Mini Foodventure #136: A bowl of soba at The Shojin (Little Tokyo)

As of late, a bunch of my food and enthusiast friends have been giving their diet an overhaul. Meatless here, dairy deprviation there and even *gasp* abstaining from alcohol. Of course, with my other blog (however slowly it's being updated) I've gotten quite a few inquiries about healthier dishes and places to check out. So more than happy to oblige, and figured I might share with you as well.

As of late one of my favorite healthier dishes has been the tomato-avocado soba for $9.45 at the Shojin, the Japanese vegan spot in Little Tokyo that I'm already a fan of. This modern interpretation has the organic buckwheat noodles soaking in a cold soy-based broth topped with a abundant array of leaf lettuces, ripe avocado and tomato chunks, kaiware (daikon sprouts) and a wasabi-tinged veganaise.

It's very satisfying without being heavy, and I love combo between the snappy bite of the wasabi veganaise against the cool, harmonizing broth. And it's great nutritionally too, it's not overloaded with veganaise (just enough to give it a slight tart creaminess) and it has oodles of vegetables. And the flavors are very clean and pure, the broth only has a hint of saltiness, and you can taste the freshness of the individual components. Plus, being a cold noodle dish, excellent meal for those warmer days and nights.

It may be a bit low on protein, but definitely something you can fix there by ordering their fluffy okara cakes (topped with a smidgen more of that addictive veganaise) pan-fried seitan with their housemade yuzu ponzu or barbecue sauces (the latter has a nice tangy-sweet zip!) Or, try one of their more well-rounded and equally tasty bento boxes instead. In any case, it'll surely prove the point that eating healthy doesn't mean crappy too.

The Shojin
333 S Alameda St (3rd Floor)
Los Angeles, CA 90013
(213) 617-0305
Website