Yashima Japanese Restaurant
Sawtelle and Olympic - 2nd floor

Where to eat on Halloween...Amber and I searched for a place to go during lunch. We had wanted to try the new rotating sushi bar...but upon arrival at the door, found that they were CLOSED on Halloween?? What self respecting business closes their doors on HALLOWEEN? I would understand every Sunday, or even MLK Jr. Day...but Halloween? Suspicious...

So we continued our search. Amber mentioned this small restaurant around the corner in the same complex...so we went there. Yashima has sparse decor - oddly enough, I would describe it as 80's minimalist. Trust me, you just have to see it for yourself.

We were seated quickly and presented with a menu that mostly consisted of udons, soba and rice bowls. Water was quickly served. This place was fast. Awesome.
I chose the special of the day - shrimp curry rice, small bowl of udon, tempura, a few nuggets of chicken karage, and mixed greens salad with one slice of tuna on top. This was a great set! So many different flavors, not too much of anything, nothing too overwhelming. The salad was perfect, a tangy Japanese dressing with delicious mixed greens, and the piece of tuna on top was such a great bonus! Tempura was hot and crispy, udon was supple and chewy in that good way. The two bites of karage were a nice little bite. Here's a close up of the shrimp tempura curry rice. The shrimp was alright but the curry was just okay. I mean, it was alright but nothing to go out of my way for.
Amber got the Beef Bowl set. This thing was huge for her - she only ate maybe a third of it - but loved every bite. Nice use of egg, and those shreds of seaweed! So perfect.

This is a top view of her set. Her miso soup looked really good!

Yashima was a nice little place to eat during lunch. I'm going again!