Sunday, July 02, 2006

Gaja Okonomiyaki - Lomita



"It's so damn hot...milk was a bad choice"

- Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) in the the film Anchorman, after realizing that chugging a carton to quench his thirst after a sweaty jog on a hot day wasn't the wisest of decisions.

I was to come to a similar realization when I invited five friends to an early dinner at Gaja Okonomiyaki in Lomita one balmy Sunday.

It was the tail end of one of those sweltering Southern California days we're now all too familiar with, but not yet accustomed. The sun had dipped below the horizon, but the air was still thick with heat. And although Lomita is close to Torrance, which is close to the beach, it still didn't make it any cooler in that black asphalt parking lot.

I had been yearning to try Gaja ever since a Chowhound by the name of Perceptor posted his drool-inducing photo spread for everyone to see. And then recently, Tony Bourdain went to Osaka on his Travel Channel show and had okonomiyaki in a place just like Gaja. Like a rat entraced by the Pied Piper of Hamelin, I was lured by the call of this Japanese pancake dish and I e-mailed my friends to meet me in Lomita post haste.

The folly of my decision set in as soon as they arrived and we went inside to take our table.

Okonomiyaki, you see, is a cook-it-yourself dish like Korean BBQ, done on a table-top griddle built into each booth. There were about a dozen tables there, all equipped with these hot plates -- flat metallic grey cooktops connected to an unseen power source -- each of which acted like space heaters, pumping out BTUs into the enclosed room like coils in an electric oven. This, and the fact that the air conditioning was woefully underpowered, made the temperature inside the restaurant easily ten degrees hotter than it was outside. Taking my seat directly in front of our griddle, I could feel its radiative heat on my skin. If my chair was able to swivel and rotate, I'd be shawarma.

We were undoing the first few buttons on our shirts, shedding any unnecessary layers of clothing, and fanning ourselves even before it was time to cook. One of us pointed out the adage "if you can't handle the heat, stay out of the kitchen." This apt and hilarious observation captured the absurdity of the moment -- we couldn't escape the kitchen as this dining room *was* the kitchen.

But we had gone too far to chicken out. So, as the only person in the group who had any idea of how to cook okonomiyaki -- thanks to Perceptor, mmm-yoso's Kirk, and Daily Gluttony's Pam -- I started us off with an order.

Part of the appeal of okonomiyaki is that its communal and interactive. The word itself means "as you like it." Everyone is in control of how well the dish turns out since it is cooked and eaten fresh off the cooktop by you and the friends you've invited. And because it is slightly more complicated than just slapping a piece of marinated beef on a grate and watching it sizzle, an order of okonomiyaki comes with its own set of instructions.

That's right. Instructions -- a laminated "How-To" guide complete with a set of steps, diagrams and charts. It's even written in Japanese and broken English like those Sony VCR manuals from the bygone 80s.

When the first bowl of okonomiyaki batter arrived, I played the part of intrepid diner and expert cook by demonstrating the procedure to my friends as if I was auditioning for my own Food Network show. I took a spoon to task and mixed the toppings of raw egg, dried shrimp, diced scallion, folding it gently into the gloopy starch-and-cabbage-based batter. Then a squirt of oil from a squeeze bottle lubed up the griddle.

When it came to spreading the batter onto the cooking surface, I heeded the warnings on the instructional sheet which said that making two smaller pancakes was recommended for beginners. Being risk averse, I hedged my bet and made four.



The moment of truth came a few minutes later when it was time to flip. Not surprisingly, it stayed fully intact since the tight circumference of my small pancakes left a lot of room for error.

Then after a few short minutes, I brushed on some dark okonomiyaki sauce over the tops, sprinkled each generously with dashes of dried green seaweed powder, zig-zagged Japanese mayo, and placed a finishing crown of bonito flakes ever so daintily on top. I cut it up and portioned it out to my eager friends. We consumed it piping hot and oozy.



I'm proud to report that my creation was delectable. The batter produced a savory and springy, eggy pancake with the herby notes of scallion and the salty bite of the dried brine shrimp. The dark okonomiyaki sauce, a tart cousin of teriyaki, played against the sweet richness of the mayo. The bonito flakes and seaweed powder contributed an unmistakable Japanese character.

Seeing the success that I had with the first okonomiyaki, one friend -- who was a culinary school graduate and an ex-chef at Lucques -- took it upon herself to prepare the next batch.

Hers required a few more steps than the rudimentary one I made. First of all, there was raw pork belly to render and pieces of seafood to cook. Then there were noodles which had to be heated and stir fried. Finally, it's doused by the same base batter.



But when it came time to spread, she confidently formed one single, large circle with the circumference of a medium pizza pie. Her reputation as a professional chef was now on the line. And we all bit our nails waiting for her to do the flip.

How did she do? Well, upon flipping, the pancake fell apart in ragged patches. What didn't stick to the spatula made an ungraceful belly flop onto the flat surface. And although it tasted great, the whole incident left her open for some playful ribbing about her "supposed" culinary training.

Of course, I couldn't claim that I could have done any better -- that large and thick circular disk was as unwieldy and awkward to handle as a bowling ball balanced on a pool cue.

After being stuffed full of okonomiyaki and sweating like pigs, we breathed a sigh of relief when we left that stifling dining room. Outside, we were refreshed when our perspiration evaporated on contact with a brisk sea breeze. Surprisingly, the weather in Lomita had cooled considerably during the hour we spent in the restaurant.

