Dami Sushi & Izakaya + GIVEAWAY!

Mr. Mochi and I recently went to a media tasting event for a new izakaya in Orange County, Dami Sushi and Izakaya. Since we love our local izakaya, where you can always grab a cold pint and perhaps a yakitori skewer or two, we were very excited to try another one close by.

Dami Sushi and Izakaya in Buena Park, California, just had their grand opening and invited us to try some of their signature dishes. They also generously donated a $100 gift certificate that you can enter to win below!

I loved the decor and greenery everywhere!

I'm not a big decor person, but the first thing you'll think when you walk in is how cool this place looks. I love the mix of modern technology (the wall above the sushi bar changes color!) with rustic wood and fresh plants. The restaurant also manages to have great airflow, it's breezy in there without us needing a jacket. It also strikes an important balance between atmospheric izakaya lighting and the need for me to see my food. All of these pictures below were taken without any additional lighting, but Mr. Mochi commented that the atmosphere in Dami meant this place was going to be a surefire date place for us.

Especially once we tried the food.

Kumquat Tofu Cheesecake

I'm sad winter is over and spring is soon to follow. I love winter because it means our citrus trees start producing, and from winter to the start of spring we get our crop of kumquats, oranges, and tangelos. This year, some unseasonable winds knocked down what remained of our kumquat crop, so I'm glad I got to make this cake for my mother's birthday before that happened!

Don't let the name scare you, this tofu cheesecake isn't a health food. However, it retains that creaminess that you love about cheesecake, while boasting a lot more protein than a traditional cheesecake. I bet you if you chose to stay mum about the fact it was packed with protein, your guests wouldn't even know it had tofu in it. It's also a bake-free cheesecake, which is great since we are having a serious heat wave here in Southern California.

If you don't have access to kumquats, you could serve this with no topping at all, or any fresh fruit that you choose. I think blueberries, strawberries, or raspberries would be a great topping choice! Of course, if you have any jars of kinkan no kanroni in your cupboard, you're good to go.

This recipe is adapted from recipes who use the metric system and different size cups, so while I converted the recipe, I also included some weights where applicable because it's more accurate.

Miss Mochi's Adventures Now Has a Facebook!

After over two years of blogging, I have finally decided to create a Facebook page for Miss Mochi's Adventures. At first it seemed unnecessary, not to mention more work for technologically-impaired me, but I have a lot of giveaways planned for this summer and I think it will make it a lot easier for everyone to enter!

Also, if you "like" my blog on Facebook, you will be able to see links to my blog posts as soon as I share them. In addition, I plan on sharing recipes and food news on my page from some of my favorite blogs and websites.

Please bear with me on getting Miss Moch's Adventures page full of fun recipes, pictures, and posts: Facebook has kindly informed me that there's a known issue where page posts are disappearing and reappearing at random. Already I've double posted something I thought had somehow been deleted!

To follow Miss Mochi's Adventures on Facebook, click here to check out the page and "Like" to follow!

The photo is a sneak peak on my recent travels in Japan! I went full-blown tourist and dressed up like a geisha (maiko) in Kyoto, and loved every second of it. My mother is in the foreground in the brown kimono, I'm right behind her in the black kimono. Photo credit goes to the Bro-Chi.

Cowboy Cookies

The older I get, the more picky I seem to get about my cookies. Even as a kid, I hated the Chips Ahoy chewy chocolate chip cookies, and most commercial cookies. Too sweet, too bland, not enough bitter chocolate taste, and a mushy texture. My favorite chocolate chip cookies were, and continue to be, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. They often have a saltiness that compliments the nutty oats and the bitter chocolate, and their texture is much improved with the grain added.

Of course, someone in ancient history had to make some sort of royal decree or conspiracy that all oatmeal cookies must have raisins instead of chocolate. I like raisins, but not in my oatmeal cookies. They make everything too sweet, and ruin the texture. Does anyone like oatmeal raisin cookies?

These cookies are sometimes made without coconut, and are very customizable. Feel free to experiment: white chocolate chips, toffee chunks, walnuts, macadamia nuts, or butterscotch chips (raisins only if you want to disappoint Miss Mochi and contribute to the conspiracy).

