Ohshima—Restaurant Review

[Warning: If you're not comfortable seeing live or whole seafood ingredients: including heads and tails, you might want to click away now.  Otherwise, keep on reading for some good eats.]




I used to live just 15 minutes away from a Japanese community in Los Angeles and pretty much surrounded by authentic Japanese restaurants.  After moving to the Orange county, I haven’t really had Japanese food until my visit to Ohshima.  Ohshima offers a wide variety of Japanese cuisine, both cooked and raw, a full menu from appetizers to desserts.  But if you plan to dine at this place, “Omakase” at the sushi bar is highly recommended.




Omakase (お任せ) is a Japanese phrase that means "I'll leave it to you". The expression is used at sushi restaurants to leave the selection to the chef.  The chef will generally present a series of plates, beginning with the lightest fare and proceeding to heaviest, richest dishes.

As noted on the menu, the nigiri sushi of the Omakase already came seasoned.  You don’t need to dip them in the soy sauce, really!  You can truly taste the natural sweetness of the fish/seafood and all of them were awesome and super fresh.  My husband and I both ordered the 12 pieces Omakase…and we ended up having more than 12!   

We’ve been to Ohshima in two separate occasions.  On our first visit, we enjoyed the Omakase at the sushi bar.   The second time we sat at the table and ordered from their regular a la carte menu and both were excellent.  First, I’ll post the pictures of the Omakase.

Please excuse the quality of these photos.  As they were taken from a cell phone, not my regular camera.

First, we started with a small plate of complimentary pickled veggies. 



A glass of cold sake for each of us.



The chefs working behind the sushi bar, busy preparing our food!  They were very friendly and attentive.



We started off with Diver’s Scallop.  Super fresh and sweet.  The tangy Yuzu is a perfect match for it.



Up next was Sea Bass. Refreshing and sweet.



Spanish Mackerel.  You can really taste the ocean from this Mackerel.



Toro (fatty tuna) charred with blow torch.  Any food involved a blow torch is just delicious.   Charring really added a nice smoky flavor to the fish.  I love the contrast of texture from the charred and raw flash.



Baby Yellowtail. Another "melt in your mouth" goodness.



Cherry Salmon.  Not your usual Salmon.  It's flown in from Japan.



Amberjack.  Sweet, fresh and great texture.  The flash is a bit firmer from the rest.



Sweet Shrimp Inari.  Yes, it was still swimming a minute before it was served.  The flash was still “moving” when it was on our plate.  The Chef was behind the counter holding the tail of the shrimp so we could take a picture.



Sweet Shrimp Inari.  It's about the freshest as it can get.



Deep Fried Sweet Shrimp heads. So crispy and light.  I love it because it’s not greasy at all and you can eat the whole thing including the tentacle.



Bonito Nigiri.  Great flavor.



Albacore with Secret Garlic Sauce and Chips.  So pungent, rich and flavorful.  The crispy garlic chips on top made a nice contrast in the texture and add another level of garlic-ey deliciousness.



Black Cod charred by a blow torch.



Uni (Sea Urchin) was super fresh and melt in your mouth.



Blue Crab Handroll, a nice way to conclude the savory part of our dinner.



Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Smoothie.  The chocolate cake was moist and delicious.  Perfect pairing with these Vanilla Smoothie.



All the seafood were made with quality ingredients and super fresh.  However, it’s a bit on the pricey side.  But you really paid for what you get.  Our bill for two including sake and dessert came a bit under $160 total, including tax. 

Up next, our second visit with a la carte items.

We started off with Home Made Marinated Uni.  Fresh, sweet, rich and delicious.  The seaweed salad on the bottom made a nice contrast on the texture.  The fresh wasabi on top compliment the Uni nicely.




Seaweed Salad.  A very refreshing salad.  I love the crunchy and bouncy texture from different type of seaweeds in this salad.  The amount of dressing was just perfect.



Baked Scallop Crabmeat Wrapped in Salmon.  It’s wonderful and unique.  The Crabmeat and scallop “stuffing” is chopped and wrapped with a piece of salmon fillet and baked to perfection. You can really taste the crabmeat and scallops inside.



