Mmm, ramen and katsu.....

so, after Gohm changed jobs, earlier in the semester (back when i had a life) i met up w/him for lunch near his office since it's in an area i know pretty well since my old job used to be around there. it being a cold and windy sort of day, i took him to Menchanko-Tei for some warm and delicious ramen and noodle soup. i'd always worked across the street from this place but had never been in to eat. since it was a weekday and lunch time, the place was packed. definitely a good half of the restaurant was filled w/Japanese businesspeople (not all of them were men you sexists!) which is always a good sign. i opted for the shoyu ramen, which was really good, although i could've done w/some extra pork tenderloin. we also got some fried rice as part of a lunch special which was surprisingly tasty.

Since he liked it so much, last weekend we ended up eating at Katsu-hama, one of the related restaurants. the theme of the restaurant is (you guessed it!) katsu. although it threw me off that all the servers were Mexican, the food was still delicious and just about every customer was Japanese. i ended up getting the ladies' dinner set (cabbage miso soup, tenderloin katsu skewer, shrimp tempura skewer, crab croquette, potato salad and cabbage, it also comes w/dessert-all for $15 dollars!) and Gohm got the pork tenderloin curry which was so yummy. i'm sure i'm going to opt for the curry or just plain tenderloin next time. both comes w/a mountain of shredded cabbage which i was also very in love w/. the place is very authentic and you definitely feel more so when you're surrounded by all the Japanese tourists and regulars. i was ridiculously full after the whole ordeal.