sauce.

To be continued....

RUSH - Teppanyaki Restaurant

The first two times I tried to go to this restaurant, I could not get in because they were full. I guess it's true when they say "third time's a charm" though, because I got the last few seats left when I went the third time. It probably had something to do with the fact that it was a brand new restaurant in Iwakuni and I was trying to go right after it opened, but I think it also might have had something to do with the super nice staff and the yummy food!



One of the first things you might notice about RUSH is that it is not like the teppanyaki restaurants you find in the U.S. You can watch them cook if you sit at the end of the counter where the "teppan" is located. "Teppan" is the grill that they cook on. I believe the restaurants in the States put on a show when they cook in front of you. At RUSH you will only get a show if someone orders a steak. If that happens while you are there, you will get to see this -



What you will definitely get though is great service and really good food! I have eaten here many times now and I have never been disappointed with anything I've ordered. The only thing I will say is that the steak is kind of fatty. Too fatty for me so I will not order it anymore, but if you like it that way then go for it. It does taste good. I just prefer a leaner cut of steak. One dish that I do always get when I go for dinner is the grilled vegetable plate. I like it so much that I really don't want to share.....but I do because I prefer to order a few different dishes and share. It's very hard though....


Look at these vegetables.....can you blame me for not wanting to share?



They have a pork wrapped asparagus dish that is pretty tasty. They sprinkle some kind of curry powder on them and I think I would prefer them without the curry powder. I'm sure you can ask them to make them without the curry powder. I am a big fan of curry, but not so much on these. Don't they look delicious?



Another dish I always get is the garlic rice. Anything with garlic is usually great in my book!



I do recommend that you try RUSH for lunch and for dinner. They have a different menu for lunch so it's a different experience. I like their lunch menu and their dinner menu so I have gone for both quite a few times now. For lunch, I really like the pork ginger and the hamburger steak. They do have English menus with pictures so ordering will not be a problem.

To get to this yummy teppanyaki restaurant, head towards the local train station in downtown Iwakuni and when you get to the rotary intersection (Andersen Bakery should be on the right corner), you will turn left. Then turn left again almost right away. RUSH is located on your left and there is a pay parking lot to the right of it that you can park in.

RUSH is closed on Mondays and their phone number is (0827)22-8339. It has been a little over a year since they opened, but they can still get pretty busy so you might want to call ahead and make reservations.

Tonkotsu Ramen: Yamabiko

I am not a big fan of cold weather....unless I am playing in some beautiful, fluffy snow. BUT, I do like that cold weather means RAMEN SEASON! Not that you can't eat ramen any other time of the year. There is nothing like a nice, hot bowl of ramen on a cold wintry day though. Well, except maybe a nice, hot bowl of udon. I'm a big fan of both!





So, I have passed this place many times and have been wanting to try it, but I just never did. Until last week! I went for lunch and it was pretty tasty so I went back with my camera for dinner less than a week later.



They have an English menu!! I didn't see it when I went for lunch, but I think it's because I spoke Japanese when I walked in. When I went back for dinner, I didn't say anything and they brought over an English menu. Yay! Of course I took a picture of it!!


AND


I think the menu is pretty self explanatory, but I do want to let you know that the "special pork ramen" is just thicker sliced pork pieces. The "pirikara-men" is a slightly spicy ramen. Haha! I just realized that it looks like "spicy men"....kind of. I'm very easily distracted... and apparently, very easily amused. The "goma dango" is a very yummy fried mochi ball covered in sesame seeds, with sweet bean inside. Mmmmm!! One of my favorites!!!

I went with a couple of friends so we each ordered a bowl of ramen and then we got one order of the fried rice, and the gyoza to share. Their fried rice and their gyoza was pretty tasty. I still prefer the gyoza at Nagahama Ramen (I blogged about this yummy place already), but the ramen here is pretty tasty. The soup and the noodles are definitely different from the other ramen places I have blogged about.

Here are some pictures of the yummy food -


Yummy fried rice!!



Gyoza!


And now for the most important dish.....

Doesn't that look good???? If you don't like green onions or the pork, you can order it without it.


