Zen Thai and Japanese Cuisine

October 13, 2014

Zen Thai and Japanese Cuisine (Sunset Hills/Crestwood)

 9250 Watson Rd

St Louis, MO 63126
(314) 842-0307

http://www.zenstl.com/

We visited Zen Thai and Japanese Cuisine, located in Crestwood/Sunset Hills.  The restaurant is located in a nondescript strip mall on Watson Road. It had a surprisingly high rating on Yelp! which must be due to the Thai food served, because it certainly didn't deserve it for the sushi.

 

The front portion of interior (where we were seated) resembled a diner rather than a Japanese (or a Thai) restaurant, with uninspiring décor.  The back room had more ambiance: 

 When we were first seated, we were given menus for Thai food, and had to request the sushi menu. Overall, service was slow and often absent—an odd feat for such a small establishment.  Several times we had to get up from our seats to retrieve items from the service area that should have been on our table.

We asked for green tea, which was unavailable.  Instead, we were given hot water and Jasmine tea in tea bags.

We ordered the following items:

-  Miso soup

-  Eel Avocado Roll – A California Roll topped with cooked eel and avocado.

-  Red Dragon Roll – spicy tuna on top of a California Roll

-  Rainbow Roll –

-  Shrimp Tempura appetizer

Edamame was not available.

We were first served the miso soup, which had an overabundance of scallions that ruined its flavor.  Next came the three rolls.  The Eel Avocado roll was good, but the eel portions were too small.  The Rainbow Roll contained only tuna and salmon—no whitefish or shrimp.  The fish was not fresh, and the California roll inside it was bland.  The Red Dragon Roll’s “spicy tuna” was mushy and disgusting.  It was as if they had taken a can of tuna fish, mashed it into a paste, and mixed in red hot sauce.

Finally, after we had eaten the Rolls, our shrimp tempura appetizer was brought to our table.  It consisted of onion rings and vegetables (yams, broccoli and string beans), and only three shrimp.  It was hot and greasy, but was actually the most appetizing item we ate.

Overall, on a scale of 1-10, we rate Zen a 4.5.  We won’t be back.

Central Table (CWE)

We visited Central Table (23 S. Euclid) on Aug. 29.  Admittedly, Central Table does not purport to be a sushi restaurant.  Rather, it offers a variety of cuisines including flatbread pizzas, sandwiches, salads and burgers in addition to its sushi bar.  I have tried some of these other offerings on occasion, and have been quite happy with them.  However, Central Table does pride itself on its sushi, and RFT gave it the #2 spot in its 2014 sushi countdown, so we thought it worth trying out.

The most noticeable feature of Central Table's sushi offering is the extremely limited selection.  Readers of this blog know that we typically order a standard benchmarking menu (for the best comparison from place to place).  Central Table didn't even allow us to do this.  They lacked both edamame and miso soup, our typical starter courses.  Instead, we ordered the calamari, which came with capers, olives and a mayonnaise-based sauce.  The calamari were satisfactory, though a bit tough and possibly undercooked.  The large capers were, however, a nice touch.

Our sushi order consisted of three of the four rolls offered on the menu: a California roll, tuna roll and salmon roll (we skipped the fourth option, a veggie roll).

These were basic, to say the least.  The fish was relatively bland and the seaweed wrapping was too chewy.  The California rolls contained too little roe and avocado, though the crab was flavorful (if sparse).  Again, the portions were quite stingy (as shown in the photo above).

Overall, Central Table was disappointing, perhaps trying to be too many things to too many different people.

Rating: 6 out of 10.

Kampai Sushi Bar- July 28, 2014

July 28, 2014

Kampai Sushi Bar—CWE location

 4949 West Pine Bld

St. Louis, MO 63108
(314) 367-2020

We visited the Kampai Sushi Bar on West Pine Boulevard, just a block from Kingshighway.  While there was outdoor seating, we chose to eat inside, which was very pleasant.  The service was both friendly and prompt

We started with green tea, which was good, with a smoky flavor.  We then ordered the following items:

-  Miso soup

-  Edamame

-  Joy Roll – A California Roll topped with torched salmon, sweet potato chips and eel sauce.

-  Spider Roll – Soft shell crab roll

-  Sunset Roll – Tuna and white tuna on a California Rollm with honey wasabi sauce.

-  Ice Cream tempura (for dessert) – vanilla ice cream previously fried in tempura batter, served cold.

 

The miso soup had bits of mushroom, scallions and tofu.  It had a good broth, and upon receiving our check, learned that it was free with all orders over $15.  Very nice!!!

The edamame came out piping hot but quickly cooled, and was perfectly cooked, though there was too much salt on it.

