Katana-ya, San Francisco

Katana-ya is a tiny japanese ramen/sushi restaurant located very close to the Union Square in San Francisco. During our SF trip, we stumbled upon this place while looking for dinner around 9pm. As we were quite hungry, we decided to just wait for a table instead of mindlessly walking around town. The wait was about half and hour for three since the tables were more suitable twos or fours. In fact, I think the whole restaurant only had about eight small tables plus a small bar area? It was just quite crowded.

On to the food, we had already decided what to order while we waited, so the food came quite quickly. We ordered gyoza, takoyaki, sunset roll, agedeshi tofu, regular ramen set with salmon sushi. I really enjoyed everything. Gyozas' filling were plump and juicy with a crispy touch. The size of takoyakis were also commendable - about the size of a golf ball with good amount of octopus. The agedashi tofu was good also, but nothing too spectacular. I really like the ramen broth, it was flavorful and not too salty. The ramen noodle was thicker than what I usually get in L.A but I like it because it feels like there's more to chew on? Not sure how to explain it but it's like how I prefer spaghetti over angel hair... Their sushi were also very fresh and yummy.

Aside from the tight space, the food is definitely good. I would rank it 8/10 for good food and price.

Matsuri Japanese Restaurant

 Matsuri Japanese Restaurant is located in Pasadena, CA. It is an average sized restaurant with a sushi bar. I think it's a great place for lunch gatherings (lunch menu is better than dinner). This restaurant is adorable and I'm guessing the owner runs it most of the time. They have one of those japanese taiku ? those big round "timpani" looking drums. When you walk in, they will bang it and welcome you in Japanese. It's cute.

So I've been here a few times before, and I suggested this place for my friend, Rosa's, birthday dinner. As it turns out, we had a great time, the food was fresh, and they offer ice cream and a small gift for the birthday girl.

I do think that their lunch menu is better because of the portions. The quality is the pretty consistent, but the portion seemed same if not less than lunch! I mean, I'm paying a lot more for dinner and I'm getting less? That just doesn't make sense to me...

The food? I love their tempura and their sashimi/sushi. Very clean and crispy tempura - 3 shrimps I got! The fish is fresh and nicely sliced. I also have to mention the desserts - Fried Banana and Green Tea Ice cream is the best to share after a nice meal! We also tried the fried ice cream and that was pretty good too. They also offer strawberry and vanilla ice cream, but I think their green tea is well flavored.

I will definitely go back for lunch dates but maybe not dinner...

Sry about the poor photo quality~