listening to: "anyclub"; lee hyori feat. teddy.
last week, jon passed his last two ase (automotive service excellence) tests and now is a master tech. in celebration, he and i went out to dinner last night. we decided to try somewhere new, an okonomiyaki restaurant we had just found out about, but they were closed due to a wedding reception so we tried another restaurant that had been on our "to try" list.
like moths to a flame, we were drawn by the glowing orange of the robatayaki grill tsukuneya, which once used to be the players bar & grill. first off, valet parking is free. considering that the entire parking lot itself is completely reserved for valet and consists of all but fifteen stalls, depending on how they park the cars. and don't ask where the attendants park your car when there isn't room. luckily, jon and i found a spot alongside the road right in front of the restaurant.
my first impression was that it was very similar to gyukaku. dim lighting. distressed and weathered wood. overall, it's has a retro-asian feel.
at our server's prompting, and before we even got a real chance to browse our storybook-like menu, jon and i started off with two of the teriyaki tsukune and two of the shiitake tsukune. two of each only because that's the minimum you can order. that, and also because the price listed is for just ONE skewer.
tsukune is a mixture of minced chicken and yam, skewered and grilled over charcoal. and at tsukuneya, the charcoal of preference is binchotan, a white charcoal that is prized by japanese chef for its extra high, less smoky heat.
we also ordered the zaru (handmade) tofu with yuzu broth. jon and i usually start off any japanese dining with some type of tofu dish, whether hiyayakko or agedashi dofu. we were extremely intrigued that they made their own tofu. and we weren't disappointed. the longer we left the tofu to boil in the yuzu broth, the more infused the tofu became. it was practically heaven. even more so when we added the grated ginger and chili pepper.
i decided on the kamameshi with unagi while jon settled for the kushiage-style kahuku shrimp and ahi skewers. in all honesty, we were both a bit disappointed. at $15.50 and $10.50, respectively, well, you really don't get what you pay for. for the price and size that we paid for, i'd choose the ishiyaki unagi rice at shokudo over the one i ordered from here. and well, jon would rather forego the shrimp and tuna sticks all together.
overall, jon and i have concluded that tsukuneya is a great place to munch on some tsukune as you throw back a few shots of sake or down some glasses of beer. we'd also come back for the zaru tofu. but that's about it.
not too impressed with the dessert menu, jon and i decided to end our dinner at gyukaku with some dorayaki with green tea ice cream. until we were told that there was four parties waiting ahead of us. so we settled on some coffee from starbucks and made our way up tantalus for a midnight view of the city.
i've REALLY been slacking on exercising. the last i spoke of my plan to get into shape was in april when i bought my shoes and i must've walked the stairs a total of four times since. so because of my lack of self-motivation, i've recently joined 24hour fitness. recently as in earlier this month. and i've only gone twice. i thought paying would've been motivation enough. but it hasn't. maybe if i stare at my "problem areas" long enough. and to think, if i had just been more motivated and disciplined, i'd be staring in marvel and appreciation. not in discontent and dissatisfaction.
on the other hand, i have been going out A LOT lately. almost every single night. which is extremely unlike me. but now i understand why people have drinks after work. it's a great time to unwind and chill. the only thing is that, if we're lucky we'll be able to leave work at 10:45 but more often than not we get off closer to or a little past 11:00pm. so i usually don't get home until 2:30 in the morning. which wouldn't really matter if jon didn't get up at 5:00a. it usually doesn't pose a problem, but sometimes i end up waking him up and then he has trouble going back to sleep. and dealing with a cranky jon when i want to go to sleep is no fun at all.
so yes. all i've been doing is eating, being lazy, and drinking. aren't i such a gluton? and you thought you were missing out on a lot. :b