SUSHI BAR & RESTAURANT ASIAN FUSION
I’ll tell you right out of the gate, the sake wine was the best part of this meal.
This is one of those examples of everything looking better than it tasted and textured.
When the pot stickers came out I was surprised firstly by the appearance; they resembled jumbo prawns more than stuffed noodles. Secondly, the stuffing was half mushy and half nearly whole edamame. Although this may be healthy, it needed better texture. And where was the flavor?
The noodle itself did not appear to be boiled or steamed but air-fried. I’ve never had anything air-fried, but air-frying noodles? Or was it that the cook just dunked them into the fat fryer for a couple seconds whereby there was no fat or water visible on what textured like paper noodle. Now maybe that’s what tofu paper is. The shell tasted almost like popcorn.
- When introducing something new or different that people aren’t accustomed to, then write it on the menu or brief the wait staff. Waiters these days don’t know the menu – anywhere.
- I’ve had many waiters claim that the V and VG or VA on the menu all mean the same thing. I don’t know who came up with these labels but they’re confusing. Why differentiate if they’re all the same? “Oh, that’s okay, it doesn’t matter, we just tell the cook to make it vegan”. Somehow I’m not trusting that, given that nobody seems to know what vegan is.
I’ve noticed across the board the wait staff no matter the establishment are jittery. Ask them a question and they’re too confused to reply.
If these pot stickers were made from tofu paper, it didn’t go well. I ate them, but it was like chewing on thick paper not a soft noodle. Alright, experiment, but make the experiment work. Sure it looks okay, but taste and texture scores were in the garbage bin.
Onto the sushi. In the restaurant title it says sushi bar. If it says it’s a sushi bar then they had better make good sushi. This isn’t a discount food mart. Plate presentation was peculiar, the roll was done by an amateur, the rice was awful, and the inside, well again the flavors and textures weren’t well matched. And what’s this chili sauce they drizzle on everything? big disappointment.
I ordered a tofu ramen bowl. Whole garlic in soup does nothing for it. Eating whole garlic that has little flavor adds nothing to the texture balance. the ramen was overcooked, the tofu textured like it had been previously frozen then soaked in water or broth for days. Hard celery with mushy tofu? Not good. Whoever designed this dish knows nothing about tofu.
It looks like salmon doesn’t it? That’s a perfect example of looks being deceiving.
I don’t show the mushroom slices that had obviously been marinated to save them from rot, but too late to the marinade. I removed them from the bowl. You can’t remove that fishy smell from fishy mushrooms and it flavors everything close to it – marinated or not.
These cooks may know a lot about preparing animal meat, but nothing about preparing vegetables or tofu.
This ASIAN FUSION turned out to be an ASIAN MESS.
Once again, it looked great when it came out, but the flavors and textures just weren’t there.
DESSERT TIME. We both were surprised that they offered any dessert. Rice pudding one of Steve’s favorites, not so much with me.
When it came out I was stunned that it looked more like a bowl of hot cereal. A breakfast dish, perfect. But for breakfast, not at the end of a savory dinner.
Wow, as I took my first slurp of whatever the sauce was on top. Perfect match of sweet and tart. It’s such a big bowl – and they could have cooked the rice longer to make it creamier. Smaller portions please.
I don’t know what VOODOO TUNA means. Strangely cooked Asian food, maybe.
If I had to go back I’d get the sake wine and rice pudding and leave it at that.
ANIMAL-FREE SOUS-CHEF™ 