Samurai Noodle

I am having ramen withdrawals.   It has been very chilly lately and the last time I had a good bowl of ramen was this past summer.  Yes, it's been that long!  Hubby took me to Samurai Noodle for my birthday in July.  We heard that Samurai opened a second location on University Ave so we decided to give it a try.  The new establishment was a lot bigger than the one in the International District.  My first experience at the original location was horrible.  The restaurant was a hole in the wall and very cramped.  We had to wait a long time and were seated on a really tiny table with barely any leg room.  We felt rushed to eat our food because there were other people waiting in line.  I was pleasantly surprised when we arrived to the University Ave location for lunch.  The restaurant had a lot more open space and we didn't have to wait!  

I ordered the tonkotsu ramen, a rich pork broth served with firm noodles.  Pork marrow is boiled for a long time resulting in a creamy white soup.  The ramen was topped with a slice of chashu, wood ears, and green onions.   It would have been better with menma.

Their portions were not very big so I ordered extra noodles.  Hey, just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I can't eat.  I'm not ashamed of it either.  

Hubby ordered the spicy ramen.  I can't remember if it was tan tan or spicy miso.  I could be wrong on both guesses.  It's been too long.  Overall, the food didn't disappoint.  Seattle still needs more ramen places though.

Lunch was very satisfying but it didn't stop there.  Prior to this, we went to Sweet Iron for Leige waffles (Belgian pearl sugar waffles) in the morning.

I had the strawberry waffle and hubs had the chocolate waffle.  I like Belgian waffles but the Leige waffles were too sweet.  I think it was more suitable as a snack or dessert than breakfast.

Then we went to Biringer Farms for berry picking.  I had hoped for dry sunny weather but it was wet and cold that morning.  Luckily, I was well prepared with my rain gear - boots and all.  

Later that evening, hubs invited my family and friends to surprise with a bbq feast at the park.  Finally the skies cleared up and the sun was out.  I couldn't ask for better weather. 

Caprese skewers

Orzo salad with micro greens

Curried couscous

Mediterranean grilled vegetables

Chicken sausages

Also not pictured here was grilled salmon.  I love salmon!  And look, he even baked me a strawberry white chocolate cake from scratch topped with more strawberries!  Yum!