Cerelac Batter

We went to a restaurant called Blue Marlin, a Japanese-Italian fusion type of place.   It is one of several restaurants in a strip-mall in Sawtelle in  WLA.  I've been to three other places along this line but it's my first time here.  They have food pics displayed near the door, and one item caught my attention,  Uni Spaghetti.   Must come back for this.

There is an underwater theme to the decor with boats on the ceiling and fish on the walls.   We got some Miso soup and Salad with some sesame seed dressing (no pics).  We ordered some appetizers to share and taste.

The first one to arrive was the Fried Calamari, the squid was delicate and thinly sliced, the batter was light and deliciously salty.  I've never had calamari served this way.  Usually it is served thick and heavy on the batter.  This was really good, I'd come back for this alone.

Next was the Crab Croquette, the batter was light and crunchy,  inside was moist and delicious.  They used real fresh chunky crabmeat, which added great texture in my mouth.  Only two pieces :(   there were three of us.  We all still got to taste it though.

Last to come was the Tuna Tartare served with some dough chips.   The dish is light, mild tasting and fresh.  Nothing special, looks great though.

And for the piece de resistance,  Uni Spaghetti.  The spaghetti is served in a deep bowl like ramen.  But why?   I love Uni sushi,  but this is not for the light hearted.  There is a lot of Uni in the dish.  The aroma is intense, the best I could describe it is "sea urchin cheese".   The texture is creamy akin to carbonara sauce.  The taste is definitely Uni but subtle.  Okay, not my favorite dish, but well executed.  This goes into my list of "tried it".   To wash it down I had some Kirin draft beer.

We also got the Uni Rice, I only had a taste of this.   I thought it was okay.  

Pork Cutlet (Katsu) with the demi-glace sauce,  I also had a taste of this.  I found it really tasty, and the sauce was delicious.

Ah!  Creme Brule, if it's on the menu I will order it.  This was very good,  crispy sweet crust and creamy delicious under.  

Tempura Green Tea Ice Cream,  the Green Tea ice cream is coated in a batter and deep fried, Tempura style!   We were kind of giggling because the batter tasted like "Cerelac", the baby food.   It does!  

So, I may not be back for the Uni Spag but I am still interested in other things in their very interesting menu.

Blue Marlin

2121 Sawtelle Blvd

Los Angeles, CA 90025

(310) 445-2522