I tried this Japanese restaurant just south of the exit/mall on 436 yesterday at lunch. They just opened the day before. In a soft opening. Soft... They weren't doing to go orders. As a result, I decided to do the AYCE for $22. Let me start by saying that if you are ordering these things a la carte then maybe the quality isn't high enough in most categories. But in terms of AYCE's at this price point, it is acceptable. I spread my net wide for you people. These are things that I usually don't order a la carte because they are too dear and don't eat at AYCE because they take up nigiri room. It was fun to reminisce. I tried gyoza, takoyaki, shumai, fried calamari and harumaki from the apps. Like most of the fried items, the inside of the takoyaki was under done. It always is. One tiny piece of octopus. Calamari (6) was a bit ugly and tough. Shumai were bigger than the frozen crap you usually get served. 2. Shrimp. The harumaki is a spring roll. Inside under done. Just veg. I had the gyoza fried. 3. Ok. I didn't try anything from salads or skewers. I had spicy salmon Gunkan. Like a piece of cut roll topped with spicy salmon. From Sushi Bar Apps I had three thin slices of black pepper tuna tataki. Not great. Like they seared frozen tuna. The spicy tuna dumplings (3) were fried satchels. As good as cooked tuna can be. The yuzu salmon was good. Little puffed balls of rice on top. I didn't have anything from hibachi or teriyaki. From tempura/katsu I had stringy pork katsu (4) and very good shrimp tempura (2). I had a pork bun that had a thin slice of pork and a weird bun and iceberg lettuce. Not great. From nigiri I had two pieces of tuna, salmon, smoked salmon, escolar and octopus. The octopus was cut too thin and too tough. I chewed one piece fifty times and spit it out like the gum it was. The other fish were of a good enough quality. The rice was a bit mushy. Small rice to fish ratio. Skin still on the salmon. The wasabi was not stale. I must say that the plating was exemplary for a AYCE place. Things came out (and were taken away) fast. They didn't discourage you from ordering. If I hadn't done an AYCE on Monday, I may have tried to break the bank. But, I was satisfied with what $28 in the end afforded me. I believe they had desserts too. I assume these portions were smaller. They have booze. The place is large. L shaped. Four areas and a patio. About 50 booths. Four occupied on this occasion. Black, brown, gray with some gold, khaki, white accents. Japanese decoration like a samurai warrior, bonsai tree, fan, containers, etc. Plastic plants between booths. Hanging lamps. Sushi prep area on the back wall. The wait staff sounded Chinese. I heard Japanese from the sushi prep area. Lots of staff in black. They said they have three other places. South Florida. It is about what I expected. They have maki, sushi, hibachi, donburi and bento lunch specials starting at $12. Parking is not an issue. They'll never surpass the Bombay Bicycle Club for space supremacy, but, they should make the locals happy.
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