Miso Duck and Forbidden Rice.  The duck was beautifully done.  The blackberry sauce was divine and compliment the duck nicely.  The duck was succulent and juicy. The Forbidden Black Rice has a great texture similar to brown rice and a mild nutty flavor, the perfect bed for the duck.



Last but not least, the Amberjack Collar.  I had yellowtail collar many times before so I opted to try the Amberjack Collar this time.  This fatty fish collar was perfectly done.  The collar was boiled to perfection with a minimal of seasoning.  It’s served with grated daikon, along with some light soy sauce and a wedge of lemon.  The portion was generous.  Basically, it was half of the fish head along with the collar instead of just the collar.



We also ordered Udon noodle soup and a Toro cut roll (nothing special on these two).   The total bill was low $70s after tax.  We didn’t order sake nor desserts this time because the kids were rushing us to go home after they were done.

Conclusion: Ohshima is an authentic Japanese restaurant that serves fresh and quality seafood and many unique a la carte dishes.  The dining area is rather small though.  There are only about 12 sushi bar seats and less than 10 tables all together.  You might want to make a reservation before you go or be there early to avoid the line.  Also, there’s no high chair nor booster seat available at the restaurant.  Despite these drawbacks, My husband and I DO plan to go back there again in the future. There were quite a few more other items on the menu we would love to try on our next visit.    

Ohshima

1956 N Tustin St
Orange, CA 92865

(714) 998-0098

*Disclaimer*

Winner Announcement of the uTry.it Birthday Giveaway

Thank you everyone who participated in the uTry.it Birthday Giveaway.  I’m thankful and appreciate for all your supports, suggestions and comments as always.  The winner selected by Random.Org for this giveaway is….Lisa from Sweet As Sugar Cookies who said:

“I always love seeing desserts. Of course, I also have a place in my heart for yummy Asian food.” 

Lisa will receive a Silpat Baking Mat and a bottle of Pure Vanilla Powder. 


Thanks again for your participation.  Stay tuned for another giveaway coming up real soon.  Have a wonderful week, my friends.

uTry.it Turns One! More Macarons…Oh yeah…and a Giveaway

uTry.it turns one today!  Woohoo!  It’s amazing looking back to the past 365 days.  365 days of happy memories because of you, every single one of you, my dear readers and food blog friends. 


When I wrote my very first blog post a year ago, I’ve never expected I would gain so much from writing a food blog (besides gaining the weights from testing out recipes, hahaha…). I’ve made so many news friends and fellow bloggers. I truly cherish all of your friendship, comments, supports, feedbacks and kindness. It’s overwhelming, but in a very positive way.





Did you know, the post that received the most comments and feedbacks in the past year was The Culinary Smackdown Battle-Cookies.  It was such a fun event/contest.  I really love to see all those scrumptious cookie recipes that you shared on my blog.  Maybe I’ll host another similar event again in the near future.  What do you think?


Speaking of cookies, the French Macaron was the type of cookie that got the most recipe posts in the past year from the cookie category.  Probably because it’s a plain canvas that I can create so many different flavor combinations in these little cuties.  What can I say, they are absolutely addictive.  If you haven’t make these cuties before, here’s the post for some basic Macaron making tips. 




To extend my appreciation for your supports of my blog, I’m hosting a Giveaway on uTry.it’s Birthday.  The prizes from the giveaway will help you to a step closer to making these Macarons as well.  That is, if you haven’t make them before. 


This Giveaway is now Closed. Thank you for everyone who participated.


Prize #1: Silpat Non-Stick Silicone Mat 11 1/2-by-16 1/2-inch.  It fits perfectly on my 12 by 17-inch baking sheets.  A must have for Macaron making. Of course, you can use the Silpat when you make any other cookies, breads, meringues, etc.

Product image from Amazon

Prize #2: Bourbon Vanilla Powder 2.5 oz. by Nielsen-Massey Vanillas. A key ingredient for Macaron making.  Adding lots of flavor but not moisture, which is essential for successful Macaron making. 

