Mugen - excellent Japanese restaurant in the City of London

As a worker in the City of London, I've walked past Mugen plenty of times and seen lots of (what I believe to be) Japanese people in there - always a good sign for a Japanese restaurant!

Recently, I finally decided to go in for a quick meal before an evening event, so I was after something relatively light.

The menu is not cheap, but there are a few more affordable items on there, namely the ramen noodle soups and curry dishes.

The girlfriend went for the special ramen with miso soup. It was a delight. Check this out...

It tasted as good as it looked - and it looks good to me!

I opted for a much plainer looking soba noodle soup with tempura prawn and vegetables. It may look simple but the flavour of the broth was still top notch. 

I also appreciated the fact that Mugen presented the tempura in a separate dish, meaning the batter would not go all soggy - other restaurants please take note!

While we were there, a private function was going on with a load of Japanese businessmen all enjoying themselves eating Mugen's tasty food. There was a sushi chef in the middle of the party plying his trade, making fresh sushi. Great scenes - will have to go back there one day to try their sushi and sashimi dishes out.

Nearest Tube: Bank

Dozo Soho - Japanese restaurant

Dozo Sushi is a Japanese restaurant in Soho, London.  While its name strongly suggests that it specialises in sushi, its main menu actually features many other items including grilled dishes, bento boxes and noodle soups.  So there's definitely something for most people, should you not fancy sushi.

The girlfriend opted for a donburi dish - specifically a sushi don.  Essentially a sushi don is a large bowl of sushi rice with salmon sashimi on top, served alongside a miso soup.  If you like salmon sashimi but want something a bit more filling, this is a good choice; it is a simple yet great tasting and filling dish.  

Sushi don.

I do like a good noodle soup, so I opted for the Spicy Ramen.  This consisted of ramen noodles (obviously), stir fry beef, fish cake, nitamago egg and vegetables.  There were lots of different ingredients and flavours here - I quite enjoyed it and was glad I ordered it.

Spicy ramen.

As we paid the bill, the waiter gave us 10 per cent discount for paying by cash - worth knowing if you're planning a visit and fancy a bit of a discount.

Closest Tube: Leicester Square

Tonkotsu: tasty ramen noodle soup

I'm a massive fan of noodle soup.  So when the girlfriend suggested we go to Tonkotsu - a Japanese ramen bar in Soho, London - I was there straight away.

According to one of Tonkotsu's blog posts, their ramen bar is London's first.  They also take their food seriously, proudly displaying on their menu and website that they make their own noodles from their Japan-imported machine.  But is it any good?

The short answer is yes - the noodle soup is very good at Tonkotsu!  And judging by the queue at the door, they've clearly built up a healthy following too.

The menu is simple: there's only four ramen dishes to choose from (plus side dishes) - quality over quantity.  All the ramen are between £9 and £11, so you won't break the bank eating there.

I went for the 'Tokyo Ramen', a ramen noodle soup with a seasoned boiled egg, pork belly and bamboo shoots.  The pork was soft and well seasoned, and the egg was perfectly cooked with a lovely soft centre.  The noodles had a good bite to them, while the soup broth had a wonderful smoky and intense flavour to it.

Tokyo Ramen: soy sauce base, pork and chicken stock and medium thick noodles topped with mirin and soy marinated pork belly, half a seasoned soft-boiled egg, menma and spring onions. 

The girlfriend ordered the 'Tonkotsu', the distinctive feature of which was the rich and milk-like soup broth.  The taste was completely different to the Tokyo, and tasted creamy in comparison.  It was a softer flavour in my opinion, but the girlfriend was equally impressed.  In fact, she usually hates mung beansprouts (the type in the Tonkotsu ramen), but she ate them all on this occasion because, such was the flavour of the broth, it masked the sprouts.

