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Yoroyiya Ramen in Asakusa Tokyo Is Worth A Visit
Asakusa Tokyo is one of the most popular districts in Tokyo. The main attraction is Sensoji, the famous Buddhist temple. The bustling Nakamise Street, lined with shops selling souvenirs, snacks, and other wares will take you directly to the temple. Right next to Nakamise Street there’s the Shin-Nakamise Shopping Street which offers restaurants and more shopping. This is where I found the excellent Yoroyiya Ramen in Asakusa, Tokyo.
It’s easy to navigate the menu here since it caters to tourists and has an English menu. Like most ramen places, it’s smaller place with limited seating at the counter. There’s a few options to choose from.
I had to go with the Deluxe Ramen (1300 yen, $8.81 USD) which included roast pork, twin york egg, and bamboo shoots. It just looked too good! I was also starving since I had just landed and a nice bowl of ramen sounded like the perfect meal.
The ramen had a shoyu (soy sauce) broth base. The broth was light but had a deep flavor to it due to the inclusion of dashi. This added a bit of fishy aftertaste with every slurp of the broth. It wasn’t overwhelming at all, but really added to the shoyu base flavor.
The noodles were very fresh and al dente. They were thinner and curlier ramen noodles. These were quite good.
The pork was seasoned perfectly and was some of the most tender pork chashu I’ve ever had. It literally was falling apart as I picked it up. It was THAT tender. Even the egg was good. It wasn’t quite hard boiled all the way through. There was still a little yolky parts to it which added even more depth and flavor to the ramen.
This Yoroyiya was also famous for their chicken gyoza’s, so I had to try those as well. You get three pieces for 400 yen ($2.71 USD), a good deal! Pan fried, the outside of the gyozas had a nice browned exterior. They came with a shoyu dipping sauce. The skins on these dumplings along with the filling tasted quite fresh. There’s ground chicken, green onion, and bits of glass noodle mixed into the filling. There’s some seasoning in there that gave it a hint of sweetness.
Yoroyiya Ramen 
Overall, a very delicious meal in a small ramen restaurant near Senso-ji temple in Asakusa Tokyo. It’s a perfect place to stop off after visiting the temple or on the way there.
Yoroiya was a definite stand out due to it’s overall delicious bowl of ramen. The broth, the pork, the egg, were all outstanding. This was a bowl of ramen where everything in it was excellent. I can’t say that for every bowl I’ve encounted.
Yoroiya Ramen
1 Chome-36-7 Asakusa, Taito City, Tokyo 111-0032, Japan
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Come Visit This Tokyo Brewery In An Old Train Station
Hitachino Brewing Lab
If you’re looking for a break from the bright lights and bustling nature of Akihabara, Hitachino Brewing Lab is a great place to relax with beer and relax for a bit.
About a 15 minute walk from Akihabara, it’s located in the old Manseibashi train station, across the river. Hitachino is a great place to sample fresh beers and grab a quick snack with an enjoyable river view.
The river next to Hitachino Brewing Lab I came here around 7-8pm on a Saturday night prior to heading over to Akihabara. It did take me a little bit of time to find. This seemed to be one of those places that Google Maps had a tough time providing proper directions to so it was a little confusing.
I ended up walking through the old station which is pretty cool in itself, and I’d recommend walking around a bit if you visit Hitachino.
It’s a very tiny spot with a handful of tables and countertop seating inside the restaurant and some additional tables outside as well.
The front of Hitachino Brewing Lab The Experience
They have a nice selection of beers on draft that are brewed in house. There’s also a good selection of snacks to enjoy and a couple of sandwiches to choose from if you’re hungrier. It’s a cozy, quiet little spot for sure. I went on a Saturday night and it was very chill.
I ended up getting the pale ale along with a mackeral sandwich (1880 yen, $12.81 USD) and later got an IPA (980 yen, $6.80).
I’d never heard of a mackeral sandwich before but reviews on it were solid and I was hungry, so figured I’d give it a try! It was a very simple sandwich. There were pieces of grilled mackeral, sauerkraut, carrot, whole seed mustard, on toasted wheat bread.
You wouldn’t necessarily think that those ingredients thrown into a sandwich would very good. It does afterall sound pretty unusual. But it’s actually quite tasty. The flavor of the salty grilled mackeral and sourness of the sauerkraut really contrast and it works out. Who would have thought?
