"Squid cooked in a sauce of its own liver SOUNDS interesting... SOUNDS."
Location: 86 E 3rd St
Time: 7pm
People: 21 Ramen and Friends : Sa-Sha, PeeWee, GB, BeBe, JLam from MeSoHungry, RB, MGru, SD, ALev, JT, Rich, JBH, BLee, TrishP, Jnu, CE, JAlt, KHash, MiK, JRath, and myself
Feelings: The first annual Ramen and Friends Holiday Spectacular took place at Umi No Ie (Beach House) in East Village. This small restaurant/ Shochu bar serves tapas that can be found at many local beach houses in Kyushu area of Japan. The $4 beer and $40 Shochu Happy Hour special excited many members of Ramen and Friends and left us in good spirits, but many dishes did not follow the excitement. The restaurant's Dashi was showcased most in the pumpkin with fried tofu, bringing the dish to a delicate balance of subtle sweetness and earthiness. Pork belly kakuni, meatballs, eel omlet and hijiki were all delightful and disappeared from our table rather quickly. However, their signature Udon noodles from Goto Islands were a disappointment. Although it was tasty, they lacked flavor and slightly overcooked to my taste. We also encountered quite unique dishes: dried fin of manta ray, bitter melon with tofu (quintessential Okinawa style cuisine), and squid shiokara (fermented seafood). They all had interesting textures and flavors, but many members did not go back for second bites.
Feelings towards their service: They were extremely accommodating for our holiday party. Our waiter, who was topped with a festive Santa hat, took care of his 21 customers with a smile and kept us happy and sufficiently liquored up. Well done, Santa.
Happy Holidays from Ramen and Friends!
Post Udon Dessert: Return of Dessert Truck
Feelings: We enjoyed Bomboloni, Macarons, Slow Baked Apple and Cinnamon, and really thick hot chocolate.
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2 comments:
The hot chocolate was amazing and even better as a dipping sauce for the macaroons and bombolinis.
The squid in it's own guts was pretty disgusting.
The pumpkin and tofu was amazing!
I enjoyed the pumpkin and tofu too! The gyoza I had were 'fine' but not too bad. The waiter was very nice, but the service was terribly slow. I'm sure it's because there were so many people. I'm sure they are not used to that kind of volume. but i thought the waiter tried his best, and i liked the santa hat :)
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