Overall, the rolls were tasty, though the fish slices were on the thin side. The Joy Roll was a little warm and crunchy, and overall pleasant.  The Spider Roll was also warm, and was held together nicely with good, sticky rice.  The Sunset Roll had a nice sweetness but with a distinct onion flavor. 

We finished off our meal with vanilla ice cream tempura. We were expecting it to be freshly fried, and were a bit disappointed that it was not.  However, it was yummy.

On a scale of 1-10, we give Kampai an 8.  It had excellent service, great atmosphere, and served good, solid sushi rolls, though thicker fish slices-- along with a few other recommendations (as noted above)-- would result in a higher rating.

 

Blue Ocean Sushi (The Loop)

This week we visited Blue Ocean Sushi (6335 Delmar Blvd. in University City/the Loop), primarily because it received the top rating in Riverfront Times 2014 Sushi ranking.  While we had a reasonably good experience, we don’t understand RFT’s #1 ranking (especially given the fantastic meal we had last month at Fin).

There was certainly a lot to like about Blue Ocean.  The walls are decorated with larger-than-life Japanese comic characters, posters from classic films like Akira, and portraits of Godzilla (the original) and his cronies. 

Service was fast and courteous, and the menu was well organized with attractive photos of each item.

To start, we ordered our usual benchmarking items: hot green tea, edamame and miso soup. 

The tea was brewed properly and came in fun plastic bottom-pouring decanters.  We were pleased that the server replaced these as soon as they got low.

The edamame was average, but the miso soup stood out.  The broth was thicker than usual, and in addition to the usual seaweed, scallions and tofu, it contained carrots and chopped onions, giving it more the feel of a vegetable soup than typical miso.  Unusual but tasty.

Next we ordered three special rolls.

The dragon roll (right) included crab salad and avocado, topped with eel and crispy sweet potato shavings.  It had a pleasant crunchy texture, but the crab was not plentiful, and what was there was overwhelmed by a mayonnaise sauce. 

One of our standard orders is the rainbow roll (center).  Unfortunately, Blue Ocean’s did not live up to the offerings at several of its competitors.  The fish topping was sliced very thin and did not stand out.  The filling, allegedly crab, was barely detectable.  Worse still, the roll tended to fall apart, as the rice was not sufficiently sticky.

We were most looking forward to the fancifully-named Klingon roll (left), which was in keeping with the sci-fi/kitchy atmosphere of the place.  However, we are pretty sure that such a dish would never be served in a respectable eatery on Qo’noS.  We weren’t expecting our rolls to come out live and bleeding, but we at least expected something to sink our teeth into.  What we got, instead, were undercooked “tempura” sweet potatoes with insufficient batter and very little of the promised eel topping.  Not only did the Klingon roll not live up to its fearsome name, it was one of the least appetizing rolls that we have ever had.

RFT, what were you thinking???

Score:  7.0 (would have been lower, save for the ultra-fun décor).

[We should note that Blue Ocean offers an “all you can eat” sushi menu for both lunch and dinner.  It seemed reasonably priced, but as it did not include any of the special rolls, we did not opt for that route.]

Fin Japanese Cuisine- June 16, 2014

June 16, 2014

Fin Japanese Cuisine

1682 Clarkson Road, Chesterfield, MO 63017

(636) 536-4228

http://www.finstl.com/

Fin, located in Chesterfield, is by far the best sushi restaurant we have visited to date.  Although it is located in a strip mall between a Scottrade and Krieger’s Bar Grill, once inside, the atmosphere was very pleasant, with friendly service. While many sushi restaurants provide a generic "picture" menu, Fin had a similar menu displaying its specialty rolls-- another reason for its awesomeness.  Specialty rolls are a complete mystery in terms of what one orders, so to see it ahead of time was another illustration of Fin's customer-centric atmosphere.

Jorge and I both asked for our usual green tea; an ample supply was promptly served in a traditional tea pot with cups.

We ordered the following items:

-  Miso soup

-  Edamame

-  Rainbow Roll – Crab meat, cucumber, avocado, topped with avocado, tuna, salmon, white tuna, smelt eggs and red tobiko (flying fish roe)

-  Sumo Roll – a deep fried roll with eel, white tuna and avocado, topped with mayo, eel sauce, smelt eggs, tobiko and scallions

-  Warrior Roll – a spicy salmon roll topped with salmon, spicy mayo, eel sauce and scallion

-  Banana Roll (for dessert) – a banana rolled in phyllo dough and deep fried, served with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream and caramel sauce

The bowl of miso soup was flavorful, a bit of tofu and spinach, and served at the perfect temperature.  The edamame came out piping hot but quickly cooled, and was perfectly cooked.

