Tour de Nippon: Kamakura Japanese Restaurant

Arguably the oldest Japanese restaurant in Champaign-Urbana, Kamakura has been around for a long time.  About fifteen years ago it was a small stand-alone hole-in-wall place over on Philo Road where CVS is now located.  Back then the rule of thumb about sushi was never to order any of the discount sushi from Monday to Wednesday because the fish wasn’t fresh.

Almost twenty years later things have changed with the advent of flash frozen fish filets and other fresh seafoods ready for our consumption.  Since then Kamakura has moved from their original location to the new one on Neil in Champaign.

What makes Kamakura unique among all the Japanese restaurants in C-U are Japanese ownership (versus the predominantly Korean owned places around town) and a teppan grill, a la Benihana.

The last time we were at Kamakura, my #1 dining partner had a rather bad reaction to the naruto he had with his udon, which was at least two years ago.  This time there was no such thing as we went there for our annual pre-Christmas meal.

Shrimp and scallop tempura at Kamakura Japanese Restaurant

The tempura were acceptable, although the shrimp were quite small.

Ramen at Kamakura Japanese Restaurant

#1DP ate his ramen, although his only complaint was that it smelt like pee.    No comment from me.

Tonkatsu dinner bento box at Kamakura Japanese Restaurant

My meal was the tonkatsu (fried pork cutlet) dinner bento (meal in a box).  There were a lot of food – soup to start, a salad, tempura, steamed veggies, the cutlet itself, rice, and sushi (see below).  A few down sides were an over peppered fried rice, no sauce for the tempura or tonkatsu, and the salad not being well covered by dressing.

Inigiri from Kamakura Japanese Restaurant

One of the things I don’t like about Kamakura (or any other place with teppan in general) is the poor ventilation.  Diners may come out of the place smelling a bit like the grill.  For all we had the price was rather affordable.  If we can’t make it to Yellowfin, Kamakura is a good second choice.

On the road: Chicago

My apologies for not having written in a while (cold weather slows me down and my attention span’s been rather short lately).  With a little time off from work I decided to take a quick trip up to Chicago.

I got in rather late to Chicago via Amtrack and thought I’d meet up with my brother, but didn’t come by the hotel until even later, so…  On the hotel’s recommendation I walked to the Emerald Loop for some grub.  Couldn’t take a picture because the bar was dark, but I had their Mac Piggy, which was a saucy macaroni and cheese with bacon, Andouille sausage, and ham on top.  It was big and tasty enough (to my poor taste buds).  Plus a pint of Harp.

Afterwards it was a trip to the Hopleaf, which is an Uptown gastropub.  Bro complained about how he had been there four times last week (but it’s one of his favorite places).  Good beers, and an equally good kitchen.  Hopefully he’ll take me to some his other places next time I’m in town in cognito.

The next day I wound up walking around the Macy’s area (formerly Marshall Fields) on State Street.  For lunch I stopped at this place called Wow Bao. 

Wow Bao at the Renaissance Hotel, Chicago

It looks to be a chain of restaurants specializing in modernized select Asian dishes, namely bao, which is a steamed bun normally filled with a savory or sweet filling (probably one of the first “fast” foods!)

Wow Bao at the Renaissance Hotel, Chicago

You can either go in and order or advance order from one of the two kiosk in front of the restaurant.  Wow Bao offers three kinds of potstickers, soups, bowls, salads, drinks (hot/cold).

Wow Bao at the Renaissance Hotel, Chicago

There were various flavors of stuffings available for the bao buns – BBQ pork, Thai chicken curry, terriyaki chicken, et al.

Ordering bao buns from Wow Bao

After some time perusing the choices and experiencing some navigational difficulties (on my part), I ordered five potstickers, a cup of Thai herbal soup, a Thai chicken curry bao bun, and a glass of hibiscus lemonade.

L to R (clockwise) Hibiscus lemonade, Thai herbal soup, Thai chicken curry bao, chicken potstickers from Wow Bao

All that was for about $9.00, which I felt gipped by.  Having grown up on large (albeit it was mostly dough) bao buns from a now defunct Chinatown restaurant, I found Wow Bao’s buns not to be too, well, wow.  The potstickers weren’t too bad (although small), the soup (it was actually flavored broth) good but really hot, and the lemonade tasty.  The Thai chicken curry bao was good, just small.  Overall the food was good (enough) and the service fast (using the kiosk).

