Mitsuwa Express

http://media.photobucket.com/image/mitsuwa/doombunnie/Mitsuwa.jpg

So there's this awesome place that has a food court that you'll most likely know about: Mitsuwa.

The reasons why I love it:
1) Cheap
2) Yummy
3) Fast
4) Japanese

The noodles are my absolute favorite. When my parents ask me where I would like to eat dinner, sometimes I say Mitsuwa's food court.

The only thing I do not like from Mitsuwa is the sushi rolls and raw fish.
It's average.
I've had better, fresher, better quality fish.
Like other places like sushi boat, Miyaki, Hama Sushi, and Kiko sushi.

Raw fish is only fresh up to 1 hour from the package/fridge.
In places like this, and especially sushi boat, the fish has been sitting out there all day.
So it turns bad. And the rice turns hard and it gets soggy.
And they try to sell off the unfresh fish before making more.

That's my only complaint.

But besides the sushi, walk a little farther to the meal section.

Where you can find:

1) Udon (hot and cold)
2) Soba (hot and cold)
3) Tonkatsu (tempura fried pork)
4) Doburi (egg, meat, vegetables over rice)
5) Curry Rice
6) Tonkatsu Curry Rice
7) Ramen
8) Many more

My personal favorites: Curry udon and beef udon

The meal size is huge and the price is low.
But not overly size.
Just more than you would expect with that kind of price.

Plus, the food court is in a marketplace.
So you can do your shopping and grab dessert on your way out!

Kahoo Ramen Review

http://eat.tanspace.com/photos/Kahoo_Ramen-shoyu-ramen.jpg

http://static.px.yelp.com/bphoto/bSCSeuoit8uP7l1LXgst3g/l

Kahoo Ramen is a small but delicious Japanese noodle house. (but they have other food besides noodles)

It is right next to Mitsuwa (hiding in the back corner)

I went there once and I absolutely loved it.

If you are the type of person like me who hates it when the noodle soup is 90% noodles and 10% "the other stuff," you will like this restaurant.

In "the other stuff," I mean things like green onion, eggs, pork, bamboo shoot, seaweed, etc.

Kahoo Ramen's noodle soups are about 60/40.

So you are actually paying for something. Instead of paying $10 just for noodles.

The only complaint I have is that the spicy noodle soups have this huge layer of oil sitting on top of it.

Besides that, everything else is delicious, traditional Japanese, fair price, and quick. A nice fast meal.

It is perfect for if you don't really have time and you don't want to grab regular fast food or something wrapped up in Mitsuwa.

It is between fast and sit-down dining.

They have rice bowls, little appetizers, combo meals, and of course their famous large variety of noodle soups.

Store Hours:

Mon-Fri. 11:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m then 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.

Sat-Sun. 11:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m then 4:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.

So if you want to eat dinner with your friends, instead of walking/driving to a restaurant far away or not eating a proper sit-down meal (like going to Lion market, Gloria's, Mitsuwa) I highly reccomend trying this place.

Takara- FOOD

It is time to talk about something that everyone can relate to: food.

Yummy, scrumptious, delicious, heavenly, melt-in-your-mouth FOOD.

So there is this amazing Japanese restaurant in Capitola, Santa Cruz.

Takara.



http://takarasushi.com/

The first thing you might think of when someone mentions a Japanese restaurant is sushi. But this restaurant has so much more than that. It has food for practically every person of every age of every taste. They have cooked food, raw food, seafood, noodles, soups, etc.



Takara is not your typical Japanese restaurant.

Every week, the chefs get together and experiment to create new sushi rolls. And since they ran out of ideas with the original sushi ingredients, they have created exotic sushis. For example, rolls that have fruit, soy wrap, chili sauce, or originally made sauces.

Takara also has its own salad dressing that they make freshly everyday. It is so good that they put it in the togo menu because customers have requested to buy it by the gallon. Takara also has its own tapas menu with bite-sized original creations. They even have live bands on the weekends. How cool is that?

80% of the sushi was created by the sushi chefs and about 50% of the menu, you cannot find anywhere else because it is Takara's creations.

Here is the menu.
http://www.takarasushi.com/TakaraMenu08.pdf
But this is only about half.

Next time you go down to Santa Cruz, you should definitely eat there. It is right outside of Capitola mall (part of the mall). Outside of Sears (shares the same parking lot). It's just a few minutes from the beach, across the street from a movie theater and part of a mall. So take a trip with your friends down to Santa Cruz to hang out and eat there!

Compared to other Japanese restaurants, the price is low.

And the quality is amazing.

It has been voted by Good Times the best Japanese restaurant in Santa Cruz 16 years in a row. A running streak!

Takara is a very unique restaurant and I highly recommend eating there. I cannot even describe their creations in words because they are just different. But delicious! So you have to try it for yourself.

Phone: (831) 464-1818
http://www.takarasushi.com
Open everyday. Even on holidays.
Huge restaurant so it can accompany large parties

Yup that's mango

Another original creation. They're bugs! Not real ones...nigiri ones

And another original. It is called sweet mussels. Made with Takara's secret sauce which they will not reveal no matter how much customers beg.

Aren't those cute? They come with every kids meal

Doesn't that look delicious?

Yum