I always considered Eastern cuisine to be out of my comfort zone. It seemed exotic because many of the ingredients were things I was never exposed to as a child. My friend wanted to share his favorite restaurant with me, but when he mentioned it was “Far East Korean & Japanese Cuisine”, I was hesitant. I hadn’t tried anything like octopus, satay, sweet potato noodles, or curries. He persuaded me by insisting on paying for our meal. How could I not accept?
When entering the restaurant, you’re greeted by a gentleman behind a small bar that seats about 15 people. Most of the stools were occupied, but we settled into a couple of seats toward the end. My friend, Troy, took charge and ordered us a couple of large bottles of cold Japanese beer called Sapporo. The bartender poured beer into a tall glass. The ice-cold crispness of the dry Japanese rice lager hit the spot. Then we had some warm sake. This was served in a small clay carafe with a tiny clay cup. The contrast of the cold beer and the warm sake was really enjoyable. After contemplating the menu and a few suggestions from Troy, I ordered the tempura trio for my appetizer. After some convincing, we decided to share some sweet potato noodles. This was an item I was wary about. The noodles were a brown translucent color, and didn’t look appealing to me. Troy ordered the octopus bento box as his main dish. I ordered the beef bento box. We each got something that I really wasn’t looking forward to, a pan-fried soft-shell crab.
We were seated at our table in the small, but comfortable, 15 to 20 table dining room. We first received the tempura. This looked like something I would eat all the time. Deep fried shrimp, chicken, and beef, battered in a light fluffy batter. It was served with some soy and plum sauce. I loved this, the crispy coating paired with the sauces and proteins was perfect.
Next came the soft-shell crab. This was testing my picky eating boundaries. Apparently, you eat the whole crab, shell and all. After watching Troy try his, I hesitantly took a bite. Wow! If I didn’t know better, I wouldn’t have known the shell of the crab was there. This was wonderful. I quickly called over the waiter and ordered a second. The appetizers were a success, I was very happy.
Before our entrees, we had the sweet potato noodles, they looked weird. Brown translucent noodles in a dark sauce was not appealing, but it smelled wonderful. Reluctantly I took a small taste. The noodles were the consistency of firm, chewy Jello, which I didn’t care for. The taste was very good, but didn’t taste like sweet potatoes. They were chewy and slimy noodles in a sweet soy sauce, mixed with green onions and bean sprouts. I liked it enough to eat my fair portion.
Finally, our bento boxes came. This was presented on a rectangular dish with portions separated in small squares. Both came with rice, edamame (boiled soybean pods with sea salt), stir fried vegetables, and half of an orange. Troy’s was with octopus, mine was with beef. The beef was sliced thin, with a savory sweet and spicy sauce. I was very pleased and loved everything but the veggies. Troy offered me a taste of his octopus; I wasn’t ready to try that yet. I really enjoyed trying a couple of new foods. The biggest surprise for me was the soft shell crab. It was my favorite item of the meal and I order it whenever possible. I recommend , “The Far East Restaurant” for someone who wants to try Korean/Japanese style cuisine, here is the Facebook page , https://www.facebook.com/FarEastAppleton/ .
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