Masa Sushi - Camarillo

I work in Camarillo and have never really given sushi in Camarillo a chance. So yesterday for lunch we tried out a place called Masa Sushi, located off the Los Posas exit. I did some research online and found some decent reviews of the place.

The restaurant is pretty small, a sushi bar that seats about 10 people and tables for an additional 30ish customers. The restaurant is named after the owner, who works behind the bar. He wore a hat that proudly displayed his name. Behind the sushi bar there is a huge list of rolls and specials.

Since this was a lunch visit, I wasn't planning on trying everything. So we ordered Hamachi, Albacore and Salmon Nigiri, each of these were very fresh. Then followed that with some of their specialty rolls. We ordered the La Bamba roll, Chilean Lobster Roll and California Roll. The La Bamba roll was described as a Tuna cut roll with Avocado, Tomato, Cilantro and Jalapeno, I thought the salsa would be incorporated in the actual cut roll. But it was just spooned on to each piece, definitely could have been more refined. It was an interesting flavor combination and the jalapeno added a nice kick. The Chilean Lobster roll was decent but I expected larger pieces of lobster, instead the lobster was mixed into a crab salad consistency and lost it's subtle flavor.

Overall Masa delivered a decent sushi experience. I would love to go back and try more nigiri and have Chef Masa San make some of his specialties.


Photo Courtesy of Wilmar D.

Apartment Therapy The Kitchn | 10 Techniques Every Cook Should Know

Apartment Therapy The Kitchn | 10 Techniques Every Cook Should Know

My Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving for my family is a bit different then what you would expect. Turkeys are non-existent, instead you'll find rice, some sort of poultry and chili paste. This year we decided to have dinner at NBC Seafood, a location we normally go for Dim Sum. With new owners and a face-lift, I was excited to sample some new food.

The meal started off with Duck two ways. They serve the crispy duck skin with steamed buns and scallions. The duck meat is minced and sauteed with water chestnuts and other vegetables. The minced duck meat is served with lettuce cups. For a roasted duck dish, it was good, but not comparable to the classic Peking Duck.

I was so hungry I had a bit too much of the duck and forgot we had several more dishes coming. The next dishes to arrive were Salt Pepper Pork Chops, my sister favorite, Lobster Chow Mein and some sort of Sea Sponge and Baby Bok Choy. None of these dishes were executed very well. The pork chops were over cooked, the meat came out very dry. The Lobster Chowmein was ok, the Lobster was fresh, but the noodles were bland. The sea sponge which was not what we ordered, was very salty.

The last dish to arrive was the Chili and Honey Lamb Chops. The dish needed seasoning and the lamb was overcooked. The most unappetizing thing about the dish was that it was so oily.

The restaurant was full and has always had great dim sum. But I was not impressed with the dinner service. The food was not impressive and the service was poor. Add those two things together along with the cost of the meal and I don't plan on going back for dinner, only Dim Sum for me.

Thomas Keller and Protégé to Go 20 Rounds - Diner’s Journal Blog - NYTimes.com

Thomas Keller and Protégé to Go 20 Rounds - Diner’s Journal Blog - NYTimes.com

This would be a dream dinner.

Giang Nan

After a review posted on Chowhound about this place, I decided to check it out. My mom had been there before and said the food was pretty good.

We got to the restaurant pretty early, around 11:15. Giang Nan is located in a small strip mall and the place looks very unimpressive. But the interior is much nicer then you would expect. When we arrived the restaurant was still empty. I let my mom do all of the ordering, but did request some items I had read about. And as usual my mom goes overboard on the number of dishes. We had eleven items total for a table of four, most of it we brought home.

Our meal started of with one of my favorites, on their menu it's called Dried Bean Curd with Vegetable. That might be the most uninspiring name for a dish that is so simple and delicious. Finely minced bean curd is mixed with a unknown Chinese vegetable, a little sesame oil, seasoning and that's it, it's served cold and so good.

Next came the House Special De-greased and Braised Pork Knuckle. This is a braised ham hock with a typical salty sweet Shanghainese sauce. The pork is super tender and falling off the bone. The layers of pork fat melt away from the meat. The meat in this dish is delicious, but there is a lot of fat. They serve some spinach under the pork "knuckle" which soaks up the sauce, so good.

I was pretty satisfied at this point, but we had 10 more items coming. The next few dishes arrived, Sauteed Eel, Shanghai Rice Cake with Chicken, and Roast Duck in Supreme Sauce. The Shanghai Rice Cake was delicious, not over cooked. The Sauteed Eel was okay, much better at Green Village. I did not like the Roast Duck in Supreme Sauce at all, the sauce was overwhelmingly sweet. The next round of dishes arrived, Soup dumplings, Beef Fried Rice, Salt/Pepper Pork Chops and Sauteed Chinese Spinach. The dumplings and pork chops were good, I did no even attempt to eat the fried rice or Chinese Spinach.

The food at Giang Nan was good and the prices were very reasonable. Giang Nan is on par with other Shanghainese restaurants like Mei Long Village and Green Village. Another great option in the San Gabriel Valley.

Baconnaise

Are you kidding me?!!! This is absolutely the most incredible invention since sliced bread!!!

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Watermark on Main Restaurant

Watermark on Main is a new restaurant in the City of Ventura that opened about two months ago. The first thing you will notice about this restaurant is the beautiful decor. The building that houses this restaurant was built in the 1920's. And much of the original decor still remains. The first and second floors contain the restaurant and the third floor is the W2O lounge. The main dining room has a full bar and beautiful high ceilings. The room is dimly lit and has the feel of a classic New York eatery. The food is your basic surf and turf with some house specialties.

Our meal started off with a a couple glasses of wine, I had a glass of the Tobin James Reisling. It was nice, clean and slighty tart. The bread came with two compound butters, a Sundried Tomato and a Garlic Parsley butter. There was also a Olive tapenade served. We ordered Chili Dusted Prawns with Roasted Garlic and a Roasted Beet and Arugula Salad for starters. Both dishes were very pedestrian and not impressive at all. The prawns were small, not seasoned enough and there was too much butter. The beets were under cooked, but the Goat Cheese was delicious.

For our main course we ordered the signature Cioppino and Grilled Ono. The Cioppino was mediocre, the quantity of seafood was impressive, but the "cioppino sauce" was bland and lacked any seafood flavor. The fish in the Cioppino was overcooked and the Mussels were a bit rubbery. For the cost of this dish, $45, I expected a lot more. The Grilled Ono looked very nice, but was a bit overcooked. We skipped dessert and headed up to the lounge.

The W2O lounge was unexpected. The atmosphere was completely different then the restaurant. With flat panel TVs and neon lit tables, this bar was much more contemporary and hip. The food menu in the lounge included several items from the main restaurant, but was tapered down for the bar. The lounge seems like it will be the main stay of the Watermark, the restaurant on the other hand needs some work.