Bluefin Sushi Bar
4138 NE Broadway
As far as I can tell, this is not at all connected to the Blue Fin Sushi that I reviewed in my last post. This location is in the Hollywood district, and there was not a conveyer belt in sight.
Noodles: Well-formed but under kneaded, it fell apart far too easily and wasn't very chewy.
Broth: Good flavor, a little salty.
Chicken: No meat.
Extras: Broccoli, shredded nori, minced green onions.
Conclusion: On the high end of normal price, but it came with tempura. Actually, the restaurant had four different udon dishes, and I ordered the one with tempura. Tasty and fresh in general, but the noodles were disappointing.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Udon: A Quest! - Part 3
Mio Sushi
3962 Southeast Hawthorne Blvd
I forgot to take notes right away after eating here, so I don't remember most of the details, but I don't want to order it again, so I'll do my best.
Noodles: Unoffensive. I ordered it to go the last time I tried it, so it was overcooked by the time I got home, but I seem to remember that it was ok before.
Chicken: I had to specially order it, and it wasn't very good.
Extras: My memory gets more hazy here. Kamaboko, green onions, and shiitake mushrooms were involved. I ordinarily love mushrooms, but I'm pretty sure these were reconstituted ones.
Conclusion: Eat the sushi there, not the udon. It's not bad, but too expensive for what you get. There are better places.
Blue Fin Sushi
1988 SW Broadway
Blue Fin is one of those conveyor belt sushi places, but everything seems fresh, and the udon is made to order. It's about what I would expect from a place in the PSU area.
Noodles: Fresh, chewy, not slimy (see fresh).
Broth: Maybe a little salty; unoffensive if unimaginable.
Extras: Green onions, a soggy tempura shrimp, and kamaboko whose edges were a positively alarming shade of pink.
Conclusion: Not ideal, and everything but the noodles were of obviously cheap quality, but the low price and the freshness of the noodles mostly make up for it. I should also note that when I took the notes for this review it was the third time I had ordered it there, so it can't be that bad.
Ichidai Japanese Restaurant and Sushi Bar
5714 SE Powell Blvd
The restaurant is easily overlooked when driving down Powell, but has a nice atmosphere, and there was an encouraging number of people speaking Japanese when I was there.
Noodles: Chewy and well-formed, but a little thinner than usual, so they were slightly translucent.
Chicken: Much better than usual. White meat that didn't taste like it had been cooking forever. I'm not sure if it usually comes with chicken, because I didn't look at the menu before ordering.
Broth: Dark, rich, and slightly sweet. It reminded me a little of the broth that you get from Soup a l'onion.
Extras: Green onions and sliced white onions (which probably is why it tasted like French onion soup).
Conclusion: The noodles weren't quite how I like them, but it was fresh and clearly of high quality ingredients. It was also a little more expensive than usual--about the same price as Mio Sushi--but unlike Mio it came with cucumber sushi on the side. There were two types of udon on the menu, one of which looked like it had more things in it, so next time I think I'll try that.
3962 Southeast Hawthorne Blvd
I forgot to take notes right away after eating here, so I don't remember most of the details, but I don't want to order it again, so I'll do my best.
Noodles: Unoffensive. I ordered it to go the last time I tried it, so it was overcooked by the time I got home, but I seem to remember that it was ok before.
Chicken: I had to specially order it, and it wasn't very good.
Extras: My memory gets more hazy here. Kamaboko, green onions, and shiitake mushrooms were involved. I ordinarily love mushrooms, but I'm pretty sure these were reconstituted ones.
Conclusion: Eat the sushi there, not the udon. It's not bad, but too expensive for what you get. There are better places.
Blue Fin Sushi
1988 SW Broadway
Blue Fin is one of those conveyor belt sushi places, but everything seems fresh, and the udon is made to order. It's about what I would expect from a place in the PSU area.
Noodles: Fresh, chewy, not slimy (see fresh).
Broth: Maybe a little salty; unoffensive if unimaginable.
Extras: Green onions, a soggy tempura shrimp, and kamaboko whose edges were a positively alarming shade of pink.
Conclusion: Not ideal, and everything but the noodles were of obviously cheap quality, but the low price and the freshness of the noodles mostly make up for it. I should also note that when I took the notes for this review it was the third time I had ordered it there, so it can't be that bad.
Ichidai Japanese Restaurant and Sushi Bar
5714 SE Powell Blvd
The restaurant is easily overlooked when driving down Powell, but has a nice atmosphere, and there was an encouraging number of people speaking Japanese when I was there.
Noodles: Chewy and well-formed, but a little thinner than usual, so they were slightly translucent.
Chicken: Much better than usual. White meat that didn't taste like it had been cooking forever. I'm not sure if it usually comes with chicken, because I didn't look at the menu before ordering.
Broth: Dark, rich, and slightly sweet. It reminded me a little of the broth that you get from Soup a l'onion.
Extras: Green onions and sliced white onions (which probably is why it tasted like French onion soup).