Tamago-Toji Spam Donburi (卵とじ スパム丼)

Unlike katsudon, this donburi does not have a place in Japanese culinary history, it's an original Miss Mochi creation.

This recipe came about when I happened to score a giant pack of low-sodium Spam from Costco and we only had one frozen pre-made tonkatsu left. Since Mr. Mochi is much more fond of pork chops than I am, I made him a katsudon while I decided what sort of rice bowl I should make. I decided to try a Spam and egg donburi, and it turned out so tasty I decided to share it with you.

A donburi is simply a plain rice bowl with toppings, designed as a complete meal. Here in Southern California, Flame Broiler is probably the most popular chain, as well as of course Yoshinoya, which is an amazingly old fast food chain, founded in 1899. Apparently these quick and tasty meals have stood the test of time, because here in 2014 I am obsessed.

I've made a Spam donburi before, and in that post I rambled a bit about all the variations that could be made. You can make a donburi topping out of anything, and I believe the possibilities are endless. I could probably do a Spam donburi month, and still have plenty of ideas at the end of it.

Hey, that is a pretty good idea! Maybe for May?

Until then, here's the latest iteration of Spam donburi.

Dogzilla

Another food truck that satisfies my love of hapa food: Dogzilla. I am always on a quest to try every crazy mash-up of Asian American cuisine Orange County has to offer. Kimchee quesadillas? Hell yes. Japanese hot dogs? I'm there! Red bean waffle sandwiches? You better believe I even dragged my friends there.

So when I first saw Dogzilla in a Best Buy parking lot, I knew I had to pounce on this one. Unlike a lot of the food trucks I'm in love with, Dogzilla is actually based in Irvine, rather than in L.A. county. And it offers up tasty treats to rival them too.

Dogzilla's tagline, "Not Your Typical Wieners" totally fits because you won't find any mustard or ketchup on their deluxe dogs. Instead, they rely on Japanese flavorings and Hawaiian stand-bys for their unique hot dogs. This isn't exclusive to Dogzilla, the hapa hot dog can be found at places like the Tokyo Doggie Style food truck in LA, Asia Dog in NYC, and Japadog in NYC and Vancouver. I even make a version at home (and why I haven't blogged about this? Fail!).

However trendy, I happen to really love the execution of Dogzilla's hot dogs. Rather than using a normal hot dog bun, they use King's Hawaiian hot dog buns. You can get a fried egg with a gloriously runny yolk on any dog. Their Garlic Fries feature freshly minced garlic rather than garlic powder, making my breath possibly radioactive but I could care less about that when they taste this good.

Ramen Crispy Treats

I've already posted on how much I love ramen. Mr. Mochi gets downright spiritual after finishing a bowl at Shin-Sen-Gumi. It appeals to me on the most basic levels; ramen is soul food. I see ramen as a hangover cure, rainy-day friend; a pick-me-up piping hot broth with slurp-able noodles that never fails to make you feel better.

Plus ramen is so customizable. A poached egg, some green onions, toasted nori, just about everything is free game. You can even peruse the vast amount of ramen hacks, where the instant ramen is taken to new heights of crazy and creativeness. I love creating my own weird combinations with premade food, like my KFC kare donburi, so I think that's why I have a soft spot for ramen hacks.

I had to try this one when I heard about it. After all, ramen hacks are usually savory, so any ramen dessert had to be tried. Especially since I knew these would make great gifts for Valentine's Day. Without further ado, I introduce you to Ramen Crispy Treats. Just like rice crispy treats, but use dry ramen.

If you use 4 packs of noodles, it will be like the picture, but I found I liked it with more marshmallow to ramen and made it again with only 3 packs, but they definitely were messier to eat as they were on the gooey-er side. Feel free to use whatever mix-ins tickle your fancy: M&Ms, chocolate chips, pecans, etc, would all be amazing. These treats will be denser than rice crispy treats, and nuttier tasting, but I surprisingly really enjoyed them. For decorating for Valentine's Day, I think some Valentine's edition Reeses Pieces or M&Ms would be very cute, or even some heart-shaped sprinkles!