Located in Pasadena, Osawa serves shabu shabu and sushi. I showed up at the restaurant right when it opened for dinner on a Sunday without a reservation and was lucky enough to get a table – I definitely recommend making a reservation if you plan to go! Before getting seated, the staff asked if our party was planning to order shabu shabu. We wanted to try their bento box and rice bowls, so we were seated at a table instead of the bar seating area.
The menu was very simple, with appetizers, sushi sets and sashimi, bento boxes, rice bowls, and udon. The lunch and dinner menu were the same. We decided to order a few items to share.
Free Range Chicken Karaage with Sweet Chili Sauce
For our appetizer, we ordered the Free Range Chicken Karaage with Sweet Chili Sauce. The karaage was crispy and the sauce was delicious! I also loved the green onions sprinkled on top.
Beef Curry with Kurobuta Pork Katsu
The Beef Curry with Kurobuta Pork Katsu was good but probably not something I would order again. There wasn’t anything too special about it, but if I am craving curry, this would be a solid option.
Chirashi & Udon
I was looking forward to trying the Chirashi & Udon (hence the extra photos), but maybe I was too excited. For $25, the set was a good price. It comes with both a chirashi bowl and a bowl of udon. There was an assortment of raw fish, with one slice each. While the udon was good, it was a pretty interesting mix to have it with the chirashi bowl – it felt like a lot of rice and noodles. Personally, I would have preferred to have a larger chirashi bowl with more fish than have it as a set with the udon.
Shokado Bento
Shokado Bento – Angus Beef Rib Eye Steak, Miso Salmon, 4pcs Spicy Tuna, 3pcs Sashimi, Rice & Miso Soup
Mmm…this was my favorite order! The angus beef rib was really good. There was a bit of everything in this bento box – sushi rolls, sashimi, cooked meats, sides, miso soup, and rice – perfect for if you can’t decide what you want to eat! I would order this again.
Houjicha Tea-ramisu
Dessert was pretty unique. The staff came over with a tray of the day’s desserts, and introduced each one to us one by one. We decided to try the Houjicha Tea-ramisu (or “TiraMasu”). The dessert arrived in a “masu” (a square wooden cup for sake) on a small plate.
The powder covered the top and I scooped up the first bite. As I was about to put the spoon in my mouth, I inhaled and choked on all the powder. I couldn’t stop coughing for the longest time. Despite struggling to wash down all the powder with large gulps of water, I liked the fragrant taste of the roasted brown tea so much that I had to take an extra bite (without inhaling, of course)!
I’d want to come back and try some of their other dishes as well as their shabu shabu! I am glad I got to try so many different dishes on my first visit to know what I want to get for next time.