Chowvel:Traveling to Eat

Review
If you are a fan of pork, so is Shin Sen Gumi. They wrap anything they can find in bacon. If you come, sit at the bar, point at the mini skewers you desire, if you’re not a pork fan, they have many other items that fits any preference. The mini skewers are placed on a grill and seasoned with spices and salt. Yakitori is was originally for skewered chicken, but has expanded to other types of protein. Order from the menu if you like and if you order a beer, get ready for the loud roars from the staff shouting something in japanese in glee as though you’ve made their day by ordering a beer. Order as many different types of skewers as you can and enjoy them with the special spicy green sauce. This spicy sauce packs a punch, which makes you come back for more.

Review
How much more can you pimp out a hot dog? Mixing Japanese ingredients with good american hot dogs is one way. Japanese mayo, bento flakes, seaweed flakes, are just some of the things JapaDog incorporates. Thinking about the taste of a hot dog/sausage pretty much would go good with any ingredient. Instead of sauerkraut, what about korean kim chi? Is the next wave of hot dogs involve fused with cuisines from other countries? Maybe. Japadog is just the start, one thing that Japa does is bring the usual japanse restaurant customer service to a hot dog stand, which is one of the reasons why it is so popular. The food isn’t going to wow you, but they’re doing something different and unique, if you’re in Vancouver, this is a worth while place to travel.

Review
This popular downtown Ramen spot is popular for a reason and worth the chowvel. If you are a fan of pork and soup, this has to be one of the best in Los Angeles. They only serve one type of ramen and that is Daikoku Ramen and that’s the only type of ramen you need to order. Rather than specializing in a full blown menu, why not focus on making one dish good? There are plenty of ramen joints in downtown, but this is the only one worth the wait. There are still other places to try, but it’s hard to find a bowl that’s better than this one. Another thing to get if a bowl of ramen isn’t enough, is the combination that comes with the cabbage salad with special mayo on top. Even as a mayo hater, this bowl of salad is truly an exception. No matter what time of the day you go, the list found on the front chair is never empty. Be patient and you will get your turn.

Review
The choices here are cheap, except for the pork stew ramen, it’s a bit pricey relative to most other ramen places, but if you are a fan of salty foods, then get the pork stew ramen, it seems to be marinated in soy sauce for a good amount of time and stewed for awhile. The soup base tasty as well, not too heavy and not too light, it has the right balance that you like. The other ramen choices are pretty good as well, so if the pork stew ramen doesn’t appeal to you, the alternatives are affordable and good as well. I came on an off day and I got a bowl of green tea ice cream on the house, if any of you are fans of that.

Review
On the edge of 1st street lies Sushi Oomasa which has the usual sushi choices. It’s open until 12:30am starting on Wednesday until Monday, so Tuesday is the day Oomasa goes and buys fresh fish. There are better choices out there for sushi, but for the price and the late hour, it is an option, but I would not go out of my way to dine here. If you have another previous favorite, stick with that, this place will not change that.