Tabemono

Had the mini Bento box during a catering event and it was enjoyable. So I decided to check out the place. I placed my order but it took like 10 – 15 mins which seemed long. I got the loco moco but it was overcooked the gravy was delicious as well as the salad. Prices are reasonable!

Japanese Hawaiian American.
People are nice. Takes credit cards. Opened last January.
A-​rated cleanliness.
Beef stew is decent. Meat is good.
Macaroni salad is good, a little peppery.
Chicken teriyaki is good, on the sweet side.
Open faced turkey sandwich was well made.
It is hot in here.
Small sitting area.
Terrible location (next to 7-​evelen in the corner)
Small TV in the corner.
Random nick-​nacks sold around.
Good for value.

The store has a good concept in trying to provide a multi ethnic restaurant but unfortunately some of the food just docent work for the, for example the chili cheese fries have way to much ground beef and barely any cheese.

Horrible loco moco. The only flavor I got from the beef was a burnt flavor. I couldn’t even finish half of it, it was so disgusting today. Can someone from Tabemono read the REAL reviews and learn from mistakes? Just because your family friends tell you that your food is amazing, it doesn’t mean it really is!
So basically, the hamburger patties have no flavor — no salt, no pepper… nothing. NOW, that would be okay if the gravy was AMAZING, but THAT needs salt and pepper. My dad was drowning his loco moco in shoyu to make it palatable. I freaking LOVE the loco moco at the Cal in Downtown Vegas (real Hawaiians go there), and if that is a 10, this loco moco is a –1.
Macaroni salad was also disgusting. Please, put it in a container on the side. The heat from the loco moco just makes the macaroni/​mayo taste weird after sitting with it for the mere 5 minutes it takes to drive home. Maybe it tastes weird to begin with – that’s even worse.
The only thing I will get from here is the kalua pork.

NO WAY!!!
NO GOOD!!!
NOT GOING BACK!!!
I made the biggest mistake of going back to this restaurant. Sure enough it’s loaded with family and friends. Only they get the smiles and the good food.
As I arrived I noticed that almost all customers were giving good compliments to the cooks. I spent almost 30 minutes to get my food and when I got it it was horrible. No taste at all for the Kalbi, I ordered Katsu for my wife and it tasted only like lard.
I checked all the reviewers that had given Tabemono 5 Stars and sure like Kristy said, they appeared to have opened an account just to give Tabemono 5 Stars. Most likely family and friends and none of them have any more reviews. This is so unfair as we spend money at this place. I don’t understand why is it so hard to make good food instead of bribing people to write good reviews?
If they would just go to their neighbors and taste the food from Bachan’s or Tozai, they would learn something but either they lack the sense of taste or they just don’t want to bother making something right.
Sorry but it sucked big time!!!

Great food at great prices. a very friendly and hospitable place to be at. I can always go for the beef stew or the teriyaki beef… I think the only down side to this place is that it is a little small inside. other than that I hope they do well to expand…

The bento box is delicious & Friday’s special black bean fish is very good. There is a variety of dishes with that homecook favor. I hear they are going to start having daily specials, so stay tuned.
Overall it’s a friendly atmosphere to grab a bite to eat, like going to a family gatherings.

This place is as comforting as your mother’s kitchen! The beef stew is my favorite, but might be dethroned, because i havent tried the rest of the menu yet. The cupcakes in the glass case are a great delectible secret… sweet but not overpowering like some designer, pricey ones. My faves are the red velvet and German chocolate. Join the Facebook group to get the insider scoop on the daily specials. All menu items are very reasonably prices, so cant go wrong! Its in a small strip mall adjacent to a 7 – 11.later evening hours and breakfast on Saturdays make it super convenient for locals to stop in and grab dinner or just a quick bite.

BEST OF ITS KIND IN THE SAN GABRIEL VALLEY
If you like authentic Hawaiian style fast-​food, then this is the place… plus much, much more. Better than its competition. Why? Better quality ingredients that are carefully cooked with a heartfelt homemade touch.
The results are very tasty dishes with an emphasis on quality, not quantity. Skimpy portions? Not at all… just not super-​sized.
And, it’s all so very reasonably priced, giving you an excellent value!
Also served is wonderful Japanese comfort food that brings back warm memories of times past.
Tabemono is a friendly place that focuses on high quality ingredients, careful preparation, taste (flavorful but not overwhelmingly so), and consistency… all at a very fair price… whether for one person or catering for up to 500.
TABEMONO = EXCELLENT VALUE!
(You might consider their boneless short-​rib beef stew. It’s a favorite of many, including my family and friends. Yumm… The delicious Fisherman’s Bento Box contains so many delightfully tasty elements. Also an excellent Teriyaki Beef Plate… as well as… so many other very tasty menu items… including Specials! Yum yum! :)