Friday evening Bro and I went out to eat.  We went to Cocoro on Wells Street (my brother eats out a lot and has friends all over).  Many of us Japanese food afficionados are rather particular about the places we eat at.  Due to limitations in Chambana I had to make an exception (see Yellowfin).

Grilled squid and buttered scallops at Cocoro

We started off with grilled squid and buttered scallops.  They were good, althouth I couldn’t really tell due to my taste buds.  Bro had two pieces of inigiri sushi.

Fatty salmon and unidentified fish inigiri from Cocoro Japanese Restaurant

For the main course Bro had their spicy ramen.

Spicy ramen from Cocoro Japanese Restaurant

As for me I had their Chirashi:

Chirashi from Cocoro Japanese Restaurant

It was a work of art – a rose made out of tuna, a fresh shrimp with its head on.

Green tea ice cream

To finish it all off I ordered green tea ice cream.  It was good, the green tea flavor strong and true.  Overall the experience at Cocoro was good.  I wish I could have enjoyed it more, but darn taste buds…

Bombay Indian Grill

Last week my #1 Dining Partner and I went to Bombay Indian Grill for dinner.  Until Sairam Om reopens in its new incarnation, Bombay’s is the only Indian restaurant in town (not counting the Indian grocery and deli on Green Street).

With a second store on Green Street in Campus Town, Bombay Indian Grill has relatively good food. 

Fish curry from Bombay Indian Grill

I had the fish curry (can’t recall which one offhand, there are about two) which had bits of mahi mahi in a tomato sauce, much like the Chicken Tikka Massala (which is #1DP’s favorite Indian dish)

Chicken Tikka Masala from Bombay Indian Grill

We also had some Indian breads on the side

Tandoori Roti from Bombay Indian GrillNaan from Bombay Indian Grill

Overall the meal was good.  The breads were somewhat dry, not the soft, chewy goodness that is Indian bread.  The decor is a bit dated, but it seemed like they were doing work on the banquet facility.  Food is rather pricey, but the portions are okay.  If you want quicky Indian, give the Campus Town store a try, or Mirsung Indian Grocery.

A Thai Lunch Among Friends

Sunday the three of us went over to a get-together for lunch.  It was a Thai luncheon among friends.

Clockwise L to R: Kao Mun Gai, Moo Palo, Gai Laab, Dessert

Our hostess made Kao Mun Gai, which is a dish also known as Hainan Chicken & Rice from the region of China it originated from.  A guest made Laab Gai (Spicy Chicken Salad) and Kao Nieu (Steamed glutinous rice).   My contribution was Mu Palo, the sauce of which came from my Thanksgiving turkey.

Clockwise L to R: Rice for Kao Mun Gai, Gang Pa, Mu Palo, chicken for Kao Mun Gai, egg and meat omelet

Everything was delicious, especially the Kao Mun Gai and the meat and egg omelet with garlic sauce. 

Faux Gla Pau Pla (Fish Maw Soup)

My relative who will remain nameless made her version of Gla Pau Pla (my spelling) which used pork rind in place of the fried fish stomach (maw).  Overall it was quite tasty, since she added canned quail eggs in it.  The only thing lacking was the unique smell that can only come from real fish maw.

Gang Pa Mu

This is Gang Pa Mu, or Jungle Curry with pork.  What’s different about this curry is the lack of coconut milk and lots of vegetables (especially bitter ones).

Three Thai desserts

For dessert there were Med Kanoon (faux Jackfruit seeds made out of mung bean paste and egg yolk), Tago (sweeten tapioca pearls with coconut cream), and a Thai version of mochi (name escapes me right now).

 

I am highly apologetic if this post wasn’t exciting.  Lately my memory’s been shoddy, so recalling everything hasn’t been easy!

What’s For Lunch? – La Cocina Real

My current favorite place for Mexican in Champaign-Urbana is La Cocina Real, off University and near Lincoln.  Previously the location had been a Dos Reales, but that changed over a year ago.

Mucho Grande Burrito from La Cocina Real

My weekly lunch partner ordered the Mucho Grande Burrito with steak and yes, it was big.

Tacos Azteca from La Cocina Real

As for me I had the Tacos Azteca, which was basically a fish taco.  There were three, filled with tilapia, shredded red cabbage, and other items.  There was a zingy sauce on the side, flavored rice, and slices of avocado.  Everything was tasty and spicy.  At about $9.00 it wasn’t a bad meal.

The service has always been great.  This time I wound up dropping my silverware and after I picked it up a waiter had a new bundle for me.  Fast service, good food, it’s worth going to La Cocina Real!