FOODYHOLIC'S Choice: Japanese food restaurant review

Showing posts with label Japanese food restaurant review. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

WASAN - Authentic Japanese Restaurant

This little restaurant in the East Village has a very small sign on its door. You might pass it. Located on 4th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenues. In the past few weeks, I've returned to this restaurant because their dishes are not the usual you see in other Japanese restaurants. And best of all, I find it reasonable for what they have to offer. Supposedly, in Japan, the good restaurants do not have big signs.

Look at the door knob on the left arched door. That's how small the sign is for this restaurant.

As a sushi aficionado, I had to order a hamachi sashimi with jalapeno sauce as shown in their menu

We ordered the dessert that had beans. Here, the beans is the bed where the delicate light "mochiko" desserts are served. It is a nice light dessert. And the beans are not the usual red. This is more black and it's deliciously delicate.

One of my favorites is this fried oyster where they pour a very light delicious broth on top when it gets to your table to be served. It's usually the special for Thursday nights. But I've seen it too on Saturdays.

For those who love foie gras, this is the Japanese way they serve it. I think it's glazed with some soy or teriyaki type sauce laid on a piece of endive with sushi rice.

They do have a wonderful large salad, but tonight, I opted for their Brussels sprouts with gooey cheese

On the right is the way they present the eel dish. It is more substantial than the usual eel sushi.

On the right is their version of the sukiyaki. I notice it did not have the thick cellophane-like noodles.

And if you love cooked fish, you can order the Hamachi collar which can either be deep fried or grilled upon request. This alone makes a good size meal.

This place reminds me of some places I've eaten in, in Tokyo. They also offer Japanese cooking lessons in the premise but in Japanese or Nipponggo.

TO EAT HERE IS LIKE EATING IN A TAPAS BAR. The portions are not very big and can be shared if you wish. For this most recent dinner, I opted for eating what you ordered instead of sharing it.

WASAN

108 E 4th St
(between 1st Ave & 2nd Ave)
New York, NY 10003
Neighborhood: East Village(212) 777-1978

http://www.wasan-ny.com

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Monday, August 15, 2011

ZENKICHI - Japanese cuisine Tokyo Style

I enjoy Japanese food. It has its own unique flavor. It is known for its sushi, hibachi (grilled) cooking and light broth one pot dishes like the well known sukiyaki and shabu-shabu. With Tokyo's population presently reaching a record of 13 million people, there is a new Japanese cuisine that is popular in Tokyo - modern Japanese food. It's not fusion, but there are some influences from abroad.

Zenkichi opened in November 2006 by a homesick Tokyo-native. Zenkichi is a modern Japanese brasserie providing an authentic dining experience of popular Tokyo establishments.

Zenkichi is located in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York. It's a quick subway ride from Union Square station and the first stop in Brooklyn from Manhattan. I've been showing Williamsburg as a Real Estate Broker so I knew where to look for the restaurant which is about 2 blocks from the station.

The restaurant is very unassuming from the outside. Previously, I learned that when a restaurant is special in Japan, you will not see large signs. Zenkichi is that way with a small menu from the outside. But when you get in, you will be surprised. I felt like a walked in the heart of Japan. I had to take the photos below.

You can imagine yourself transported to Old Japan with modern Japanese cuisine.

I love the use of bamboo, stone, pebbles and floor lamps.

Perhaps, I appreciate the authenticity of the decor because I happen to to be a Real Estate Broker as well - so I can't help look into details that are striking.

When you get to the restaurant, there are 2 ways you can eat. You may either order ala carte menu or try their prix-fixe version. We tried the ala carte.

From Left to Right, we had salmon roe with fresh scallop on tasting spoons, kampachi (yellow-tail family), Anago Omelet with seawater eel , and Fluke & Konbu*
Fluke sashimi with shiso leaf &
salt konbu seaweed

Pictured on the right is Cold Fresh Tofu.

This silky homemade tofu is served with light dashi sauce with a little broccoli. It's very tasty. You should try this. We liked the light delicate flavor.

Note: On the left are individual private rooms for 2, 4 or 8 people. They are like booths that separate you from the people sitting next to you to provide privacy.

Right: たこわさびTako Wasabi

Wasabi-cured octopus

We couldn't make up our minds which of the chicken dishes we should have. They were both excellent. Left-Right: Nagoya Teba Wings - crispy chicken wings with special blend of Japanese spices. And on the right is Rocksalt Jidori - simply grilled free-range chicken enjoyed in 3 ways: by itself, with lemon, or with yuzu pepper.

Left: Grilled, Roasted & Simmered Eggplant
日本茄子の白味噌田楽Grilled Nasu Dengaku
Grilled Japanese eggplant topped with house-blend white miso. Delicious!!

Right - Grilled yellow tail collar (my favorite fish)

Above: Camembert & Shrimp Corn Tempura. Lightly dipped in tempura batter.

As they say, a great meal won't be complete unless you have some special drink. The sake that paired well was Eilo Fuji Nama - Junmai Ginjo Draft. It is very light and does not over power the food.

シーフードグラタンSeafood Gratin
Oyster, uni sea urchin, shrimp, Japanese mushrooms:
oven-grilled in béchamel sauce

The dessert was notable! We had

黒胡麻のフローズンチョコレートムースFrozen Black Sesame Mousse
Chocolate-based silky frozen sesame mousse.

I'm definitely impressed with this neighborhood restaurant. The food, service and ambiance were definitely a treat! And the price was right. Worth going out to eat to have a great experience. A short walk to the park after with views of Manhattan!

Even the signs were unique.