Japanese restaurants Archives - Page 2 of 2

MoMo Hibachi (Soddy-Daisy, TN)

January 5, 2015

MoMo Hibachi is a popular hibachi restaurant that serves great, inexpensive hibachi food in a casual atmosphere in Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee.

I’m not really sure how MoMo Hibachi has been in Soddy-Daisy for at least a year or two and I have never been there. That doesn’t really matter, though. Saturday was the day. It was a terrible rainy day and we have been working on giving our kitchen a facelift, painting the cabinets and countertops (that, my friends, is a process!) so we didn’t want to venture too far away from home. We headed over to MoMo at about 2 p.m., when there was only one other table occupied.

We had a seat and the server brought us menus and took our drink orders. The restaurant is clean and fairly sparsely decorated and is somehow smaller than I had envisioned (El Metate takes up a large portion of the strip mall). We spent a few minutes perusing the menu, which consisted of appetizers, salads, fried rice dishes, and yakisoba dishes.
We decided to order some spring rolls, which came out very quickly. The spring rolls were light, perfectly fried, and stuffed with cabbage and a few carrots. They came with a packet of hot mustard and a couple of packets of duck sauce in those telltale takeout plastic packages.

Entrees come with a side salad, which is served with ranch, honey mustard, and ginger dressing; we both chose ginger. The salad was a pretty standard hibachi restaurant salad, just iceberg lettuce and carrots, but the ginger dressing was not the thick orange dressing that you find at Ichiban. It was a thin, very sweet gingery dressing and was very tasty though maybe a bit too sweet right at the bottom of the salad.

I couldn’t decide whether I wanted chicken, steak, or shrimp, so I decided to get all three with fried rice. The rice was well-seasoned and the meat cooked well and, again, seasoned well. I would have liked to have gotten a little more of the vegetables (zucchini and onions) and maybe some mushrooms too. However, I really liked the dish and it was a large portion for the price ($7.75) and I brought home leftovers. A bottle of “MoMo sauce” was brought to the table as well. It was the standard Japanese Yum-Yum sauce, sweeter than my Japanese White Sauce but very tasty.

Philip also decided to get the chicken, steak, and shrimp combo but he decided to get the yakisoba noodles instead of rice. His dish was very similar to mine, except, of course, for the noodles in place of the rice (the yakisoba chicken, steak, and rice combo was $7.95). The noodles were thick and chewy, very delicious. We liked them a little bit better than the rice. This will probably be the standard order for both of us when we go back, though I’ll probably order the steak from now on as it was my favorite of the three meats.

The service was good. There was one server working. While we were there, quite a few tables filled up and she managed to check on us several times, keep our drinks filled, and take our credit card when we were finished while waiting on the other tables. The food came out quickly and was fresh and tasty. The portions were good for the price.

I’d recommend MoMo Hibachi for a quick and tasty hibachi meal.

MoMo Hibachi is located at 9332 Dayton Pike, next to Soddy-Daisy Wal-Mart. They are open Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m., and Friday-Saturday 11 a.m.-10 p.m. You can call them at (423) 332-3003. They do not have a website, but you can “like” MoMo Hibachi on Facebook.

Totto Sushi and Grill: December 28, 2012

December 30, 2012

One of Philip’s friends was in town for the holidays last week so we spent a couple of evenings with him. The first evening was spent at The Honest Pint, eating pommes tots and feckin’ awesome bread pudding (that’s really the name in the menu) and the second we decided to head to the North Shore-in the rain-to check out Totto.

I guess there was initially a little confusion about seating because it took a few minutes for anyone to come to our table to take our drink order. Our server was very friendly, though, so all was forgiven. We ordered our drinks and an order of shrimp spring rolls, which were wrapped in rice paper and fried crisp, served with white sauce and an interesting pile of carrot shavings or curls or whatever you want to call them. The spring rolls were quite tasty and fresh tasting and the white sauce was yummy, a little bit sweet. I’ve never had a spring roll served with white sauce but I liked it, although I did get a good laugh, as I always do, at the fact that white sauce is now served everywhere. I guess it’s a big hit with the locals. I hear it’s mainly a Southern thing…..yes, let’s perpetuate the stereotype that everything we eat is fried and laden with mayonnaise. But it tastes good, so what can you do?

