Return to Nijiya for lunch plus Cafe Hue

Sometime last week TC's friend KDD spent the day with us. We thought it would be fun to have lunch at Nijiya.

To make it even more fun, we had more adults - myself, Bert as well as D! The more the merrier. I'd given the girls a choice of Japanese or hotpot (TC already had it earlier that week at E & Drink) and Japanese won out...


I read a previous post by Cathy ("Snacks that make a meal" at Nijiya) and was curious about the noodle offerings there, pictured at this counter.

The cold cases were just too tempting with their visually pleasing array of sashimi and sushi offerings.

There were so many different choices for the bento lunches. Bert was a bit overwhelmed.

Now remember, there were FIVE of us, two of them very hungry tweens. Plus, we knew there would be some leftovers, so don't judge, ha ha.

One of the girls chose a shrimp tempura roll.

This one looked similar but with gobo root inside.

The girls shared a korokke (croquette filled with mashed potatoes and vegetables), which they really enjoyed.

There were two kakkiages - one shared by the girls, the other shared by the three grownups. I always like getting this. It reminds me of "okoy" (Filipino shrimp fritter).

D's bento lunch - chicken with teriyaki sauce and assorted vegetables (some pickled). She did NOT like the chicken at all. Unfortunately, it was boiled, unseasoned, and devoid of flavor, save for the sauce on top.

The seaweed salad shared by all of us:

Bert's sashimi lunch...

I think this was Bert's Eel roll, which was also shared.

My Diamond Chirashi lunch. I don't know why they call it "diamond"? Maybe because every piece is cubed? I ate only the toppings, not the rice. The girls liked the big egg roe on top. They looked like those jelly poppers you see at the yogurt shops (or is the other way around?).

Also sahred were the Takoyaki ("octopus balls"). I was really looking for the fried oysters, but they didn't have them that afternoon.

D's Chicken Karaage, which was also shared. Some pieces were overly fried and some too chewy. This wasn't that great.

As you can see, there was a lot to enjoy and to sample. The girls enjoyed their selections as well as eating with chopsticks.

Lastly, the tweens picked out their desserts with their allowance money.

Mango mochi ice cream balls for KDD...

and a strawberry flavored ice cream bar for TC. She normally gets the green (melon) flavor, but decided to go for something different that day.

Now, this might be TMI to you, but the day before, TC and I had lunch at Sab e Lee in RPQ with Carol of CAB Cooks. Let's just say the spicy Thai food did "something" to me, despite us ordering all of the dishes "mild". I needed to use some, uh facilities, like pronto. So we looked to Cafe Hue because I knew they had a bathroom. D said she would get some iced tea there/

I remember their gelato not being so good here.

The back of the cafe had a cute little seating area...

D's mango iced tea...my ticket for using their bathroom, haha.

Bert and the girls amused themselves with these heart pillows that were on the couches.

It reminded us of the Zoosk heart, but without the face.

Their Belgian liege waffle here is pretty good, but that will have to wait for another visit.

Previous visit(s) to Nijiya:
October 2011 with D and TC
December 2012 - a J-Market roundup
July 2012 - Desserts with Dennis and Cathy
January 2013 - and with our neighbors

Cafe Hue:
October 2011 with D

The girls may have had dessert, but the adults hadn't, so that was next on our agenda!