It looks like and tastes like a sandwich one would make at home, which fits in perfectly with the overall vibe of Hitachino Brewing Lab. It also goes great with a beer!
Is It Worth A Visit?
If you’re a beer fan and looking to take a break from all the sightseeing and have some good beers and snacks than Hitachino is certainly worth it if you’re visiting Akihabara.
You can see a part of town that visitors don’t necessarily wander over to.
The renovated train station is worth a look around as well. It has some shops and other restaurants located there but most seemed to be closed by the time I arrived.
N1 1-25-4, Kandasudacho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
TEL.03-3254-3434[BUSINESS HOURS]
From Monday to Saturday from 11:00 to 22:00
Sunday and Holidays from 11:00～21:00 -
teamLab Planets Is A Must See Attraction In Tokyo
What Exactly Is teamLab Planets?
There’s a LOT to see and explore within Tokyo. Without a doubt it will be difficult to fit everything in on your first visit. However, one attraction I HIGHLY recommend working in to any trip to Tokyo is teamLab Planets.
teamLab Planets is a digital art museum located in the Toyosu district that includes nine highly immersive exhibits that are a sensory delight.
You’ve most likely seen pictures of it on IG. This place was destined to be an Instagram darling. But nothing can quite prepare you for seeing it and experiencing it yourself. It truly is a mesmorizing experience, regardless of age.
What To Know Prior To Going
You can either be purchase tickets online or use onsite vending machines. I’d advise to purchase ahead of time, to be able to select an available time of your choosing. Time slots, generally in the morning, can sell out.
The good thing is the museum is open from 9:00 – 22:00 and tickets are sold in 30 minute intervals. So there’s plenty of timeframes available. That’s quite late for a museum which works out well since
Below, you will find the listed pricing. Prices do get slightly more expensive on the weekend, so that’s something to consider if planning on going.
Adults (18 and over) 3,800 Yen / $26.23 USD (4,200 Yen / $28.99 on wknds) Junior High School / High School 2,300 Yen /$15.88 (2,800 Yen /$19.33) Children (4-12) 1,300 Yen / $8.97 (1,500 Yen / $10.35) Under 3 Free Disability Discount 1,900 Yen / $13.12 (2,100 Yen /$14.50) - You will be walking barefoot through this art museum. When first entering the museum, they will usher you to a large locker room where you can store your shoes and belongings.
- There will be certain areas where there’s shin / knee deep water so you’ll want to either wear shorts or pants that you can roll up to your knees. They do supply shorts, if needed, for free and there’s a changing room.
The Experience
The below aren’t all of the exhibits, just a few. The others I found to be a little difficult to get decent photos of due to the movement or there just being a boatload of people. Yes, there will be A LOT of people, which should be expected.
I won’t spend too much time on the experience or the actual exhibits since pictures and words can’t really do the actual experience justice. Walking through the first exhibit really sets the tone and builds excitement for the rest of the museum and it doesn’t disappoint!
It will take a couple of hours (largely dependant on how long you want to linger to enjoy each exhibit) to walk through the exhibit.
The “garden” exhibit is separate from the rest of the exhibits and you’ll only get three minutes to enjoy it. I wish it were longer but get why it’s only three minutes. It’s quite mesmerizing and peaceful and people would certainly linger for extended periods of time. It’s a fitting finale to a truly memorable exhibit that you won’t soon forget.
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How Expensive Is A Three Week Trip To Japan?
When thinking of traveling to a new destination one of the first things people are going to look at is how expensive is it to travel there? Japan has always been a very popular destination for travelers and was often looked at as being a very expensive trip. This may have been the case years ago but with the yen struggling, it’s made a vacation to Japan very affordable. How affordable? That’s totally dependent on what country you’re coming from, how you want to travel, where you want to stay, and what you want to eat.
I went during a non-peak season – during December – which made the three week trip to Japan more affordable as well. I went with the intent on having fun but not looking to spend gobs of cash so I’d say I was looking at a mid-level budget.
Transportation
The most expensive cost, of course, will be the flight to Japan. But since everyone is flying out of a different location I’ll leave that out and just breakdown the total I spent during my three week trip to Japan.
