Kanpai

A couple of weekends ago, Bert and I wanted to try a new place to eat. Before doing so, I HAD to take a snap shot of this place (it wasn't the first time; it's also been seen on Kirk's blog, MMM-Yoso).

KD'sDoNuts is on the Northwest corner of 3rd and Palomar. You can also see Wienerschnitzel in the background. I posted on that place earlier this year in March.

We wanted to eat at Kanpai which is next to Gunco Ramen. The two restaurants are actually connected by a hallway inside.   Not pictured but to the right of Kanpai is El Dorado, which used to be a Peruvian and Mexican restaurant. It is now just a Mexican place.

There it is...

There was a large (and loud) group of people at one of the larger tables. They were speaking in Tagalog, so I assume they were Filipino.

Stuff at our booth:

It was too early for beer but next time we go here, Bert wants to try this kind.

Menu:


Spicy stuff to shake on your food if you want:

Bert got the spicy ramen which had pork and green onions in it along with a few slices of fish cake. The broth definitely had a kick to it. Luckily, the "spiciness" did not do any damage to Bert the next day. These bowls were pretty big too by the way.

Close up of the colon cleanser:

I ordered the Chanpon (pictured above and below). This was a pork and chicken bone based broth that had all kinds of things in it - besides the ramen noodles, there was pork, corn, green onions, shrimp, fish cake (the round sliced kind with the pink edges and the other kind that's a block), as well as bits of squid. This was pretty filling. I ended up eating most of the "stuff" but not the broth, although I liked the broth. I just didn't want to get filled up with too much liquid.

In addition to our noodle soups, Bert ordered the Eel roll. Ugh, I felt a tiny bone in one of my pieces. I felt like scratching my throat with sandpaper. It felt stuck! It finally went done after awhile. I think that's why I normally don't like eating eel - the fear of the bones getting stuck!

I ordered the Salmon Skin roll - i like how the bonito flakes were not as thinly shredded. These were more like nice big sheets. I love the saltiness and the crunch of the Salmon Skin roll.

The damage:

That dog or whatever animal that is on the sign sure looks kinda wierd. Looks like it wants to lick itself since it's body is contorted. Is it jacking itself off with its paw? WTF?!

[9/26 edit - Thanks to Dennis from the blog A Radiused Corner, I found out that this is NOT a dog. It's a racoon, called a Tanuki. And according to the entry below, this is a sanitized Tanuki, holding an empty purse instead of having gigantor Elephantitis of the nutz.]

(from wikipedia's entry, "Tanuki"):

"Statues of tanuki can be found outside many Japanese temples and restaurants, especially noodle shops. These statues often wear big, turtle-shell hats and carry bottles of sake in one hand, and a promissory note or empty purse in the other hand. Tanuki statues always have large bellies. The statues also usually show humorously large testicles (Nice!  WTFFFFFF!!!!), typically hanging down to the floor or ground, although this feature is sometimes omitted in contemporary sculpture."  (Darn, imagine if they went full on Rated R version of the Tanuki!)


Update on "16 Candles" on TV:

"Can I borrow your underpants for ten minutes" says Farmer Ted to Samantha Baker.

Runs off to give the panties to his fellow geek friends Brice and Weez (played by a young John Cusack), who then charge freshmen admission into the boy's bathroom to view the "underpants...girl's underpants"

"Aaaaaaahhhhh....." (sighed in unison accompanied by glazed look in eyes). Ha ha, check out the guy in the bottom right corner wearing a Judas Priest baseball sleeve shirt. That was the SHIT back in the 80's! I had my Motley Crue shirt! What rock band shirt did you have?

(image from Moment of Inertia's flickr)

Who else went to Kanpai/Gunco Ramen?

Kirk from Mmm-Yoso who went in March 2006 and again in November 2009

Dennis, we're waiting for your thorough take on this place!