To Live and Eat in L.A. – A Vegan Food Photo Blog

When I saw the sign outside of the Vegan House Thai restaurant announcing Vegan Shabu-Shabu I simultaneously thought to myself, “you’ve got to be kidding me” and “what will they think of next!?”.

Shabu-shabu is a Japanese dish often simply referred to as “hot pot“. Generally it involves a hot boiling broth into which are dipped slices of raw meat, fish, vegetables and noodles, which then get swished around in the hot soup until cooked. Traditionalist would (will) most likely mock even the mere suggestion of a vegan version of shabu-shabu, in which after all, the whole point is to serve raw meat and cook it at the table. Some people also scoff at the idea of Vegan Pho (Vietnamese soup), but it appears that us satisfied vegans are getting the last (death free) laugh.

I say to hell with tradition! Who needs tradition when it involves stinky, salmonella flavored raw beef? I’m all about everything on earth being made vegan and tasty, traditions be damned. Needless to say, I was super excited to take this ride for a spin. I’d never eaten at Vegan House before, neither at this location off Hollywood on Wilcox, nor at their Silver Lake location. This spot on Wilcox used to be home to the most amazing Sri Lankin restaurant where I was first introduced to the glories of cashew curry many years ago. Sadly that restaurant has been gone for a over a decade, but I’m happy to see that a vegan establishment has taken it’s place. The menu at Vegan House is exactly what you’ve come to expect from the plethora of vegan Thai joints we’ve got all over town… your usual pad thai, cowboy burgers and freshy wraps, etc… You may have noticed that even though all these Thai places have very similar menus, they’ve all also usually got a few specialty items of their own that the others don’t have… in this case, it’s Thai’s serving Japanese shabu-shabu.

But I’m gonna get to that in a minute. First I want to tell you about another one of those specialties I just mentioned. This is something that I haven’t noticed at any of the other Thai places, at least not yet.

These are Soy Crab Cheese Wontons, vegan of course, with soy crab and soy cream cheese stuffed into a wonton skin and fried. If someone could tell me how to say “addicting perfection” in either Japanese, Chinese or Thai I would be grateful, because that’s what these little beauties were. I’m not going to tell you that it tasted like real crab, because I’ve never put a dead crab in my mouth so I wouldn’t know, but what I can tell you was that these were absolutely delectable. There is no fishy taste whatsoever, just melty cheesy goodness mixed with whatever that pseudo-crab stuff is which gives it a nice texture, firmness and flavor which I just couldn’t get enough of, especially once dipped in the sweet sauce that was served alongside. This was the tastiest bad-for-me appetizer I’ve had in quite sometime, and even if I hated this restaurant (which I don’t), I would still go back just to get my hands on some more of these wontons.

On to the main meal, my shabu-shabu order came with a nice side salad. Fresh lettuce, carrots and sesame which get elevated way up from being boring by the wonderful dressing that you can’t see in the photo because it’s buried at the bottom of the bowl. Slightly salty and obviously involving soy sauce, I thought it was mighty tasty. Even though I’d just eaten a ton of wontons and knew there was still a full meal yet to come, I couldn’t resist eating the whole salad, the dressing was that good. I wish they’d sell me a bottle of the stuff.

First my waiter brought out the heating contraption which I’ve got pictured up at the beginning of this post. Next comes the bowl of broth shown here, with a large piece of kombu seaweed in it which gets set on the hot device (hence, “hot pot”) and heated to a rolling boil, then the ingredients are brought in for you to assemble as desired.

The soy chicken is your standard fake meat fare, nothing marvelous to write home about, but certainly more presentable and palatable than real chicken any day.

They also brought out a nice assortment of vegetables, including carrots, Chinese cabbage, celery and celery leaves and shitake mushrooms, along with tofu and both glass and udon noodles. You also get two different kinds of dipping sauces, a traditional Ponzu (a tart citrus sauce) for the vegetables, and Gomadare (sesame sauce) for the soy meats. There’s also a large serving of brown rice.