Withouth the flight I spent a total of $526 USD. That amount includes the two week Japan Rail (JR) Pass I bought (pre-Oct 2023 price increase) for $318, and the Pasmo card and all the money I loaded onto it (used for subways, buses, street cars, etc) for $101 and one domestic flight from Sapporo to Osaka ($107).
The JR Pass dramatically increased in price in October 2023 and will most likely not be worth getting at this point, unless you plan to take a LOT of Shinkansen (bullet) trains over the course of your trip. Public transportation is very cheap and is the best bet to get around efficiently and cheaply. There are taxis available and Uber works as well, so those are viable options but will be much more expensive. Also, domestic flights are pretty cheap as well so they’re something to consider if Shinkansen prices seem high.
Accommodations
For my three week trip to Japan I spent $1178 on lodging. I stayed at budget hotels essentially the entire time. I didn’t stay at any hostels or capsule hotels nor any five-star hotels. I stayed at all three-star hotels which are quite affordable, clean, and nice. Sure, the rooms are the size of a closet but I didn’t spend much time in the room so it really didn’t matter. What did matter was the price point for me during this particular trip.
APA Hotel in Taito City in Tokyo 
Another typical hotel room, this one in Sapporo The cheapest options will be hostels and the capsules. The 3 star hotels are a nice middle ground option which you can grab for $45-$65 a night.
Food
Outside of accommodations, food is likely to be the highest price point on the trip. I spent about $1017 on food on my three week trip to Japan. The food pricing for Japan is well-rounded. If you want to go cheap you can easily find a meal for under $10. A bowl of ramen is like $8 in a lot of places. I had a bowl of tempura for about $3.50. Grabbing food at one of the local convenient stores like 7-11, Family Mart, and Lawson’s will be very affordable and the food at these places is actually quite good.
Of course it’s very easy to get high quality, delicious food, that will be more expensive. Think exquisite cuts of sushi and mouth-watering wagyu. I pretty much straddled the line when it came to food expenditure, splurging here and there for some more expensive meals but mainly getting meals that were between around $8-15.
Attractions
There’s a million things to see and do in Japan. A lot of things, like most temples and shrines, parks, are free which is great. Of course other attractions – museums, observatory points, ropeways, Tokyo teamLab Planets – have an entrance fee. Over my three week trip to Japan I spent $184 on attractions. A large chunk of this was due to Tokyo Disneyland ($63). The other notable expenses were Tokyo teamLabs Planets ($25), and the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan ($18). All the other attractions (a lot of museums, a couple castles, ropeways, observatory points) I went to were $10 and less, usually about $5. So depending on what you’re interested in, attractions can be very cheap.
Tokyo teamLab Planets 
Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan 
Tokyo National Museum Souvenirs
It’s easy to go overboard with souvenirs, either getting things for yourself or loved ones. I spent a total of $217 on souvenirs in my three week trip to Japan. Pretty much all t-shirts and a couple of hats. Souvenirs will always be at the individual’s discretion. Some people will buy a lot of souvenirs, others won’t buy anything. I bought a little more here than I generally do, I couldn’t help myself at the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters team store!
Total Expenses For My Three Week Trip To Japan
In total I spent $3224 over a three week span, excluding the flight. With the flight the total was $3930. If I add up the accommodations, food, and attractions, I averaged about $113 per day. Not too bad. There’s definitely areas where I could have cut costs like accommodations and food, to get to $100 per day if I was really tracking my expenditures.
So yes, traveling through Japan on a $100 per day is VERY doable if that’s the goal. Depending on your accommodations, let’s say you paid around $55 on average for hotels and had $45 to play around with the rest of the day, it would be fairly easy to do.
There’s a ton of cheap good food that you can find throughout Japan and plenty of attractions that are free or around $5. I mean just walking around Tokyo in itself is memorable since there city is so vibrant. If $100 or less per day is the goal, you can definitely do that in Japan and still have a very enjoyable experience!
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Is the Japan Rail (JR) Pass Worth It After the October 2023 Price Increase?
Why Did The JR Pass Increase In Price?
The Japan Pass (JR) has long been a staple for visitors to Japan. It allows the use of of all Japan Rail trains, metros, and buses throughout the entire country, including the Shinkansen bullet trains.
Due to the decline in value of the yen against other currencies, rising costs of energy, maintenance, and repairs prompted a massive increase of the JR Rail Pass in October 2023. How massive? The increases range between a whopping 65% – 77%.
