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The Japanese Giant
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| Jyokamachi in the Westin Bonaventure offers a variety of options, including 37 types of sushi. Photo by Gary Leonard. |
Bonaventure's Jyokamachi Is Vast, in Cuisine and Square Footage
by Hettie Lynne Hurtes
Jyokamachi, in the Westin Bonaventure Hotel, is three eateries in one: There is a Benihana-esque teppan section; a suite of rooms featuring traditional cuisine and boil-it-yourself shabu shabu; and a full sushi bar offering 37 varieties of fresh fish and seafood. It is all spread over a 14,000-square-foot space that extends through two wings of one of the hotel's towers. There are also two full service bars.
It may be big, but that doesn't mean Jyokamachi is easy to find. Perched on the sixth floor of the massive hotel, it wasn't accessible via any elevator I could locate. After walking round and round the circular hotel several times, I finally spotted an escalator that eventually brought me to my destination. General Manager David Leung admits this is perhaps his establishment's most frustrating element.
Literally translated as "the castle surrounded by the town," Jyokamachi has something for everyone. Let's start with the main restaurant, which is the most visually pleasing. The foyer is reminiscent of a Zen garden, and the dining room's Japanese decor is simple and elegant. For an even more traditional experience, diners can reserve the tatami room where, after removing their shoes, they sit on the floor on mats surrounding a low table. The trick is not in the seating, it's getting up.
The extensive selection may make it difficult to decide what to order on a first visit. The traditional menu features sushi, sashimi, noodle dishes, seafood, tempura and shabu shabu of various kinds: Kobe beef ($98.75), King crab ($42.75) and mixed seafood ($50.75). It's a complete dinner with miso soup, appetizer, vegetable, udon noodles, Japanese pickle and rice. It is pricey, but the portions are huge.
If you're not familiar with shabu shabu, you prepare it yourself. A large hotplate is set on your table containing a pot of water infused with seaweed. The water is brought to a slow simmer, at which time you place the vegetables, noodles and meat, in that order, into the steaming solution for just a few seconds. The trick is not to overcook the meat. The New York strip, for example, sliced paper thin, can turn chewy and lose its flavor if left in the water for more than a quick dunk.
Another option is to leave the preparations to the kitchen staff and order udon noodles (thick, round, rice noodles), prepared either as a stir-fry ($9.95-$13.95) or in a soup ($9.50-$11.95). These selections include miso soup, rice and, according to the menu, "friendly service."
Jyokamachi specialties include the standouts Kaiseki Zen ($30.75) and Hana Zen ($37.75); these lacquer boxes contain cooked salmon or other fish, fried tofu, sashimi, an appetizer such as marinated octopus, tempura shrimp and vegetables, and pickles.
All Hail Fried Things
The restaurant's tempura outshines even that served in the best Little Tokyo cafes. The shrimp ($11.75), for instance, is light, non-greasy, with no hint of oil. The tempura can be dipped in a creamy sesame sauce, a soy-based ponzu sauce, or, as Leung explains is the wont of his Japanese customers, both. I preferred the sesame sauce for its delicate, sweet flavor and consistency. The ponzu, which is runnier, tends to make the tempura soggy.
Unusual menu items include Java curry and cutlets (which the menu subtitles "fried things"). The golden fried chicken cutlet curry ($10.50) is a combination of both, actually; a tender chicken breast, lightly fried and served over a curry of mixed vegetables and white potatoes. The curry is mild, and when consumed with either or both the pickles and rice, there's hardly a hint of hot.
A more informal and kid-friendly experience is available at the Teppanyaki Grill in the opposite wing. This smaller section of the restaurant features open grills, heated to 500 degrees, each horseshoed by place settings which resemble granite-topped blackjack tables. While the decor here is not as impressive as in the main part of the restaurant, the chefs make up for it. Rico, for instance, says it took him three months to learn the art of juggling utensils and tossing his salt and peppershakers into his hat. He also builds a volcano out of an onion, replete with steam rising from the top.
The food itself is tasty but unspectacular à la Benihana. The aroma is mesmerizing as the onions are sautéed along with zucchini, bean sprouts and mushrooms on the hot grill, followed by the fried rice with soy sauce and a choice of meat: shrimp ($26.75), a six-ounce New York steak ($28.75) or a tender breast of chicken ($19.95). But it's nothing you couldn't create in a wok at home.
Despite the number of ingredients, preparation time is about five minutes. Each item gets a special sauce: ginger for the red meat, a Thousand Island-type dressing for the seafood and, my favorite, yaki yaki sauce, made of egg yolk, honey, Japanese wine and pepper for the shrimp. The latter does every self-respecting condiment's job: It actually adds that special something to the meal.
Not that you'll have any room for it, but there is a limited selection of desserts: ice cream ($3.50), fresh pineapple ($3.50) and banana tempura ($4.50). While I loved the tempura entrees, the dessert variety left me cold (pardon the pun). You can hardly taste the banana buried in the batter, and after a heavy meal a lighter selection might be preferable.
What sets Jyokamachi apart from many busy Downtown establishments is the service. Leung says they pride themselves on remembering their regulars and their preferences.
