Foo-Foo Challenge - Day 10: Oyster Ramen

I've finally made it to the double digits! And my stomach is about to explode! I think I've expanded it to its limit tonight with all the good food I ate, beginning with the Oyster Ramen.

Before tonight, I couldn't remember the last time I ate an oyster. Seriously, it's been so long I couldn't even remember what an oyster tasted like. Out of the three soup base choices (shoyu, shio, or miso), I decided to go with the miso since I could only imagine that they would go well with each other. Once again, the toppings are all sauteed with the ramen soup before being piled on top. And with another mouth-load of toppings to name, today I'll just focus on the main character--oysters.


The oysters were very fresh and tasted much like they came straight from the sea. Although I personally wouldn't choose to eat this on a normal basis, I can understand why oyster lovers would. For me, eating an oyster in general will take some getting used to, but I'm all about overcoming cibophobia. I would like to try it again with the shio next time.


Possibly the most popular dish in the joint--Omurice Katsu Curry. It's steamed rice wrapped in a scrambled omelette next to some pork katsu and smothered in Murakami-san's special curry. This was good! I could eat this for 31 straight days too!


Remember that yellowish sauce from Day 6? Have you guessed what it is yet? Well here's another hint. The ingredients are super secret and I promised not to say one word about them or even what it tastes like. So if you really want to know, you'll just have to go find out on your own...sorry.


Tonight's surprise dish from Murakami-san was this exotic-looking Ebi Shumai topped with tobiko (flying fish) eggs. It's hard to rank anything on the menu here because everything is so darn good, but these have got to be in the top ten for sure!


Just look at what they're stuffed with. Now do you believe me?


Staying on the shrimp theme, we ordered these sweet-sounding Coconut Shrimp. The shrimp are fried in a shredded coconut batter which gives them a mildly sweet tropical flavor that is very clever and surprising.


The last dish tonight (another Murakami-san surprise) was what he calls Mochi Cheese. It's an interesting original creation that contains mochi, kimchi, mushrooms, onions, and pork topped with a few slices of cheese. The mochi tastes almost like pasta and the sauce is a spicy mix of goodness. But be forewarned, this dish is really spicy.


Overall another great night at Foo-Foo Tei. Unfortunately we were seated at one of the middle tables and Murakami-san wasn't able to sit with us without blocking the aisle, but he was still gracious enough to stand and talk and entertain us with his jokes.

Tomorrow's ramen: Ebi Wantan
Yay!

Foo-Foo Challenge - Day 9: Umani Ramen

Hmm...how's your 401k doing? Yeah, mine too. But there's nothing like a great ramen to cheer you up! And guess what?...it did just that.

Tonight's Umani Ramen was the perfect comfort food for a long, challenging day. You have two soup bases (shoyu & shio) to choose from. Both, I presume go well with umani, but since I had to choose one, I chose the shio. The best part of this ramen is its gravy-like consistency that is created by adding a little corn starch to the soup. The thickness coats your tongue and gives your taste buds a long, tight hug.


The massive amount of plentiful toppings are once again sauteed using the ramen soup before being loaded on top, thus creating a classic Umami that retains its intense heat and blows you away with freshness. I'll TRY to name all the toppings on my own, but if I miss one please correct me. (That means you Murakami-san.) Here goes: Shiitake, carrots, octopus, shrimp, enoki, quail eggs, takenoko, negi, cucumber, napa cabbage, regular cabbage, eringi, onion, pork, ginger, naruto, and a hanjuku tamago. Whew, that was a mouthful!


Whenever Murakami-san creates a new dish, he always tests it with his employees who then provide honest feedback so the dish can be perfected before it reaches the customer. Today I had the honor of trying one of those dishes myself. This dish is so spanking new that he still hasn't figured out what to call it. It's chicken. And it's prepared using a relatively lengthy process. It begins by being boiled in soup stock containing several herbs and spices along with the 3 G's: Garlic, Ginger, and Green Onion. Once the chicken is fully cooked, it is strained out of the soup and rapidly cooled with ice water. The remaining soup is then filled with more of the 3 G's and used as a preservative. The chicken is then placed back in the soup and allowed to sit for 2~3 days. Then when the chicken is ready to eat, it is removed from the soup, flash-fried for 30 seconds, and broiled until the skin becomes crunchy.


