Rate-A-Restaurant #402: Mama Musubi (Pasadena)

Restaurant: Mama Musubi

Location: 55 S. Madison Ave (Pasadena)

Type of restaurant: Japanese

We stipulated: Maria and I continue "New Food Sundays," inspired by the Los Angeles Times' latest 101 Restaurants special issue. We love spam musubi, of course, and were eager to try Mama Musubi's family pack of different musubi varieties.

 

They stipulated: Mama Musubi isn't located in a traditional restaurant space, but instead at Kitchen United Mix Pasadena -- where several eateries share the same kitchen to cut down on costs. Pick up your food from one of several restaurants -- it's the perfect situation for these pandemic times.

 

What we ordered: Family Meal Box: 3 Shio Salmon Musubis, 3 Miso Chicken Musubis, 2 Spam Musubis, 2 Kelp & Rayu Musubis, 12 Pcs Chicken Karaage and Spicy Mayo Dipping Sauce, Side Salad for four, and Sriracha Sauce ($45)

High point: This is a deal. So much food, we had leftovers for the next day.

Low point: Could have used a little more meat in the chicken musubis.

Overall impression: Such a deal. Perfect for our family of four.

Will we return:  Absolutely! There's something here for everyone. We'll be back!

In Search of Tasty Street Food at the 626 Night Market

The 626 Night Market attempts to re-create the street food experience of the Far East right here in the San Gabriel Valley, attracting huge crowds (and long lines) to patronize around 150 food booths, food trucks and other vendors. Newly located at Santa Anita Park, the 626 Night Market is free (although parking at Santa Anita is $7 after 10 p.m.). We found street parking nearby.

Inside, lines were long at some of the more popular food vendors, but we managed to get some tasty musubi (although strangely, no spam) at the Mama's Musubi booth after waiting for about 15 minutes. We also hit another booth for Japanese-style chicken skewers, and two different spots for boba. The food was all very reasonably priced too.

Santa Anita is a fine place for the event -- plenty of room, plus a playground for the kids. But... every once in a while, you'd catch a whiff of horse manure. Not pleasant at any time, but especially not pleasant while looking for food. (Don't worry, it wasn't overpowering or frequent.)


What is "Gangnam Style" food? Not clear. But points to this booth for blatantly trying to cash in on the Gangnam craze. I imagine last year it was the "Lady Gaga Food" booth.


Yes, "Gangnam Style" is everywhere.


Blogger Toddler 2.0 enjoys a Boba Milk Tea. More crowd and food booth shots:













Some background on the market:

The 626, aka the San Gabriel Valley, is home to a slew of wonderful Asian restaurants, businesses, and communities. Many 626 inhabitants grew up frequenting night markets in Asia and often reminisce about the sights, sounds, and tastes found at night markets. The only thing missing from the 626 is an Asian night market.

 The goal of the 626 Night Market is to recreate the Asian night market experience in Los Angeles while providing a platform for local, small businesses and entrepreneurs to thrive through exposure and participation in an event created for the surrounding communities.

Keep an eye peeled for the next 626 Night Market!