Product image from Amazon

Rules for the Giveaway:

This giveaway is open to anyone, anywhere in the world.  1 winner will be selected using Random.org and the winner will get both prizes. Must be a uTry.it public follower/member through Google Friends Connect to participate.  (See the right hand side bar under “Follower” with the button “Join this site”).  You have until Wednesday, August 31st, 12 midnight PST to enter this giveaway.  Winner will be contact via email shortly after the giveaway is closed.

Mandatory Entry: 

Leave a comment and tell me what kind/type of recipes you would like to see more on my blog.  Is it desserts,entrée, or entertaining appetizers? Do you like Chinese, Asian, French, Italian or whatever you can think of?

Additional Entries: (you can do any or all of the following, just leave a separate comments for each)

1) “Like” uTry.it’s Facebook page.  Here’s the link. 

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4) Tweet about this giveaway.  Please include my Twitter handle @utry_it and the link to this post in your tweet.

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6) Subscribe via RSS feed.

Meyer Lemon Macarons with Blueberry Buttercream and Meyer Lemon Curd:
Printable Recipe

Makes about 30-35 filled macarons

For the shells:
110 gram egg white (3 large eggs), age the egg whites in the fridge for 2-3 day
30 gram granulated sugar
185 gram powdered sugar
110 gram almonds
1 teaspoon vanilla powder
1 tablespoon of finely grated Meyer Lemon Zest

In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites to a foam, gradually add the sugar until you obtain a glossy meringue. Then, add the lemon zest and vanilla powder until well combined.
In a food processor, process the almonds and powdered sugar until the almonds are fine.  Pour into a large mixing bowl and whisk to break any lumps. 

Add the meringue into the almond mixture and fold carefully until you obtain a batter that flows like magma or a thick ribbon. The whole folding process should be around 40 to 50 strokes.

Test a small amount on a plate. If the tops flattens on its own after 10 seconds, you are good to go. If there is a small beak, give the batter a couple more turns. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a large plain tip with the batter and pipe small round (about 1.5 inches) onto baking sheets lined with a Silpat.

Let the macarons sit out for an hour to harden their shells a bit. Preheat the oven to 280F and bake for 15-20 minutes, depending on their size. Let cool completely.

For the Blueberry Buttercream:

1/2 cup sugar
2 large egg whites
1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Zest of 1/2 a Meyer Lemon
2 tablespoons of Meyer lemon juice
1/4 cup blueberry preserves

In a large heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, whisk the sugar and egg whites constantly until it feels hot to the touch, about 3 minutes. The sugar should be dissolved, and the mixture will look like marshmallow cream.

Pour the mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat the meringue on medium speed until it cools and forms a thick shiny meringue, about 5 minutes.


Switch to the paddle attachment and add the butter, one tablespoon at a time, beating until smooth. Once all the butter is in, add the vanilla extract, lemon zest, lemon juice, and blueberry jam, beat the buttercream on medium-high speed until it is thick and very smooth, about 6-10 minutes.  Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a medium plain tip. 


For the Meyer Lemon Curd, please see recipe here.


To Assemble:
Spoon a dollop of Meyer lemon curd in the middle of a Macaron shell, pipe blueberry buttercream around the lemon curd and top with another Macaron shell.  Enjoy.


This recipe is shared with:

Sweets for Saturday
Foodie Friday
Fresh Food Friday
Friday Favorite
Fat Camp Friday
On The Menu Monday
Melt in Your Mouth Monday
Full Plate Thursday
These Chicks Cooked
Friday Favorites
I'm Lovin It
Friday Potluck
Sweet Tooth Friday

Valrhona Chocolate Crepe Layer Cake with Hazelnut Cream—Happy Birthday to My Hubby

It was my hubby’s birthday and I wanted to make him something special.  Since he’s a chocolate lover, it’s just very natural that I made him a chocolate cake.  This is no ordinary chocolate cake.  I make this cake with Valrhona Chocolate, Valrhona cocoa powder, and Valrhona chocolate pearls, my choice of chocolate!  (It might sounds like an advertising, but NO, Valrhona didn’t sponsor my post nor send me free chocolate to say this, although I secretly wished they did! LOL)  I just love the deep and rich chocolate flavor from Valrhona products. 



