Day 140: Bi Bim Bap is Fun to Say!

We recently discovered a yummy Japanese restaurant called Umami a few blocks from our house.  Tonight we returned.

After a bowl of salty edamame, we shared some white tuna tataki in sizzling ponzu sauce.  We had think dish last time and it was so good we had to order it again.  The raw tuna slices are wrapped around each other in a spiral and topped with seaweed and frisee salad.  It's served in a hot iron pan and when the sauce is poured over the top tableside, it sizzles away - cool presentation and very tasty, too.

Next we had a couple of sushi rolls and a couple of slices of salmon sashimi.  But the highlight of the meal was the bi bim bap Korean hot pot, pictured above.  The pot contained finely shredded pork, a scoop of crunchy sticky rice, mushrooms, water chestnuts, thinly sliced carrots, brussels sprouts leaves, and a raw quail egg.  The server poured some spicy sauce over the top and mixed everything together for us.

The dish was extremely rich - I would never have been able to eat the whole thing myself - even without everything else we ate.  But it was the perfect thing to share - warm, spicy, and cozy - perfect on a cool evening.  I loved it.

What dishes comfort you on a cool night?