Had another excellent dinner at n/naka. Loved the scallop, zensai, sashimi, foie gras, A5 and the spaghettini as always was fantastic.
The sushi on the other hand, to put it nicely, seemed rushed. The knifework was sloppy (there was a tear in one of my pieces), and the rice wasn’t formed properly, almost falling apart when I tried to pick it up. Surprising, since everything else, including the sashimi, was executed perfectly.
Saki Zuke - hokkaido scallop, sturgeon caviar, avocado puree, snow pea, baby turnip, chive flower
Zensai - halibut shimeji yuzu aioli, renkon tempura with curry sea salt, tako wasabi, shishito pepper, white fish and miso sauce, pickled watermelon radish, apricot with plum jelly
Modern Zukuri - maguro, beet puree, nori sauce, avocado and chive sauce
Owan - maitake, baby corn, dashi
Otsukuri
Yakimono - foie gras, unagi, shiitake, balsamic vinegar, strawberry
Agemono - sanddab, ogo, tomato, lemon verbena foam, tomatillo soup
Shiizakana - spaghettini with abalone, picked cod roe, truffles
Niku - miyazaki A5 wagyu
Sunomono - lobster, tomato, cucumber, yuzu curd
Shokuji / Sushi
Cherry pistachio financier, genmaicha ice cream, black rice cracker
toto
Extended OOE carmakase bang-bang continued…
n/naka bento with sushi
sashimi salad with garlic miso dressing shio koji-marinated tomato
kabocha potato salad, cucumber seaweed sunomono
panko-fried shrimp
shoyu koji-roasted sweet potato
miso-marinated black cod with sunchoke puree
tamagoyaki
a5 wagyu nikogori
matcha white chocolate cake
extended car-makase part II - kaiseki jūbako #covid15
this was a little more than twice the price of n/naka’s regular bento but more than twice as good, i thought this had a much higher qpr. everything in this two-tiered box was good to great, and a lot more like what you would eat at dinner. highly recommended
highlights
- lobster nanbanzuke
- kinki
- abalone with liver and truffle sauce
- lobster, uni, caviar
- matcha white chocolate cake
- strawberry daifuku
two tiered box with a side of soup and dessert
owan soup - shiitake mushroom
lower level
upper level
sashimi
crispy lobster nanbanzuke
perfectly cooked and tender
california kinki with daikon, sansho, ikura
oily, smoky from the binchotan and delicious
i love you kinki
braised vegetables - eggplant, squash, broccoli, shimeji, golden beets, eggplant sesame sauce
ikura
lobster, uni, caviar
one of the best bites in the box
japanese roasted duck with mustard
braised abalone with liver and truffle sauce
all this was missing was some spaghetti
hamachi
nigiri has also greatly improved from what i’ve had at dinner
kinmedai
american wagyu tataki salad with ginger and ponzu
passion fruit chocolate
matcha white chocolate cake
strawberry daifuku
as soon as i bit into this it burst with incredible sweetness and i immediately knew this was from harry’s berries; even better than the ones i’ve had in japan, incredible .
n/naka x porridge + puffs
really loved this n/naka x porridge + puffs ekiben bento collaboration. chef phan can really turn up the flavor yet still keep everything in balance.
and now @PorkyBelly’s power ranks:
1. shrimp tempura spring roll, numbing calamansi ponzu
i could eat 10 of these, the calamansi ponzu was a brilliant complement for the spring roll. and the nori and rice paper mashup really worked.
2. panko-fried calamari with makrut
expertly fried and i really liked the addition of the makrut to give this another dimension.
3. grilled pork meatballs with leeks + lemongrass
4. porridge - koda farms heirloom rice, dos pueblos ranch smoked abalone, nori oil, lacto-fermented verjus
the porridge reminded me of lumpy mashed potatoes, in a good way.
5. sweet potato + kabocha salad
this was surprisingly good, sweet, creamy, crunchy.
6. yuzu-grilled local kanpachi
7. tarragon gooseberry cake, passion fruit swiss meringue
just a hint of tarragon, and nicely balanced with the sweet meringue.
8. louat agar + elixir
play on vietnamese thach?
9. shiso-pickled egg
10. braised beef rice spaetzle, five spice dashi, burnt onion oil
shout out to the herb slaw and p+p pickles
as with any n/naka meal, a second bang is required, per protocol.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-BVD7-BLGU/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading
https://www.exploretock.com/n-naka/
n/naka
3455 Overland Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90034
(310) 836-6252
https://n-naka.com/
There’s some mangling there, and the rice was already falling apart in some of those photos.