So for introduction, my parents are from Hawaii — in fact 3 generations there, and I’m the one Kotonk… but because of them, I know what ono Hawaiian food tastes like…
Having grown up in Orange County for the first 26 years of my life, I’ve passed through the lets say typical Hawaiian flavors — more like the used to be so called authentic (being they were the first to come up) tastes — but now they’re just the imitators. I don’t need to mention names, if you live there or around, those are the ones you go to because you don’t know anything else.
Why are those imitators? Look whos behind the grill… yea, I don’t have to know to know that if at least an Asian dude is in front of the fire, that ain’t gonna be good. No prejudice, it’s like saying just because I love Mexican food, I know real Mexican food, and how it should be cooked, no less the minimum wages that are out there to keep some of these chains/​franchises a float — what do you get with that?
…so although this place says it’s been opened for 6 months, I’ve only been going for the last month or so — and after talking to the head cook, they say the current menu offerings are part of the «new» menu. Well, to say the least, I challenged this small «mom and pop» shop by ordering my favorite dish — loco moco.
As basic as it may seem, it’s easy to screw this up — I’ve been to Ono Grill (that’s not Ono), and these clowns put stuff on it that shouldn’t be there — not to mention over cooking the patties. Rice being a basic staple wasn’t the «crisp» of taste either — you hint they didn’t wash it enough.
A proper Loco Moco should have eggs over easy, not runny, and gravy that has the right consistency — this aint turkey dinner we’re eating… ground beef patties that are juicy all around — with a slight smokey aroma, and over a bed of sticky white rice. Fresh man is the word!
My father even gave the thumbs up to this dish, and he’s been craving a true hawaiian taste. He ordered the Kaluhua Pork and Cabbage — also proper. You also can’t go wrong with spam musubi as a carry out — they put the furi kake between the spam — it was excellent!
For those that don’t know, «Tabemono» is translated to basically «let’s eat» in Japanese — and I don’t know why they say it’s multi ethic, because the rest of the menu is Japanese based food like Chicken Katsu, and bento boxes, and their Friday special Fish!
…and yea, the head cook — who personally puts the grill to work back there is a Japanese guy born and raised in Hawaii!
If you’re looking for real Hawaiian food, this is the place to go — it’s a true family owned joint, and has a support of some great Japanese based foods too. I’ll admit I’m a creature of habit, so I haven’t found myself parting from the loco moco or even the chili dogs, but I’ve definately found my home here — a piece of my parents home, tucked under multi ethnic brand in a place you wouldn’t look to first for it.

I’ve been going to Tabemono for a few months now and every dish that I’ve tried has been good. They give big portions for a small price. One thing they can work on is timing. It takes a while to get your food and it shouldn’t be that way especially if you’re the only customer in the restaurant. Otherwise, friendly people, clean environment and tasty food. The fisherman’s bento box is delicious (I can do w/​out the chashu. a little to dry for me), turkey meatloaf was surprisingly good and the fried rice is simple but tasty.

(Tips for the owner):
The Mochi cake was great (push it). Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, the unfortunate many negatives of our dining experience far overshadowed the strong points of Tabemono. Service was definitely too slow (speed it up, a lot). It’s unacceptable for a quick service restaurant so well stocked with employees to take more than 15 minutes to get us served and out of the door with take out food. The restaurant while clean and friendly lacked any sort of sensory experience. No sound or smell to be found, or rather to be remembered (Talk to us, play music, anything to keep us from twiddling our fingers. And make the food smell. Also lower the counters and get the crock pots out of the front of the store) The to-​go meals while neatly packed were lack luster and the food lacked spice or smell (although the beef stew was super tender), and was sadly disappointing (change the packaging & decorations for the to go meals. And keep your menu items in stock, the Fisherman’s bento was sold out when we went). Overall while trying the meal was a gesture of kindness to a start up business in the monterey park/​rosemead area, the food and overall experience was not enough to leave us as repeat customers. We wish you well Tabemono, just not enough to go back. (Tabemono, message me after reading and I’ll happily bring my review down. We’re still rooting for you).

New kid on the block!
A multi-​ethnic eatery!
First impression.
Wonderful smells greet you upon walking in!
Very friendly people operating the store. We were chatting & laughing like old buddies within minutes!

I’m still eating veggies-​only, so I asked what they’d recommend.
Pesto zucchini, mushrooms, onions over rice! Sounded good.
Oh boy, was it! I love that dish so much, I’m already thinking of going back later today to pick up several containers of their microwavable versions of this dish.
Looking at their menu boards on the wall, this is the kind of food I love & normally eat. They’ve also got soups simmering & sandwiches ready to go.
Second impression:
What really interested me were their bento boxes. I’m a big fan of these Japanese lunchboxes. (I’m finishing up this review four days later now) I picked up a mini-​bento box & it’s a little bit of this, a little bit of that, but all good! (see pic) There’s a wonton, fried shrimp, potato salad, nori musubi, kimpira (gobo root), chicken & pork. Perfect size for me. There’s a double-​size he-​man Fisherman’s Bento box for the heartier appetities.
I also picked up a penne pesto with that zucchini mix to stick in the microwave later that night. I’m so hooked on this mix! As a side note, the microwavable containers are worth saving!
Noted on the take-​home menu that the current food offerings are their Winter Menu. Yes! The items listed in the Daily Hot Meals section are all cold weather favorites in my house: Boneless Short Rib Stew, Smothered Pork Loin w/​veggies, Beefy Mac w/​veggies & my favorite Chicken Nishime Stew!
On the left side of the store are tempting little loaves of Lemon Mochi and Horchata cakes. Once I’m over this restricted diet torture, I’d like to give these a try.
I really like Tabemono & the folks there! Fine comfort food the way I like it. Eight more days of eating veggies & I’ll be there (quite often, I think) to have one of their Daily Hot Meals. First up will be the Chicken Nishime! Betcha I’m going to be bumping them up to five stars soon!
I wish they were open on the weekends. I hate cooking on the weekends!

Wow, great food! Price is right too! Perfect for lunch, dinner, take out, fishing trips.