The menu is arranged into “grilled” entrées (hibachi-cooked), katzu, which is bread-crumb coated and fried meat or vegetables (both grilled entrées and katzu are served with miso or chicken broth soup and and iceberg salad dressed with creamy ginger dressing), udon noodle soups, and Bento boxes (which showcase one of the grilled items plus soup, salad, rice, tempura, fried beef dumplings, and a California roll). There’s also a sushi menu, of course, but I’m going to break this down for you: I like sushi. I do. I eat it-yes, the cooked kind and the raw kind-but I don’t do it all that often and I don’t feel like I know a whole lot about sushi to be telling you about it. So I skipped the sushi menu. Forgive me, please.

I contemplated the grilled teriyaki chicken but ended up asking for the beef Bento box. Our server suggested that I try the bul-go-gi beef, spiced Korean-style beef that had been cooked with green onions and carrots (and apparently some garlic too, because though the taste wasn’t overwhelming while I was eating it, it was pretty strong afterward!). I asked for fried rice and miso soup, which I have had once, at a restaurant in Myrtle Beach. I hated it then but I was pleasantly surprised by this slightly salty soup with tiny chunks of tofu (I can take it in small doses) and seaweed that gave it a mildly fishy flavor (but not in a bad way). The salad was good….I’m never that impressed by the greens in these salads but this one was at least cut into small chunks as opposed to big, icy cold chunks that you can sometimes get at other restaurants, and the sweet, creamy ginger dressing was very good.

The Bento box was served with a fairly large portion of the beef, which I liked but I have no comparison point (Taco Sherpa does serve bulgogi from time to time so I’ll have to give it a try there sometime) but the owner of the restaurant is Korean so I’m going to assume she knows what she’s talking about. It was just a little spicy-not overwhelming at all. I really liked the fried rice…it had a flavor that I’ve never tasted in a fried rice before. I couldn’t quite taste it but this was some of the best restaurant fried rice I’ve had. Again, I can’t really be a judge of the California roll…honestly, I would never order a California roll off of a sushi menu because I’m not a lover of crab….but it was all right. The fried beef dumplings, made of ground beef fried up in wonton wrappers, were crisp and slightly spicy. I loved the tempura-two pieces of shrimp, a slice of sweet potato (yes, sweet potato-it was good!), zucchini, onion, and red pepper. It was just as good the next day, warmed on a preheated (to 450 degrees) baking stone for 10 minutes (which also works perfectly to crisp up fries, pizza, etc., etc. Try it…it works. I promise!).

Philip couldn’t resist the call of the grilled (hibachi) filet mignon, cooked in garlic butter (alternately he could have requested it cooked in soy sauce), with fried rice. It was also served with a small serving of fried udon noodles (I did not get a picture of these) and a large portion of hibachi-cooked vegetables (onions, green onions, red peppers, broccoli, mushrooms, and zucchini). He ordered his filet medium rare and it was perfectly cooked. It never ceases to amaze me that hibachi chefs can cut a piece of red meat into tiny pieces and manage to perfectly sear the outside while keeping the inside from cooking to a dull grey pallor. That’s talent. The filet was really delicious. The vegetables were also quite good, nicely seasoned, and the fried noodles were soy saucey and sweet.

Our total before tip was about $48. Definitely not a “regular” stop by any means. We did have enough leftovers to eat for lunch the next day, and, like I said…if you know the right reheating tricks, even tempura can be good the second day. Sometimes getting two meals softens the blow of a meal that cost a little bit more than you were anticipating. We enjoyed the food at Totto quite a bit and it was nice to be able to have a hibachi-cooked meal without the fanfare and having to sit with people you don’t know that comes at most hibachi restaurants (I mean, sure, it’s fun from time to time, but Philip and I avoid Ichiban unless we are going with a group because we are really antisocial and don’t want to sit with a bunch of strangers). They also serve a lunch buffet during the week and have an all-you-can-eat sushi special for lunch for $11.95. There is a 1/2 off drink special daily.

Totto is located at 330 Frazier Avenue, Suite 124, Chattanooga, TN 37405. You can call them at 423-508-8898. Check out their website: http://www.tottonooga.com/index.html and like them on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Totto-Sushi-Grill/166745636787345.

Ichiban Hixson Pike-August 19, 2012

August 26, 2012

Seriously, people. This is getting ridiculous. I am getting so desperate for material that I sat on this post for almost an entire week. I can’t wait until I get back into the “groove” of my job so that I can get back into a regular posting schedule!

