Thursday, January 15, 2015

Azuma Japanese Cuisine - Cupertino

3/5 stars

I've lived in Cupertino for 15+ years and have never even looked at this place. Yup, my attention skills are that great.

FOOD: was well-seasoned, authentic, and fresh (a plus in all restaurants, a must with a sushi place). There were a lot of things we didn't recognize or understand on the menu, which always makes ordering interesting (and I mean that in a good way). I really, really enjoyed having dinner here and I don't even like sushi! Perhaps to be more specific, I don't like the raw stuff and... well... seaweed... (shame)... I haven't yet had the guts yet to ask for sushi to be made without it... I wonder what would happen if I fibbed and told them I was allergic? Would a Mr. Miyagi-look-alike come and throw me out with a scold?

Lo' and behold, I ordered the shrimp tempura sushi and ate the whole thing, seaweed and all! It REALLY REALLY helps if the seaweed is fresh and not dry n' smelly. The rice in the sushi was moist and flavored really well and the cucumbers were also fresh and added a nice taste/crunch. For about 5 bucks, I got 8 of these little rolls of delight. I also ordered the salad (the dressing was different, more sesame based, but still good) and the pork gyoza (which were definitely handmade and not frozen). The bf ordered the lotus and the cold soba noodles because he's adventurous like that. I've never seen lotus, but I think it's a flower? Or a root... whatever it actually is, it looks like it's some alien pod. The cold soba noodles was the largest plate of noodles I've ever seen in a Japanese restaurant. Seriously piled on.

+ another plate of hamachi rolls and a recommended bottle of ice-cold sake and total was around $40. Not bad for sushi!!

ATMOSPHERE: Busy and half of the patrons were Japanese (fantastic sign), but we didn't have to wait on a Friday night. My favorite part was that the waitresses wear kimonos and will explain the menu to you if you ask. Such nice, old, Japanese ladies.

(2007)

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