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

Sumire Miso Ramen: Hokkaido Fair 2008

The Mitsuwa Marketplace in Torrance was hosting the Hokkaido Fair 2008. I called a fellow food and beer enthusiast and we were off. Fellow blogger Exile Kiss already blogged about the event and I couldn't wait to have a taste myself, specially that Miso Butter Corn Ramen from the Sumire Ramen-ya.


When we got there, a sign was posted saying that the Miso Butter Corn Ramen was sold out. Already!? Just the second day? After I got over my disappointment, we ordered some Miso Ramen.


The soup was really literally hot. Really deceiving because it doesn't steam-up like what real hot soups do. A closer look at the soup, there's a definitely thicker than usual film of fat on the surface, hence, preventing some steaming action. As a result, plus a little over-eagerness on my part, I burned the tip of my tongue! I had to let the soup cool down a bit. There's a love hate relationship between me and fats. I love it ,but it hates me.

The soup base is very rich, very fatty and delicious. The bits of Chasu pork cut into tiny cubes was really good, better than any I have tasted. The ramen noodles was thicker and very fresh. There were some bits of ground pork as well in the soup which I haven't seen used in ramens. I finished the whole bowl to the last drop, a very good sign. Now, where do I sign the petition to bring Sumire here permanently?


We also had some Mint Julep Soda we got at the supermarket to drink. My friend chose this. I think it was a good call, nice cool refreshing minty drink after that hot heavy and fatty ramen.


We then moved to the stalls selling all sorts of goodies. There was a whole line of deep fried stuffed pastry and croquettes. Hey, you can't go wrong with anything deep fried.


We got a variety of Maruhiro Ota Croquettes: Spicy Cod Roe Croquette, Scallop Croquette, and Crab Croquette. The casing of mashed potatoes and breadcrumbs was crunchy outside and moist inside. They used a whole scallop, very nice, and I think King Crabs for the crab croquette because of the noticeably stringier texture of the King Crab meat. I could eat a few more of those Scallop Croquettes. We then headed to Naja's Place in Redondo Beach after for some beer.


Hokkaido Fair 2008
Mitsuwa Market
21515 Western Ave.
Torrance, CA 90501
(310) 782-0335