Hi @JeetKuneBao,
That’s nothing to be ashamed about. Natto is pure evil! 
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Thanks for the reminder on Ming Kee again @beefnoguy. One of SF’s treasures. I can’t wait for a return visit! 
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@JeetKuneBao did you mix the natto with the egg yolk and mustard? You’re supposed to vigorously stir it (with your chopsticks) in a circular motion until you create froth (agitates the bacteria). That might up the ick factor of the stickiness and aroma, but that’s the proper way to eat it. Purists would exaggerate and recommend 500 times. You could toss in some wasabi and just had a drizzle of soy sauce. My older friend who went through a few rounds of chemo has this regularly over rice (and also to help lose weight) since he loves his carbs and other delicious unhealthy stuff like we all do. Don’t feel bad, I remember throwing up a little in my mouth the first time I had it…but now it’s something I fully enjoy, although don’t eat it as often as I would like. But I’ll take natto and stinky tofu over durian!
Your Spanish Mack looks like aji hiraki. More along the lines of salted, sun dried/dehydrated and then grilled. Flavor intense and great stuff. I think two years ago I had a version of that with fall season pike mackeral (sanma) and it was ridiculous. There are variations of that I’ve seen at a NorCal Nijiya where the hiraki was marinated in sake (Daiginjo too, baller) and then dried…alcohol and umami sinking deep into the bone.
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Meiji Seimen, return visit for some oden.
Took @beefnoguy advice and added sake to the broth! This was pretty tasty. Don’t ask me what kind of sake because I don’t know lol.
Aunties.
This is sister location of TNT Aloha, same great Portuguese Sausage. Got the breakfast burrito. I specified no bacon and links because I wanted more Portuguese Sausage flavor. If it’s your first time here try the Aloha Royal! Char siu, Portuguese sausage, rice and mac salad with a side of Spam Musubi (they add a little ume too which is a really nice touch to counter the salt and fat)
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I did not mix the natto well! With your advice though I’ll try it again. I just dab a little of the mustard. Nice to know by mixing it well it decreases the snot factor!
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I think we are the only place that geeks out on Ming Kee.
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Mixing it will actually increase the sliminess (and add froth).
Add lots of shoyu, mustard, and green onions if the natto taste is too strong.
Put it on top of the rice and wash down with miso soup.
Over time, you can ween yourself off the shoyu and mustard as you start to enjoy the natto.
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In my experience, cold natto + hot rice makes the natto the least intolerable.
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Talk about an acquired taste.
just an excerpt from my book, How I Learned to Love Natto
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Best $50 I’ve spent on a to-go box of food for one person. Personally, I think he could actually charge a little more. It is indeed a special occasion type of bento and you can see all the work that’s been put in to make these.
That rice tho! So good!
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Fucking Beautiful!
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Anything to do to reduce the sliminess?
Lunch yesterday at Tak Kee Lee in the Sunset District of San Francisco. It’s the most legit Hong Kong cafe (cha chaan teng) up here. Most of the customers are local Hong Konger expats who live in the area, and the vibe oozes blue collar Hong Kong.
During soccer cup type game season (maybe even basketball), you walk in and see customers glued to the set, and they cuss passive aggressively at the screen in Cantonese when doing arm chair criticism of the game or the players, more fun than the TV sports commentator!
Oh back to the food. For a shade under $10 (cash only without tax and tip) you get an entree plate of your choice. Add about $1 to $1.50 and you get house soup (classic Cantonese style, here is the carrot/turnip/pork neck bone soup), and your choice of drink. My drink is iced lemon coffee…and before you say “eeeeew” it actually crazily works and is quite refreshing.
The rice plate is lemongrass chicken wings, one of their signatures. It’s deep fried and marinated with lemongrass, but I also picked up notes of spicy fermented fish sauce, and of course there is garlic. Umami, spicy, and salty/savory bomb. Super crispy exterior, and juicy flavorful interior. It facilitates the consumption of rice of which there is plenty of. They also have salt pepper and also honey preps for the chicken wings, but this lemongrass prep is the de facto choice. I think they offer a beef ribs version of this too and maybe a pork chop rendition.
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I know, right? Chef Go barely makes any margin on each bento box.
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Call Ghostbusters?
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Looks amazing. What is the reservation time on these (i.e. when do reservations become available)?
Works the same way as dinner seats, but only available on Fridays and Saturdays for the boxes. I haven’t had any luck getting my hands on one.
On Resy, both the dinner and bento reservations are 2 months out. The best way to get the reservations is on the first day of the month at 10 am, go on Resy and look for dates a month out.
For example, on August 1st 10 am, I ordered the bentos for Sep 14 for pick up at 1:30 pm. Note that for the bentos you need your credit card since you have to pay for it in advance. Best way is to use the Resy app and already have your CC in your profile.
The same thing for the Kaiseki dinner , you still need your CC because it is $100 deposit per guest.
Hope this helps
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if you would have told me when I moved to Brea 10 years ago that I’d live within 2.5 miles of Whole Foods, Bristol Farms, Toyko Central and Santouka I’d have lost my shit. But here we are.
Different menu but same amazing ramen I’ve had at every Santouka. They don’t have the special pork but you can order 3 pieces on the side. Have to try the Japanese fried rice the next time. I can see this being a model Santouka used to expand into other malls.
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