Yokai Musubi
2190 W Burnside St Suite A, Portland, OR 97205
What is a Musubi?
A Musubi is a delightfully delicious treat originally from Hawaii. Born in the aftermath of WW2, it is A fun blend of cultures from the traditional Japanese Onigiri (rice ball) and the westerners need for big slabs of meat wrapped around everything. As such the comfort food Musubi is born!
So when we heard that a shop had set up in Portland specializing in this tasty treat we had to come down and taste it for ourselves.
Welcome to Yokai Musubi!
As you enter this Japanese inspired deli you are immediately greeted by warm colors, a friendly shopkeeper and row upon row of rice wrapped options! It was hard to choose only one, so we didn’t! At about $3-$4 per Musubi or Onigiri it was east to buy a variety
The classic Hawaiian Steak (spam) Musubi is of course key, but here they do some fun twists on this classic. Starting with their Spam and Egg, with a Omelette styled egg turning this big bite into a really good excuse to eat Musubi for breakfast. With the “steak” nicely grilled and the warmth of the rice refreshing on a cold day, this is a good way to start any morning.
But if you want something with a bit more flavor you can get yourself a Teri-Spam Takuan with the meat now glazed with a teriyaki sauce adding that extra flavor, topped with a refreshing crunchy pickled Daikon and sprinkled with Furikake (Japanese seaweed and spice seasoning which is sooo good) this is a balanced piece of comfort food that will make you feel refreshed after eating and ready for seconds.
Of course for those are put off by the idea of Spam (cowards!) they also have a variety of Japanese Rice balls to choose from. We tried the Tuna Mayo Onigiri made with short grain rice filled with a lovely tuna salad and wrapped in a crisp piece of Nori, served cold unlike the Musubis but no less delicious for that (so food we ate it all up before taking a picture)
Then we had to try this colorful pink and purple looking treat the Ume Onigiri! Packed with Umeboshi (Japanese plum) and dusted with a special Furikake blend, this is a more unique rice ball experience that maybe isn’t for everyone. With a sour hit from the Ume blending with savory spices and just a bit of saltiness from the seaweed, it is a complex taste and well made. Just don’t try and share it with your less adventurous foodie friends.
All said and done we had a fantastic trip to Yokai Musubi. Rice balls and Musubi are a speciality that we are so glad they are bringing out in force! We will definitely be stopping by whenever possible to grab a bag of filling treats and see what new combinations they come up with.
We give Yokai Musubi Nine Onigiri out of Ten 🍙🍙🍙🍙🍙🍙🍙🍙🍙
Sibling Grubbery 