The result is this juicy, brown, tender, crunchy piece of chicken that goes great with anything, especially beer. I think it's definitely ready for the menu! I don't know what Murakami-san will end up calling it, but for now I'll call it "Chicken-3G" because of its 3 main ingredients, its 3-step cooking process, and its next generation feel.


As I was finishing up my 3G chicken, Murakami-san brought out another sample of a dish that only the employees get to eat. I don't exactly remember what it was, but the sweet and sour pickled flavor of the cured fish really hightened my senses. And thanks to Murakami-san, I have a container full of it just chillin in my fridge.


Tomorrow's ramen: Oyster
It's been awhile since I've had the miso. I think I'll choose the miso base tomorrow.

Foo-Foo Challenge - Day 8: Shiitake Ramen

8 days and counting. I'm in no hurry to finish because a part of me never wants this to end. I actually shouldn't even call this a challenge because it's never hard to enjoy good food on a nightly basis, especially when it's MY favorite.

Tonight's Shiitake Ramen also comes with your choice of soup base (shoyu, shio, or miso). Since I spent the entire day imagining the pairing of shiitake and shoyu, ordering that combo was inevitable. But according to Murakami-san, shiitake is a perfect roommate for all the bases. It's a true team player. And when the ramen arrived, it tasted exactly how I imagined. The shiitake really enhanced the shoyu flavor with an ample blend of sweet aroma and soothing taste. It's an unmistakenly healthy ramen that will leave you yearning for more.


There are two types of shiitake that top this ramen, dried and fresh. Can you tell which is which in the picture below? I couldn't. The lesson of the day would be why there are two types. Apparently, fresh shiitake is good at bringing out the aroma and dried shiitake is better at bringing out the flavor. Combine the two and you have another genious creation by Murakami-san. Also, in an ordinary kitchen, the shiitake would be sauteed with oil. But since oil changes the flavor of foods and harbors dreaded cholesterol, Murakami-san uses the ramen soup instead. Remarkable!


Tonight's "on the house" dish (I truly am blessed to be so lucky) was Fried Shishamo or otherwise known as Fried Smelt. It looks similar to last night's Ebi Fry, but it really is a very different animal. You rarely ever see it fried like this, but it is absolutely scrumptious.


Like most Shishamo, it was full of luscious eggs. And the fried breaded coating was its Kimono.


And what would a night like this be without beer poured by the master himself. Kanpai!!


Ahhh...the Foo-Foo life!

Tomorrow's ramen: Umani
Soup base choices are shoyu and shio.

Foo-Foo Challenge - Day 7: Asari Ramen

Being that tonight was basketball night, I couldn't decide if I should go to Foo-Foo Tei before or after I played. If I go before I could be too full to play, but if I go after I could risk missing last call at 9:40pm. Since it was safer to go before, I tried to get there right when they opened at 5:30pm. Unfortunately, Murakami-san is usually on his daily market run at that time so no funny stories and special dishes today. :(

Day 7 is Asari Ramen. Your choice of soup base (shoyu, shio, or miso) topped with fresh clams. I decided to go with the shio base because I thought it would mesh well with the clams and the waitress agreed, saying I made a good choice. And plus, I thought the light shio wouldn't (it didn't) weigh me down when playing bball. The shio by itself is awesome so if you love clams it's just icing on the cake. The clams taste so fresh and it almost feels like your eating them straight out of the ocean. The bok choy also go well with the clams.


As you take a close up look at one of the clams, I'll share another story with you. I'm not sure how long ago it was or how he got them but one day Murakami-san had huge buckets full of fresh clams that were soaking in salt water in his kitchen when a health inspector decided to make a surprise visit. When the health inspector saw those buckets, he immediately gave Foo-Foo Tei a "C" rating. This irritated Murakami-san but he still tried to remain calm. Then the health inspector proceeded to dump all the buckets filled with clam into the dumpster out back. Now this rightfully outraged Murakami-san so the next day he made his own surprise visit to the health inspector's supervisor and got his correct rating back!