Tonkotsu: rich, sea salt-based pork stock and thin noodles topped with slices of melt-in-the-mouth pork belly, half a seasoned soft-boiled egg, menma, bean sprouts and spring onions

Overall, I really enjoyed the food at Tonkotsu and will be eager to try their other ramen bowls.

Come to Kulu Kulu for good quality sushi at reasonable prices

I love Japanese food. I like the delicate flavours, the variety and the presentation. Things look so simple, yet so complex.

It's no surprise then that I was really looking forward to eating at Kulu Kulu - a Japanese sushi bar in Covent Garden, London. It's a conveyor belt-style restaurant, typical of many other Japanese sushi eateries.  The surroundings and décor are welcoming and the selection of sushi is good.

As well as sushi, you can also order various noodle soups and fried noodles from a menu; just ask the waiter and s/he'll help. Here's one example - and probably my favourite dish of the evening.

Tempura prawn and vegetables in noodle soup.

Plate after plate, I wanted more - even though the portion sizes were reasonable. I obviously couldn't try it all, so I decided to take a short video of the conveyor belt to give you an idea of what's on offer.  Do scroll down for my pictures too though!

A lot of people aren't too sure about tofu, but I'm a big fan, whether it's in soups, stir-fries or stews. Do give the agedashi tofu a go. It really was excellent - the skin was thin crispy on the outside and the sauce was well seasoned.

Agedashi tofu - this was excellent.

Deep-fried soft shell crab is a general favourite of mine, so I had to order this. Oddly, I didn't see it on the menu - and it certainly wasn't on the conveyor belt - but I checked with the waiter and he prepared a few of them for my party.  Soft and crispy, it was - delicious.

Soft shell crab hand roll.

Tuna nigiri.

Miso soup.

Scallop nigiri.

Squid nigiri.

Outside Kulu Kulu.

Overall, it was a great evening with old friends and tasty sushi at reasonable prices. There was also a 10 per cent discount on the night I went; I'm not sure how we qualified or whether it is a long-term deal, but it was a pleasant surprise.

Nearest Tube: Covent Garden and Holborn.

 

The wonderful food of South Korea

I recently came back from South Korea. While I didn't know too much about the country, I knew I liked Korean food, so off I went.

Quite simply, South Korea is a fabulous country. I visited Seoul, Busan and Jeju Island - all quite different but all with great food. Good food is easy to find and, compared to the UK, it is very affordable to eat out.

While pretty much every meal comes with kimchi (fermented vegetables), there are plenty of other dishes that should appeal to most people.

Seafood fried rice cooked at the centre of the table. Doesn't look anything special, but it was my first meal in the country and it cured my hunger.

Beef bulgogi in soup with noodles, mushrooms and spring onions. Very tasty!

Ice cream with red bean, rice cake and shaved ice.

I visited a soju shop (a type of alcoholic drink). This is an example of the pots that are used to make soju.

Korean BBQ is fun and very social. This was a pork BBQ. Once the meat is cooked, it's wrapped in the leaves and other sides then dipped in sauces.

Kalguksu - or knife noodles - taste quite similar to other noodles I've had, but are distinct because of their unique shape.

Always good to eat at food markets with the locals and watch people make things from scratch. Cheap and tasty.

Most Korean meals come with side dishes to go with the meal. I miss the soy bean sprouts (as opposed to the much more common mung bean sprouts in the UK).

Crab soup - literally loads of them! Unsurprising given that we were in Busan at the time - a city known for its seafood.

More seafood action from Busan. Lightly cooked squid.

This one was special - look at how many dishes there are! They just kept coming and coming.

Noodle soup from Jeju's Noodle Street.  

Another Korean BBQ, but this time with beef.

Cold noodles, chilli sauce, pork and egg.

A large piece of bread drizzled with honey and with some ice cream on top.

And finally...another Korean BBQ! But this one makes it in because of the mixed egg on the side of the grill. The heat slowly cooks the egg and becomes a nice accompaniment to the meal. Not something I had seen before...