Monday, November 14, 2011

The Other Half of Japan

When we visited the Japan kiosk on Sunday we went for the sushi, so this time we went for the 2 non-sushi items. It was great being able to eat and relax on the benches with a view of the lagoon and without crowds.

One of M's favorite festival photos

First, we tried the pork kakuni ($4.95):


According to the mobile site, this dish consists of braised pork slow-cooked for hours in Japanese sauces and seasonings.

M's take: I don't really eat a lot of pork, at least not giant pieces of pork. That said, the flavoring of the pork was pretty good, and it wasn't that chewy, so I had more than a bite. The mustard was nice and spicy. Generally, pretty good, but since I don't have that much experience (by choice) with this type of pork, I'm not really a great judge.

A's take: The pork was braised nicely. It was tender, but not fully fork tender. The soy sauce based braising liquid made the pork a little salty, but the spicy mustard tempered the saltiness and added a nice kick to the dish.

We also tried the tuna and salmon sensation ($5.95):


The tuna and salmon sensation reminded us a lot of the poke from the Hawaii kiosk. It consisted of "fresh, cubed Alaskan salmon and sushi-grade Ahi tuna, mixed with sliced avocado and tossed in a blend of soy sauce, sake, sesame oil and fresh-squeezed lemon juice."

M's take: Fresh, light and tasty! The fish tasted nice and clean, and didn't have that gloopy texture that sometimes plagues fish when it's not prepared well. The soy sauce mixture was good and the avocado slices were also soft and fresh. This was a good dish. If I had to choose between this and Hawaii's poke, I would pick the poke, but this comes in close behind it.

A's take: This was a tasty dish. I thought it was very similar to the poke even if the poke was a little better. The fish was fresh, and the flavors were good. Salt from the soy sauce was offset by the creaminess of the avocado.

It took us two days and two trips, but that's it for Japan's kiosk!

Favorite dishes at the Japan kiosk:
A: Tuna and salmon sensation
M: Tuna and salmon sensation

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