Love that rice ball counter. In the spring they had the most delicious yuzu rice ball. So delicious. Also don’t pass up the cup of pork curry they sell. We always pick one up and have it with either tofu or ground pork or anything else.
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Those are awesome papas nachos! I like getting them with lengua or cabeza, too.
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How did I miss this onigiri counter?! 
Is it in the Food Court itself, or inside the market? Thanks for the recs! The different flavors sound wonderful.
lol you glutton!
I wonder if they are still 24 hours
It’s in the market to your immediate right. It looks like a tiny service deli. Sadly the deli itself is closed, but they have all the Onigiri prepacked and ready to grab and go (along with buckets of their Karage and cups of the curry I mentioned). It’s not the same, but it’s still really tasty (Was there just last week and got a Beef one which was the perfect thing to eat in the car).
Back in the day when the service deli was open, they had a great special that was 4pc Karage (Which is excellent for supermarket stuff) with a rice ball and soup. They guys who worked there were the sweetest and would always give you extra Karage. 
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Looking through their menu, i realized the last time it was seen was in 2015… i haven’t been there in a couple of years. it’s a bit disappointing … so I will need to make it at home. The problem is that the shiso leaf + mentaiko (fridge section at mitsuwa for me) means i gotta eat it for a couple days in a row!
This was at ikkousha in jp, something i took for granted during travels
I definitely will, covid has made it so difficult to go out and look around as hours and opening days are all over the place, i have been getting to go locally (626 area) as places near me are all struggling
That is true, i hope to have some time and seek out yushoku places, it’s unfortunately not a growing category, so when I find one, i try to go really often. Will keep it up!
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Hi @blimpbinge,
Thanks for the pics. Your post about the Japan travels you did reminded me, so I just checked…
It looks like Ikkousha in Torrance and Little Tokyo carry a Mentaiko Bowl(!). 
But it doesn’t mention Shiso (which seems like a great combination). We need to confirm if it’s included or not, but if it is, maybe it’ll be similar to what you ate at Akane Chaya?
Thank you for the great post!!
I’m glad you enjoyed Daichan.
I’ve mentioned many times. To me, the best hidden gem in the entire valley (OK that makes no sense but you know what I mean LOL) Love this place. There was a time I was eating here two to three times a week when we lived in Studio City.
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It’s like a neighborhood Japanese place you’d find in Gardena except it’s in Studio City. So you can expect above average authentic Japanese but maybe not something to drive 30+ minutes for. IMO.
I usually get the baby squid app, ten don, poke, curry, etc.
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I am a fan of their poke (Poki as they call it). I even like the chicken version.
Wifey and kid are all over the map. She often gets the kawachi salmon and the garlic Hawaiian chicken. He likes the tuna soba and curry udon.
We usually share a Katsu.
Daichan is also quite inexpensive.
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The people at Tempura House on Sawtelle are turning us into semi regulars. Despite the name, they do not serve tempura. but they do serve up a nice katsu curry, probably better than anything else on Sawtelle. I had It’s an all-takeout place that has set up a few tables on their sidewalk. Service is more than friendly and helpful. l had the tonkatsu but they also offer chicken katsu. I have also enjoyed their grilled mackeral.
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They have really tasty Chicken Hamburg Steak special a couple times a week. But I haven’t been since the re-opened… But looking forward to heading down there soon since they extended their hours.
Also, the Katsu Sando stand opened up for their first brick and mortar in Chinatown this past week. They also have added curry to the menu. Looking forward to giving it a whirl…
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Hi @Dommy,
Maybe don’t get your hopes up about Katsu Sando. We tried them at Smorgasburg, and it was pretty terrible. 
Thread about it here.
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Oh! I had them too and actually liked them. The Sando is not my favorite format (To be honest, I thought Kombi was kinda Meh) but I liked the katsu portion, it has a REALLY nice thick crusty and their housemade katsu sauce is much better than other stuff out there. Their B&M is expanding their menu which is why it caught my attention. We shall see… I have yet to get act together to head over to Otono 
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Just want to say that I trust this thread and report about Champion’s Curry so much more than all of the food media people gushing about the new Little Tokyo location…
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Just out of curiosity–do people in Japan usually eat katsu with curry, or is that just a restaurant thing here? A Japanese friend in college introduced me to the curry bricks you can get at the grocery store, so I’ve been making curry with those all these years. Just with rice and the meats cooked in the curry, nothing fried.
In Japanese Cuisine, it’s considered a Western Dish… Yoshoku… but it’s also perhaps the most popular dish in Japan (We watch Lunch On and the amount of curry you see on that show is quite a bit). Katsu Curry is very popular variation on the dish, which is why, for a homey dish that is very easy to make… there are so many Curry Restaurants (Some of which have come here like Coco and Champion) because Katsu is best made in a restaurant setting… But yes, at home, the most common curry is perhaps an easy type with thin slices of pork (You can actually buy a cup of this at Tokyo Central, which is delicious!) or just curry rice. Similar to how one of the the most common curries made at home in India is Keema Curry.
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Yes it’s a thing in Japan. Just check on Tabelog Japan and you’ll find almost 24,000 restaurants that sell Katsu Curry (and those are only the ones registered there).
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Good article about Japanese curry and it’s navy connection.
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