Then came the most amazing sushi:

The Rainbow Roll contained an absolutely delicious crab salad that made you crave for more.  The fish was wonderfully fresh and flavorful, though surprisingly, there was no shrimp used as a “topper” (this is just an observation—it was included in the Rainbow roll for the other restaurants, but we didn’t find its absence to in any way detract from the roll).

The Sumo Roll was deep fried heaven—there were two kinds of roe on the top, and an amazing mayo and eel sauce combination that made us sad to eat the last pieces of this delicacy.

The Warrior Roll’s salmon, eel and dollop of sauce on top added a pretty look to a delectable roll.  Were I to ascribe a feeling to the roll as we ate it, it would be “happy.”

The rice used in all the rolls was very tasty and had a terrific sticky quality to it, helping the rolls keep their form nicely.  None of the pieces fell apart when we handled them.

We finished off our meal with a dessert item, not something we usually do, but after such a wonderful meal so far, we couldn’t resist ordering the banana roll.  And we were not disappointed!  The combination of banana fried in phyllo dough along with the ice cream caramel and whipped cream was the perfect way to finish off a perfect meal.

Overall, on a scale of 1-10, we rate Fin a 9.5.  The only negative was its location in a strip mall (if it was on a nice city street with outdoor seating, its rating would have been an “11”), but the drive to Chesterfield from Saint Louis is absolutely worth the trip to dine at Fin.

RFT's 2014 Top 10 Sushi Restaurants

Here is RFT's Top 10 Sushi list for 2014:

http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/gutcheck/2014/06/10_best_sushi_bars_in_st_louis.php?page=3

1. Blue Ocean (U City)

2. Central Table (CWE)

3. Tani (Clayton)*

4. Wasabi (Clayton)*

5. Prasino (St. Charles)

6. Drunken Fish (CWE)*

7. SubZero (CWE)*

8. Cafe Mochi (Tower Grove)*

9. Kampai (CWE)

10. Chop Shop Food Truck

I'm proud to say that we have visited and reviewed five of these (see the * items above, with links to our reviews!)

Nobu's - University City

Nobu’s – University City

We visited Nobu’s Japanese Restaurant in U City (8643 Olive Blvd.) based on the stellar review it received from Riverfront Times (RFT) in 2012, which ranked it the Best Sushi in St. Louis.  According to Nobu’s web site, the restaurant has won RFT’s People’s Choice Award for Best Sushi more than 10 times, plus numerous other accolades.  Wanting to see what all the hype was about, we decided to taste for ourselves.

Our first surprise was Nobu’s physical site.  The restaurant occupies a run down building on a busy section of Olive Blvd. off I-170.  The peeling exterior paint and faded blue awnings give the place a dismal, shabby feeling.  The interior décor was a slight improvement, but still could have used updating.

Service at Nobu’s was attentive and quick.  We ordered miso soup, which was richly flavored with ample tofu and large seaweed slices.  The edamame was prepared well, too, and was not so hot that it burned our fingers when we picked it up (a problem at many places!)

We ordered three rolls, the spider (softshell crab and asparagus), rainbow (tuna, yellowtail, salmon, fluke with shrimp on top) and tempura (shrimp and asparagus).  

All three rolls were sprinkled with smelt roe, giving them an oddly uniform appearance.  In general, we were not impressed.  The crab in the spider roll was warm and crunchy, but buried in too much rice.  Likewise, the tempura shrimp was hard to find and disappointingly limp.  The rainbow roll, which did not have a generous portion of fish, was slathered with a thick, lemony sauce that overpowered the dish.

Given Nobu’s glowing reviews from RFT, we were disappointed by both the setting and the food.  To top it off, our meal was surprisingly pricey given the portion sizes and location.  [Nobu’s did not make RFT’s Top 10 sushi list this year – we agree!]

Overall:  5.0

Mizu Sushi Bar- Downtown Saint Louis (May 7, 2014)

 May 7, 2014

Mizu Sushi Bar

1013 Washington Ave

St. Louis, MO 63101

http://www.mizu-stl.com/

Our next stop on the Saint Louis Sushi Roll tour took us to Mizu in downtown Saint Louis.  We arrived a few minutes after opening, and were seated immediately.  The staff was very friendly.  We immediately ordered and were promptly served hot green tea.    

We chose the following items:

-  Miso soup

-  Edamame

-  Spider Roll—Softshell crab, Masago, Avocado, Crab Meat

-  Las Vegas Roll—Shrimp Tempura and Crab Meat topped with Eel and Avocado with Special Sauce

-  Rainbow Roll – California roll topped with tuna, salmon, whitefish and Avocado

The miso soup was good, containing a bit of tofu and spinach as well as a piece of fried wanton, which made for a nice touch.  It was served at the perfect temperature.

