Los Angeles

Monday, February 28, 2011

Review: Coco Ichibanya Curry House in Torrance

Location:
2455 Sepulveda Blvd
Torrance, CA 90501
Overall Rating:
Almost.
Price:
~$10 Per Person
Service:
Needs Improvement.
Food:
Excellent.
Comments:
I was VERY excited about visiting this restaurant! I actually visited the location in Tokyo, Yotsuya, Shinjuku-ku this past summer and was very curious to see how they were going to aim it towards more American clientele. I was struck at exactly how SIMILAR the menus looked and the food was almost identical. I do have to say, on the plus side, my curry was PIPING hot and had a lot more flavor than the Japanese counter part. Overall, the food was absolutely amazing. 

Now, service. Aiyaiyai. I'll let them slide because this is a brand new restaurant. The waiter who served us did not speak Japanese and pretty much ignored us once we got our food. We had to ask for refills and had to pretty much do jumping jacks in order to get our check. The restaurant had not filled up at this point either. Once the Japanese manager got our check, she was all politeness and had very Japanese service (my readers who have been to Japan know EXACTLY what I mean).

There is not a lot of seating but I think they will remedy this in the future. Thankfully, we got there early as to avoid a wait.

Overall, it has a whole lot of potential. Food was great and very nostalgic.

I got the sausage salad and they gave me two options for salad dressing they left on the table.
This was the sliced pork curry with an added chicken katsu cutlet.
Another view of the pork curry with chicken katsu.
I chose the mini and it was JUST the right amount. I went for the traditional beef curry with added vegetables.

Pizza naan bread. This was VERY interesting. I had never seen such a thing before so I HAD to order it. Essentially, a piece of naan bread with curry on top and melted cheese. Very interesting flavor but also very good. My boyfriend thought it was the bees knees. Definitely worth a shot.

Now, I wanted to add some photos of the Coco Ichibanya in Japan:




For better views, click on the photos. As you can see, the Japanese versions were much lighter. Nonetheless, I did like the flavor of the American version better!

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Review: Torihei Yokohama in Torrance

Location:
1757 West Carson Street
Torrance, CA 90501 
Overall Rating:
Perfect.
Price:
~$20 Per Person
Service:
Excellent.
Food:

Comments:
Pretty much if you are looking for a very traditional Japanese yakitori this is the spot. The food is even better than the yakitori I had IN Japan. The service is superb because you are dealing with Japanese service...from the second you walk in you're greeted to the second you leave you hear thank you. We ordered in Japanese but the waiters are able to speak English as well. I seriously felt like I returned to Japan when I ate here...you almost forget you're even in America. 
Suna or Chicken Gizzard. Very rubbery texture but something you get used to. Very yummy and low in fat.

I believe this is just Sausage...very nice coating and served with mayonnaise.
Momo or pork. Again very delicious pieces of meat.

Gyutan or beef tongue. What was SO unique about this dish was that they put little spoonfuls of wasabi on top of each piece. Another cut of meat that is very low in fat and absolutely delicious. Don't be afraid to try tongue! You are really missing out!
Tontoro or pork belly...with some radish on the side. Generally pork belly is full of fat but this slices are very lean!
Teba or Chicken Wings. Nice crust on outside...good salt. Absolutely delicious.