Ma-Se in Longwood, FL

Ma-Se is a Japanese restaurant that's been in Longwood for a while which I finally visited for the first time. I ordered the Nachos Don. This was a rice bowl topped with tuna, krab, masago, avocado, cilantro, jalapeno, tomato, and tempura flakes. I enjoyed dinner!

 

Danketsu in Orlando, FL

I visited Danketsu in Orlando on Lake Underhill Road. They serve Korean BBQ, hotpot, sushi, and Japanese food. I was tempted by the hotpot but it was late in the evening and I didn't feel like cooking my own food. Instead, I ordered a soup that required no preparation: The Nabe Yake Udon.

The large bowl of noodle soup contained shrimp tempura, egg, noodles, and various vegetables. It was delicious, and since Danketsu did that well, it's a reason to visit again and try the rest of their huge menu...

Suki Hanna in Hunters Creek, FL

I went to Suki Hanna in Hunters Creek upon a friend's recommendation for lunch. I ordered their Sushi Bar Lunch Special, which included soup, salad, and two rolls. The salad was the standard Japanese restaurant salad, consisting of mostly iceberg lettuce in ginger dressing. Miso soup is also always good.

As for the rest of the lunch, I ordered the Tuna Avocado Roll and the Spicy Shrimp Roll. Pretty much what I would expect as well for sushi rolls. The spicy shrimp roll could have had a little more spice.

Suki Hanna was exactly what I expected when going to a Japanese restaurant for lunch. They offered affordable lunch specials which were Japanese restaurant standards. A very similar meal could be found at countless other Japanese restaurants all over Florida, but being that Suki Hanna did the lunch well enough was a good thing.

Fuji Express in Deland, FL

I ventured to Deland and had dinner at a restaurant called Fuji Express. This fast food Japanese restaurant served both hibachi style food as well as sushi. There were other people eating there, but I don't know if I'd trust this restaurant with raw fish. I ordered the Shrimp Teriyaki Bento Box. The shrimp was cooked with carrots, baby corn, and broccoli in teriyaki sauce. It was served with California rolls, goyza, and steamed rice. Everything tasted adequate enough. None of it was outstanding, but nothing was bad either. I wouldn't rush back here for fast food Japanese food, but wouldn't necessarily object if someone suggested eating at Fuji Express again.

NY Asian Soups: Global Kitchen and Minnis Shabu Shabu

In a continuation of the last few posts on this blog where New York foods were discussed, this post is about Asian foods that consisted of soup.

We'll start at a place called Global Kitchen. This restaurant was located in the Theater District and was set up food court style. The place reminded me a bit of the nearby Oliviero Cafe which I had eaten at during a previous trip to New York. There was a station focusing on sandwiches. Another focused on salads. There was an Italian/pizza section, then there was where I ordered. I went for the Japanese/Sushi counter.

I had a bowl of their shrimp tempura udon soup. The large styrofoam bowl was filled with a tasty broth and lots of thick udon noodles. After the broth and noodles filled the bowl, the soup was topped with various vegetables, tofu, and two large shrimp fried in tempura batter.

This was a tasty bowl of soup overall. I wasn't exactly expecting much for a place which was essentially a food court, but this was a very nice bowl of udon that rivaled what I've had at fancy Japanese restaurants!



The second soupy food adventure happened at Minnis Shabu Shabu. Minnis was a Taiwanese style hotpot style restaurant located in Flushing Chinatown. Shabu Shabu is a style of eating where you cook your own meats in pots of boiling broth. I've been to restaurants where you cook your own foods and I always find them a bit intimidating. That makes food adventures much more fun!

Everyone in Minnis was seated at large communal tables. All the seats had a bowl of hot broth in front of them to cook your food.

Everyone then received a large tray of various non-meat foods items to cook. These included cabbage, corn, onions, multiple types of mushrooms, two different dumplings, noodles, egg, tofu, and more.

I ordered the lamb and pork combination for my meat. Thinly slice meat was soon delivered to the table and cooking began.

Cooking the meat was the intimidating part for me, mostly because I rarely cook meat by boiling it. I didn't want to undercook the pork, but it cooked extremely fast since it was sliced so thinly. Some of the vegetables took longer to cook, such as the corn or large pieces of cabbage.

There was a large sauce/condiment bar to add some extra flavor to the food. They seemed to like MSG at Minnis.

I also had a shaved ice here for dessert. This large bowl was filled with finely shaved ice topped with sweetened condensed milk, pineapple, and something called grass jelly. Shaved ice like this is way better than a snow cone!

Minnis Shabu Shabu was a very fun eating experience. Having a pot of boiling broth and a huge pile of raw foods in front of you, then having to figure out how to cook everything definitely makes things more interesting than just having cooked food delivered to your table.

