Cheap Sushi

Chikurin 
2274 86th St 
Brooklyn, NY 11214 
www.chikurinsushi.com

If you crave sushi as often as I do, and you don’t want to spend too much money - this place is a good option for a quick sushi fix. Chikurin is a Japanese restaurant chain known for their 50% off sushi made by my Chinese homies. Of the 9 restaurants located here in New York, the 86th Street, Brooklyn location is my favorite. Their classic rolls are only $3.00, all sushi or sashimi pieces are $1.00, and they have 4 pages of special rolls to choose from their menu. The fish is decent and fresh every time I come, especially anything with salmon, and they have a good selection of cooked food as well.

The atmosphere here is a little noisy during dinner time, but for the price you pay, this place hits the spot. Good for my belly, great for my pocket! =]

Mickey’s ratings: 8/10 
Price range: $

If I could rearrange the alphabet, I would put u n i together

Soto 
357 6th Avenue 
New York, NY 10014 
www.sotonyc.com

Last week was opening night for the movie Jiro Dreams of Sushi. It’s a documentary about a 85 year old sushi master Jiro, who’s lifelong passion revolves only around sushi. With all the amazing sushi visuals, it's inevitable that this movie would leave me mouthwatering and falling in love with sushi all over again. 

Jiro Dreams of Sushi at the IFC Center.

Good thing I had one of the best sushi meals of my life at Soto, right before I went to see Jiro! With a full tummy, I controlled the sushi monster within me from unleashing inside the theater. If you're a sushi lover and haven't seen Jiro Dreams of Sushi yet, go see it! It's an inspiring story with beautiful cinematography. I truly enjoyed every moment of it - Jiro, you're my hero. :P

The facade of Soto.

Sushi Chef Kosugi prepares our sushi with a stern face.  

Hands down, this place is amazingly good. Does it seem like I say that about every sushi restaurant? Well it's true... even though Soto received mixed reviews and I've heard stories about Chef Kosugi, whom many patrons called “crazy”. He's known for having a bad temper with his staff and I even witnessed it. But I think he's just a serious man, who’s serious about his craft and knows exactly what the foie gras of the sea is. This place was unilicious! Unicredible! Uniful! Unirrific! Uninomenal! You get the point right? I walked right into uni lover’s paradise, where all uni lovers should UNIte!

Uni tempura with uni powder

Uni tempura close up - apparently when you deep fry uni, the unique flavor of uni disappears. It tasted like sweet potato. I think I'll stick with uncooked uni.  

Uni cocktail in a martini glass - it's indeed happy hour time.

Uni cocktail close up - sea urchin with soy reduction and fresh wasabi. This is my favorite uni dish. Make sure to get your own. I made the mistake of sharing one!

Uni and Yoba - black soy bean milk with uni served with shitake broth. I loved the depth of flavors and textures in this, and the cold broth was refreshing.

Uni Ika kelp roll - minty with good texture.

Steamed lobster with uni mousse

The steamed lobster with uni mousse was not only visually beautiful but tasted wonderful too. The lobster was cooked medium rare, full of flavor with a delicate sweetness that complemented well with uni, truffle oil, caviar and paper thin vegetables. Best lobster dish ever! This nearly stole uni's thunder. 

Lobster sashimi

We didn't know about this dish, until we saw Chef Kosugi intricately composing 5 of these lobster sashimis at the sushi bar. We immediately ordered it without hesitating, knowing that we wanted to try it, just because everyone else was having it. The sweet lobster was perfect, covered in a ginger vinaigrette with seaweed salad underneath. Wow!

Fluke

Isaki

Salmon sake

Red snapper

Striped jack  

Toro

We ordered the 8 piece omakase last, essentially letting the chef decide what to feed us. Sometimes I enjoy that surprise element, where each piece of fish is carefully and thoughtfully prepared by our chef. The best piece in the house was the toro. Oh... how I love thee! The toro was so heavenly, that it transmitted this indescribable euphoric feeling inside my body. I was giggling over the rich fatty flavor of the tuna belly melting in my mouth. It tasted like butter. We even skipped dessert and ordered one more toro sushi to cap off the evening. It's so gooooood.

So here are a few things to keep in mind, if you ever decide to dine here. Do not come here if you’re in a rush. Otherwise, you won't enjoy the full dining experience. The service is a little slow with only one sushi chef. The portions are small and the prices are expensive, but you're getting what you pay for - quality. Think about it, you get a taste of Japan without actually flying there. How awesome is that? I think Soto is one of the most inventive and most unique in flavors, in all of the sushi restaurants I've been to. I’ll never forget this incredible three hour meal.

3 things you must order here:
Uni cocktail – don't share this one!
Steamed lobster with uni mousse - so decadent and good!
Toro - this orgasmic piece of fish is kind of a big deal. Best toro I've ever eaten!

Mickey's rating: 10/10 
Price range: $$$$

First blog post!

Welcome to my first blog post! Thanks to those who have continuously encouraged me in the past to start a blog about my food adventures. I was hesitant for a long time, but I'm finally doing it! Here, I will be sharing photos, some restaurant and travel reviews, and maybe a few of my favorite recipes. I believe that the belly rules the mind and food is the essence of bringing people together, so please visit often. Your support will help keep me motivated! :)

So let's start with one of my favorite restaurants, Hatsuhana! 

Hatsuhana Sushi Restaurant 
17 E 48th Street (between 5th Ave & Madison Ave) 
New York, NY 10017 
www.hatsuhana.com 

Hatsuhana is an authentic and simple Japanese restaurant that serves impeccable sushi, that's not fancy at all. I’ve been to this midtown gem twice for two very special occasions and enjoyed both experiences very much. I probably would’ve never tried this place if I didn't get two free $80 vouchers through Living Social! They're known for their "Box of Dreams" which includes nine miniature bowls containing one type of fish on a bed of vinegared rice. It's nicely presented in a lacquer box and everyone who has eaten here has raved about it. However, we decided to be different from everyone else and opted for the "Sushi Hatsuhana" where you pick 10 pieces of sushi of your choice plus 1 roll, and appetizers. I think it's more satisfying to pick my own favorite sushi anyway.

Salmon Carppacio - Slices of raw salmon over avocado, with sprinkles of caviar and seaweed. Delicious!

Tempura appetizer - Two pieces of shrimp and assorted vegetables delicately fried in tempura batter. The batter was very light and crispy. 

Thinly sliced raw flounder sashimi with chives. Yummy and beautiful presentation!

Uni - My favorite!

Eel

Octopus

Scallop

Yellowtail and Amberjack

Salmon

Fluke

Mackerel

Otoro

Tuna and Toro

Negi-Toro roll

This is definitely the place to go to for good quality sushi. Everything was fresh and tasty, and the wait staff was friendly and attentive. I certainly recommend making a reservation here for your next special occasion, and ask for the sushi bar upstairs. The experience at the sushi bar is much more intimate and fun, and I love watching our sushi chef prepare my sushi as I devour each tasty pieces of gem. All in all, I love this place.

Mickey's rating: 9/10
Price range: $$$