02DB2: BGC Experiments

Friday - Teppan Okochi Ryujin Wagyu Steak

I needed to step out for an errand after work, so we opted to turn it into a thing and risk trying someplace new for dinner. Given we're leaving BGC next year, we might as well make the most of such evening explorations. Plus we had already eaten at Tang yesterday and we didn't want to go two days in a row.

After much walking, we ended up at Teppan Okochi Ryujin that was mainly interesting because it had a pricey-but-still-manageable set meal that seemed like a decent gamble. Plus it did fit the bill of something new - and we were in the mood for Japanese.

Cue Tobie teasing me about writing a review.

TL;DR: The set meal didn't feel like it was super worth the money. If we do go back, it'll just be for mains.

It was a slow enough night for us to give us a sort of private booth/room as they had two of them by the door and each could seat four people. It was warmer in the first room they had put us in, so we had asked to try the next booth in case it was cooler. We ordered the minimum set meal with different mains and thus the adventure began.

The starters were super confusing. It was a small container of potato salad, a cooked shrimp, some tamagoyaki, and some sort of sushi ball. This was served on its own with no dipping sauces and that felt too weird for us, so we asked for soy sauce. It was joined by a strange caesar salad that consisted of some 4-5 pieces of lettuce laid out on a plate and drowning in salad dressing. It was a very strange start to the meal and I guess was more fusion Japanese than legitimate Japanese or something?

Next was the okonomiyaki - this was legitimately good. It's the one quote I had glanced from a Google review I had read while were standing outside the restaurant, so there's that. This was followed by a plate with fish, grilled veggies and two grilled shrimp with truffle oil. This plate was okay. And they wrapped this up with some miso soup that was nicely hearty.

For mains, I had gotten the steak and it was legitimately good. It was certainly a wagyu steak and not a regular stake aspiring to be wagyu one day. There was a significant delay between my main and Tobie's and that wasn't worth the wait. He had gotten the wagyu yakiniku jyu and for him it tasted more like tocino. Plus the rice wasn't sticky, so it was a bit of a struggle for him to eat.

Finally, the set was supposed to come with dessert and we're guessing this was presented by the waiter popping in to give each of us...a box of Pocky. At least they had put a Happy Halloween sticker with the name of the restaurant on it to make it more custom. To be fair, we were not 100% sure this was the actual dessert since we didn't ask, but we took enough time to eat one of the boxes and just sit a bit before deciding to just ask for the bill. The set also mentioned something about coffee or tea, but I didn't bother.

We left generally full but not quite satisfied. So I suggested that we try the mobile ordering feature for the Starbucks app since I finally created an account to claim a gift card a YouTube subscriber had given to me one time. This felt like a silly way to use the gift credit but a fun enough adventure that fit the theme for the night. We ordered two of the seasonal drinks and made our way to the branch. By right, we arrived just in time but the app said my order was still being prepared. I waited for the baristas to clear the current queue since I assumed we were at the end or something. But when they stopped working in drinks, then I had to step forward and ask if they had received the mobile order.

It turns out there was something wrong with the system in the store so it was auto-accepting mobile orders without giving the staff time to see them, so they could only keep up if someone happened to be looking at the screen at the time. They could only apologize and hurriedly assemble our drinks, which was a bit of a bummer since it defeated the whole mobile ordering concept since I had to order it over the counter anyway.

Maybe these are signs that BGC doesn't want us around anymore LOL

Our gaming guest for the night had to cancel because of family obligations, so we're on our own tonight. We have no shortage of games to play and I have a few things in mind for the night, so we'll be good. 

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