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!

 

Hudson's on the River in Stuart, FL

Had lunch in downtown Stuart, FL at a waterfront restaurant called Hudson's on the River.

I ordered the Tropical Roll. This sushi roll consisted of coconut shrimp, avocado, mango, kiwi, pineapple salsa, and pear teriyaki. I enjoyed the roll. In regards to taste, I had no complaints. Only complaint was all aesthetic. The choice to put the brown colored teriyaki sauce on top of the bright colored fruit sort of made it look like the fruit was turning brown. It wasn't, but the presentation on this roll could have been better.  

 

Cafe Du Japon in Daytona Beach, FL

I was in Daytona Beach and was looking for another Japanese restaurant which I had visited in the past. After being unable to find it, asking around told me it had closed up and I should try Cafe Du Japon instead. Cafe Du Japon is like a sushi speakeasy. GPS will give you directions, but you end up a somewhat sketchy storefront with a question mark in the window and old neon signs advertising Beer & Wine and Internet. There's nothing with the name of the restaurant, nor is there any indication that they serve Japanese food if you don't already know. Seems like a bit of a strange advertising method, but the word of mouth about Cafe Du Japon must be good because they were busy.

I tried three sushi rolls at Cafe Du Japon. I had the Fuzzy Caterpillar Roll, Orange Country Roll, and Spicy California Roll (left to right in the photo). All of which I enjoyed. The presentation on the Fuzzy Caterpillar was very nice with the sauce antenna on the plate!

NY Food (Yonah Schimmel Knish Bakery, Veselka, Totto Ramen, Sunnyside Pizza, Halal Truck, Shiro, and Dave's Bagels)

Continuing from my recent trip which took me around New England, New York was the next stop on the journey:

Yonah Schimmel Knish Bakery (Manhattan):

This place has been on my radar for a while. They specialize in Knishes and have been around since 1910!

I had a Spinach Knish. Spinach was mixed into the potato in the knish. I very much enjoy knishes, and this was no exception!

Veselka (Manhattan):

I went here almost immediately after visiting Yonah Schimmel's. Pierogi are hard to resist and Veselka is one of my favorite restaurants in New York. Their Sunday Brunch was happening and I tried the bacon, egg, & cheese pierogi. The waiter told me I wanted them fried. I should have gotten them boiled. The amount of crispiness from being deep fried made them seem like empanadas more than pierogi. Filling wise, bacon egg and cheese in a pierogi was really good!

Totto Ramen (Manhattan):

Google listed this as a highly rated ramen shop in the city. They specialized in a type of broth which I had never had called Paitan. This is apparently a chicken based broth.

I had the Miso Paitan Ramen. It was noodles in chicken paitan broth, topped with miso, egg, scallions, bean sprouds, onions, and pork. Delicious!

Sunnyside Pizza (Queens):

This is a pizzeria in Queens that has good New York style pizza, available by the slice.

I had a slice of cheese and an eggplant/ricotta slice. I do enjoy that they put sesame seeds on the crust.

Halal Truck (Queens):

I had a Lamb/Chicken combo from a random Halal food truck in Sunnyside. They made the standard NY Halal cart fare a little more interesting by adding bell peppers and onions in with the meat. Served over rice and lettuce, topped with white and hot sauce.

Shiro (Grand Central):

I had an Eel Avocado Roll from a fast food sushi restaurant in Grand Central from Shiro.

Dave's Bagels and Grill (Queens):

I had an everything bagel with lox cream cheese.

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.

Kona Grill Grand Opening in Winter Park, FL

I was invited to the grand opening of Kona Grill in Winter Park last week. Located in a new shopping center along 17-92, Kona Grill is a welcome addition to Winter Park's collection of restaurants.