So the way this works is you pick and choose your combo of ingredients and place them into the hot broth. Using your chop sticks you swish the stuff around (Wikidpedia tells us that shabu-shabu translates to “swish-swish” in Japanese) until it reaches your preferred level of doneness. From this point on I was a bit confused as to what I was supposed to do with it. The menu says to dip the stuff into the sauce… so does that mean I take it out of the broth, dip it, then put it in my mouth? Kind of hard to do when your dealing with boiling hot dripping noodles. I felt a bit silly not knowing how to eat shabu-shabu like a pro, but without a guide to show me the way, I made up my own method that seemed to work. First I put a layer of rice down on my plate, then I just piled the stuff out of the broth onto the rice (it’s not so easy fishing noodles out of hot liquid with a spoon and strainer, tongs would have come in handy), then poured on some of each sauce (after tasting both first to make sure I liked them). I’m kind of doubting this is the proper way to eat shabu-shabu, but what do I know? It’s not like anyone came up to me and told me I was doing it wrong.

Pictured above is the first plate I put together. Awkwardness aside, this was a great meal. The flavors of the veggies and soy meat cooked in kombu broth were very simple, almost plain, but once you get everything going together with the delicious sauces, all the flavors wake up and come together into a delicious medley that both tastes good and is fun to eat. Cooking my food there at the table and figuring out how to eat it was half the fun, the other half came from it all being delicious. And it’s a lot of food too… what you see here was all an order for one person, by the end of it I’d managed to cook out three full plates from what they served me, and I still had leftover chicken, vegetables and noodles by the time I was well past full.

The restaurant itself is cute and very tiny. I’ve seen others online describe at as a hole-in-the-wall and that’s somewhat fitting. It’s not a fancy place at all, in fact some other reviews described it as looking old and grimey, however I didn’t notice any grime while I was there. The place looked clean and well kept to me, and there was a big grinning “A” seal of approval from the health department smiling at me from the window, but I guess I’m just not as uptight about set and setting as some of the more dainty reviewers out there seem to be. As I’ve said before in previous reviews, don’t go wandering into dark little places off Wilcox behind a parking lot if you are expecting the ambiance of Beverly Hills. Do however wander into dark little places off Wilcox if you are able to appreciate unpretentious, down-home, mostly Thai cooking, served quickly and without attitude. This is a place for a fast yet leisurely and satisfying lunch when you find yourself nearby hanging out in Hollywood, it’s not the place to take some snooty bitch who you’re trying to impress on a first date. And why are you dating snooty bitches anyway?

I haven’t tried anything else at Vegan House yet so I can’t speak for the actual Thai food, though after this first pleasant experience I do plan on going back. There’s no way I’m not having those crab wontons again & again so they better keep making them for as long as I live. The people next to me were eating a deliciously fragrant yellow curry and equally tasty looking noodles… they left happy too.

www.myveganhouse.com

Tags: Japanese, shabu-shabu

Every once in a rare while you get to taste something that is so delicious and such a cut above the rest, that even while you’re experiencing it, you realize that this very moment is going to be memorable. That’s how I felt on my recent visit to Shojin, the vegan Japanese restaurant in Little Tokyo. Specifically, my rapture revolved around their exquiste BBQ seitan, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

You may recall my previous visit to Shojin restaurant back when my lucky friends and I were invited to their special pre-opening tasting dinner. That meal was excellent in every way, so it’s a mystery to me as to why I hadn’t been back since then.

To correct this oversight, one of my lovely foodeating assistants treated me to lunch at Shojin. The lunch menu had a limited selection from the full menu, but there were plenty of great options to choose from. To start our meal, our main entrees were served with soup and a side salad.

Even though it was a really hot day outside, the warm soup was light and refreshing. It was a delicious quinoa soup made with fresh organic vegetables that our waiter proudly and excitedly let us know had been acquired fresh just a few hours earlier at the nearby farmers market. Awesome! The small salad was crispy, tasty and super fresh as well.

We also ordered the Cold Green-Tea Buckwheat Noodles: Garnished with shiso leaf, grated radish and ume paste (pickled plum), mixed sea vegetables, kaiware sprouts (sprouted daikon radish seeds) and scallions, topped with roasted sesame seeds and nori (seaweed). This was beautiful and came served with a slightly salty, I’m guessing soy-based dipping sauce. I really liked the green tea noodles but I’m not a huge fan of sea-flavored stuff, and this had a bit too much of the ocean going on in it for my taste. If you are a lover of all manner of seaweeds and sea veggies, this one is for you.

