Inaba

Ok, so I feel like I've been blogging a lot about Japanese food in the South Bay.  So far, I have yet to be disappointed.  Inaba is home to some solid soba and udon dishes.  The menu had many choices, but I like to go with dinner sets when I can.  It's headache enough to choose a restaurant to go to for dinner, and sometimes, by the time you get there, you're just too overwhelmed to figure out what you want to eat.  Dinner sets or omakase are a good way to go during those moments.  Japanese people are so smart!!

Special Tempura Dinner Course appetizer, miso soup, sashimi, tempura, egg custard, rice, mini soba
This was Smooth Obturator's choice.  It was pretty filling.

This was a sort of sesame tofu.  It had all the texture of a firm tofu, but the taste of sesame instead of soybeans.  It was innovative and different, bordering on weird.

Your standard salad.

A hot chawanmushi aka egg custard.  Another yummers.

Smooth Obturator thought the sashimi was just OK.  I believe he found some of the cuts sorta chewy. 

Tempura dipping sauce.

Smooth Obturator was not pleased with all the different tempura items.  One had shiso, which the H.o.P. unanimously dislikes.  The other things like the veggies and shrimp were good.

The soba was chewy and perfectly al dente.  It was cool and ideal for a summer day like this one.

Inaba Ten-Zaru Dinner soba or udon (hot or cold) with tempura and your choice of:  sushi (4 pcs) and tuna cut roll (3 pcs), tuna bowl, marinated tuna bowl, battera

Triple T and I opted for the ten-zaru dinner.  I got the hot udon and she got the cold soba just like Smooth Obturator.  The udon was fresh, chewy, and perfect for slurping.  The soup wasn't too MSG tasting like you get out of the box.  It was a big filling bowl and I was so stuffed.

The tempura was crispy, but it sure did get soggy if you didn't eat it right away.

Triple T said Quadruple T possibly got the marinated tuna bowl before and found it bland.  I was like, but it's "marinated" so how could it be bland.  I wanted to take my chances because I wanted to know what was meant by marinated.  It was flavored with a sweet soy.  It didn't just taste like it was dipped in some sauce.  It tasted like it was truly marinated in the sweet soy for some hours, such that it changed the texture of the fish itself.  I really liked it atop a bed of steaming white rice with just a touch of wasabi.

Inaba is a pretty solid joint for soba and udon which were truly the winners of the evening.  All the other dishes were good, but not amazing.  I think the place is also supposed to be known for the tempura, but I don't remember it being all that amazing.  I really did like the marinated tuna bowl and would order it again.


Inaba
20920 Hawthorne Blvd
Torrance, CA 90510
 


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