Jyokamachi, in the Westin Bonaventure Hotel, is at 404 S. Figueroa St., suite 601, (213) 629-9929 or jyokamachi.com. Open for lunch Mon.-Fri. 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m.; dinner seven days a week, 5:30-9:30 p.m.
page 12, 4/4/2005
© Los Angeles Downtown News. Reprinting items retrieved from the archives are for personal use only. They may not be reproduced or retransmitted without permission of the Los Angeles Downtown News. If you would like to redistribute anything from the Los Angeles Downtown News Archives, please call our permissions department at (213) 481-1448.
It may be big, but that doesn't mean Jyokamachi is easy to find. Perched on the sixth floor of the massive hotel, it wasn't accessible via any elevator I could locate. After walking round and round the circular hotel several times, I finally spotted an escalator that eventually brought me to my destination. General Manager David Leung admits this is perhaps his establishment's most frustrating element.
Literally translated as "the castle surrounded by the town," Jyokamachi has something for everyone. Let's start with the main restaurant, which is the most visually pleasing. The foyer is reminiscent of a Zen garden, and the dining room's Japanese decor is simple and elegant. For an even more traditional experience, diners can reserve the tatami room where, after removing their shoes, they sit on the floor on mats surrounding a low table. The trick is not in the seating, it's getting up.
The extensive selection may make it difficult to decide what to order on a first visit. The traditional menu features sushi, sashimi, noodle dishes, seafood, tempura and shabu shabu of various kinds: Kobe beef ($98.75), King crab ($42.75) and mixed seafood ($50.75). It's a complete dinner with miso soup, appetizer, vegetable, udon noodles, Japanese pickle and rice. It is pricey, but the portions are huge.
If you're not familiar with shabu shabu, you prepare it yourself. A large hotplate is set on your table containing a pot of water infused with seaweed. The water is brought to a slow simmer, at which time you place the vegetables, noodles and meat, in that order, into the steaming solution for just a few seconds. The trick is not to overcook the meat. The New York strip, for example, sliced paper thin, can turn chewy and lose its flavor if left in the water for more than a quick dunk.
Another option is to leave the preparations to the kitchen staff and order udon noodles (thick, round, rice noodles), prepared either as a stir-fry ($9.95-$13.95) or in a soup ($9.50-$11.95). These selections include miso soup, rice and, according to the menu, "friendly service."
Jyokamachi specialties include the standouts Kaiseki Zen ($30.75) and Hana Zen ($37.75); these lacquer boxes contain cooked salmon or other fish, fried tofu, sashimi, an appetizer such as marinated octopus, tempura shrimp and vegetables, and pickles.
The restaurant's tempura outshines even that served in the best Little Tokyo cafes. The shrimp ($11.75), for instance, is light, non-greasy, with no hint of oil. The tempura can be dipped in a creamy sesame sauce, a soy-based ponzu sauce, or, as Leung explains is the wont of his Japanese customers, both. I preferred the sesame sauce for its delicate, sweet flavor and consistency. The ponzu, which is runnier, tends to make the tempura soggy.
Unusual menu items include Java curry and cutlets (which the menu subtitles "fried things"). The golden fried chicken cutlet curry ($10.50) is a combination of both, actually; a tender chicken breast, lightly fried and served over a curry of mixed vegetables and white potatoes. The curry is mild, and when consumed with either or both the pickles and rice, there's hardly a hint of hot.
A more informal and kid-friendly experience is available at the Teppanyaki Grill in the opposite wing. This smaller section of the restaurant features open grills, heated to 500 degrees, each horseshoed by place settings which resemble granite-topped blackjack tables. While the decor here is not as impressive as in the main part of the restaurant, the chefs make up for it. Rico, for instance, says it took him three months to learn the art of juggling utensils and tossing his salt and peppershakers into his hat. He also builds a volcano out of an onion, replete with steam rising from the top.
The food itself is tasty but unspectacular à la Benihana. The aroma is mesmerizing as the onions are sautéed along with zucchini, bean sprouts and mushrooms on the hot grill, followed by the fried rice with soy sauce and a choice of meat: shrimp ($26.75), a six-ounce New York steak ($28.75) or a tender breast of chicken ($19.95). But it's nothing you couldn't create in a wok at home.
Despite the number of ingredients, preparation time is about five minutes. Each item gets a special sauce: ginger for the red meat, a Thousand Island-type dressing for the seafood and, my favorite, yaki yaki sauce, made of egg yolk, honey, Japanese wine and pepper for the shrimp. The latter does every self-respecting condiment's job: It actually adds that special something to the meal.
Not that you'll have any room for it, but there is a limited selection of desserts: ice cream ($3.50), fresh pineapple ($3.50) and banana tempura ($4.50). While I loved the tempura entrees, the dessert variety left me cold (pardon the pun). You can hardly taste the banana buried in the batter, and after a heavy meal a lighter selection might be preferable.
What sets Jyokamachi apart from many busy Downtown establishments is the service. Leung says they pride themselves on remembering their regulars and their preferences.
Jyokamachi, in the Westin Bonaventure Hotel, is at 404 S. Figueroa St., suite 601, (213) 629-9929 or jyokamachi.com. Open for lunch Mon.-Fri. 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m.; dinner seven days a week, 5:30-9:30 p.m.
page 12, 4/4/2005
© Los Angeles Downtown News. Reprinting items retrieved from the archives are for personal use only. They may not be reproduced or retransmitted without permission of the Los Angeles Downtown News. If you would like to redistribute anything from the Los Angeles Downtown News Archives, please call our permissions department at (213) 481-1448.
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