Anyway, Ichiban was my birthday dinner with my family. My mom gave me that option of getting a birthday cake or going out to eat, and since I knew that there would be cake at my in-laws’ when we ate with them the same day, I opted for dinner out. We were actually supposed to go to another restaurant, but my sister called called me and told me there was an hour-and-a-half wait so we were going to Ichiban instead. Fine with me. I like Ichiban better than said other restaurant anyway. Plus it gave me blog post material….

If you’ve never been to Ichiban, it’s the whole hibachi experience with the chef that puts on a big show, tossing knives and setting things on fire. I am under no illusions that this is in any way “authentic” Japanese food, but you can’t argue that it’s fun to watch and the food tastes good. We hadn’t been in quite some time because you also get seated around a large hibachi so you often end up sitting with people you don’t know, which Philip hates, so we only go if we are with a group (which isn’t often). My family took up our entire side of the table, though, so we didn’t need to worry about that. In fact, no one else was even seated in the same room as us. Hmmmm.

When you order, you are brought a cup of chicken broth with a couple of scallions floating in it. It’s pretty bland (and not just here…universally so, at least in my experience) but for some reason I slurp it down anyway. Next, an iceberg salad with a bright orange ginger dressing. I like the dressing okay, but the whole combination is a bit watery and I despise iceberg in every form except a wedge salad. I have a great recipe for ginger dressing (which I should share sometime) that I like a lot better than this one and that has the added bonus of the fact that you can use it to top whatever greens you wish.

I decided to get the shrimp and steak combo with fried rice. Philip decided on the filet mignon, also with fried rice. As is usual for us, we asked for our steaks medium-rare. The meal is served with steamed rice, but I always add fried rice for $1.00. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone order it with just the steamed rice! I wonder how much money they make from fried rice??? Anyway, the meal also comes with mixed vegetables-onions, zucchini, and broccoli- that are cooked on the hibachi as well as very finely shredded cabbage that they only give you if you want it (I did). You get the rice first, then the vegetables, and the meat is last. Everything is doused with soy sauce and ginger sauce and cooked with oil and butter (at least I tell myself that the gigantic yellow block they use is butter, not margarine. Please don’t tell me any different. I eat there about once every 4 years and I don’t want to know.). It’s amazing how much the chef can have going on and still get every detail correct, cook the food just right, and crack jokes. Our chef asked my (picky-eater) nephew why he wasn’t eating and if he was on a diet….then he asked my mom how she liked her steak and if he could have a bite. Funny guy. He told us he had been doing the job for eight years.

Ichiban is not an inexpensive place. Meals range from about $13 (I think) to around $25 for the steak and lobster. As with many places that I’ve written about, I consider it a special occasion or once-in-a-while restaurant. Anyway, who wants to go watch that show on, say, a weekly basis (maybe my 5-year-old nephew, who had a gigantic smile on his face the entire time, although he wouldn’t let me take his picture)? Still, we got two nights worth of meals out of it. Speaking of paying…you get fortune cookies when you pay. I learned this week that fortune cookies, though mostly served at Chinese restaurants, are actually a Japanese creation.

Ichiban is located at 5035 Hixson Pike, Hixson, TN 37343. You can call them at 423-875-0473. Visit their website at http://www.yourichiban.com.

Kioto Japanese Restaurant-September 9, 2011

September 10, 2011

I’m not going to lie to you. When I drove by what used to be Tinker’s Barbecue just down the street from my house in either late June or early July (I don’t remember which) and saw a sign saying that “Kioto Japanese Restaurant” was coming soon, I snorted a little. And yes, I know that should be spelled “Kyoto” but that isn’t how they spell it. Anyway…..I guess I’m a little snobby about little hole-in-the-wall restaurants and my policy is that I usually don’t even try them until someone I know tells me they’re good. So, when my assistant told me last week that she and her husband had dinner at Kioto and loved both the food and the prices, I decided to give it a shot, hoping that a new blog post was in the works (FYI, there have been several planned posts that got derailed because the food was not bloggable. Despite all the positive that you read on here, I don’t love every restaurant I try, but if you’ll read my post “Keepin’ it Light, People“, my mission is not to hurt anyone’s business, so my policy is, if I don’t have anything nice to say, I don’t say anything at all!).

So anyway…..last night we went with some friends and had dinner there. And it was good! I’ll go back.

When you walk in to Kioto, I won’t lie, there’s not a whole lot in the way of “atmosphere”. Tables and chairs. That’s pretty much it. If the food is good, though, I don’t really care about the atmosphere, unless it’s a bad atmosphere (for example, I’m not really a fan of the typical “sports bar” atmosphere. No offense to those who are). The server who seated us was extremely friendly, and I wish I had caught her name. She took our drink order before she left the table, then gave us a few minutes to peruse the menu.

