MOH and I haven't had a date night in awhile, so we decided to have a spur of the moment, mid-week celebration of archery, comics, and IZAKAYA! Archery, comics, and Izakaya? Maybe the first two things sound familiar, but what in the world is izakaya?
Izakaya refers a Japanese eating style that reminds me most of a combination of the bar scene where tapas are served in great varieties. If you're into guzzling down sake, or munching on apps the entire night, or scarf down sushi bits and pieces, eating izakaya-style is something that you should definitely try at least once.
MOH and I went to this newly opened Izakaya hotspot in Fountain Valley, CA called Kappo Honda and had a great time. The thing about izakaya that's so wonderful is there's something for everyone here. Ever tried to set up lunch or dinner plans with friends and get frustrated with trying to choose a place that fits everyone's dietary needs? The beauty of Izakaya is it offers a wide variety of tapas that can cater to anyone - sushi, sashimi, salads, tempura, takoyaki (ball-shaped snacks filled with octopus, squid or shrimp), yakitori (skewered meat or vegetables), udon, ramen, and sukiyaki (japanese hot pot). There's something here for everyone. Or if you just want to try everything, no shame in doing that either! Typically, MOH and I love to get a little bit of everything, like an informal prix - fixe menu.
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| Yakitori: squid legs, quail eggs, and pork belly! |
Our meal was so delicious. MOH had worked up an appetite shooting his new bow at Orange County Archery and we were so excited about trying out this place. We ordered a few rolls, some yakitori, sashimi, takoyaki, and wasabi flavored sea snails. The sea snails were probably my favorite dish. It had this great kick to it - the snails had a real kick to them. The snails are braised or boiled (?) and then coated with this great wasabi paste that makes it taste like this great antipasto to a delicious meal of sushi rolls and sashimi-galore. I could probably eat two more orders of this, and for people who are kinda ehh about eating snails, it tasted like squid or octopus! The rest of the meal was really good, but by far my favorite was the wasabi snails.
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| Bit blurry, apologies - but SO good |
On top of a great meal, this has been an amazing week for me. I've fallen in love with the beauty of comics.
I've started the Sandman series written by Neil Gaiman and it is AMAZING. Yes, I know - comics? You?!?! Read COMICS?!?!?!? The series is a revival of the Sandman series retold by the hit writer behind Coraline, Neil Gaiman. He manages to infuse rich mythology, classic comic heroes / villains (the appearance of Scarecrow and Dr. Destiny) into this really deep story of the Lord of Dreams aka Sandman. I was hesitant to read this series, but I've already finished the first volume (ten total) and find myself thinking about it constantly. It's kind of like food dreaming - ever dream of this dish that you NEED to have? I'm experiencing that currently with a book series. And did I mention the artwork is amazing? Needless to say, I've enlisted MOH's great ebay/internet scouring skills to helping me find the best deal on the rest of this series. Excited!
Hope everyone's doing well this week - happy eating all!
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