Ah, but when our main dishes arrived is when things got really exciting! We both ordered the Shojin Style Bento Box which changes with different daily specials from three kinds of traditional vegetable dishes, brown rice and a choice between the Crispy Seitan Cutlet, Barbecued Seitan or Garden Seitan ball. Thank goodness there were two of us so we could each try the others! I went straight for the BBQ seitan while she got the cutlet.

From top left to right up there, first is the Kale & Mashed Tofu Salad: lightly steamed kale in mashed tofu & sunflower seeds. This was ok but the flavor was very simple, almost bland, so it was a little bit overwhelmed by the other stronger flavors it came served with. On the top right is a hijiki seaweed, carrot and gobo salad which I wasn’t crazy about. I know I should get over it because it’s all so healthy for me, but still I can only take so much of that sea taste. A little goes a long way.

On the bottom left of the bento box are some of the most deliciously prepared lotus roots that I’ve ever tasted. These were so good, done in the traditional Japanese style, but done perfectly. Then we get to exactly what made this a meal I won’t be forgetting any time soon… the barbecued seitan.

Shojin’s BBQ seitan is pan fried with their secret sweet soy barbecue sauce. It’s fantastic, I’m literally drooling right now as I’m remembering it, trying to explain it to you while knowing that mere words just aren’t enough. I’ve never had seitan that tasted anything like this before, the texture was the work of a true seitanic master.

This will probably gross some of you out, but have you ever tried eel before? Yeah, real eel from a sushi restaurant. Well, eel does not have a fishy taste at all and has a very silky, fatty texture a lot like salmon (eel sushi is usually not served raw, but grilled). Ok, gross part almost over- point being that this seitan achieved that same type of texture which reminded me a lot of eel… it was silky and had a fatty mouth-feel to it, without being at all oily or greasy. Slighty crispy on the edges with a meaty bite to it, this seitan is what finger licking good is all about, though I did not use my fingers. The BBQ sauce was totally amazing, sweet and savory and bold and just… wow!

Here’s a close-up of my friends pick, the Crispy Seitan Cutlet: Deep fried crispy seitan cutlet with home made miso demi-glace sauce. This was equally great, the seitan we already just discussed was incredible… so just imagine “incredible” times “fried” and this is what you’d get.

We both loved it, all of it, even the parts we didn’t love. The BBQ seitan seriously blew me away and I can’t wait to go back there to get the full order of just that. The folks who run Shojin are just so friendly and eager to please that the whole time we were there we couldn’t wipe the smiles off of our faces. It’s almost like going to a fancy spa, but with great food instead of a massage. While it’s true that the location is a little odd (inside a Japanese mall on the edge of Little Tokyo that’s about to become a Korean mall), I actually really like going there. It’s a totally different world, and Shojin offers a wonderful way to experience it. Go there for the lunch specials or go there for a more elaborate dinner with unique Japanese desserts. Either way it’s a win/win situation.

Speaking of dessert, it’s one of my favorite reasons to visit Little Tokyo. In particular, my sweet tooth satisfies itself at Fugetsu-Do Sweetshop which specializes in traditional mochi treats.

“Mochi is a Japanese confection, found usually in the shape of a small, round rice cake which can be eaten with condiments such as kinako (roasted soy bean flour), manju (sweet red bean paste), soy sauce dip, and seaweed. Traditionally, mochi is made by pounding steamed glutinous rice in a large wooden mortar, called the usu, with a wooden mallet called the kine. Mochi-tsuki is the Japanese term for the old-style method of pounding the steamed glutinous rice used to make mochi.”

They’re usually filled with sweetened red, white or azuki beans as well as various tasty fillings. Most all of them are completely vegan. I’m 100% addicted to mochi desserts and if left to run wild in their cute little shop, I could do both myself as well as their inventory some serious damage.

We got ourselves a nice assortment. Those on the top row that are wrapped in shiso leaves are my favorite. They are called Kuzumochi: Mochi filled with sweet azuki bean paste. Their website says that this is a seasonal item which is only available in the month of July, but they usually seem to have it available whenever I got there (and this was mid-August when we got them). While they are sweet they’re also slightly salty, a really nice combo. The pink ones are filled with white bean paste and the texture reminds me a lot of… wait for it… testicles. It’s true, but in a good way. Soft, chewy & tasty pink baby testicles. Don’t blame me, I didn’t invent the stuff. I don’t remember exactly what the other two had going on, but you can rest assured it probably involved some kind of sweetened bean (if I recall correctly the orange ones were indeed orange flavored). Mochi treats are awesome, and frankly, I’d rather see mochi take over the world than cupcakes.

