Haru- Boston

With such a prime location in Boston's coveted Back Bay, I was surprised to walk into Haru for lunch on a weekday to find the entire dining floor empty less for one woman dining alone. Perhaps this place picks up the pace during their dinner service because it's a great establishment for dates, business dinners and whatnot. The interior is clean and relatively minimal though upscale. Our friendly waitress was such a joker and when asked where the restroom was located inside the restaurant, she facetiously responded with something along the lines of "there's no bathroom here, but I think there's one across the street that you could run over and use really quickly." I love servers who aren't afraid to kid around and have a little fun with the customers.

Rock Shrimp Tempura

Served extremely fresh with a crispy batter and a tangy, yet creamy spicy sauce, this appetizer was definitely one of the best tempuras I've had in a long while. The coating, as mentioned was crisp and thankfully neither heavy nor greasy. As for the inside, the shrimp was succulent and meaty. Additionally, the portion was generous and there was more than enough to share, although it's so yummy you may not want to.

 

Super Dynamite Roll

Encased in a light crunchy shell, the dynamite roll consists of eel and asparagus dressed in a spicy mayo/ sriracha sauce. Haru definitely has their coating down pat since the tempura on this roll was just as marvelous as the tempura coating on the rock shrimp appetizer pictured above. The eel was sweet and extremely fresh. The mayo gives the roll a much welcomed hint of heat.

 

Lobster Roll

How can you go wrong with lobster? Evidently, you can. I was looking forward to this roll the most and it was unfortunately a big letdown. The lobster meat itself was not only bland but also scrawny and not very fresh. Lettuce, avocado and mango are the remaining ingredients that compose the roll but we all know that lettuce adds as much flavor as water in terms of taste. Overall, this roll could have definitely used a sauce or some mayonnaise to enhance the flavors.

Dragon Roll (Pictured in Background)

We obviously ordered way too much food but for the last roll, we selected the dragon roll which is pretty standard in many Japanese restaurants. The roll consists of eel, avocado and kani (crab). Drawing from the sweet, delicate flavors of the crab while adding a bit of salt from with the drizzle of sauce on top, the dragon roll is a perfect balance of the two tastes.

Boston Uncommon Roll

How come all of the prettiest rolls are always the ones I can't eat? Though I didn't touch this raw roll, I couldn't help snapping a few photos. According to my lunch date, the Boston Uncommon Roll is just as fresh and as delicious as it is pleasing to the eyes. The gold paper, although it contributes nothing in terms of flavor, gives the roll that extra pizazz to catch your attention.

Ambiance: 4.5 out of 5
Service: 4 out of 5
Food: 4 out of 5
Verdict: Though a touch pricey, Haru delivers some whimsically-named but highly fresh, quality rolls.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/haru-boston

Yakitori Taisho- NY

"Yakitori Taisho" is japanese for "hole in the wall"...no, not really. but seriously, if the unfinished ceilings and graffitied bathrooms are any indication of what this place is like, then you would agree with me in saying that yakitori taisho is far from extravagant. HOWEVER, we all know that "hole in the wall" joints like this one are in fact some of the greatest places ever for fantastic food at low prices.

Okonomiyaki (Japanese Pancake)
i'm deathly scared of consuming eggs so when i saw "pancake," i was hoping that "pancake" didn't actually mean omelette. after triple checking with the waiter to make sure that there wasn't any eggs in this pancake, i went ahead and ordered it...and a successful choice it was! the batter is made of flour and shredded cabbage. sprinkled throughout the cake are bits of shrimp, squid and pork. on top, there is a drizzle of some sort of mayo or cream dressing along with yakitori taisho's rendition of BBQ sauce. lastly, the light pink/ beige shavings you see on top is katsuobushi flakes (this i had to look up), which is dried, fermented skipjack tuna shaved film thin.

first things first, i will say the pancake smells really fishy (it reminded me of the flakes that you feed to little goldfishes) and initially i was wondering why but i now know it was probably from the katsuobushi. but once you get past the fishy smell, this pancake is delicious!! it came out super fresh, super hot. if i could describe the batter, i'd say it's a little wetter and more moist..almost like a mashed potato cake. one suggestion i'd make: reduce the amount of BBQ sauce because the pancake itself is plenty flavorful so the addition of sauces just makes it a little too salty for me.  

Yakitori Combo: Pork, Chicken Skin, Squid, Chicken Meatballs, Chicken Liver
if you are looking to gain about 500lbs and you care nothing about your health, you are in luck, my friend. yakitori taisho makes these absolutely delicious cholesterol-raising, heart attack- inducing, obesity- guaranteeing chicken skin skewers...otherwise known as "fat on a stick." rest assured, these yakitoris taste amazing and how could they not with all that crispy skin and that luscious fat which just melts away in your mouth.

another snapshot of the combo
aside from the chicken skin skewers, the remainder of these yakitoris tasted pretty standard. still, the combos are great for sampling and sharing.

Matcha Creme Brulee
who would've thought that Yakitori Taisho made creme brulee? and even more surprising...it was actually really good!! the dessert is pretty small. if you can see from the photo, it's about the size of a small sauce cup and they gave us 4 big tablespoons to eat it with, don't ask me why. although it was tiny, the flavor was really concentrated so without a doubt, you can taste the tea.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/yakitori-taisho-new-york