Conclusion: The noodles weren't quite how I like them, but it was fresh and clearly of high quality ingredients. It was also a little more expensive than usual--about the same price as Mio Sushi--but unlike Mio it came with cucumber sushi on the side. There were two types of udon on the menu, one of which looked like it had more things in it, so next time I think I'll try that.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Udon: A QUEST! - Part 2
Biwa
215 SE 9th ave
I've been to Biwa before. They serve really excellent Japanese food in general, but don't serve sushi or tempura (they do sell sashimi). On their late night menu they have shockingly good burgers made with ground beef tartar.
Noodles: Not slimy, and well-formed. Somehow unsatisfying, though. They didn't have enough heft and chewiness to them, which probably means that they weren't kneaded enough.
Chicken: No chicken.
Broth: Pretty good. Not too salty, decent flavor.
Extras: The frothy kind of tofu, sliced thin, kale (or something like it), soft boiled egg cut in half, kamaboko.
Conclusion: Unoffensive, but boring. I really wish the noodles were better, and that there were chicken. The quest continues.
215 SE 9th ave
I've been to Biwa before. They serve really excellent Japanese food in general, but don't serve sushi or tempura (they do sell sashimi). On their late night menu they have shockingly good burgers made with ground beef tartar.
Noodles: Not slimy, and well-formed. Somehow unsatisfying, though. They didn't have enough heft and chewiness to them, which probably means that they weren't kneaded enough.
Chicken: No chicken.
Broth: Pretty good. Not too salty, decent flavor.
Extras: The frothy kind of tofu, sliced thin, kale (or something like it), soft boiled egg cut in half, kamaboko.
Conclusion: Unoffensive, but boring. I really wish the noodles were better, and that there were chicken. The quest continues.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Udon: A QUEST! - Part 1
I periodically get a craving for udon noodles. The problem is, having grown up on extremely excellent udon, I have very high standards for them. Part of the problem is that what I grew up with was not standard Japanese, so I'm not sure what the goal is for actual Japanese udon. I only know what I like. I have been poking around Portland looking for a place that has good udon, with limited success. Today I decided to start recording my results here so that I can remember where I've been. These are the two places with udon that I have sampled so far:
Koji Osakaya
10100 Southwest Barbur Blvd.
I've been to this place several times, since it's just around the corner from where I live, but it's not that great. I like the people there, but the udon is... meh. I'll probably keep going there for a while, at least until I find a better place and/or I move, but that's just because it's so close.
Noodles: Decently chewy and well-formed when you get them fresh, but I've been there a couple of times when it was not so fresh, and it had started to turn into the slimy worms that you sometimes get.
Chicken: Not good. poor quality and kinda greasy.
Broth: Unremarkable.
Exras: Kamaboko, not much else. It's served with ground red pepper.
Conclusion: I'll probably keep going there for a while, at least until I find a better place and/or I move, but that's just because it's so close.
MoMoYama
4310 Southeast Woodstock Blvd.
Unlike the fairly slick restaurant/bar that is Koji Osakaya, this is a pretty basic operation and appears to be one of those places run by a family of recent immigrants. It is also conveniently located close to Reed. Too bad the udon isn't very good.
Noodles: They weren't the worst noodles I've had (the worst ones I've had were from a restaurant in the resort area of Honolulu), but they were a little overcooked.
Chicken: Pretty much the same as at Koji Osakaya, which is to say, overcooked and greasy.
Broth: Too salty for me, but that might just be the type of broth it was.
Extras: A raw egg was poached lightly in the broth, a couple of pieces of kamaboko, spinach, green onions, and two tempura shrimp on top of everything. They get points for weirdness for the tempura, but the shrimp and green onions were pretty boring.
Conclusion: I don't plan on going back.
Koji Osakaya
10100 Southwest Barbur Blvd.
I've been to this place several times, since it's just around the corner from where I live, but it's not that great. I like the people there, but the udon is... meh. I'll probably keep going there for a while, at least until I find a better place and/or I move, but that's just because it's so close.
Noodles: Decently chewy and well-formed when you get them fresh, but I've been there a couple of times when it was not so fresh, and it had started to turn into the slimy worms that you sometimes get.
Chicken: Not good. poor quality and kinda greasy.
Broth: Unremarkable.
Exras: Kamaboko, not much else. It's served with ground red pepper.
Conclusion: I'll probably keep going there for a while, at least until I find a better place and/or I move, but that's just because it's so close.
MoMoYama
4310 Southeast Woodstock Blvd.
Unlike the fairly slick restaurant/bar that is Koji Osakaya, this is a pretty basic operation and appears to be one of those places run by a family of recent immigrants. It is also conveniently located close to Reed. Too bad the udon isn't very good.
Noodles: They weren't the worst noodles I've had (the worst ones I've had were from a restaurant in the resort area of Honolulu), but they were a little overcooked.
Chicken: Pretty much the same as at Koji Osakaya, which is to say, overcooked and greasy.
Broth: Too salty for me, but that might just be the type of broth it was.
Extras: A raw egg was poached lightly in the broth, a couple of pieces of kamaboko, spinach, green onions, and two tempura shrimp on top of everything. They get points for weirdness for the tempura, but the shrimp and green onions were pretty boring.
Conclusion: I don't plan on going back.
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