The Before And After Price Breakdown
Here’s the breakdown for the regular JR Pass. There’s also a Green JR Pass which includes first class seating which is more expensive (all prices are for adults. Children passes are half of the amounts for the new pricing):
7-Day Pass:
Old Price – 29,650 yen / $207.25 USD
NEW Price – 50,000 yen / $349.49 USD – 69% Increase
14-Day Pass –
Old Price – 47,250 yen / $330.27 USD
NEW Price – 80,000 yen / $559.18 – 69% Increase
21-Day Pass
Old Price – 60,450 yen / $422.53
NEW Price – 100,000 yen / $698.98 – 65% Increase
As you can see, the price increases are quite significant. Deciding on how you want to travel throughout Japan just became much more important!
The JR Pass Calculator
This is a valuable tool to use to ultimately help you decide if a pass is worth it or not. As an example trip itinerary I plugged in my recently completed 3-week trip. I bought the 2-week pass since the bulk of the JR Pass was used after my first week.
Tokyo –> Hakodate 20,000 yen / $139.80 USD Hakodate –> Sapporo 14, 500 yen / $101.35 Sapporo –>Otaru 1,000 yen / $6.99 Otaru –> Sapporo 1,000 yen / $6.99 Osaka –> Nara 500 yen / $3.49 Nara –> Osaka 500 yen / $3.49 Osaka –> Himeji 3,500 yen / $24.46 Himeji –> Osaka 3,500 yen / $24.46 Osaka –> Kobe 500 yen / $3.49 Kobe –> Osaka 500 yen / $3.49 Osaka –> Tokyo 14,000 yen / $97.86 Additional JR trains and JR Metro Lines 1,500 yen Total 61,000 yen / $426.38 Sapporo –> Hakodate 14,500 yen / $101.35 USD Hakodate –> Tokyo 20,000 yen / $139.80 Osaka –> Tokyo 14,000 yen / $97.86 Hypothetical Total 109,500 yen / $769.15 I’d add in an additional 1,500 extra yen to the total as well since I took a couple trains and used the JR metro lines while in Osaka too. Based off this, the old 14-day pass (47,250 yen) was worth it.
It defintely would not be worth it based off the new pricing for a 14-day pass (80,000 yen).
I was curious to see if the pass would pay off if I took trains all the way from Sapporo to Osaka. I flew on my actual trip.
Based off this hypothetical trip utilizing nothing but trains, the 14-day pass would certainly be worth it. But would I actually do that? No way.
The flight I took cost less than $100 and took 2.5 hrs. Sure, you get to the airport a couple of hours beforehand so we’ll say the total time is about 4.5 hours between the airport and in the air. I estimate the total time on the train to be at least 11 hours and that’s not counting how long I’d have to wait in between trains. That’s a very long travel day and I’d essentially lose that day in Osaka.
Is It Worth It?
In my opinion, it’s not going to be worth it. Using the same calculator I did another hypothetical trip consisting of Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, and Hiroshima. This is generally the route people take on their first trip to Japan. The total amount for those bullet trains comes out to 41,500 yen, which wouldn’t even make the 7-day pass worth it.
The bullet trains are fast, convenient, comfortable, and a very cool experience, but flying is still going to be faster and cheaper. You can always mix in some bullet trains to get the experience and will most likely use some local rapid express / limited express trains as well (these aren’t too expensive) but it seems like the days when the JR Pass were a good deal are now over, sadly enough.
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Thinking Of Going To Japan? Here’s Some Helpful Japan Trip Tips For First Timers!
Going to a new country for the first time can always be a little daunting. Figuring out what you need to take, where to stay, how to get around, what sites you want to visit, it can be a lot! I’ve been to Japan twice now, by no means am I a Japan expert, there’s always something new to learn while traveling through this amazing country. But I have picked up some random Japan trip tips that I feel may be of use for travelers that have never been there.
Choose Where In Tokyo You Want To Stay
This is assuming you’re planning on flying into Tokyo.
First, let’s figure out where exactly in Tokyo you want to stay. Tokyo is an absolutely massive city. It’s comprised of 23 special wards, 26 cities, five towns, and eight villages. Every special ward has several districts within it as well. There’s a lot of options of where to stay due to this. Like A LOT of options.
