Maneki Neko

Maneki neko is a “beckoning cat” that is believed to bring fortune.

Tonight we went out to have dinner at a Japanese restaurant in Falls Church called “Maneki Neko“. It is a small family friendly restaurant you would go on a regular night. It was perfect for us tonight.

We recently decided that we would try to eat at home as often as possible in order to stop hemorrhaging money, but we allowed ourselves to enjoy a family outing tonight. We need to do that once in a while.

I’ve heard about the restaurant not only from the Japanese living in the area but also from non-Japanese people and learned that they served Okinawan food as well. We had lived in Okinawa for a little over 2 years before we moved back to Virginia and have missed “Okinawa Soba (Okinawan noodle soup)” since we left.

Kids split a bowl of Okinawa Soba. They loved it. Even my finicky eater quietly finished her portion. I thought that the sushi was pretty good.

We enjoyed the meal and thought that for a Japanese restaurant, the dishes were reasonably priced. There were some selection of nigirizushi that are only $1.05 per a piece of sushi from Monday through Thursday. The thing about sushi restaurants is that if you are not careful and lose track of sushi orders a la carte, it can add up to something unexpected. I realized I need to pace myself!

Even before we ordered, I started clicking away. My kids wanted to eat the noodle immediately, but I had to take the photos before we served them, so there I was shooting the mouth watering noodle in front of my kids… My husband goes “are you going to subject us to this every time we go out to eat?” Hummmm…. I guess, I have to think about that…

My older daughter likes to be a clown when I point the lens at her. I wonder how long this is going to last.