The edamame was tough—a bit hard to eat and very hot.

The spider roll was tasty, and probably the best roll we ordered.  The rainbow roll was disappointing.  The fish was bland—there were no distinctive flavors among the tuna, salmon or whitefish.   And there was very little eel in the Las Vegas roll, much less than one would expect on a roll that claims it as one of the key items in it.

Overall, on a scale of 1-10, we rate Mizu a 6.5.  While the service was great, the taste of the rolls left much to be desired.

NPR Reveals why we like sushi so much!

Here's a fun article from NPR that discusses the reasons that sushi is so tasty and enjoyable:

RFT's Top 5 St. Louis sushi restaurants in 2012

I just came across Riverfront Times's Top 5 Sushi Restaurant ratings from Apr. 2012, and am glad to see that they rate Tani Sushi Bistro in Clayton #1 (it also received our highest rating to date).

It looks like we will need to check out their four runners up in the coming months and judge for ourselves!

Cafe Mochi - Tower Grove Park

We visited Cafe Mochi in Tower Grove Park (3221 S. Grand Blvd.) on a beautiful spring day in late April.  The outdoor seating was pleasant and well-attended by the wait staff.

To start, we ordered a bowl of edamame, which was cooked to just the right level of softness and separation from the shell.  The miso soup that came next was nearly perfect, with small cut seaweed and tiny chunks of tofu, served pleasantly hot. 

We ordered several rolls, which were uniformly good.  The rainbow roll and eel roll came out together.   Both were visually appealing.  The rainbow roll, in particular, had a good variety of fish, all of which was deliciously fresh.  The eel was also nicely prepared, though a bit heavy on the cucumber.

The highlight of the afternoon was the volcano roll, which was not really a roll at all, but an ingenious combination of crab, avocado, scallops and roe arranged in a circular configuration with a tasty and not-too-spicy sauce.  The crab was especially notable, as there were plenty of large, succulent pieces, all warmed to a pleasing temperature.

Overall, the food at Cafe Mochi was excellent.  Our experience was somewhat marred, however, by service that was spotty.  Perhaps it was because we were seated in the patio area, but our soup order was forgotten (until we reminded the waitperson), and she did not come by during our meal.  The menu was also somewhat confusing, as the specials (including the volcano roll) were not listed on the separate such ordering sheet.  Of course, we managed to overcome all of these minor inconveniences and have a wonderful meal, but Cafe Mochi will be hard to beat once its service matches the quality of its foot.

Overall rating:  8.0

Tani Sushi Bistro (March 28, 2014)

March 28, 2014

Tani Sushi Bistro

16 S Bemiston Ave, St Louis, MO 63105

http://www.tanisushi.com/

Tani, located in Clayton, has a wonderful atmosphere.   We arrived a few minutes before opening, but were seated anyway by a very pleasant hostess.

  As usual, Jorge and I both asked for tea, and were promptly green tea in a large mug, with a lemon slice on the edge (which we found a little unusual).  The tea was hot and nice. 

We ordered the following items: 
- Miso soup 
- Rainbow Roll – California roll, 5 kinds of fish (chef’s choice), shrimp and avocado 
- Crazy Roll – tuna, eel, tamago, green onion, crab, and masago, tempura shavings, and eel sauce  
- Sex and the City – one of Tani’s specialty rolls, consisting of scallop, crab, and masago, tempura shavings, avocado sauce, and a “hot sexy sauce.”

 The bowl of miso soup was flavorful, a bit of tofu and spinach, and served at the perfect temperature.  It was by far the best miso soup we had tasted to date.

The Rainbow Roll was very good and the fish was very fresh.  The overall flavor is best described as “serene.”  It was simple—not too much cucumber, and the crab inside the roll was chopped to a nice texture.

The Crazy Roll was cut into big slices and contained large pieces of fish.  We found the taste to be quite succulent.  Delicious!

The Sex and the City Roll was very disappointing—the “hot sexy sauce” was just standard red sauce, overwhelming the rest of the roll and just too hot.  The core of the roll was chewy, as if the tempura scallop and crab were overcooked.  Our waitress was very kind in removing the dish from both our table and the bill, and we ordered a replacement item: the Samba Roll, which normally came with Tuna, Yellowtail, green onion, cucumber, avocado, cilantro, jalapeno, orange tobiko, sesame seeds, and special sesame chili sauce; however we ordered it without the jalapenos.  It was delicious, with a subtle amount of cilantro that was not overwhelming at all.

