Unagi Udon
Hana Japanese Sushi And Hibachi

Hana Japanese Sushi And Hibachi

5 Biltmore Ave, Asheville, NC 28801, 28803, United States

Sushi • Asian • Vegan • Japanese


"Make sure you are not in a hurry, and to bring your own soy sauce dish when you decide to visit Hana. We though to give this place a try as our favorite taco place across the street had a line of people waiting out the door when we got there. No so at Hana. When we entered the restaurant at the peak of the lunch rush hour there was only one other table occupied. Maye this should have been a hint already. We were seated and given menus when our waitress disappeared without taking drink orders. What seemed like over 10 minutes went by before she came back and ook our drink and lunch order. The drinks arrived after another rather long wait, but so signs of any food. So more waiting did, and some more that and finally, after 30 or so minutes some sushi started up be coming from the sushi bar. With the first order being served we asked for chop sticks and soy sauce dishes as neither were available at our table. Getting the chop sticks took another few minutes but the soy sauce dishes never came. We asked again and were given two dishes to share for our table of 8. At this point all of us were slightly frustrated when I got up, went to the sushi bar and got 6 more so all of us could finally start eating almost one hour after being seated. The sushi itself was ok, the fish seemed to be fresh but the rice was definitely on the dry side. We quickly finished eating as we were a little under a time crunch. Further delays while paying put us at 90 minute from entry to exit. On the way to the nearby parking garage we all agreed that we would not come back to this restaurant, regardless of how long a wait there is across the street or at any one of the dozens of other restaurants in the proximity."

Tokyo Express

Tokyo Express

250 Highway 17 North, North Myrtle Beach, United States

Asian • Salads • Salads • Japanese


"I placed a phone order and when I asked about the seafood roll, the employee seemed confused and quickly read through the entire sushi menu. I struggled to understand him because he spoke so fast. Eventually, he mentioned the seafood roll, which was exactly what I had asked for. No big deal, I completed my order and was informed it would take 25 minutes. I arrived about 30 minutes later, only to wait an additional 10 minutes despite the fact that there were no other customers. When I finally got my food, the employee was nice and even showed me the seafood roll, admitting he had never seen it being made before. Since I hadn't eaten all day, I tried it right away and was pleasantly surprised—it was delicious! I also ordered the pork egg rolls (I only received one even though the menu states it comes with two, and I was charged for two), the Natalie roll (which was just okay), and the scallop bowl. Unfortunately, the scallop bowl is the main reason for my low rating. It was inedible. After trying one in the car following the seafood roll, I almost felt sick. It was chewy, tough, bitter, and greasy. Hoping for better, I tried it again at home, but it was still unpleasant. The aftertaste was terrible—bitter and tingly on my tongue. I ended up removing the scallops from the bowl and tried to finish the fried rice and broccoli, but I could still taste the scallops in the rice. Not only was I still hungry, but the meal was also quite expensive."

Shokudo Restaurant

Shokudo Restaurant

7874 Edmonds St Burnaby, BC V3N 1B8, V3N1B8, United States

Fish • Soup • Asian • Fusion


"Shokudo is a Japanese restaurant that recently moved into the former Amorosa Pasta House location on Edmonds and 6th St (Amorosa moved next door to combine with their Greek Santali House).On my first visit in early January, I decided to try some of their kushiage (deep-fried meats and veggies on skewers). All of the kushiage were coated in a crisp panko breading and I picked the Fish Cake ($1.75 each), Fish Ball ($1.75 each), and Lotus Root ($0.75 each). While the lotus root was cut too thick for my liking, the fish cake was really good. This is really the kind of food that you have late at night with some drinks. The panko breading does fill you up though.I also decided to try their version of Loco Moco ($11.95) – the famous Hawaiian dish featuring a Hamburg steak on top of rice with a fried egg and gravy. The beef patty was quite thick but the interior stayed moist. The only issue that I had with this dish was that the fried egg was cooked a bit too long as the yolk wasn’t runny.It took me a few months to come back for a revisit but I wanted to try some of their more traditional Japanese fare… I started out with the Iidako Karaage ($7.95) which is deep-fried, marinated baby octopus. These were pretty good. The octopus were battered and had a good crispness to the exterior while not being too chewy to the bite.I also tried their homemade Kitsune Udon ($5.95) which is a steal of a price. The chewy, toothsome noodles are served with onions, carrots, enoki, green onions, and cucumbers all topped with thin tofu skin. The sweet marinated tofu skins were quite good, as was the light broth.Their menu isn’t too extensive but it’s a nice alternative to the countless sushi shops you’ll find in the Lower Mainland."