I originally saw the crepe layer cake from Martha’s site.  I know I have to make it someday.  Even though I didn't exactly use Martha’s recipe, this cake was definitely inspired by her. 



I promise not to reveal my hubby’s age. But the answer is in the picture above. If you can count, his age is exactly the number of crepes I used for this cake. Cool, huh?



Since it was a surprise cake for my hubby, I made the cake when he was at work. So, how did I get the picture above? I was pouring melted chocolate with my left hand and holding my camera and shooting with my right hand. Not an easy task because my camera is quite heavy. I almost dropped the whole pot of chocolate onto the cake, I mean, the chocolate and the pot!!! hahahaha….it was kind of fun though and I’m happy I’ve captured this image.



I just love the melted chocolate drizzle down the layers of crepes that are filled with hazelnut cream. So luscious and beautiful.



After the cake was chilled in the fridge and decorated with candied hazelnut and chocolate pearls, it’s all ready for the candle and cake cutting ceremony.



It was definitely a fun cake to make, and it’s almost too beautiful to cut into, almost. For those who do not know what to expect from the inside of the cake, it will certainly come as a surprise once the cake is sliced open.  I definitely love the gorgeous layers of this cake.



Although the candied hazelnut didn’t come out as I expected because the candy “tail” chipped a little when I pick them up from the parchment paper, they still tasted wonderful. I love the crunch and the toasted nutty flavor from the "candied" hazelnut. 



Here’s how the inside looks like, with all the layers of crepes and cream, and love. 



If you have a special birthday celebration, I strongly suggest you to make this cake.  It’s a lot easier to make than it looks.  Plus, you can (and you should) make this cake a day, or two, ahead of time, without having to worry that the cake will get 'dried out' when sitting inside the fridge.  I’m sure the person who receives this cake will be very pleased and be very surprised!



Happy Birthday, My Love!  Wish you good health, love and happiness.  May all your birthday wishes come true.  I look forward to celebrate many many more “layers” and birthdays with you.





Valrhona Chocolate Crepe Layer Cake with Hazelnut Cream:
Printable Recipe


For the Chocolate Crepes:

• 4 large eggs
  5 tablespoons sugar
  1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 cup water
• 1 1/2 cup cake flour
  1/2 cup Valrhona cocoa powder
• 6 tablespoons melted butter
• Butter, for coating the pan
• 
  
• In a blender, combine all of the ingredients and blend for 10 to 15 seconds, or until all ingredients are well combined. Place the crepe batter in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.  I let it rest in the fridge overnight.  Thus, allows the bubbles in the batter to subside and the crepes will be less likely to tear during cooking. 
• 
  
• Heat a crepe pan or a small non-stick pan on low heat. Grease the pan with butter and wipe off any excess with a clean paper towel. Pour 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) of batter onto the center of the pan and swirl to spread evenly. Cook for 30 seconds on the first side and flip. Cook the other side for another 10 seconds and remove to a cutting board lined with parchment paper. I separate each cooked crepes with parchment paper until they are cool before I stack them together. Continue until all batter is cooked. 
• 
  
• For the Hazelnut Cream:
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1/2 cup Nutella Chocolate Spread
  
  In a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment or with your hand held mixer, whip the cream until stiff peaks form.  Add Nutella and blend until well incorporated.  Refrigerate until ready to use.

Chocolate Glaze:

1 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon light corn syrup

Pinch of salt

1/4 teaspoon of instant coffee granulate

8 ounces Valrhona 68% Bittersweet Dark chocolate, finely chopped

In a small saucepan over medium high heat, bring cream, corn syrup, and salt to a boil. Remove from heat. Add chocolate and instant coffee.  Stir with a wooden spoon until all chocolate is melted and the glaze is glossy.  Let cool completely.