I don't know why but I was really craving shrimp today. So as I glanced down the appetizer menu, the Ebi Fry squealed out "eat me!" I thought it would go perfect with my clams and they looked like they would be just the right amount to fulfull my craving. And then they arrived...Whoa! These suckers were fat!


Since Murakami-san wasn't there, the waitress was nice enough to explain why they were indeed so fat and juicy. She told me that the whole shrimp in the middle is surrounded by more finely chopped shrimp, making it meatier and more satisfying. It truly redefines the word shrimp.


Tomorrow's ramen: Shiitake
Another choice of soup base. I'm thinking shiitake will go best with the shoyu. Don't you?

Foo-Foo Challenge - Day 6: Hot & Sour Ramen

Another day, another ramen...another magnificent night! Man, this is the life! As I steadily watched both the Dow Jones Index and the Nikkei-225 Index drop below 10k today, all I could think about was tonight's dinner at Foo-Foo Tei. Yeah sure I might not have a job if the economy keeps getting worse, but you gotta look at the bright side...I'll always have ramen!

Like yesterday's Mabo, the Hot & Sour Ramen is another classic Chinese dish that's been Foo-Foo-ized (or Murakamified). Although you don't get to choose your soup base, it's made with a special blend of Murakami-san's shoyu and oyster sauce mixed with some vinegar and chili sauce. Add a little egg, shiitake, takenoko, kikurage, tofu, pork, and some noodles and you have another original soup topped with a hanjuku tamago, negi and naruto. Just like yesterday, I loved how the noodles performed with the soup. Its moderate viscosity embraced every tug and slurp with commendable concentration. It was naturally hot and mildly sour as one would expect. If you enjoy Hot & Sour soup, then you'll enjoy this Hot & Sour Ramen.


The best curry in socal? The best curry in the nation? The best curry in the world? One spoonful and it'll have you pondering those same questions. Add a mini version to your ramen or just go for the full blown meal. Trust me, it's that good!


The Homemade Corokke is another wise choice for an appetizer. They taste just as good as mom used to make. Maybe slightly better (sorry mom).


The Corokke comes with some more homemade goodness--a specially blended tonkatsu sauce. You can dip the Corokke in here or in the curry or both. There's no wrong choice either way.


Do you want to know what this is? I'm sure I'll come across it again in the next 25 days so in the meantime, I'll keep you guessing...


After I finished my ramen, Murakami-san offered me a nama beer on the house. The Japanese side of me politely hesitated, but the American side of me couldn't resist. And after he brought us that beer, he disappeared for several minutes just like the other night. Could he be making another one of his special dishes? Oh, the suspense was killing me.

Yes, of course! How can you drink beer without some surume? Fresh from the kitchen and prepared with Murakami-san's own masterful hands, the heated aroma of the dried squid was hypnotizing. Could that be how I ended up in the back washing all the dishes?...haha...nanchatte (jk).


Accompanying the fresh surume was this elegant-looking soft shell crab. Another masterfully crafted dish that satisfied the suspense. And before I show you why this is more than just a soft shell crab, I'll share with you the story behind its inspiration. As you may know (I didn't), the soft shell crab is the blue crab cooked shortly after the molting process where they get rid of their hard shell in order to grow larger. And as you may also know, there's not much meat in a soft shell crab. So one day when Murakami-san tried it for the first time, he thought "why am I eating an empty shell?!" So it was then that he decided to do this...


...stuff it with tobiko (flying fish) eggs and his signature gyoza filling!! Now this is the best soft shell crab that I have ever tasted! And I'm not just saying that because Murakami-san is a nice guy. This is the truth!! And as luck would have it, I have a witness! Fellow blogger Exile Kiss joined my table just in time to share the other half. Hey Exile Kiss, wasn't that some good ****?


Tonight really turned out to be a fun night. Murakami-san is also quite the comedian and everything that came out of his mouth was just hilarious. I don't think I've laughed that hard in years.

Tomorrow's ramen: Asari