honda-ya « The Sprout and The Bean Catering

February 12, 2010

My Favorite Eating Partners

Filed under: dining out, friends, honda-ya — saehee @ 10:56 pm

salmon skin salad at honda-ya

vegetarian’s delight at carousel

chicken kebab at carousel

my frozen yogurt is the one on the left…clearly there is a disparity in the amount of yogurt i eat compared to the amount lan and nancy eat

There’s a lot of things I adore. Most of them are edible. But also high on my list are Lan and Nancy. If they were edible, I might eat them but as they are not or at least they’d object to be eaten, I’ll settle for eating with them. I’ve had dinner with them twice this week. It’s been a good week.

Today we went to Honda-Ya in Little Tokyo. I had been in bed all day trying to catch up on some writing and felt quite eager for the company of good friends. Nancy drove for over an hour to meet us which is amazing. We ate:

agedashi tofu, crab shumai, salmon skin salad, gingko nuts, green onion yakitori, a spider roll, nasu-miso, and ume-shiso red snapper tempura.

Afterwards we went for frozen yogurt at this place called Cherry On Top. Apparently there was some sort of competition going on for the prettiest yogurt. If you arrange your self-serve yogurt nicely enough they’ll take a picture and you can win $50. Apparently our yogurt was not very impressive because they didn’t even ask to take a picture. I feel like there was so many things going on at this yogurt place–they had fantastic pink leather booths, orb like plastic chairs with ass indentations (so your bottom won’t slip around in the round seat??) , and an amenities list that included the use of their nintendo games. Pictured above is Nancy and Lan taking advantage of the amenities. Not to mention the yogurt photo competition. Also the cashier was super excited about giving us free samples and offering us board games. The experience was overwhelming in a good way. It felt like the Disneyland of frozen yogurt.

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December 18, 2009

The Return of Romero

Filed under: friends, honda-ya — saehee @ 1:47 am

Amazing how long a month can feel.

Dear dear Nancy is finally back from Thailand and I feel like a small lifetime has happened while she was away. Nancy rode elephants and ate mangosteen and jackfruit while biking across southeast asia. I, too, had memorable adventures, though no elephants were involved. We went to Honda-Ya today to catch up and generally enjoy each other’s company. We ate many delicious things. Noted: all their dishes are made for parties of odd numbers. We kept having to split the last piece of each dish.

But really it was just wonderful to see Nancy.

A month is a long time Romero.

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November 7, 2009

Honda Ya, really our patronage and loyalty should be rewarded

Filed under: Izakaya, Japanese, dining out, dinner, honda-ya — saehee @ 11:15 pm

yellowtail sashimi with jalapenos and ponzu

ika maru

chicken salad

yellowtail collar

salmon tataki

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August 20, 2009

Honda Ya-Tustin

Filed under: Japanese, dining out, family, honda-ya — saehee @ 1:10 pm

sashimi bowl

takoyaki

synchronized eating

steamed crab shumai

chicken salad with mayo cod roe dressing

seared tuna with ponzu

zaru tofu

ika sashimi

When asked what cuisine I couldn’t live without, my answer comes out pretty readily. It’s Japanese. I mean, Spanish is pretty exciting, French is wonderful, Vietnamese is my idea of comfort food. But when it comes down to it, if not for Japanese food, there would be a great big gaping black hole of culinary misery in my life.

What I find really great about Japanese food is that there is a duality about Japanese cuisine–the elegant minimalist side most obviously embodied by sushi and sashimi, which is probably what it most popular. Whoever first decided that fish can be eaten raw, well that person is just miraculous.

But just as wonderful is that Japanese food also includes saucy fatty gluttonous foods that often include all sorts of mayo, deep frying, and big flavors. I’m not sure but I think a lot of Japanese bar food may have developed with the onset of Westernization (think: mayo).

And also presentation: Japanese food is just so beautiful to look at. Japanese sweets are unbelievable. I can hardly eat them, they’re so delicately made.

That’s not true. I can eat them.

When I was in Japan last Winter we saw these tiny candies (the size of a pinky toenail) with really detailed faces painted on each one.

My family loves Honda- Ya because we can get both sides of Japanese food at once.

We always order takoyaki there, which I think can be qualified as Japanese street food) are these doughy balls of octopus and bonito flakes. I have fond memories of going on a road trip in Japan with my mother’s side of the family and stopping at the Japanese equivalent of a truck stop and ordering takoyaki from a street vendor and passing around the styrofoam plate around the car.

My mother always orders the chicken salad at Honda-Ya, which is okay but I think the mayo cod dressing is a little heavy on the mayo for my taste.

Sashimi, of any kind: always good.

Anything with ponzu sauce I will inhale.

Not pictured:

bitter melon, bacon, and stir fried tofu

tanuki udon

side note: it looks as if I may be going to Japan this coming Winter! It’s my grandmother’s 80th birthday and to celebrate she wants to take a trip to Japan with all her daughters and their daughters. no boys allowed. We’re still trying to decide between Vietnam and Japan. I might be rooting for Vietnam since I’ve never been.

Honda Ya

556 El Camino Real

Tustin, CA 92780

714.832.0081

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