Grand Noodle Emporium

Had lunch at the nest today and decided to try out the Grand Noodle Emporium. For food court food, I "guess" you could say it's okay. Anywhere else and this place should be out of business.

We had the Crispy BBQ Duck Spring Rolls to start. They were okay. We wish the daikon was cut thinner and included inside the spring roll, as he spring roll was quite bland without it - like it was missing something. The reason the daikon and carrots would have helped was because they were soaked in vinegar and helped cut the richness of the sauce and the fattiness of the duck.

We also had the Hunan Pork because we heard the person in front of us say it was "really good". It was a disappointment. The pork was probably frozen as we had notes that were cold and bites that were hot. It tastes a bit like domburi with the egg and all, but lacking all the seasoning of a domburi. At least adding hot sauce and soy sauce seems to help.

Overall, did not enjoy waiting in line and in anticipation only to be disappointed. Mediocre food. At least sushi seems a better deal. Won't return.

Rajio

We thought we'd branch out to a different Japanese restaurant, so we stopped by Rajio on our way home.

What I like about some of these authentically Japanese run restaurants are their specials and fabulous service.

First, we had some salad, on the house.

Then we tried their "special" sashimi, which included two each seven types of sashimi. I thought the little mixes (those sashimi in the cups) were something different from other places, and very tasty in the seaweed they provide on the side.

Then we had their "special" beef udon. The sauce was the right amount of sweet and savoury. The beef was so tender and so perfectly cooked, you barely had to chew it.

Last, we had their "special" Kushikatsu (deep fried vegetables and seafood). They ran out of negitoro, so they replaced it with shrimp. What I liked about their service was that they came out and told us they ran out and would like to replace it and if it were okay with us before they served it. My favourite was the zucchini wrapped with bacon before it was battered and deep fried.

Recommend. Will return.

Ginger Tofu with Mushroom

Today's recipe was from Taste, chosen because it promised it would be quick to make.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 brown onion, thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, sliced
• 4 cm piece fresh ginger, peeled, cut into thin slices
• 700 g firm tofu, cut into 3 cm squares
• 100 g brown mushrooms, halved
• 200 g enoki mushrooms, trimmed
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/3 cup stir-fry sauce (of choice)
• 4 bunches bok choy
• 400 g udon noodles

Steps:

1. The first thing to do is boil water for the udon and squeeze out the water from the tofu.

2. While the water is boiling, slice the onions and garlic, then the mushrooms and ginger. Wash the bok choy, and while it's draining, slice up the tofu.

3. When the water boils, put the udon noodles in and let it cook for 2-5 minutes. Drain and coat in oil. We tossed it in sesame oil. This way, it doesn't stick.

4. Heat the oil in a pan and add the onion and garlic. Cook on medium high until it's a little brown, then add the ginger and tofu and cook for another 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms, cook until it gets a little soft, and lastly the bok choy.

5. Once the bok choy and mushrooms are cooked. Remove from heat and serve with the udon.

6. Top with sriracha.