 Overall, on a scale of 1-10, we rate Tani an 8.5.  So far, it is our top choice.

Sushi Ai - Downtown Lunch Buffet

On Feb. 28 we visited Sushi Ai's downtown location (910 Olive St.)  The street setting and interior were both a little run down, but service was friendly and we were seated right away.  Sushi Ai's distinguishing feature is its all-you-can-eat lunch buffet.  For $12.99, you can order an unlimited amount of soup, appetizers, sushi and rolls.  In addition, there are hot and cold buffet tables with self-serve hot and cold appetizers and salads.  

The served appetizers were nicely done.  The miso soup was hot and flavorful with pureed tofu and small cubes, the vegetable tempura were crispy and hot, and an order of shrimp shumai were tasty, though quite small.

We ordered several rolls (Spicy Crab, Christmas, Eel and St. Louis).  Probably because of the all-you-can-eat special, the rolls were modest in size, without a lot of meat.  The St. Louis roll was heavy on the cream cheese, light on the salmon.  The eel roll came with a flavorful sauce, but too much cucumber. 

The offerings at the self-serve buffet tables were relatively standard pan-Asian fare (spring rolls, crab rangoon and the like at the hot table, and a mix of salads at the cold table).  Not bad, but unremarkable.

Overall, the food at Sushi Ai was undistinguished, but for $12.99 a great value for downtown.

Rating:  6.5

Sub Zero- Central West End (2/15/2014)

February 15, 2014

Sub Zero

308 N Euclid Ave, , St Louis, MO 63108 (CWE)

Sub Zero, located in the Central West End, specializes in both sushi and burgers, which makes it a good choice for sushi lovers who have significant others who don’t care for the stuff.   We sat in the large dining room, and because we arrived for an early lunch on a Saturday, were the only customers during our visit.  We received friendly and prompt service. 

To start, Jorge and I both asked for tea, and were brought hot water and a choice of several teas, in the form of Bigalow tea bags.  We both chose the green tea. 

We ordered the following items:

-  Miso soup

-  Spider roll (soft shell crab)

-  Holiday roll—one of Sub Zero’s specialty rolls, consisting of tempura shrimp wrapped in a bonito, topped with salmon, tuna, spicy unagi sauce and spicy Japanese mayonnaise

-  Unagi nigiri (sea eel)

The large bowl of miso soup was flavorful, with plenty of tofu and spinach.  The soup was tepidly warm, not hot, though this may have been due to the early hour of our lunch.

The spider roll was yummy but cut thin, so it fell apart easily when we picked up the roll segments.

The chef covered the holiday roll with an abundance of the spicy mayo (way too much), which hid the flavor of the underlying fish and unagi sauce.  I scraped off most of it before eating each piece. 

The unagi was delicious—large pieces, with excellent flavor.

Overall, on a scale of 1-10, we rate Sub Zero a 7.5.  The service was excellent, but the Holiday roll could use less generous portions of mayonnaise, and both rolls should be more thickly sliced.

Wasabi - Clayton (1/31/14)

Jan. 31, 2014

Wasabi Sushi Bar (16 South Central Ave. Clayton, MO 63105 | ph: 314.721.9970)

Wasabi is a small but airy sushi bar in downtown Clayton.  We arrived for an early lunch on a Friday, and got prompt seating and service.

The green tea came in large, plastic “bottom pouring” pots.  These were fun, and allow you to see how steeped the tea is before pouring.  Of course, the plastic is not well-insulated and the tea cools off more quickly that it would in ceramic or cast iron.

Wasabi’s miso soup included chopped mushrooms, which was an interesting touch.  However the seaweed and tofu were relatively scant, and the soup was not overly flavorful.  We ordered two pieces of tokibo (roe).  While the roe itself was fine, the seaweed was chewy and overall not great.

Our experience improved dramatically with the arrive of our sushi.  The server recommended “Mr. Kim’s Roll”, a California roll with seared spicy tuna sprinkled with “crunch”.  While the crunch wasn’t quite as crunchy as we anticipated, the tuna was well-prepared and ample.  The real treat were the shellfish rolls.  We ordered a Spider Roll (soft-shelled crab), and were pleased by the large amount of crab.  Even better, the crab meat was nicely warmed rather than cold.  It was excellent, as was the shrimp tempura roll, in which it was clear that the shrimp had just been cooked.   Another nice feature of the sushi was the rice, which was sticky and flavorful – a far cry from the bleached white rice that one often encounters.

While Wasabi could use work on some of its side dishes, the main sushi rolls were very good and we’d come back!