The most popular places in Tokyo are Shibuya, Shinjuku, Ginza, Roppongi. Unsurprisingly, these will also be the most expensive.
I think what’s most important is how close a subway station is to where you intend to stay. Tokyo’s infrastructure is massive and can get you anywhere in the city, no exaggeration.
So long as you’re within walking distance to ANY station and you know how to use Google Maps then what ward / district you stay in doesn’t much matter to be honest.
How long you’re staying in Tokyo, what your budget looks like, and what you want to see may ultimately influence exactly where you stay.
If you’re only in Tokyo for a couple days then you may want to stay in one of those higher profile areas if those are of interest to you, in order to maximize your time, but I don’t think it’s super necessary.
I’ve stayed in Shinagawa (first trip, has a major train station) and Taito City (second trip, cheap) and both worked out well.
When I stayed in Taito City it took 40 mins to get to Shibuya Station and 30 mins to get to Shinjuku station via subway. I was in Tokyo for five days so that amount of travel time didn’t impact my decision on staying in Taito City. Also, on a side note it took about 15 mins to walk to Asakusa and Akihabara was a 20 min subway ride.
Choosing Which Airport To Fly Into
Tokyo has two major international airports: Haneda and Narita. It’s a little strange that one city has two international airports, but Tokyo is no ordinary major city.
The main difference between the two airports is Haneda is in Tokyo while Narita is located in Narita which is in the Chiba Prefecture, about 37 miles outside of Tokyo. Haneda provides fast access to central Tokyo, and in my opinion is a very convenient experience overall.
There’s many ways to get into the city from the airport via bus, subway, taxi. The subway will likely be the best option for most people. It’s cheaper than a taxi and faster than the bus.
Before booking that flight to Haneda, you can always check to see what the distance is from your hotel to Haneda or Narita. If you’re staying more on the outskirts of Tokyo than the airport may not make much of a difference.
For the sake of providing an example, here’s the difference from Haneda and Narita to Shinjuku Station.
Depending on what lines lines you decide to take, the trip can be as short as 40 mins from Haneda to Shinjuku Station.
From Narita, the fastest route will take over an hour to Shinjuku Station.
If the flight to Narita is a lot cheaper than Haneda than it makes sense to fly into Narita. Otherwise Haneda will be much faster generally.
Preparing For The Trip
Alright, you know where you’re staying and booked the flight, great! What are some things to pick up prior to the trip?
Get a portable phone charger/ power bank. You will be using your phone a lot. Even more than at home since you’ll be running Google Maps pretty extensively (if traveling on your own, with no tour group) and taking pics and recording videos. A portable phone charger is key so you don’t have to stress when you’re phone hits 15% and you’re far away from your hotel (we’ve all been there!).
Get an esim. If you have a newish phone you should be able to purchase an esim and you absolutely should. It will far and away be the cheaper option.
Renting a pocket wifi will run about $5.50 (USD) per day so if you’re in Japan for two weeks it will run you around $77 USD. A physical sim card will cost around $40-50 for two weeks.
I used Airailo on my last trip to Japan and got 20 GB of data for $26 USD. I was in Japan for 22 days and left with a little less than a GB of data to use. For two weeks in Japan you’d likely need about 10 GB of data. 10 GB will cost about $18. Shop around for esims. They’re cheap and easy to install. Just be sure to install prior to landing so you can just turn on the esim once you land.
An esim is definitely a much cheaper route to go when traveling in general.
Don’t worry about exchanging money prior to your visit. If flying into Haneda, they have ATM’s located throughout the airport in convenient locations. You’ll get a better exchange rate by pulling cash here as well. It’s been a few years since I flew into Narita but imagine this is the same case there as well.
No power converter is necessary (if coming from the US). Japan’s voltage is 100V. Check out the chargers you intend to take. They should have a voltage between 100-240V, those will work fine in Japan. If anything you may need a prong adapter if using a 3 prong input. I believe Japan mainly has 2 prong
inputs.
While In Japan
There’s no trash cans in Japan. Well maybe not ANY trash cans but you won’t be seeing them frequently, if it all. If you get food to go and eat in the vicinity of the restaurant you won’t see any trash cans near by. What you’ll need to do is hand the trash back to the restaurant you bought the food from to dispose of. If you’re eating on the go it’s best to store the trash in your backpack and throw it away when you get back to the hotel.