Because you want to know, here's what Kona Grill has to say about themselves:

WINTER PARK, Fla. (November 21, 2016) - Winter Park's already outstanding dining scene just got even better with the opening of the new Kona Grill. Located in the Lakeside Crossing shopping center, Kona Grill offers a modern American menu, sushi bar and signature drinks - perfect after a day of holiday shopping along Park Avenue. Kona Grill is sure to be a favorite after-work gathering spot, for its happy hour (Monday-Friday from 3 pm-7 pm) and reverse happy hour (Monday-Thursday from 9 pm-11pm and Friday-Saturday from 10 pm-midnight).

This is the first Kona Grill in Central Florida, and company's fourth location in Florida. The publicly-traded company (NASDAQ: KONA) operates 44 restaurants in 23 states.

About Kona Grill:
Kona Grill features a global menu of contemporary American favorites, award-winning sushi, and specialty cocktails in an upscale casual atmosphere. Kona Grill owns and operates 44 restaurants, guided by a passion for quality food and exceptional service. Restaurants are located in 23 states and Puerto Rico. For more information, visit www.konagrill.com

A sushi buffet was set up for the grand opening where I was able to sample various types of rolls and sashimi. A large ice sculpture was the centerpiece of the sushi table.

There was tuna, salmon, yellowtail, California rolls, spicy tuna rolls, and more. All tasted fresh and delicious.

Yellowtail:

Potstickers were also delicious.

Portobello & Goat Cheese Flatbread - Tomato sauce, parmesan, spinach, mozzarella, sun-dried tomato, red onion, and basil.

Big Kahuna Cheeseburger - caramelized onion, cheddar, lettuce, tomato, brioche, homemade pickle spear.

Macadamia Nut Chicken - House mashed potatoes, seasonal vegetables, shoyu cream, and pineapple-papaya marmalade.

Miso-Sake Sea Bass - Shrimp & pork fried rice and pan-Asian ratatouille.

Passion Fruit Creme Brulee:

Carrot Cake:

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...

Gatorville Pool Bar & Restaurant at Wyndham Orlando Resort

I was invited to try the new Gatorville Pool Bar & Restaurant at Wyndham Orlando Resort. The Wyndham Orlando is a sprawling hotel at the intersection of International Drive and Sand Lake Road. They are currently under renovations and will eventually be connected to the new I-Drive Live complex that is being built on the site once occupied by the Mercado mall. I was quickly escorted to the pool when I arrived at the Wyndham. The Gatorville Pool Bar overlooks two of the swimming pools at the hotel and I was greeted with appetizers.These included shrimp and veggie spring rolls as well as skewers of beef and chicken satay. The appetizers were good, but much better food was on the way.

A tray of sushi and summer rolls were soon served to the table. The dinner was described as having Floribbean style foods, but so far everything had an Asian theme. I was good with that and always enjoy some sushi. I tried the summer rolls, California rolls, spicy tuna rolls, and soft-shell crab (spider rolls?).

Salads followed the sushi. First up was a spinach and goat cheese salad with rye bread croutons.

Next was a pasta salad topped with salmon. It seemed the food was fitting more and more into that Floribbean description.

Once the appetizers and salads were finished, the main courses were served. There were these Lollipop Lamb Chops cooked in garlic, rosemary, sugar and vinegar. The meat was nice and tender!

Then there was this plate of Crispy Fried Snapper and Prawns. The snapper was one of my favorite foods of the night and the size of the prawns was amazing! I would have mistaken them for spiny lobster if the menu didn't say otherwise!

Various sides were served as well. The jalapeno cornbread was very moist and tasty.  

 

I enjoyed the pot stickers. But then again, it's rare that I find a dumpling that I don't like.

Tostones were also served. I honestly can't say I've had enough of these mashed and fried plantains to be a good judge of them, but I liked these.

Bananas Foster was served for dessert. It was cooked at this station where the chef flambeed the bananas.

The bananas were then served over crepes filled with vanilla ice cream. Ice cream crepes are awesome...

And with that, my meal at the Gatorville Pool Bar was complete. I enjoyed both the food and the dining experience in general. I've gone to other local hotels in the past for dinner, but the Wyndham was completely off my radar for some reason. Now that I know about it, I just might have to stop in again for another meal some day!