I suggest indulging in a fun and filling afternoon in Little Tokyo. Ease the stress factor by riding the Metro into Downtown and choose your own adventure depending on which of the nearby stations you exit at. Head on over to Shojin on 3rd St. at Alameda for a remarkable lunch, then walk on down to 1st to Fugetsu-Do and get your fill of sweet mochi to wash it all down with. Don’t forget to enjoy all the fun stuff in between, you’re going to need to walk off some of that food.

(Update) – I just also discovered that Fugetsu-Do has a branch location inside of the Mitsuwa Market, which guess what… is situated inside of the same mall as Shojin! I have not had the mochi from there and I would still suggest checking out their main shop on 1st because it’s really cute, but now there’s no excuse to avoid the mochi if you’re at Shojin, since all you’ve got to do is walk to the other end of the mall to get yourself some. Sweet.

www.theshojin.com
www.fugetsu-do.com

Tags: bbq, Japanese, mochi, seitan

Remember I told you about the wonderful sneak-peek dinner at Shojin that I got to attend back in January? You know, the new restaurant in Little Tokyo offering organic and natural meals inspired by Japanese traditional vegetarian food? Yeah, that one. We’ll I’m very happy to report that Shojin restaurant is now open to the public and they are waiting to feed you their delicous food! Yes… YOU!

Sohei, the charming and friendly owner, has passed along the following info:

“I am very pleased to announce the opening of Shojin restaurant as of March 5th. Although we are sorry for long delay from the vegan events in January, our dream now begins! We are excited to offer the new style of organic and natural meals. We hope Shojin will be a new standard for a plant-based diet. Not only vegetarians but also people who eat meat can enjoy our food and realize that having pure food is the way to achieve a healthy and happy life. We open Wednesday thru Sunday, opening 12:00pm – 9:00pm (last order). We started with all plant-based (vegan) menu.”

No joke folks… this place is the real deal. These people thrive on creating fine, healthy food and their love for it comes through in the cooking and in the way they treat their guests. Shojin restaurant is an excellent new addition to the growing list of fantastic places for vegetarians and vegans to find great food, and it’s a welcome change from all the Thai vegan stuff you can get everywhere else (not that I’m complaining about an abudance of vegan Thai food, mind you). Seeing as there are not yet that many vegetarian options Downtown, Shojin’s location inside Little Tokyo Square just made finding a healthy lunch or dinner Downtown that much easier, not to mention that much more enjoyable.

Find out much more about Shojin at their website: www.theshojin.com
…and don’t forget to let ‘em know who sent ya!

Tags: Japanese

I am very pleased to announce another new delicious addition to the growing roster of amazing vegetarian restaurants in Los Angeles, Shojin. Shojin restaurant is set to open in Little Tokyo by the end of January, but three lucky little L.A. vegan food bloggers (with their bellies still full from the awesome brunch just hours earlier!) got a special invitation to Shojin’s sneak peak menu tasting. Lucky indeed, as this was no ordinary sampler type tasting but a full-on four course meal (with our pick from two options for each course).

From their website: “Located in downtown Los Angeles, Shojin restaurant offers organic and natural meals inspired by “Shojin Cuisine” Japanese traditional vegetarian food. We provide organic and natural foods utilizing seasonal vegetables to create unique and a new style of Japanese food.”

From the moment we arrived, we were treated like royalty. The staff was so nice and so genuinely eager to please. This, coupled by the fact that they had a photographer on hand documenting the event (and our every move), made us feel like we were rockstars. At first the photo thing felt somewhat intrusive (seriously, who want’s their picture taken while they are forking food into their mouth?) but the girl taking pictures was really sweet and after a while we just got used to it. By the end of the evening we had developed a strange sort of silently agreed upon diner-as-celebrity ignoring the paparazzi kind of thing with her.

As soon as we were seated we were presented with a “Welcome” drink of fresh squeezed sugarcane, ginger and cayenne pepper. It was marvelous, a true palate cleanser if I ever had one! Sweet, fiery and totally invigorating. There was also a wide assortment of beverages to pick from after that, and they kept our libations coming all evening long.