Don’t worry about the huge amounts of change you accumulate. Without a doubt you’ll be carrying around a large amount of change within days of being in Tokyo. No need to worry about that, it’s easy to get rid of. There’s vending machines literally EVERYWHERE in Tokyo. Get some beverages and put that change to good use.
My favorite was going to 7-11. You can literally dump change into a coin collector to pay for whatever you purchase. You’ll see your total amount and as you put change in that amount decreases. It’s a great way to get rid of a variety of different change amounts.
Spend money leftover money on your IC Card (rechargeable prepaid travel cards used for public transportation) . If at the end of your trip you have an ample amount left on your IC Card, there’s other ways you can spend that amount outside of public transportation. Vending machines and convenience stores (again) come in handy. They both accept IC cards as payment options.
You’ll Figure It Out
There’s a million other tips that will be helpful but the above are just little things that came to mind when first wanting to write a blog post about helpful tidbits for first time travelers to Japan. They all seemed to be scattered around but not condensed into one article or blog post. Hope it helps!
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Pho Flavor Delivers A Unique Flavor Filled Pho Presentation
Pho Flavor -The Background
There’s a lot of Pho resturants in Orange County and it takes a lot to stand out amongst the many fine options available. One way to stand out? A unique presentation. Pho Flavor certainly delivers on this end, which I’ll explain later on.
Pho Flavor slow cooks their bone broth for over 12 hours. The “secret” ingredients, have been refined and perfected over three generations and is offered in two different styles – Southern and Northern.
There’s currently there’s two locations – one in Garden Grove and the other is in Fountain Valley – with a third opening in Irvine. I visited the Garden Grove location.
The Experience
I went to Pho Flavor for lunch on a recent weekday, and they quickly seated me, with no wait, at around 11:30 am. The restaurant is fairly small and narrow, and I can see it filling up quickly during peak times, but at this time there was ample seating.
Something that stood out right away with the menu was the option of the “style”. There’s both a Southern and Northern choice. I honestly have no idea what the difference is but after looking at the below I opted for the Southern Style with brisket.
Pho Flavor also offers two different types of noodles to choose from: fresh flat noodles or thick flat noodles. I went with the thick flat noodles which were supposed to be chewier.
The pho, like most pho places came out within minutes. The difference? Without a doubt HOW the pho came out. There’s three different containers stacked on top of one another. I’ve never seen pho served this way before!
On top is the hoisin sauce and Sriracha 
The second level has all the usual veggies that accompany pho 
The third level is the steaming bowl of pho This presentation definitely makes the experience memorable. They also provide Thai basil in a bottle which you can take home with you!
Of course, presentation is important to a certain extent, but food is what makes a place memorable, one way or another.
Fortunately, Pho Flavor also delivers on this front. The Southern style broth was quite light but still managed to be rich and flavorful, just not in a heavy-handed way. The noodles were very fresh, springy, and the chewiness was great. These things were slick too! It was hard to grab them with the chopsticks!
The brisket is thicker than in other pho places but is quite tender, especially the longer it got to simmer in the broth. There’s a lot of meat in the bowl as well. The more I stirred up the bowl, the more meat seemed to float to the top. This is always a good thing by the way, lol.
Speaking of the bowl, it’s deceptively deep, with a lot of noodles and meat. At first glance it didn’t look like a ton of food but it seemed to be a never ending bowl as I dug in. Definitely a good thing!
The Verdict
Looking beyond just the dish the pho comes out in, the pho itself is quite good. I really liked that they have two different broth options and noodle types. It makes me want to go back and try the other combination.
It would be hard to try the flat and soft noodles since I really enjoyed the chewiness of the thick, flat noodles. They were my favorite part of the pho.
I wouldn’t consider this to be my own personal favorite pho place, but it’s certainly a quality spot and worthy of place in the pho rotation.
Pho Flavor
10130 Garden Grove Blvd,
Garden Grove, CA 92844
Phone: (714) 591-5265
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SteelCraft’s Barrio: A Unique Fusion Of Filipino & Korean Flavors
The Background
SteelCraft locations are unique communal dining spaces with three locations in Southern California. They include craft foods and drinks and wide open areas with large tables and benches. The distinct feature with all SteelCraft locations is that the restaurants are built within old modified shipping containers.