Ru San's in Atlanta, GA (Midtown)

I had dinner in Atlanta at a Japanese restaurant called Ru San's. This restaurant is apparently a local chain in the area and I ate in the location in Midtown Atlanta. Ru San's was up on the second floor of a strip mall and is apparently under new management according to the banner hanging out front. Inside, Ru San's almost had a nightclub atmosphere with lots of color changing lights and loud music. The prices on much of their menu were very reasonable.

While the majority of the menu featured sushi, I instead ordered the Nabeyaki Udon. This large bowl of soup was packed with udon noodles, tempura shrimp, chicken, egg, mushrooms, onions, zucchini, and other vegetables. The broth had a nice, slightly spicy flavor with just the right amount of saltiness. Rather than the soup's contents floating towards the top, this bowl was filled pretty much to the brim with yummy stuff with the broth filling up the space in between. With all this food in the bowl, I got about half way through before I decided I was full...

I'd return to Ru San's. The food was tasty and was a good value for the price.

Miwa Hibachi & Sushi Express in Ocoee, FL

I recently had dinner at a fast food Japanese restaurant in Ocoee called Miwa Hibachi & Sushi Express. I ordered the shrimp teriyaki meal, served with fried rice and vegetables. They gave several good sized shrimp, and then asked if I wanted some extra teriyaki chicken from the last person's meal that they cooked. I took Miwa up on their offer and sampled their chicken as well. The meats were tasty, although typical for what is served in hibachi style restaurants like this. The vegetables mostly consisted of cabbage and broccoli. The rice was good as well.

Miwa's portion size was huge. I couldn't finish all the food. It was definitely a good value for the price. I don't get out to Ocoee all too often, but I'd return here again sometime in the future...

Hiro's Sushi Express in South Beach, FL

While visiting South Beach on a rainy evening, dinner was had at a Japanese fast food restaurant called Hiro's Sushi Express. I started my meal with a cup of miso soup served in a styrofoam cup.

Next up was a shrimp teriyaki box. This bento contained shrimp cooked with mushrooms, rice, vegetables, and an orange slice. The shrimp were tasty but the rest of the box was somewhat boring. The vegetables were very plain and the rice was standard brown rice.

I've enjoyed better Japanese fast food elsewhere in Miami at Iron Sushi, but Hiro's wasn't that bad. They gave a good sized portion of food for less than the price of a milkshake up the street at Shake Shack...

Sakura Sushi & Grill in Tallahassee, FL

 While in Tallahassee, I had Japanese food for dinner one night from Sakura Sushi & Grill. This restaurant was located relatively close to downtown and FSU. The outside was nicely decorated with wood panels and lit by paper lanterns.

 Once seated, we had an unobstructed view of the sushi bar.

 My meal started with a side salad. This was the typical Japanese restaurant salad, consisting of iceberg lettuce topped with carrots, cucumber, and ginger dressing.

I also had the Shrimp Udon Soup. This huge bowl of soup was filled with many large shrimp, sliced mushrooms and other various vegetables, and thick udon noodles in a very flavorful broth. Like most main course soups at Asian restaurants, this udon was really filling. It was a good deal for the price and tasted good too!

If I'm ever back in Tallahassee and make it back to Sakura, I'm going to have to try the Volcano Roll. I saw one of these get delivered to a table and this roll is literately erupting when served. The whole roll is wrapped in foil, with the excess foil being made into a basin that was filled with some sort of flammable liquid.While being served, the volcano roll was ignited resulting in huge flames. It is the dream sushi roll for any pyromaniac foodie!

 

Chameleon Fusion Bistro in Palm Bay, FL

I had dinner at Chameleon Fusion Bistro in Palm Bay, located just off of I-95. This restaurant was really nice on the inside, but unfortunately they were really understaffed. Chameleon seemed to have plenty of people standing around doing nothing, but the single waiter that was helping all the tables was way overwhelmed. This resulted in the meal being far too long and tedious than necessary...

I ordered a California roll and salmon roll. These two rolls were pretty standard, served with wasabi and pickled ginger. The rolls were good sized, tasted good, and were a good price!

Someone else ordered from the fusion part of the menu which didn't turn out as well. While Chameleon made good sushi, they couldn't figure out a hamburger. The burger, ordered medium-well was served cold, completely pink, and bloody. The bloody juices had dripped down from the meat, completely saturated the bun, and had started pooling on plate. This was definitely not medium-well, and after being sent back the cooked burger was served on the same bun that had soaked up all the meat-juices like a sponge...

So in the end, Chameleon Fusion Bistro had good sushi, but bad service and improperly cooked burgers. I doubt I'd return...

