Honda-ya, Industry, Now Open!

[OCAnn]

Last night, we got hungry for Japanese, so I did a quick search online and was surprised to see a fourth Honda-ya location (Tustin, downtown LA, FV) in the City of Industry, closer to those of us who reside in north OC. Apparently, they opened last week.

The space is much larger than the Tustin location with parking that was more full than the restaurant. We walked in and were seated right away. What I noticed right away was that each seat/table had hooks for coats/purses; I *LOVE* that! Each table had menus in both English and Japanese and like the other locations, had friendly, quick bilingual staff.

On to the good stuff, we had
- yamakake maguro (grated mountain potato with tuna sashimi) -- I LOVED this, as I LOVE yama imo and maguro
- ika natto (squid with natto) -- the natto was okay, I'm not likely to order again; I thought it should be served ready to eat, but you have to stir the dish and add soy sauce (I came to eat, not to work)
- beef tataki (raw beef) -- if you like steak raw, you'll like this dish, though I found it to be more chewy than I like (perhaps it was sliced a touch too thick?)
- crunch roll for Mr OCAnn -- he loved this, I would have liked it more without the thick sauce on top
- yakitori: meatballs -- three to a skewer; these were good and a staple for Mr OCAnn
- yakitori: spicy wings -- these were not too spicy, maybe even on the sweet side, but had a slighty crunchy skin which I love on wings
- yakitori: thighs -- these were really good, with a nice smokey aroma and flavour

we probably had a couple more dishes, but I can't remember (as is always the case when we dine sans notepad). I'm attaching some blurry pics, but once I start eating, taking pics becomes a chore as I tend to focus on food. Maybe with more practice, it'll be more second nature. Dinner for 2 with the above + beer, tax and tip = $65.

So for those of us who live in north OC or very south LA, Industry now has a Japanese fix with Honda-ya!

17200 Railroad St
City of Industry, CA 91748
[phone]

[js76wisco]

I love Honda Ya. Has anybody been to both Honda Ya and Shin Sen Gumi? Which do you like better? My sister says Shin Sen Gumi is much better in terms of yakitori and tofu dishes. As a pain in the butt younger brother I must wait for 3rd party confirmation from complete strangers online to validate my sister. Thanks.

[OCAnn]

You haven't learned to listen to your older sister yet?!? Sheesh! ;) I think SSG is a touch better, but my favourite yakitori is @ Torihei in Torrance--sublime! But overall, I prefer Honda-ya over SSG and Torihei over both.

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Torihei
1757 W. Carson Street, Torrance, CA 90501

[js76wisco]

Not yet. Give me another 36 years. Thanks I'll have to give SSG and Torihei a try. I've been going to Honda-ya once a week just due to proximity.

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Torihei
1757 W. Carson Street, Torrance, CA 90501

[Dommy]

I agree with Ann... SSG really tries harder than HY but Torihei puts their soul into it!

--Dommy!

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Torihei
1757 W. Carson Street, Torrance, CA 90501

[dlew308]

I picked up some food last night togo. Now I have another japanese restaurant close enough to drive to. So now between Ojiya and Honda-Ya, it's never bad too have choices :)

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Ojiya Restaurant
15904 Gale Ave, Hacienda Heights, CA 91745

[Peripatetic]

Thanks for the report. Besides Honda-ya and Foo Foo Tei, are there any other destination-worthy Japanese places in the Industry area? I know there's Sapporo Ya and Daikokuya, but these don't sound too promising. (I've been to the Little Tokyo Daikokuya and was very disappointed.)

I'd also be very grateful to find good ramen anywhere in the SGV. It's a long drive to any of the Santouka locations. :(

[Dommy]

I think you'd be hard pressed to beat Foo Foo Tei in the area for Ramen sadly. But another great thing in the area (Along Colima right before Fullerton) is FuRaiBo. Hampen Cheese!!

--Dommy!

[Peripatetic]

Great! I like the Sawtelle FuRaiBo, so looking forward to trying this one.

[Dommy]

Since this post, I have gone to Ramen Yukino Ya and can vouch for its Ramen Superiority to Foo Foo Tei. However, my absolute favorite thing there is the Spicy Tan Tan Men... Spicy Cold Ramen noodles... SOOOO GOOODDD!!!

--Dommy!

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Ramen Yukino Ya
18230 E. Gale Ave, City Of Industry, CA 91748

[Peripatetic]

Thanks! I've been meaning to try Yukino-Ya. Since this thread started, Ton-Chan has opened, and is probably the best ramen in the SGV west of the 605. You may remember this thread: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/765028

[exilekiss]

Hi Peripatetic,

If you consider Hacienda Heights to be part of the SGV then Foo Foo Tei for sure. :) But if you're talking about the more famous "SGV" (Monterey Park -> Rosemead) nothing I've found.

[Peripatetic]

I'm considering the geographical SGV rather than the ersatz gastronomic one. :)

[J.L.]

Thanks for the heads up.. City of Industry has some good eatin' in the area, especially with some recent restaurant openings.

[OCAnn]

I thought I saw a Daikokuya that we still need to try out! =)

[J.L.]

Actually I have a secret new Japanese place that I'll be writing up soon... It beats Daikokuya on its best day by a mile.

[Dommy]

!!! Looking forward to it! :)

--Dommy!

[J.L.]

I was scooped by exilekiss on this one (d'oh!), so I've merged my thoughts into his review thread... Sorry, Dommy!

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/709607

[frank828]

a note about the hacienda heights daikokuya. they now close every tuesday. also they have a cold noodle item now(probably for summer) in a soy and sesame flavor. havent tried the noodle though.

[OCAnn]

Sounds like hiyashi chuka. I wonder which is better, Daikokuya's or Foo Foo Tei's....

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Daikokuya
327 E 1st St, Los Angeles, CA 90012

[exilekiss]

Hi OCAnn,

Thanks for the early report. :) I'm glad to hear that so far, this new Honda-Ya is pretty good. I was pretty disappointed with their Little Tokyo expansion (it felt like they spread themselves too thin as their food is not something to write home about :(.

[OCAnn]

Well, I haven't been to the Little Tokyo location, but I'd give a slight food preference to their Tustin location over this one. The convenience of this location (closer by five miles) easily overlooks the food...though I still need to try more menu items. =)

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Little Tokyo Restaurant
150 E Bonita Ave, San Dimas, CA 91773