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!

Zona Italia

A beautiful restaurant with great food and an amazing view! Zona Italia is located in Itsukaichi which is near Hiroshima city. I have been going to this beautiful restaurant for a few years now, and it never disappoints. The food, the view, and the service have been wonderful every time.




They have an English menu and a couple of people on their staff speak English. Definitely a plus!


I do recommend that you go with the set. You get some appetizers, your choice of pasta or pizza, garlic bread (all-you-can-eat), a dessert, and a drink. The sets run anywhere from around 3,500yen and up. The cost depends on which pasta or pizza you choose. We all ordered the set and before we knew it they were bringing out our appetizers.

This was the view from our table that we enjoyed while we were waiting....

Just had to throw that out there. Great view.


....and then they brought out our first appetizer.

If you don't like fish or cannot eat fish, they are more than happy to substitute with something else. Just let them know when you place your order.


...and then our second appetizer



...and then our third appetizer


Did I mention the garlic bread?


One of the pastas that we ordered.

I believe this was the eggplant and ricotta cheese pasta. Yum!

One of the pizzas that we ordered...

This pizza was pretty amazing. It had homemade sausage on it.

Now it's time for dessert!



This really is a great restaurant for a date night. Great food and great view!

Here is a shot of the front entrance area -



If you are going on a weekend, I highly recommend reservations.

Their phone number is - (0825) 27-2311

To get to this amazing restaurant, I usually take the expressway to Hatsukaichi. Once you exit the expressway, go to the left. You'll be on this road for a little while (20-30 minutes). The exit for Zona is the one after the Shoko Center exit. I can't remember the name of it, but I know it's the one after the Shoko Center (which is the exit for AlPark Mall). When you exit, turn left at the light. Go straight and you should see a sign on your right at the next intersection. Turn right and follow the road up for a minute, and you should see Zona Italia on your right. They do have a decent amount of parking. You can also just hop on the 2 the whole way, but I prefer taking the expressway part of the way. From Otake to Hatsukaichi is only about 500yen so the cost isn't too bad.