• Candied Hazelnut (adopted from Martha Stewart):

  • 12 hazelnuts
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 
    
  • Thread each hazelnut onto tip of a long wooden skewer; set aside. Place a cutting board along the edge of a counter top; set a baking sheet on floor next to the edge.
  • 
    
  • In a heavy saucepan, cook sugar and 1/4 cup water in a medium over medium heat, stirring occasionally until sugar has dissolved. Continue to cook, without stirring, until syrup comes to a boil.  With a wet pastry brush, brush the sides of the sugar mixture to prevent crystals from forming. Let it boil until syrup turns light amber, about 5 minutes; remove from heat. Let stand until slightly cooled, 6 to 8 minutes.
  • 
    
  • Dip 1 skewered hazelnut into syrup, coating completely and letting excess syrup drip back into pan. When dripping syrup becomes a thin string, secure end of skewer under cutting board.  Let caramel string drip over edge onto prepared sheet. Repeat with remaining hazelnuts. Let stand until caramel has hardened, about 5 minutes. Break strings to about 4 inches. Carefully remove skewers.

  
  

  To Assemble:  

  
  

  Set a wire rack over a baking sheet, place a crepe in the middle of the rack.  Spread 1 to 2 tablespoons of hazelnut cream evenly on the crepe.  Top with another crepe.  Continue to layer the hazelnut cream and crepes until all cream are used up.  Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes to 1 hour.

  
  

  Drizzle 1/2 of the Chocolate glaze on top of the cake and let it dripped to the sides.  Spread remaining glaze around the sides of the cake and make sure all crepes are covered completely.  Refrigerate until glaze is firm, about 30 minutes.  Garnish with Candied hazelnuts and Valrhona Chocolate pearls.

  
  

  
  
  This recipe is shared with:
  
  
  Melt in your mouth Monday
  Sweets for Saturday
  These Chicks Cooked
  Cast Party Wednesday
  Full Plate Thursday
  Foodie Friday
  Fresh Food Friday
  Friday Favorite
  Fat Camp Friday
  Remembrance Cakes for 9-11

Happy Birthday—Baby Girl

In the past birthday parties for my little boy, I’ve made Japanese Cheesecake to celebrate.  You can check out the recipe and pictures here.  The Japanese Cheesecake was super easy to make, light, fluffy and anyone who’ve tried it would love it and ask for the recipe.

For baby girl’s birthday this year, I decided to make something new.  Something more girly for her. 



Plus, I’ve got an incentive to make a more girly cake.  It’s the lovely pink stand that you’re seeing in these pictures.  I purchased this cake stand from the Amazon gift card granted by the Fairy Hopmother.  Here’s the detail if you’ve missed that post.  How could I not create a girly cake to match this lovely cake stand?  Plus, my kids love strawberries and it’s the peak season to enjoy them.



This cake might sounds similar to the Meyer Lemon and Strawberry Mousse Cake that I’ve created before.  But in fact, they were quite different.  With my baby girl’s birthday cake, I used the Meyer Lemon Cake recipe here.  Baked it in an 8-inch round cake pan and split it in half to create 2 layers. The previous Meyer Lemon cake was a vanilla sponge cake.  Along with the fresh strawberries in between the lemon and strawberry mousse layers, I also added some Lemon syrup onto the top of the cake.  The Meyer lemon flavor was a lot more intense compared to the previous layered mousse cake that I've made.  However, the sponge cake portion of the earlier version was more soft and more fluffy.



Another difference is the mousse layer.  Instead of making the Lemon Mousse from scratch, I used the Meyer Lemon curd that I had on hand and folded in some whipped cream, and that was it.  Super simple.  Here’s the recipe for the Meyer Lemon Curd.  I managed to make extras for our guests to take home too. 



I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone who took the time to celebrate my baby girl’s birthday with us.  Thank you for all the wonderful gifts, warm wishes and precious memories.  Including all of you, who visited my blog today.  Thank you!

I wish my baby girl to be healthy, happy and beautiful as she always is.  Happy Birthday again, my sweetie!





This post is linked to:

Sweets for Saturday
Sweet Treats Thursday
Sweet Indulgences Sunday
Melt in Your Mouth Monday
On the Menu Monday
Fresh Food Friday
I’m Loving It
Everyday Sister Sharing Sunday