As far as what they’re serving, Kioto is somewhere between Typhoon of Tokyo and Ichiban/Kanpai. They serve the soup and salad like the more expensive restaurants, but the prices are definitely closer to Typhoon prices. They pretty much immediately brought out the little cups of chicken broth, which, I’m not going to lie, tasted like it was made from bouillon cubes. Pretty quickly after that came the iceberg salad, and they brought out squeeze bottles of ginger dressing and “white sauce” (which was actually more pinkish-orange than white, but was very tasty). They also brought ranch dressing out for my friend’s 8-year-old to put on her salad. Again, I wasn’t a huge fan of the ginger dressing. I love the ginger dressing at Ichiban, but this was somewhat overpoweringly ginger-y. I ate it off of the top layer of my salad and then used the white sauce for the rest of my salad.

The soup-basically chicken bouillon with a few green onions floated in it.

Iceberg salad

The menu included items such as grilled vegetables, sesame chicken, shrimp, and scallops. All menu items were served with zucchini and onions (lunch entrees are served with carrots instead of zucchini). Unfortunately, there was not a lot of diversity to our order, so I don’t have very many pictures to show. We all ordered the filet mignon dinner, which, at $9.95, is a huge bargain over what you would pay at a full-service hibachi restaurant. My friend even changed the doneness of her meat from medium to medium-rare just to be funny since the rest of us ordered ours medium-rare. Soooo, I can only tell you about the filet. But that’s okay.

The food came out pretty quickly, and the meat was done very nicely, which is always impressive because it’s hard enough to get a whole cut of steak perfectly medium-rare, much less meat that is cut into chunks. There was a ton of rice, and the meals automatically come with fried rice (as in, you don’t have to pay extra like you do at the more expensive hibachi restaurants). There were peas and a little bit of corn in the rice (I’m not sure I’ve ever had fried rice with corn in it, but I don’t know. Maybe I have. It was fine, though), and onions and zucchini served on the side. The vegetables were cooked very well-the zucchini was tender without being soggy, and the onions were cooked just to the point that they weren’t quite caramelized but they also were not crispy, which was definitely a deal-maker for me, because, if you’ve read some of my posts, you know that onions that are raw or undercooked make me want to cry, and not because of the fumes. I just can’t deal.

The filet mignon dinner-tell me, what other restaurant is going to serve you filet in any form for $9.95?

Here’s the thing. This was a ton of food. I kind of wish I had just skipped the soup and the salad and saved that stomach space for the entree. It’s not that the soup and salad were bad, but they just weren’t anything to write home about. The main dish, though, was very tasty, and I could have finished it if I hadn’t ended up with a stomachache. I definitely overdid it, which is not something that I do very often, but it does seem easy to do at a hibachi restaurant for some reason. I also ingested copious amounts of the white sauce. At the end of the meal, we were brought a fortune cookie, which always makes me laugh-a Chinese cookie at a Japanese restaurant? Did you know, though, that fortune cookies were actually created right here in the US of A? So really, it’s an American cookie masquerading as a Chinese cookie being served at a Japanese restaurant. But I digress. Anyway, my fortune told me not to oversleep today-that it was going to be a productive day. What? Clearly Confucious did not know that today was Saturday, and I ignored the advice and slept all the way till 8:30 this morning (that’s late, right?). Anyway….

Including the tip, two filet mignon dinners (we drank water) cost us about $27.00. If we had gone to Ichiban, that would have been more like $50 or so. Now, I’m definitely not saying that we’ll be going to Kioto in place of Ichiban. Ichiban, in my opinion, is the gold standard for Hibachi restaurants, but it’s a special occasion sort of place, and we don’t go very often because, honestly, it’s a little weird to sit with people you don’t know. Kioto is a little more expensive than Typhoon, but it’s also infinitely closer to us (less than two miles away!) and we will definitely go back. If you want a show and the atmosphere, spend the money and go to Ichiban. If you just want some tasty hibachi food, save your cash and check out Kioto.

Kioto is located at 8719 Hixson Pike, Hixson, TN 37343 (near the Dallas Bay Bi-Lo). You can call them at 423-521-8444 or 423-521-8445. They are open Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. You can call ahead and pick up at their walk-up window. Kioto does not currently have a Facebook page or website. However, they did have take-out menus, so I’ll share it with you!

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