As we parted company, we made a vow not to return to Gaja again until the weather is good and frigid...or until they install an air-conditioning system with supercooled air jets like those used in the "Backdraft" attraction at Universal Studios, whichever comes first.

Gaja Okonomiyaki
(310) 534-0153
2383 Lomita Blvd # 102
Lomita, CA 90717

16 Comments:

At 10:00 PM, Blogger Christine D. said...

Wow, good job Elmo! I was slightly tense as i read this since the possibility of messing up seems rather high. Have a great 4th of july!

 
At 3:00 AM, Blogger Juliet said...

I didn't know they had restaurants specializing in okonomiyaki, where they let you make it yourself. I am familiar with the dish, though. I make a pretty mean okonomiyaki. My Japanese friends all say it tastes like the real deal. And I get it often at the food court at Mitsuwa Marketplace. (Which is literally next door. So I have it often.) I think I'll go get some for lunch today.
Oh. One more thing. Did you know there is a Korean dish that is very similar? It has seafood instead of pork

 
At 12:28 PM, Blogger Daily Gluttony said...

yay you got to try gaja okonomikayi! i've gotta give you props for separating your okonomiyaki into smaller circles--that was smart. you already know that i learned the hard way (as did your friend) with trying to flip one big ghetto-nomiyaki. but as you said, at least it tasted good! great report as always!

 
At 1:29 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey Elmo - Good job - the flipping is the hardest part! BTW, you set your friend up with that Hiroshima style okonomiyai, didn't you? I think it's harder to flip then Osaka-style......;o)

 
At 11:01 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey Elmo - Anonymous was me again...sheeesh, can;t get this stuff right. Pretty soon Pam will get on me for being Mr Anonymous....

 
At 9:02 AM, Blogger Daily Gluttony said...

Kirk,

I won't get you for being anonymous. Unless, of course, you leave me hit and run posts about tubers. LOL!

 
At 9:47 AM, Blogger elmomonster said...

Christine,

You too Christine! And if you go to the beach, make sure you are not invisible to police SUVs

Juliet,

I was planning to make okonomiyaki myself at home but couldn't find all of the ingredients that Kirk put into his recipe. So I did the next best thing! And now that you mention it, I have seen that Korean pancake which is similar. I've definitely seen it on menus but haven't ordered it, not knowing that it is cut from the same cloth. Will need to try it now.

DG,

I think separating it into those small circles was an act of wimpiness by me. I decided that I've leave it for my friends to decide if they wanted to attempt to make a big one. And of course, as I predicted, your ghetto-nomiyaki made an appearance!

Kirk and Pam,

I knew it was you all along. OK, well not really, but I knew it was someone who knew Japanese food well, and had my bet it was you. But I did kind of set my friend up with the more complicated order. But she set herself up by making the big pancake! I actually asked her "are you sure you wanna do that?" To which she said "why not?" To which I shrugged and said "okaaaay."

 
At 11:35 PM, Blogger Passionate Eater said...

Great pancake flipping skills Elmo! I agree with Pam, it was a great idea for you to make mini-servings. That way, the pancakes cook faster, and are easier to handle. This just further confirms that you would be a great Food Network host. I like posts when you cook!

 
At 11:42 AM, Blogger e d b m said...

Edwin, very nice posting. As with all of your posts, I feel like I'm right there biting my nails in anticipation for the formidable belly-flop haha. When I was in Japan, people were crazy over the Takoyaki octopus balls, but I preferred the Okonomiyaki b/c it had eggs, tons of katsuoboshi flakes and green onions. The food looks great and I'll definitely come here to try it out.

 
At 2:44 PM, Blogger elmomonster said...

PE,

Hey thanks! This post qualifies as a cooking post doesn't it? It just occurs to me that I haven't posted anything cooking related since last year. Two birds. One stone!

EDBM,

Actually I'm surprised you haven't tried this place yet. It probably wouldn't have been quite a schlep from LA as it was from Irvine. But then I cheated, it was Sunday night...traffic was as light as it ever gets.

 
At 9:47 PM, Blogger BoLA said...

Whoa! I'm not fond of this dish as EDnbM will attest to, but yours does sound delectable! Glad that you had a great 4th (or 3rd) of July! Next time I drive through the OC, maybe we can meet up for some ONO Hawaiian eats too!

 
At 11:42 PM, Blogger Pirikara said...

Hi elmo. I'm glad I found your site. I used to go by "Gonzo" on Chowhound. Now I'm Pirikara which means spicy! I just posted a lil thing bout gaja. I went on a sunday evening too. Definitely warm in there but still tolerable.

 
At 2:28 PM, Blogger elmomonster said...

bola,

You're in for a treat. For some reason, OC's has a lot of new Hawaiian places opening up. I had the best chicken katsu ever at one just recently.

Pirikara,

Welcome to my blog! Judging by your GaJa post, you look like a pro. I am but a noob!

 
At 12:59 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

LOL at the shwarma reference--i first encounted them in Ottawa of all places last year. I'd never heard of them before, but it was a fitting analogy to what you must've been feeling. Even though it was too hot, it still sounds delicious :)

 
At 6:52 PM, Blogger elmomonster said...

Steph,

I was going to compare the experience to being a chicken on a rotisserie, but then I knew someone was going to ask "Where'd they shove the skewer?"

 
At 10:25 AM, Blogger momopi said...

There's a good desert place in the same center, to the left of Gaja - Patisserie Chantilly. They only make limited numbers of fresh deserts daily, so get there early for the good stuff.

 

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