The main communal eating area at SteelCraft Garden Grove The Garden Grove location is really cool looking. It’s a very distinct looking center due to the shipping containers. I can’t say I’ve seen anything quite like it. I love how wide open the communcal area is and how the restaurants are all on the outside of this area surrounding it. They certainly did build this with a sense of community and togetherness with having everyone eating in the same area.
The Food
Barrio
One of the restaurants that peaked my intererst at the Garden Grove SteelCraft was Barrio. A fusion of Filipino and Korean BBQ. That’s not a fusion I’ve ever seen before and the menu sounded pretty solid. It was time to give it a try!
The Barrio at Garden Grove SteelCraft 
Yes, there’s an order process! 
The popular dishes SteelCraft Barrio has a lot of different skewers to choose from (pork, chicken, shrimp, tofu) as well as other proteins like pork / beef bulgogi, salmon, and liempo. You can mix and match the skewers so I decided to go with the pork and chicken. I had wanted the rice but they were out for the night so I got it with the mixed green salad and also got the kimchi. It’s a fair amount of food for $10.50
The full skewer meal with salad and kimchi 
The salad has a few toppings on it but is pretty much a garden salad. There is a generous amount of spring mix here and it’s a lot of salad. I thought there could be a bit more dressing provided. It was a bit dry and certainly could have used more dressing. I also didn’t feel that there was very much kimchi as a side. It was pretty solid kimchi, just could have used some more of it.
The skewers are well marinated and well coated. There’s a good char on them and they taste great mainly due to the sweet and tangy marinade and sauce. The meat itself was pretty over cooked and tough, which was disappointing.
The chicken skewer 
The pork skewer 
A piece of pork
The Verdict
For the amount of money for the meal ($10.50) it’s a good amount of food. The proportions, especially the salad, is a lot. The quality is good as well. The marinade and the sauce is really tasty and is a highlight to me. It would have gone really well with rice for sures.
The few things that were a negative to me were the lack of salad dressing, small side of kimchi, and overcooked meat.
Again, it’s tough to find a meal like this for only $10.50 in this day and age and it’s certainly worth the price despite the “negatives” I list. There just needs to be a few tweaks and I feel like Barrio would be pretty legit.
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What Makes Kitakana Ramen Ban Nai’s Broth So Different And Unique
The Background
Kitakana Ramen Ban Nai has deep roots in Japan. First opening its doors in the city of Kitakata back in 1958, its popularity has steadily grown over the past six decades. Now, with 66 locations in Japan, Kitakana Ramen Ban Nai has taken root in the United States as well. Currently, there are seven location in the United States all in Southern California and Illinois. Four of the locations are in Orange County.
Kitakana is, in itself a different type of ramen then the better known Sapporo (miso broth) and Hakata (tonkotsu). The three of these types of ramen comprise the “Big 3” in Japan. Kitakana ramen differs from it’s ramen counterparts due to its broth and noodles. The broth is made from long-simmered pork bones with a shoyu (soy sauce) base. The noodles differ from other ramen due to how flat, wide, and curly they are.
The Experience
Recently, I stopped by the Fountain Valley location for lunch to check it out. I’d been to the Costa Mesa restuarant but this was the first time trying the Fountain Valley spot.
This location is much larger than the Costa Mesa restaurant with ample parking. Both huge positives.
The menu is the same at both locations. There’s actually quite a few diffferent types of ramen offered here.
I went with the Kitakata Ramen ($13.95) since I wanted to try the both. I had the Spicy Miso before but hadn’t tried the Kitakata.
The Kitakata Ramen comes with 5 pieces of Toro-Chashu, bamboo shoots, and green onion. As I mentioned previously, this is a pork broth with shoyu (soy sauce) base. Compared to miso or tonkatsu, it’s a much clearer broth.
This broth also stands out from other broths due to how light it is. Like much, much lighter. This doesn’t have that same deep, rich flavor that miso or tonkatsu does. That doesn’t take anything away from this broth, it tastes great and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
You can definitely taste the pork flavor. However, it’s more subdued compared to the shoyu flavor. It’s a great blend and the two flavors certainly mix well together.
