I feel so torn writing about Musashi’s and there are several reasons for this: One, it has a special place in my heart because Mitsuko is part of my family. Two, it was the first place I ever worked (busing tables at the tender age of 12). Three, they have the best chicken teriyaki and harusame salad. The only downside, really, is that it’s dingy and I have a hard time taking friends there. Luckily there is take-out.

Chicken teriyaki – Sweet, salty and thick teriyaki sauce paired with grilled and lightly charred, white-meat chicken skewers.

Harusame noodle salad – Who knew that mayonnaise, harusame noodles, fake crab and cucumbers could taste this good? I always order an extra salad.

Yaki onigiri – A delicious ball of rice that’s been lightly grilled and mopped with teriyaki sauce. These are better when you eat them at the restaurant; by the time I got home they were cold.

Salmon onigiri – A rice ball stuffed with salmon and bonito flakes, but not grilled. Zach’s favorite.

Sushi – The unagi (eel) was really moist and good, but again, cold by the time I ate it. The tamago (omelet) was delicious as was the sweet tofu inari.

My mom wanted to go out somewhere low-key and easy for her birthday, so I decided to take her to picaditas were like large sopes; fried masa pancakes toped with black beans, cheese and a pork sauce. They were good, but had hardly any pork flavor and were bland in comparison to everything else we ate.

The lamb birria was tender and flavorful, with hunks of slowly stewed lamb that you could cut with your fork. The birria came with fluffy, soft rice and homemade flour tortillas, which proved the best way to get the lamb into my mouth.

The Mole Negro Oaxaqueno was out of this world. As good as everything else was, it paled in comparison to the mole. Even my mom thought it was outstanding (and has since told me she can’t wait to go back and eat more mole). It’s such a rich and complex sauce that it defies description, but it has the perfect balance of ingredients. The chicken thigh that it came with was falling apart tender. Writing this is making me very hungry.

After dinner, we decided it was too hot to hang out at the counter (plus it seemed rude since so many people were waiting), so I took my mom to Sambar for some cocktails and dessert in the garden.

I was enthralled by Sambar the first time I went, but on each subsequent visit, I’ve been less and less impressed. Or maybe that’s the wrong word. I just see less and less value in going there as it really is outrageously expensive. Our two drinks and two mediocre desserts cost about twice as much as dinner!

Mom had the French Vanilla Creme Brulee ($10), which the waitress called a “traditional” preparation, but it seemed more like a vanilla scented cream topped with a sugar crust. There was no body to it and was so runny that it literally was like drinking a thick cream from a pretty dish.

I had the Coupe Liz ($9) which was described as a hazelnut ice cream sundae. My first disappointment was that the chocolate topping was frozen and as hard as a rock; I was anticipating hot, molten chocolate sauce poured over the top and slowly melting into the ice cream. The second disappointment was the ice cream. I thought it would be a vanilla based ice cream with hunks of toasted hazelnuts, but it was chock full of so many nuts that it tasted like salty peanut butter.

Maybe it was the juxtaposition of the two meals together that made the value seem skewed; the meal at La Carta de Oaxaca was about 10 times better, yet 1/2 the price of Sambar. But even still, Mom and I had a nice time sitting out in the garden and celebrating her birthday.

Happy Birthday Mom!

My dad was in town this weekend and whenever he visits we have a ritual of eating out and then playing some pool at Temple Billiards. On his last two visits we ate at Lark and Union, so this visit I wanted to take him somewhere less pricey, but equally delicious. I was trying to decide between Malaysian and Chinese, when he told me he wanted to go to Ivar’s. For some inexplicable reason, my Dad loves Ivar’s fish and chips. Don’t get me wrong, their fish and chips are tasty, but of all the things one could miss about the Seattle food scene, Ivar’s fish and chips wouldn’t make it on my top ten. Not even close.

So I was all prepared to go to Ivar’s, but before I picked him up at my grandma’s house, my aunt called and asked me to get some food for my grandma on the way over. I stopped at Malay Satay Hut and loaded up on curries, veggie dishes and roti. By the time I got to the house the smell was permeating the car and I was craving Malaysian food in a bad way. I told my dad he had to at least try a bite of the Roti Canai. He did and when we left for our dinner date, we headed straight back to Malay Satay Hut.

We started out the meal with the Roti Canai, which is this amazing flatbread served with curry. It’s like taking the best of both worlds from naan and scallion pancakes. The barely sweet roti was flaky, soft and slightly chewy.

Next we had the Yam Pot with Chicken. I wasn’t expecting too much from this dish because in the picture it looked like mostly vegetables (yep, they have PICTURES on the menu!), but I was pleasantly surprised by the depth of flavor. The tender morsels of chicken were honestly some of the best I’ve ever had. Plus it came in a delicious deep fried bowl made out of “yams”. (The menu says it’s yam, but I swear it’s taro.)

We also ordered the Lamb Curry—there are two kinds of curry on the menu, one with potatoes and one without. I like the one without as it’s drier and has a more concentrated flavor. I’ve never had curried lamb before; it’s very very good.

Next came the Whole Fried Fish, which I love and order every time I’m at Malay Satay Hut. It’s an entire fish, deep-fried until golden brown and served with an incredible sweet and tangy sauce. (I think it’s made from tamarind.) Unfortunately, this time the fish was overcooked and a bit dry.

Our last dish was from the specials board: Guinness Stout Short Ribs. They were dark, dark brown meat nuggets with a sticky, sweet glaze and I ate them like they were candy.