Posted May 7th, 2009 by Meg
On a Thursday not so long ago, my boyfriend and I headed over to Sawtelle to eat at Asahi, but were unpleasantly surprised to find it closed. Instead of pouting, we I looked at the positive side of the situation: a chance to go to a new restaurant! Even though my boyfriend is a simple eater, he doesn’t like eating “new” things very much. So I said, “How about Chabuya? They have ramen and they take credit cards!” It worked. Hooray.
The service was pleasant and smooth. I ordered the Tori Soba, fresh homemade noodles with original chicken based broth, green onion, fried shallot, and charbroiled chicken. The noodles were more al dente than I am accustomed to (Asahi), but in a good way. Next time I think I would get with the house pork broth instead of the chicken broth to mix it up a little.
My favorite part of the dinner was the Shrimp Shiumai (shrimp dumplings). The delicate chewiness of a dumpling shell with the softest most amazing center. And mustard, a condiment I love, to dip in! This was a combination I never would expect to work, but was amazed to find how appropriately perfect it tasted. Four was not enough.
I plan to go back again someday, especially since I heard they have Sesame Ice Cream(!)
Chabuya Tokyo Noodle Bar
2002 Sawtelle Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90025
(310) 473-9834
Posted October 6th, 2008 by Meg
N’Ice Cream officially opened up this weekend on Abbot Kinney. Immediately next door to a Pinkberry, a renovated garage has now become a cute little gelato shop. This place stands out to me because not only are their limited ice cream / gelato places (that aren’t corporate) in the area, but the owner I met was friendly and talkative (not too talkative though, just right talkative). I love when proprietors are social, it makes the experience more enjoyable; it’s good to know that someone cares about their product and their customers. Apparently, the owners are from Denmark (cool!) and are keeping N’Ice Cream a mom&pop place (not selling their souls franchising).
They make their gelato/sorbet fresh everyday (you can even watch them as they make it through a window). The day we went had about 10 standard gelato flavors, which is good for people like my boyfriend, but I love crazy ridiculous flavors. This is not to say I did not enjoy what I ordered. I am sure they will expand on that in the future. I chose a combination of Coffee, Chocolate Hazelnut, and Vanilla. Each one was wonderful in their own way. The chocolate hazelnut had pieces of hazelnut in it, making it my favorite of the cup. The vanilla had little black vanilla bean dots making it the most aesthetically pleasing. I regretfully did not get the white chocolate, but I heard people talk about how amazing it was. This place is great. In the heat, it will become quite popular especially since it is so close to the beach. They also do To Go packs. And they take credit cards. Go check it out.
N’Ice Cream
1410 Abbot Kinney Blvd
Venice, CA 90291
