Kirk, Shin, and I went to try Seikoen Restaurant in Torrance (Sepulveda and Western). It is a small do it yourself Japanese bbq place located within a small shopping center that it hard to see from the street. It literally is a hole in the wall place. They have about 8-10 tables so it is necessary to make reservations or you may get turned away. We were able to make a 7 pm sat dinner reservation at 630...and when we got there it wasn't too busy. But I have heard that if they are all booked up, they will tell you to leave. And cooking your own food takes awhile so the turnover is not as fast. The meats were very fresh, seasoned well, and tender. I had suffered from food poisoning the night before but I just couldn't resist trying at least a few pieces of the mouthwatering meats. Shin and Kirk went to town on some tongue, kalbi, prime short rib, vegetables, intestine, and raw beef. I ordered some "rei-men" which is cold noodles. They serve buckwheat noodles in a somewhat spicy cold broth along with some kimchi, pork, pear, and boiled egg. It is quite refreshing and I really liked the flavor at this place. Korean restaurants often serve this dish, but I think I like the Japanese version of it better. I normally don't choose to eat tongue, but it was quite tender and flavored with salt. Seikoen definitely knows how to marinate and flavor the meat. The only downfall of this place is the extreme smokiness...probably not ideal for first dates, children, or people with respiratory issues. I had to keep waving my face because I hate smoke. And you must take a shower immediately or else dogs will be attracted to your scent.
Shin...love when he orders in Japanese for us
Bean Sprout Appetizer (similar to the Korean ban chan one)
Raw Beef Sashimi with raw egg (the guys said it was good, I refrained due to my previous night's food poisoning fiasco)
Beef Tongue with Salt
Cooked beef tongue....very soft and tasty (some people think tongue is weird, but it really tastes good when it is high quality meat)
Kalbi and Intestine (the intestine is chewy the kalbi just melts in your mouth...mmmm)
My Favorite Rei-men...cold buckwheat noodlesMixed Vegetable plate and prime rib
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