Dear Fork,

Rank #1 Tokyo's Best Ramen restaurant on Tabelog, Menya Itto is now served in Bangkok! Located in Erawan Bangkok in Urban Kitchen area. I went there after 6pm, lucky for us, there was no line out the door. Lunch is the time to avoid, as the area gets busy. The restaurant is decorated simply with wooden floor and furnitures. Open kitchen gives you the aromatic scent of delicious broth, to keep your stomach growling.

Started off with these delicious looking Gyoza (90฿). It was amazing and perfect as a starter. The meat is flavorful and tender, and the sauce was a great compliment. Must-try!

Menya Itto is famous for their Tsukemen, a ramen dish that the noodle is to be dipped in on a bowl of soup or broth before eating. I've had many Tsukemen before and there's something special about Menya Itto's style.

I opted for the signature Itto Noko Gyokai Tsukemen (350฿). Cold thick daily house-made ramen noodle topped with 3 sous vide meat, Tori Chashu (chicken), Rosu Chashu (pork shoulder) and Bara Chashu (pork belly), along with a bowl of flavorful hot chicken broth with Tori Dango (chicken meatballs). The meat was so tender! The soup was delightful. Some people may find it too salty, so they offer Wadashi soup on the table to dilute the soup and also for you to drink up the soup after your meal. The Karami (ebi chili flake) added some spice to the soup wonderfully.

Truffle Mazemen with cheese (590฿), a seasonal menu is another dish to try. Dry ramen dish topped with onsen egg, negi, onion, thinly sliced rosu chashu and truffle. Mix everything well together and what you get is Viola! Serves only 15 dishes per day.

Everything was very fulfilling. This will definitely be my go-to spot for Tsukemen from now on. To end the night, I would recommend you to order their Hokkaido Milk Creme Brûlée (120฿), made of Hokkaido milk and strawberry is hidden underneath, giving this creme brûlée a unique taste.

I wish you were here,

Spoon.

Menya Itto
www.menya-itto.com
Address: Menya Itto, LG/F, Erawan Bangkok, 494 Phloen Chit Rd., Bangkok, Thailand
Tel: 02-250-7669
Business Hours: Mon - Sun 11.30AM - 3.30PM and 6.00PM - 9.00PM
Parking: Erawan Bangkok
Price: ฿฿฿

9/24/2015

Dear Fork,

My food experience today was magnificent, yet it was a day without you. Thus, it was an incredible day that I would love to share with you. I went to KUSAKABE, a year old Japanese restaurant in San Francisco with its honor holding a one-star Michelin. The owner/chef, Mitsunori Kasukabe has years of experiences from Kyoto, Japan to Nobu New York and Miami, to Sushi Ran. With his professional creativity, he has received many awards from all over including US Sushi Technical Champion.

Nori-san doing what he does best, creating an excellent quality food for us.

A glass of champagne to start off my meal.

I went in at 5pm for the first round of omakase (Chef's choice). Kusakabe offers sushi in a Kaiseki style menu, which is a multi-course menu $95, including the interesting Omakase selections of the following:

Welcoming Tea - Konbu cha, kelp tea which which give the salty taste, to clean your palate. Interesting!
Sushi Prelude - Zuke Chutoro (lightly seared bluefin medium fatty tuna cured in soy sauce, the first delicious bite. Plus, two kinds of seasonal sushi of the day.

Sashimi - Chef's sashimi nestled in shaved ice with fresh wasabi & yuzu onion sauce. It was Tasmanian ocean trout and Hotate (scallop) today. So fresh and cold, amazing!

Tasmanian Ocean Trout and Scallop served on ice. SO FRESH!

Soup - Suppon umami soup with Domyo-ji Manjyu (rice cake). Suppon = Soft shell turtle. It was my first time having turtle..woah! I'm normally not a soup person, but this Suppon Soup was so tasty. Flavorful soup with rice cake topped with flakes and goji berry.

Hassun - Chef's assorted Les petit plats, four small bites of goodness! This course includes Young Sardine, Egg omelette, Washington oyster with French Daurenki Caviar, Toro topped with seaweed and pine nuts, and Eggplant Spring roll. My favorites were the oyster and toro... YUMMY!

Oyster + Caviar, Toro and spring rolls. DELICIOUSNESS.

One after another, I just couldn't get enough of these heavenly delicious bites! NEXT:

Warm Dish - Crispy Chi-Ayu with Italian summer truffle & bamboo charcoal miso. This plate was really interesting. The black colored bamboo charcoal miso was light yet perfectly flavored, along with sweetness and crispiness of the baby Ayu, which you can eat everything from head to tail. It served with Shishito pepper, watermelon, mini lime and the marvelous pieces of truffle.

Crispy Chi-Ayu with truffle and bamboo charcoal miso. #yum

How about some more sushi! I loved omakase so much because it's a never ending meal. I wouldn't mind doing this everyday. :p #sushilover

Sushi Chic - Three kinds of seasonal sushi of the day. Chefs at Kusakabe are so talented, every sushi were created professionally, giving such an impeccable taste.

Here comes the most exciting part, the finale, where you get to choose! Oh, let me tell you it's harder than you think...

Sushi Finale - Toro (blufin fatty tuna) or Grade A5 Miyazaki Wagyu beef... Hey, no pressure but... YOU MUST MUST MUST GET THEM BOTH! They were extremely worth getting and oh so incredible that it's hard to describe in words. It's $12 extra if you choose to get both. These two pieces were the best. The true melt-in-your-mouth feeling was brilliant.

Chef Shinsuke-san, blow-torching our A5 Wagyu. — Chef Shinsuke-san, blow-torching our A5 Wagyu.

Beautiful toro (bluefin fatty tuna), melt my heart. #meltinmymouth + #meltinmyheart

Look at this beauty! A5 Miyazaki Wagyu strip loin  beef, the best of the best. — Look at this beauty! A5 Miyazaki Wagyu strip loin beef, the best of the best.

Aside of the omakase, I had to get something a little extra AKA my favorite, to end our amazingly perfect sushi night. Bafun Uni - It is Hokkaido short spine sea urchin, soft, sweet and also melt-in-my-mouth! :D

Ended our night with an amazing dessert for my birthday with this cute Fresh corn and white miso ice cream parfait. Must try! It's Chef Shinsuke-san's recommendation. It was very refreshing. Lightly sweet corn/white miso ice cream topped with cornflakes and fruits. nom.

Thank you for a memorable night, Kusakabe. See you again very soon!

Fork, I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. Till next time...

Love,
Spoon

Tips:

Reservation is needed at least 1-2 week in advance (in case you are very lucky!). Weekends reservation are booked up for weeks ahead.
Dress Code: Business Casual
Use your hand to eat sushi, trust me. :)
It takes roughly about 1hr 30m - 2h 30m, so plan accordingly.
Last seating is at 8.30pm
You will love it. :D Just saying.

KUSAKABE: Opens MON-SAT 5pm-10pm | 584 Washington St. San Francisco, CA 94111

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