Ramen House Ryowa

Ramen House Ryowa
2068 University Ave
Berkeley, CA 94704
(510) 883-0667

and

859 Villa Street
Mountain View, CA
(650) 965-8829

Ramen from Ryowa are super yummmy! Both Ryowa's offer the same ramen but some different entree items. Ryowa's noodle is thick and chewy. The soup is hot and rich, and it does not leave me thirsty right afterward like most ramen places. The chashus were thinly sliced but they give you a lot, and they were tender. The chashu was not overly salty nor overly fat. The ramen, depends on what you order, comes with lots of side stuff like fresh wakami as well as the dried one, green onions, bean sprout and half a boiled egg.

Buttercorn Ramen

Ryowa gives you huge portion. My friends and I are big eaters and we left with our bellies full. They also have a few condiments on the side, one being a jar of kimchee.

The service was okay at the Berkeley one, and the service at the Moutain View one was pretty good. The waiter from the Moutain View one kept refilling our barley tea, and when he didn't, he left a big jug of it in front of my friends and I, so we can pour more if we like. The place is pretty clean, with a shelf of comic.

So far I have tried the Buttercorn Ramen, which I highly recommend. I also tried the Shoyu Ramen and Vegetable Ramen, which is vegetarian and made with vegetable broth. I also recommend their Chicken Karaage, which is the best one I had so far out of all the ramen places. The mayo and the dipping sauce that comes with the Chicken Karaage are delicious. The cabbage salad that comes with the Chicken Karaage is very light and refreshing, which is a really great balance with the heavier fried chicken.

Chicken Karaage

I will go back to Ryowa again and again if I really want a hearty and carby bowl of Japanese ramen.

Steamed Cabbage Chicken Wraps

Ingredients:

3 whole leaves of napa cabbage

4 oz chicken breast, minced

3 wedges of tomato slices

dash of salt

dash of pepper
dash of chili pepper

3 toothpicks

Instruction:

1. Boil the napa cabbage leaves until soften. Drained out the water.

2. In a bowl, marinate the chicken breast with salt, pepper and chili.

3. Divide the chicken into three portions. Roll each into a ball.

4. Place cabbage flat on a plate. Place the chicken ball at the leaf end of the cabbage.

5. Roll the cabbage to cover the chicken ball. Tug in the side and roll the rest of the leaf up. Poke toothpick through the wrap to secure.

6. Place a tomato slice through the toothpick.

7. Boil a pot of water. Place the plate of cabbage chicken wraps in the pot. Steam for 15 minutes.

Low Carb Chocolate Thin Bread

These cookies are great for a low carb as well as low calories diet. This recipe is same as making meringue but minus the cream of tartar. If you want to have a harder meringue-liked texture, just add 1/4 tsp cream of tartar to the recipe below.


Serving Size: 2 cookies
Serving per Recipe: 2 cookies
Calories Per Serving: 19 calories

Ingredients:
2 egg whites
1/4 cup of sugar substitute
2 tbsp cocoa unsweeten powder
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Instruction:
1. Preheat 250 degree oven.
2. Whisk egg white and cream of tartar together with an electric mixer at high speed.
3. Once the egg whites form soft peaks and hold their shape when lift, add in sugar substitute.
4. When peaks form stiffly, whisk in cocoa powder and vanilla extract.
5. Line a baking sheet with baking paper.
6. Fill a pastry bag with the mixture (if you don't have a pastry bag or pipe, use a regular zip lock bag and cut a corner at an angle). Pipe out 20 cookies onto the baking sheet.
7. Bake for 30 minutes or until cookies are crisp and dry.

Baked Oyster Mushrooms in Foil

This recipe is great as a side dish as well as a topping over meat dishes. The sauce and texture of this mushroom recipe add some juicy touch to meat such as chicken breast and fish!

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 25 mins

Ingredients:
3 oz. Oyster Mushroom (can use other varieties as well)
4 tsp Teriyaki Sauce
1/2 tsp Chicken Flavored Powder or 1/4 cup Chicken Broth
dash of Black Pepper
1/2 cup Water
butter (option)

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven at 350 degree.
2. Clean mushrooms with a damped cloth.
3. Combine terriyaki sauce, chicken flavored powder, black pepper and water together in a bowl.
4. Place mushroom in the bowl and mix well with the sauce.
5. Take a piece of foil (about 12 x 6 inches), fold it in half.
6. Fold in 3 sides of the foil in form a pocket. Place it on a tray.
7. Place mushrooms into the foil pocket, and pour the remaining sauce in it as well.
8. Enclose the pocket by folding in the opening.
9. Place in the oven along with tray, and bake for 25 minutes.

Luella

1896 Hyde Street, San Francisco, CA
(415) 674-4343
http://www.luellasf.com/

I came here with a bunch of friends for Dine About Town, but unfortunately, it did not serve dinner under Dine About Town, but we stayed anyways. Luella's menu consists of varieties of food. Since it's in the New American catagory of cuisine, nevertheless, it seems very fusion. The menu consists of tacos and pizza, as well as grilled steak and fish.

Artichoke Soup with Chive Oil - The soup tasted pretty creamy but I couldn't really taste the artichoke but there are artichoke pieces in there!

Crispy Polenta Fries with Spicy Tomato Vinaigrette - Before this dish, I never knew what polenta was. Boy, I want more! This was crispy on the outside and soft in the inside. What I really like is that the crispy crust was thin and it was warm, but when you bite into it, it was hot!

Ahi Tuna Tartare Tacos with Lime Binaigrette and Mango Salsa

Wild Mushroom Pizza

Grilled Local Halibut with Lemon Beurre Blanc, Asparagus and Farro Salad - I hate it when fish is overcooked because it gets dry. This one was cooked right! It was grilled enough such that the inside is juicy and tender. And as seen in the picture, they shaved the outter skin of the asparagus making it easier to soften when grilled, and easier on chewing also.

Seared beef "Wellington" in Puff Pastry with Horseradish Cream, Bone marrow Butter - Yes! Long name, which sounded very fancy, but when it was served onto the table, my friends and I could not hold our laughter. It definitely needs some work on its presentation as well as taste. The beef was a bit too "well" cooked, it was a little rough.

Yorkshire Pudding - This bread pudding came with the beef wellington above. It was eggy but good.

The ambiance of this place is really nice. The restaurant has a big window, so natural light shines in when it's day time. I really like the decor as well as the layout of the restaurant. Seems high class and modern but fun. The food is just okay though, I would not go back on my own unless someone wants to go.