Tonkotsu

My parents, brother, sister-in-law, and nephew are visiting for Christmas, and today, being my sister-in-law's birthday, we went out for lunch at Tonkotsu, a ramen bar and that also serves shabu shabu (hot pot).

We started with a number of appetizers, including fried pork.
We also tried some excellent pork gyoza and
harumaki (veggie egg rolls), which I didn't get pictures of. 

We also had some fried chicken (but it was called something
more appetizing than that).

Each hot pot came with a lovely bowl of fresh vegetables, tofu, and udon noodles (at the bottom of the bowl); one then chose one's type of meat (one could choose a few different cuts of beef, pork, vegetables, even salmon) and type of broth.

A good way to get my veggies today.

I chose the beef belly.

Good grub was delicious.

Ajisen Ramen

Our original plan for dinner tonight involved our walking down to the corner pub, but it was crowded enough that we couldn't find a table, so we strolled down the road until we came across a place that looked good and, more importantly, had lots of tables free: Ajisen Ramen. It was excellent (we ate very well today, between lunch and dinner).

appetizer: A-ge gyoza (deep fried pork dumplings)

appetizer: ebi gyoza (prawn and pork dumplings)

I had the spicy beef ramen.

My husband had the Toroniku Ramen (which came with grilled pork cheek).

Wagyu One

We're spending two nights in Melbourne, and tonight my husband was in the mood for something a bit fancy, so we located Wagyu One, a Japanese BBQ restaurant around the corner from our hotel.

We ordered the Wagyu One Dinner Complete. It started with assorted sashimi and tempura, then a choice of soups (I ordered the seaweed soup; my husband had the miso soup). Along with steamed rice, our BBQ came with MS 5 Sirloin, oyster blade, ramp, diced cut ox tongue, Negi tongue, Chu-Toro, Scotch fillet, chuck rib, flat meat, and vegetables. (Aside from the vegetables and ox tongue, I'm not sure I'd be able to identify which meat was which.) It was a fantastic meal.

the assorted sashimi 

the tempura vegetables, which included shrimp

my seaweed soup

The meats came uncooked...

...but our table had a grill in the center of it, and we were able  to cook the
meats to our liking.

Kubota

My husband and I are in San Jose for a conference - or, more correctly, I'm here for a conference, and my husband, who grew up in San Jose, came with me so we're making the trip a mini-vacation. Tonight is our first night here, and we decided so make our way to Japantown and had dinner at Kubota.

We both had a crispy calamari salad.

We started with unagi (eel), sake (salmon), and toro
(fatty tuna) nigiri.

We shared a fried spicy tuna roll with house sauce.

We shared a lobster tail tempura roll.

My husband had Nabeyaki Udon: mixed seafood, chicken, and
vegetables with noodles in a hotpot.

While my husband had flan for dessert, I had bananas Foster.

Tepanyaki Japanese Steakhouse

My husband's birthday was earlier in the week, but since we were traveling, we were unable to go out to dinner. This evening we went to Tepanyaki Japanese Steakhouse, his favorite place to go on his birthday. 

My entree came with a salad, which is one of my favorites.

My husband really likes gyoza, so we always get an order.

And I rather like the Japanese egg rolls.

I ordered the Samurai Special, which came with salmon,
shrimp, and filet mignon, as well as veggies and fried rice.

We also shared two rolls. This is a tater tot roll: shrimp
tempura, hamachi and crab mill roll topped with tempura
baby scallops, crab, spicy mayo, and eel sauce.

This is the T.N.T. roll: shrimp tempura, eel,
and avocado roll topped with crab,
spicy tuna, tobiko, spicy mayo, and eel sauce.

Sakana Sushi Bar & Japanese Grill

To celebrate the start of another school year, my husband took me out to dinner to Sakana Sushi Bar & Japanese Grill. 

We started with the Asian lettuce cups with seasoned beef.

We also shared the calamari tempura.

We also got a number of rolls: from top to bottom, the Playboy roll, the G2 roll, the Vegas roll, and the Spider roll.

Tepanyaki Japanese Steakhouse

Today is my husband's and my fifth anniversary, and to celebrate, we had dinner at Tepanyaki Japanese Steakhouse.

appetizer: ocean salad
(seaweed salad with smoked squid salad)

appetizer: tatertots (tempura baby scallops)

 I also ordered a lot of sushi rolls but I can't remember which was which:

• Daynes: salmon, hamachi, and tuna, deep fried and topped with green onion, spicy mayo, and eel sauce
• Layton Snap: spicy tuna and crab roll deep fried and served with eel sauce and wasabi mayo on top
• Las Vegas: salmon, avocado, cream cheese, and cucumber roll deep fried with eel sauce on top
• Dragon: eel, avocado, cucumber, crab, and eel sauce
• T.N.T.: shrimp, tempura, eel, and avocado roll topped with crab, spicy tuna, tobiko, spicy mayo, and eel sauce

Sakana Sushi Bar & Japanese Grill

My father-in-law got in last night for a visit, and he, my husband, and I decided to go out for dinner tonight. After considering our choices, we decided upon Sakana Sushi Bar & Japanese Grill.

I started with a seaweed and ika salad (sesame-marinated
mixed seaweed and squid).

My husband orders some dumplings.

New York roll

California roll

We got quite a few other rolls; unfortunately, I couldn't remember which was which: the Jordan roll; the salmon crunch roll; the spider roll; and I think the angel roll.

We also got some nigiri sushi: the smoked sake salmon roll (left), the hamachi yellow tail roll (right), and unagi fresh water eel roll (bottom).

Tsunami Restaurant & Sushi Bar

To celebrate New Year's Eve, my husband and I had dinner at Tsunami Restaurant & Sushi Bar this evening.

appetizer: seaweed and squid salad

small plate: U.S.-raised seared Kobe beef sashimi 

ocean trout nigiri

We order several rolls, but I'll be honest when I say I can't remember which was which: 

• Don Juan roll (spicy tuna, crab, smoked salmon, avocado, cream cheese, and eel sauce);
• Mainelander roll (tempura lobster and scallions topped with U.S. kobe beef, tobikko, and wasabi lemon aioli); 
• Tsunami roll (a special house roll that featured soft shell crab);
• B.Q.D. roll (spicy tuna, avocado, scallions, and masago topped with eel sauce and sesame seeds); 
• D.T.H. roll (tuna, salmon, yellowtail, avocado, spicy-sweet sauce).

the Don Juan roll

the Mainleander roll

the Tsunami roll

the B.D.Q. roll

I can't remember which rolls these were, but the one on the
left had a lovely spicy kick to it.