Musha Tokyo Cuisine

photo credit: www.frankenstein.com

Last night was the first time MS and I have had dinner together. We first met 12 years ago, had a similar circle in college, but never had the chance to just sit down and chat. Now living in the same city, we thought it was about time. Food is always a great way to bring people together.

Well, neither one of us were picky about what to eat. We both love Japanese food though, so a friend of his recommended Musha in Santa Monica on Wilshire near 5th Street. As we drove westbound on Wilshire, we didn't notice the small Izakawa on the south side of the street. After parking, we were surprised to find this seemingly "hole in the wall" restaurant teeming with life. Snaps to MS for calling ahead for reservations. We arrived half an hour early so we browsed some of the nearby shops on the Promenade while the restaurant cleared and set our table.

I was initially impressed with the decor and the ambiance of this little Japanese pub. Small little tables were filled with animated chatter. The servers greeted us in Japanese which I thought was a nice touch. MS responded in Japanese, and I knew that this dinner would be an interesting adventure. We started off with cold sake in a very stylish glass decanter. I had asked for Mizunogotoshi, was disappointed that they didn't have it, and asked the server to recommend something similar. I don't remember what it was, but it was light and smooth - just like the server said it would be.

After looking over the menu, we decided to go with the tapas-like dishes rather than full main courses. We ordered the sashimi tuna in a wasabi base sauce (my favorite), along with some chicken karaage with light teriyaki sauce (also very delicious), salmon with cream cheese sushi rolls in rice paper (interesting flavor, but not my favorite), shrimp croquettes (fancier than my grandma's potato croquettes but I liked the crunchy panko and light flavor), and shrimp and vegetable spring rolls (surprised to find this Vietnamese dish on the menu). Overall, the food was mostly good but my recommended dishes would be the sashimi and chicken dishes! We ended the meal with ume ocha (hot tea with a pickled plum) and some fresh cantaloupe sliced up and served with toothpicks. As we left the restaurant, the man behind the bar gave me a white paper bag full of Japanese hard candies. The bag was a cute touch - wrapped like a bow.

A side note I feel compelled to share includes a trip to the restaurant bathroom. Business cards of the restaurant were stacked neatly on a small table in the public restroom, a bottle of minty fresh Scope and mini paper cups were also handy, as well as an amusing note that read something to the effect of: "Our main server, Hideo, is looking for a nice partner to practice his English with. If interested, please contact any waiter/waitress." Too funny! And in case anyone was wondering, yes - I did use the Scope.

I found the very cool decanter on the Internet, and have added it to my wishlist!

Musha Tokyo Cuisine
Street: 424 Wilshire Blvd in Santa Monica
T: 1.310.576.6330
[There's also a Torrance location.]