I’ve been looking at the reviews of this restaurant for some time, and I finally had the chance to check it out! The restaurant is located right by Grand Central Market, and it’s not too big on the inside. There is also a bar area that was closed when I visited, and that only opens up at night.
When you enter, you order at the counter first, then find your own seat. This place is known for their handrolls, and I had a hard time deciding between one of their Handroll Combos and their Signature Handrolls. The combos are more basic, with spicy tuna, chopped salmon, scallop, chopped yellowtail, and blue crab. There’s also a Temaki Five combo which features two signature handrolls (chili yellowtail and seared salmon) combined with the spicy tuna, scallop, and chopped salmon handrolls. I really wanted to try one of their combos to compare it with the handrolls at KazuNori, but who knows when I’ll get to visit this place again? So I decided to go for their Signature Handrolls.
I placed my order, then took a seat. In the corner, you can grab your own cup of water, as well as soy sauce. There are plastic sauce containers to hold your soy sauce. The food came out pretty quickly.
Your order is placed on a tray, with a holder for each handroll. There is a plastic sleeve around the seaweed to keep it fresh and crispy, and the staff showed us how to pull that out. It was pretty simple, although I was worried that my rice and fish would slip out (which almost happened for one of my handrolls since there was some extra oil on that handroll). Once you pull it out, you put it in a mini trash can they provide.
Kombu Salmon – white kelp, shiso, sesame seeds, pickled wasabi, lemon zest, yuzu ponzu – I could definitely taste the shiso on this handroll! I found this handroll to be a bit bland overall. I was originally super excited to try this one, but I didn’t like it as much as I thought I would.
Chili Yellowtail – serrano, cilantro, gobo, lemon zest, yuzu ponzu – The serrano and cilantro really stood out on this handroll. I could also taste the flavor of the lemon zest and yuzu ponzu. It was definitely an interesting combination. This handroll was not bad, but I would prefer to try something else next time.
Seared Salmon – garlic aioli, crunch garlic, chili oil, whole grain mustard, mustard dressing, green onion – This was my favorite out of the three. This was also the handroll that almost slipped out when I was trying to pull out the plastic. I really liked the flavors, particularly the garlic and mustard, but it was a bit salty. The seared salmon added extra texture. I would order this one again next time.
The plastic on the seaweed is there for a reason. Since all your handrolls are served at the same time, the plastic is a smart way to keep the seaweed crispy for when you get to each handroll. However, I really wanted to get a picture of my handrolls without the plastic, so I took off the plastic for all my handrolls at the same time. I did expect the seaweed to get a bit soggy, but was actually a bit surprised at how quickly it got soggy, especially by the time I got to my Seared Salmon Handroll, which I had saved for last. It was also the handroll with oil, and the oil seeped right through the rice and into the seaweed. The part of the seaweed that was not touching anything was still very crispy though!
I also wish there were soy sauce dishes instead of the plastic containers. The containers made it difficult to dip your handroll in because of how tall the edges were and the small area that held the soy sauce. The other thing that was missing from my meal? Ginger!
Although I was not too satisfied with the handrolls I ordered, I do want to go back and try their basic handrolls. The signature handrolls were unique and had a thick cut of fish, but definitely think about whether you would enjoy the combination of ingredients on them before deciding. Thinking back, I should have ordered the Temaki Five to try both their signature handrolls and some of their basic handrolls. Now that I’ve already had two of the signature handrolls of that combo though, I’ll probably try the 5 handroll combo instead next time!