Circa Thai Food in Tallahassee, FL

While up in our state's capital city, I stopped for lunch at a restaurant called Circa Thai Food & Sushi. They had some good lunch specials going on and I ordered the Green Curry Chicken. It came with a choice of soup or salad, and I went with the miso soup.

The curry chicken came on a large fish shaped plate, with a side of pad thai noodles and rice. Unlike so much of the Thai food I've had lately in Central Florida, this curry chicken was good and spicy. The portion was huge and the price was good too. No complaints about my lunch.

One of the highlights of the restaurant, although I did not partake, was their sushi buffet. A conveyor belt ran through the center of the restaurant, filled with various rolls and sauces. $12 allowed you free reign to take whatever moved on by. I was really thinking of getting the all-you-can-eat sushi, but Thai food sounded better to me on this particular day.


We need a restaurant with a sushi set-up like this in Orlando!

Beard Papa's in Sanford, FL

I visited the new Beard Papa's Fresh 'n Natural Cream Puffs in Sanford. I've been meaning to try the Japanese version of a creme puff ever since I heard of the chain and finally had my opportunity. I'm still a bit confused as to who had the bright idea to open a Japanese cream puff franchise on the west side of I-4 on 46. Maybe they'll prove me wrong, but somehow I don't see the market being there. Adding to this, the store had lots of employees but they still seemed very unorganized. There were three people in front of us and it took about fifteen minutes for us to finally order. While we were standing there waiting, three more groups of people came and left after all of the employees standing behind the counter completely ignored their questions. This doesn't bode well for a new fast food place unless they get their act together. Enough of that though and onto the food...

 I ordered the obvious thing and got a cream puff. I enjoyed my creme filled pastry but didn't notice any big difference between a Japanese creme puff and one bought elsewhere. It was nowhere as greasy as a doughnut, filled with creamy goodness, and topped with lots of powdered sugar.  If I'm riding by again and craving a dessert, I may stop back into Beard Papa's for another creme puff. Hopefully served in a more organized fashion next time...

Bento Cafe Sushi & Roll in Woodbridge, VA

During a recent bit of traveling, I stopped for dinner in Woodbridge, VA and ate at a fast food Japanese restaurant called Bento Cafe Sushi & Roll.

I had their California Roll Combo which came with miso soup, fried dumplings, and the California roll.


The California Roll was filled with krab, cucumber, and avocado.  After being sliced into eighteen pieces, it was topped with masago.  All of my food was very tasty, although it was somewhat expensive for fast food sushi served on paper plates...

Another sushi roll combo was also ordered...

While the food was good, there was also a not-so-good aspect to the restaurant. The restaurant's owner seemed to be caught up in a multi-level marketing scheme and was desperately trying to sell an alkaline water machine to her customers. In fact, the sales pitch started as soon as we walked in the door with the mention that they make their own water. Somehow I didn't think they were bonding hydrogen and oxygen in the back of a fast food restaurant. Apparently the wonderful tap water produced in the United States is evil, but if you run the tap water through a machine that claims to ionize the water to make it more basic, it turns into a cure-all.

Later in the meal, the owner visited the table and gave a lovely demonstration on the proper way to mix wasabi into their home-brewed soy sauce, then went back into trying to sell her alkaline water. To add onto the scary sales pitch, potentially dangerous psuedoscientific health claims about the magic healing powers of the water were made. We were in the restaurant to eat Japanese food, not be sold psudoscientific snake oil! I wouldn't return, and I'm assuming I'm probably not the only customer that has been scared away... 

Google alkaline water and you can find plenty of good websites debunking the claims mixed into the sites promoting the woo.  Here's a good one: http://www.chem1.com/CQ/ionbunk.html

Sushiology in Orlando, FL

Sushiology is a fast food Japanese restaurant that was recommended by some readers. Hidden in the back of a lighthouse themed strip mall, sandwiched between a seafood buffet and a tattoo parlor, Sushiology is very easy to miss. Inside, the restaurant is tiny with just a few tables.

My meal started with a plate of gyoza. These deep fried pork dumplings were crispy on the outside, filled with a tasty pork and vegetable mixture. I was actually expecting the dumplings to be more pan-fried rather than deep-fried, so next time I'd get the gyoza steamed instead.

Next, I shared a Brown Rice California Roll and a Caterpillar roll. Both were filled with krab, cucumber,and avocado. The California was topped with masago, while the Caterpillar was topped with thinly sliced avocado.

I'm glad I got the recommendation to go try Sushiology. I probably would have never found the restaurant on my own, and I enjoyed the food. The prices were good and the rolls were tasty. It makes me wonder what else I'm missing hidden among the tourist traps along International Drive? I'm sure there are many more restaurants that I haven't tried or heard of yet...