The first drink I ordered was the ‘Organic Matcha Genmaicha’. A special blend of Genmaicha with matcha powder, described as “a slightly sweet and highly aromatic tea”. Yes and yes. It had a full and earthy taste, warming and cleansing.

Here’s a picture of the organic iced green tea. These glasses were really cool and felt nice to hold in your hand. By the end of the night, after many refills, I was on a major caffeine buzz.

For the first course of soup, I had the ‘Sweet Kabocha Pumpkin Chowder’ made with soy milk. Sweet and mild, I loved it and left the bowl well cleaned.

For the second course appetizer, I went with the ‘Tempeh Bacon & Cashew Cheese Wrap’. Grilled tempeh, cashew cheese, potato salad, alfalfa and mixed greens wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla. This had the potential of being run-of-the-mill but it was actually rather outstanding. The tempeh had the perfect smokey bacon flavor and the cashew cheese dip was just amazing. Nutty and cheesy but still light and fresh tasting.

While my tempeh wrap was the less Japanese of the two appetizer offerings, Your Vegan Mom had the more traditional ‘Shitake Mushroom Genmai Sushi Roll’ with avocado, and it too was most excellentl.

For the third course entree, I was very excited to try the ‘Okara Crab Cake’, “deep fried vegan okara soybean cake with cilantro sauce and kale salad”. I’ve never had real crab cakes before so I can’t compare these to the real thing, but whatever these were meant to taste like, they were amazing. There was no fishy taste, just a perfectly crispy-on-the-outside and chewy-yet-tender-on-the inside pattie of indeterminate yet delicately and screamingly good flavor. The cilantro sauce was exquisite. The kale salad too was wonderful, served with a citrus dressing and topping of oranges and walnuts.

I have since learned the following from the Wikipedia: “Okara or soy pulp is a white or yellowish pulp consisting of insoluble parts of the soybean which remain in the filter sack when pureed soybeans are filtered in the production of soy milk. It is part of the traditional cuisines of Japan, Korea, and China, and since the 20th century has also been used in the vegetarian cuisines of Western nations. On a dry weight basis okara contains 24% protein, 8 to 15% fats,and 12 to 14.5% crude fiber. It contains 17% of the protein from the original soybeans.”

Fancy that!

For the last course of dessert I had the ‘Fuji Apple Tarte with Kinako Custard’ and Your Vegan Mom had ordered the ‘Chocolate Cake with Pecans and Walnuts’.

We all felt that both desserts had room for improvement, but while they weren’t our favorites we all also really appreciated their uniqueness and lovely presentation. I’m sure they’ll work out any kinks on the dessert front and offer some treats that are as outstanding as their main courses. As we were leaving we even each recieved a gift of a rose and a bag of healthy Japanese cookies to take home with us (I loved the cookies).

Overall it was such a lovely experience to get to be among the first try out the wonderful offerings at Shojin. I am certain that they are going to be wildly succesful with their approach of preparing fresh, traditional (yet unique) food and presenting it an elegant environment with outstanding service. Shojin will make a perfect destination for either casual lunches or more formal dinners, romantic dates, birthdays and anniversaries, or really any type of occasion where you want hearty, good and healthy food made by people who really mean it. Be sure to keep any eye on their website (or call) to find out when they’ll be open for business: www.theshojin.com

In a few months from now when everyone’s raving about Shojin on Yelp, Chowhound and the like, don’t forget who gave you the scoop first!

UPDATE: Shojin is now open… go feast!

Tags: Japanese

Mmmm… mmmm… M Cafe de Chaya. “Contemporary Macrobiotic Cuisine featuring balanced, nutritious, creative cooking … prepared fresh daily, using only the finest ingredients without any refined sugars, eggs, dairy, red meat or poultry” never tasted soooo good.

This here is the Seitan Katsu Bowl: “crispy seitan cutlet, tangy katsu sauce, shredded cabbage salad & steamed vegetables”. Very good, there’s lots of broccoli, carrots, cauliflower and brown rice underneath the cutlet.

Why resist? Inari Sushi made with brown rice and topped with Kinpira Gobo (a Japanese salad of burdock and carrot).

Tags: Japanese, macrobiotic