Cafe Kubo’s

January 5, 2011 | More ramen!  Yes, the day after I went to Umai’s, I visited Cafe Kubo’s in Chinatown for more ramen.  We ordered the tonkatsu ramen and the shoyu ramen.

I thought they were both pretty good but I’ve  been told that it’s better at Nippon, where the broth is thicker.  And I love noodle soups, so you can bet I’m going to try the ramen at Nippon!

Cafe Kubo’s
9889 Bellaire Blvd
Suite 234
Houston, TX 77036
(713) 995-4200

Umai Japanese Restaurant

January 4, 2011 | I’m no connoisseur when it comes to Japanese ramen but I have had the opportunity to try the Japanese ramen while I was in Hawaii a few years ago, so I have some idea of what it’s ‘supposed to’ taste like. I’ve heard that Houston doesn’t have a place with really good Japanese ramen and I decided I wanted to find out for myself. Thus, my primary goal of eating at Umai Japanese Restaurant was to try their tonkatsu ramen.

The broth wasn’t nearly as thick as the broth I tried in Hawaii, but I thought it was good. Then again, I’m a lover of noodle soups and as long as the noodles are cooked properly and the soup is flavorful, I’m happy! What I did notice is that it wasn’t very busy at all– there was maybe 1-2 other tables there the whole time we were there.

I’ve still got a few other ramen places to try so we’ll see how they compare…

Umai Japanese Restaurant
8400 Bellaire Blvd
Houston, TX 77036
(713) 750-9222

Hokkaido

June 14, 2009 | Yay, Hokkaido!  I’ve written about this place plenty of times.  We, again, ordered the chirashi.  We also got nigiri sushi – salmon, yellowtail, tuna, and eel.

In case you haven’t read any of those entries, Hokkaido is awesome because it’s counter service (so tip isn’t really necessary), and it comes with free miso soup and red bean soup!  Self-service, of course.  Oh yeah, and the rice is perfect, salmon is nice and fatty. *drool*  =)

Crave Sushi

May 30, 2009 | Marc and I finally went to Crave Sushi down Travis.  The first thing I noticed when I walked in was it’s trendy decor with the use of reds, blacks, and whites.  I also noticed that the bar was the center of focus, and not the sushi bar.  I guess that’s not surprising considering the restaurant is open until 4am on Friday and Saturdays.

We ordered a few rolls, including the salmon sushi roll, 69 roll– inside is a California roll, on top is salmon, unagi then drizzled with unagi sauce and seasme seeds, and a Desi roll– tempura asparagus, mint, cilantro, romaine, shiitake mushrooms, sweet potato, thai chili, and on top was masala seared lamb tenderloin. We also ordered one piece of (raw) sea bass.

Not bad, but we couldn’t help but notice the rice seemed slightly dry.  The fish was good though, still no Hokkaido, haha.

The 69 roll worked for me.  I chose it because Marc loves eel, and I love salmon, haha.  It’s basically a dressed up California roll!

The Desi roll was the most interesting and it came with this yogurt-ish sauce to help offset the spicyness of the roll.  I liked the roll though I feel like the sauce could have been thicker or something.

While the food was good, it wasn’t spectacular– the rice wasn’t the best.  Sushi rice is one of those foods that won’t make a dish, but it can be distracting if it’s not good.

Overall, I guess it’s a good option for late night dining if you’re in the area and are craving sushi (can’t say I’ve wanted sushi after going out, but ya never know…).

Coco’s Yakitori

May 22, 2009 | Coco’s Yakitori is our safe bet for Japanese food that’s close by.  I can’t say it’s super cheap, we probably spend $50 after tax and tip per trip there for the two of us.  So, it’s no Hokkaido, but it’s not a bad bet for good sushi.

We ordered salmon and eel nigiri, a caterpillar roll, sweet shrimp, and one more roll…can’t say what it is but I think there was some yellowtail.  We got more this time cuz we had 3 people (us + Jack).

yummy salmon

Marc’s fav, eel

cute, huh?

We brought Jack to try some sushi and while he wasn’t huge on the sashimi, he did seem to enjoy parts of the fried sweet shrimp!

It’s interesting– there’s never very many people when we come here but I find the sushi pretty good.  Compared to the other sushi places around, my bet is that it’s because they don’t have fancy decor.