The noodles really stood out to me. These are certainly thicker and quite wavy compared to other ramen noodles. But, what really stood out was how chewy they were. These seemed more in line with udon type of noodles with their chewiness. It was a good surprise!
The Toro-Chashu is something unique to Kitakata Ramen as well. Simmered for several hours in their secret sauce, the pieces of chashu here are much smaller cuts than chashu in other types of ramen.
Tender, with some fat, I found the chashu to be quite flavorful. The more pieces I ate the saltier they seemed. But since the broth is lighter it adds a little bit more flavor and didn’t bother me.
The bamboo shoots were a nice touch. They were included in the base ramen, which was great, since I usually order it as a side.
The Verdict
There’s many ramen restuarants in Orange County offering miso and tonkatsu base broths but few, if any, are making the Kitakana style as their main broth.
The lightness of the broth, which still retains excellent flavor, impressed me. The chewiness of the noodles was also very enjoyable and unique. They’re some of the best ramen noodles I’ve had in the Orange County area.
If you’re in the mood for a lighter kind of ramen, Kitakana Ramen Ban Nai is an excellent option!
Address: 18884 Brookhurst St, Fountain Valley, CA 92708
Hours:
Thursday 11 AM–3 PM, 5–10 PM Friday 11 AM–3 PM, 5–10 PM Saturday 11 AM–10 PM Sunday 11 AM–9 PM Monday 11 AM–3 PM, 5–10 PM Tuesday 11 AM–3 PM, 5–10 PM Wednesday 11 AM–3 PM, 5–10 PM Phone: (714) 884-3124
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Pho 79 lives up to billing as one of the best in Southern California
The Background
Pho 79 is a well-known, beloved Vietnemese location that’s been serving it’s slurp worthy signature pho since 1982. Yes, 1982! It’s in a non-descript area, nestled behind a strip mall but where there’s good food, people will find it.
The popularity is evident within the restaurant which literally has a wall’s worth of accolades and articles written about the great tasting food. The restaurant proudly displays its recognition as a James Beard Foundation Winner under the restaurant signage, indicating that its received notable national acclaim.
Such long staying power is a testament to the of quality food. But what makes Pho 79 truly special is their pho broth.
The Experience
I thought I’d beat the lunch rush and get to Pho 79 well before noon. When I pulled up to the restuarant, around 11:15 am on a Wednesday, I noticed there was already a line and the parking lot was quite full.
There’s a sign in sheet attached to the front door which had a 4-5 parties in front of me. It went really quickly. It only took around 10 minutes to get seated, which was nice!
Pho 79 really has a massive menu, with a wide variety of Vietnamese dishes to sort through. The pho portion of the menu is teeming with different variations with all sorts of different meat. Most come in three different bowl sizes. My go to pho is always just the rare beef, so I went with the medium bowl ($13.25)
The food comes out exceptionally fast. I went to use the restroom to wash my hands and came back to my table with a steaming bowl of pho waiting for me. It couldn’t have been more than five minutes.
Slurping up a spoonful of the broth was a memorable experience. The broth is so rich, hearty, and flavorful, it really warms the soul. After savoring a few spoonfuls of broth, I started adding in the usual pho veggies: thai basil, bean sprouts, jalapenos, and squeezed in some lime. I added in some hoisin sauce and some Sriracha as well.
At first I wasn’t too impressed with the amount of meat in the bowl. It just looked like four slices of beef. As it cooked more in the broth, layers started peeling off the meat though. There was a lot more meat than I orginally thought! The beef is good quality and as it turns out, there’s quite a bit. The noodles were excellent and plentiful as well. For a medium bowl of pho it was a good amount of food for a good price.
The Verdict
This was the first time I’ve been to Pho 79. I can see why it’s so well-known and has been around for over 41 years. The bowl of pho was flat out delicious.
What separates it from other places is the broth. It’s definitely one of the best pho broth’s I’ve ever had. I’m not sure what they do differently to prep the broth, but you can taste the difference compared to other pho places. Outstanding flavor. I can’t wait to go back and have another bowl!
Also, on a side note, this is a cash only restaurant so be sure to have some cash on you if you visit. I think the best times to go will be off peak hours either early or late lunch / dinners.
The parking lot will likely be packed at peak times so best to avoid if possible.
Pho 79
9941 Hazard Ave. Garden Grove, CA 92843
