**** (4 stars)
This nicely decorated strip mall restaurant serves both Chinese food and sushi. Both are competently prepared.
Lunches come with two sides, and in some cases you can choose from some out of the ordinary offerings such as lo mein.
The sushi was well made. We particularly liked the No Name roll.
Service is friendly and efficient.
Red Ginger Restaurant
6300 N Wickham Rd
Ste 127
Melbourne, FL 32940
(321) 242-1167
http://www.yelp.com/biz/red-ginger-restaurant-melbourne
*** (3 stars)
OK, this is not a great Thai restaurant, but I had a much better experience than most of these other reviews.
It’s true that the server was completely untrained, and had no concept of when to turn in orders for food or to clear plates. So appetizer, soup and main course arrived spaced out by about 90 seconds each. And then plates started disappearing even while we were still eating off of them. So… 0 for service.
On the other hand, I’ve never been to such a beautifully decorated restaurant. With stone statuary on the walls, teak dividers, and elegant hanging lamps it’s really quite nice. If they turned off the glaring overhead lighting and completely went with the theme it would be one of the best decorated restaurants in Central Florida. So 5 for decor.
As for the food, it was okay. The sashimi was fine; a generous portion, fairly fresh tasting, excellent quality salmon. The Tom Yum soup was tasty, with crispy fresh vegetables added at the last minute. And the Pad Thai was good if not great, not as complex or citrusy as I like, but at least takeout quality. I really had to restrain myself at dessert time from ordering the yummy-sounding “Black glutinous rice pudding with young coconut flesh.” “Glutinous” and “flesh” are not things I look for in a dessert. Anyway… let’s say 3 for food.
That averages out to a solid 3 star rating. It’s a bit sad because that might make it the highest rated restaurant in Clermont, but that’s another story.
Zab Thai
1660 E Hwy 50
Clermont, FL 34711
(352) 242-1314
http://www.yelp.com/biz/zab-thai-clermont-2
***** (5 stars)
This is one of the better sushi restaurants in town. It’s at the extreme southern end of a particularly crazy parking lot.
The lunch specials are a good deal, and you can get sushi, tempura or noodles. They are equally adept at all three.
It’s designed like a classic sushi restaurant, with tables in the front and a sushi bar on one side at the rear. Service is fast and friendly.
Sushi Tomi
8463 S John Young Pkwy
Orlando, FL 32819
(407) 352-8635
http://www.yelp.com/biz/sushi-tomi-orlando
***** (5 stars)
We returned to our favorite sushi place (in the world) for an extravaganza, taking advantage of Dani being in town, and a visit from our friend Pamela from Australia. Truly, there is no better sushi in the world, and no more creative sushi chef than Chef Henry. Every visit offers new and spectacular selections, and this trip was no exception. Each course was accompanied by matching wine.
The kitchen
Tom yum soup with coconut broth, lime and head-on shrimp
Kanpachi tartare
Our favorite, maguro truffle
Sashimi patter featuring whole branzino with a ponzu-based sauce
Kobe beef nigiri with black truffle
Pork belly with mushrooms
Chef Henry flames the lobster
Lobster
Three layer flan, molten chocolate cake, bread pudding, cappuccino creme brûlée
What an amazing meal! We’re ready to go back!
Kabooki Sushi
3122 E Colonial Dr
Orlando, FL 32803
(407) 228-3839
http://www.yelp.com/biz/kabooki-sushi-orlando
**** (4 stars)
This was a delightful find. Wonderful interior design and lighting make this a place you really want to spend some time in, and we dawdled our way through close to a dozen dishes, all of which were excellent.
Some of the sashimi was particularly good, and the specialty rolls were quite creative. There’s also a nice assortment of non-cconventional cooked dishes.
The wine list is excellent.
Koi
730 N LA Cienega Blvd
West Hollywood, CA 90069
(310) 659-9449
http://www.yelp.com/biz/koi-west-hollywood
**** (4 stars)
There are lots of places in Orlando to get sushi, but not that many to get noodles. This is the real deal, and an excellent choice for lunch (when all they have is pretty much noodles). Don’t be fooled by its proximity to the tourist area, Hanamizuki is where the locals go for authentic Japanese noodle dishes.