If you go during lunch, they offer a lunch special for 900yen. You get a bowl of ramen, one rice ball, two pieces of gyoza, and two pieces of fried chicken. I believe they do a similar set for dinner, but it doesn't start until 6pm. I will also warn you that the fried chicken is typical Japanese fried chicken. With the skin and the fat. I pulled mine apart and just ate the meat. I do suggest pulling it apart and not just biting into it or else you might get a fatty surprise. It's not very pleasant.

Ramen is going to taste different at each restaurant. There are different types of soups and different types of noodles, and each place typically has their own special recipe for the soup. Yamabiko is a tonkotsu style soup so it is pork based. I thought the soup was very good and light on flavor. There are condiments on the table you can add to your rament to boost the flavor or spiciness if you want. So while I really did like the ramen here, you might not like it as much as Nagahama or some other rament place you've been to in the past. This is why I think it's a great idea to try them all! I have blogged about two other places in this area that you can try out.

To get to Yamabiko Ramen, go out the Main Gate and go straight. You want to go to three corners (just go straight until the road comes to a T intersection....this is known as "three corners") and turn right. Continue on this road until it kind of comes to Route 2 (it will be the intersection after you go over some railroad tracks). Turn left here and you will see Mos Burger on your left and McDonald's on your right. Keep going straight. When you see a men's clothing store on your left, you should look on the right for the restaurant. I got there too late to get any photos of the outside from a distance (really bad traffic and too dark), but I did take a picture of what you might see when approaching the restaurant from this direction.


Look for this sign on the right and this is where you will turn. There used to be a guitar shop behind Yamabiko. Even though it is closed, they never took the sign down and this is what I used as my landmark when I first spotted this restaurant.


I did get one shot of the inside too...



They do have quite a bit of parking in the back so that shouldn't be an issue.

The next time you're in the mood for some ramen, give Yamabiko a try and let me know what you think!

TAJ Indian Restaurant

I had bread class on Saturday and we didn't get back until around 5:30pm. I wasn't very hungry because we ate a late lunch and it seemed like our lunch lasted forever. Honestly, I was thinking I would be able to just skip dinner.

BUT....by 7:30pm I was starting to get hungry. Jason called me and when I mentioned dinner, he said he was kind of hungry too. Then somehow TAJ came up in our conversation about dinner. The next thing I knew, we were on our way to TAJ.

Jason had never been, and I had only been once before so we were both pretty excited. I even remembered to grab my camera so I could get pictures for my blog post.

AND!!!! I remembered to take a picture of the outside!!!


The first time I went to TAJ I ordered the eggplant curry. Oh. My. Goodness. Very yummy!

Jason and I looked over the menu and we decided to order a few different dishes and share everything. So, we ordered the Shrimp Salad, Chicken Tikka, Chicken Masala Curry, Garlic Nan, and Almond Nan.


Shrimp Salad


Chicken Tikka


Almond Nan


Chicken Masala Curry (level "HOT")


Garlic Nan

Everything we ordered was very tasty. Their curry seems more tomato based compared to other Indian restaurants I have been to, but it was very good. I don't think we had anything left when we were done. Hmmm....maybe I should have taken a picture of our plates after we were done. Empty plates are always a good sign.

Their menu is in English too, which is another plus.


They are open for lunch from 1100-1430, and then for dinner from 1700-2130. Their phone number is (0827)23-6709. They do speak English.

To get to this wonderful Indian Restaurant, go out Main Gate. At the first light turn right. Follow that road and go over the bridge. Pass Mike's Tex Mex, and at the 2nd light after Mike's, turn left. Go up the loopy over pass. At the light, turn right (like you're heading to the train station). When you get to the rotary, make sure you are in the left lane. As you're going by the rotary, you'll see Coco Curry on your left. Turn left down the street right next to Coco Curry. Follow that road all the way to the end. At that light, you should be able to see TAJ across the street. They do have parking available. If you know your way around Route 2, TAJ is located right off the 2, going away from McDonald's towards Otake.

If you like eggplant, I say go for the eggplant curry! The Chicken Masala was very yummy too though. Personally, I like to order different dishes and share them with my dinner date. The prices are pretty reasonable too. I think for everything we ordered, it was about 2,000yen. According to their sign outside, they also offer sets where you can get chicken curry or pork curry and nan or rice for 790yen. Not bad at all.

Give TAJ a try and let me know what you think!