Hanamizuki Japanese Restaurant
8255 International Dr
Ste 136
Orlando, FL 32819
(407) 363-7200
http://www.yelp.com/biz/hanamizuki-japanese-restaurant-orlando-2
**** (4 stars)
Excellent sashimi, and a very reasonable price for it as a lunch combination was the highlight here. The space is cozy and very popular, with good reason. The restaurant is actually in two separate buildings, but only one side is open at lunch.
Sushi Ran
107 Caledonia St
Sausalito, CA 94965
(415) 332-3620
http://www.yelp.com/biz/sushi-ran-sausalito
**** (4 stars)
This neighborhood Asian restaurant has a menu larger than their storefront! There are an incredible number of pages of Chinese, Japanese and other Asian foods.
We had mostly sushi, which was all good. The sashimi dishes are particularly creative. The Pad Thai was also very good. Hot and sour soup was a standout and the spring rolls were good, too.
They do a busy Chinese takeout business, but it’s also a pleasant place to eat in.
Service was pleasant and efficient. I can’t imagine how their kitchen can turn out so many different things.
No beer or wine.
Tao Asian
13848 Tilden Rd
Ste 118
Winter Garden, FL 34787
(407) 347-8999
http://www.yelp.com/biz/tao-asian-winter-garden
**** (4 stars)
This is a classic sushi restaurant with pleasing decor and a nice selection of sushi and cooked items. It’s a particularly good choice for lunch, with an assortment of bento boxes, or the option of selecting any two rolls plus soup or salad. I like the sushi and sashimi lunch, which offers a generous assortment of sushi, nigiri and a California roll plus soup or salad for a reasonable price.
Mikado Sushi
6417 Raleigh St
Orlando, FL 32835
(407) 822-1080
http://www.yelp.com/biz/mikado-sushi-orlando
maguro truffle
***** (5 stars)
I’ve previously reviewed Kabooki Sushi here, but we continue to return regularly, and the food has advanced from fantastic to mind-blowing, so it deserves another mention (my first repeat review, after more than 400).
As I said previously, we’ve had sushi at some of the top restaurants all over the world, and I’ve never had a meal as good as the ones I consistently get from Chef Henry Moso at Kabooki Sushi.
We always have the omakase, where you put yourself in the chef’s hands. But we ask him to add extra courses, and to pair it with wines. We usually have about seven courses, and it costs around $125, about double what the original omakase ran. To put this in perspective, I’ve paid more than that for a single course at some high end sushi restaurants, and not gotten as good food!
Similarly, the wine pairing at $30 is cheaper than a single glass of wine at those restaurants (Nobu, I’m looking at you).
The really amazing thing is that in a dozen visits, Chef Henry has never repeated himself, except for one dish, the Maguro Truffle, that we always request. So that’s something like 100 unique dishes!
Not only is each a work of art, but the combination of flavors is so perfect (salty, sweet, umami, citrus, fatty, acidic, rich, light — often all combined in one bite) that it defies description.
And sushi isn’t an easy food to pair with wine. Yet the matches are always perfect, and usually include minor grigio, sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, pinot noir, cabernet and sparkling wine.
On our latest visit I showed Chef Henry a picture of a dish we had earlier in the week at Morimoto in New York. Two hours later, at the conclusion of our meal, Chef Henry, inspired by the idea, presented us with this:
otoro tartare with assorted condiments and seaweed chips
If a chef can come up with that on the spur of the moment, imagine what other treasures are in store for us in the future!
Here are some other things we had in that same meal at Kabooki:
giant clam, seaweed and pickled cucumber
compressed watermelon, tuna, ouzu sorbet
hamachi with house-made kimchi
locally caught grilled cobia
three types of fish rolled in rice paper, with apple sails, cucumber sorbet
grilled hamachi collar
If you can only dine at one restaurant in Orlando, it should be Kabooki Sushi.
Kabooki Sushi
3122 E Colonial Dr
Orlando, FL 32803
(407) 228-3839
http://www.yelp.com/biz/kabooki-sushi-orlando