I really like sushi. It makes me happy. When I eat it, I want more. I dream about it, then crave it the next day. This is especially true if I have tuna. Recently, I tried Kumori, a sushi and teppanyaki restaurant located on Sonterra Blvd in the same shopping center as Auden’s Kitchen. Kumori originated in McAllen where it has several locations. Its San Antonio location is less than a year old. Kumori’s San Antonio Menu

Miso Soup at Kumori

The atmosphere at Kumori is comparable to many of sushi restaurants in town (Godai and Sushihana, as well as Sushi Zushi come to mind), perhaps slightly more upscale. The service is good, but stand-offish. The food decent, but certainly not the best I’ve had in town. While Kumori has numerous rolls to choose from, too many have cream cheese in them. The gyozo were over-steamed, limp and falling apart. Watered down, in texture and taste. I won’t be ordering the gyozo again. The dipping sauce, a diluted soy sauce mix, was alright, but a bit strange. Can’t I just have soy sauce? While I can’t comment on the teppanyaki since neither I nor my Mr. tried any of those dishes, the spicy tuna roll was good. The tuna firm with good color and flavor. My favorite, in spite of the cream cheese, was the Maui Wowie roll. The tuna was very good. I liked the crunch of the soft shell crab tempura. The sweet and spicy was also nice, avocado and chipotle mayonnaise playfully fighting in my mouth.

Maui Wowie Roll at Kumori

I will definitely go to Kumori again. It’s convenient and good. I’d like to try the Teppanyaki. But Kumori did not re-order my list. My favorite sushi places in San Antonio are still Sushihana, Godai and Mon Thai.

I’ve actually been to Mon Thai several times since my last post, so why post another now? This time was different, of course. How? Sushi! I LOVE sushi! I had the Rainbow Roll; a friend, the San Antonio Roll. Both were as fresh and flavorful, as they were beautiful. The colors of sushi are one of the main reasons I enjoy it so very much. To me sushi is eye candy. Vibrant reds and oranges, greens and pinks, popping against bright white. The colors foretell the taste. Great color means great taste and Mon Thai’s sushi has both. Since good sushi should not have a strong smell, look at these picture and you can imagine taste. Can’t you just taste it!?!  The wait is a bit longer when you order sushi at Mon Thai, but good sushi is not pre-prepared. So wait, be patient, then take in the view, dive in and savor the flavors of some very good sushi! Mon Thai

Rainbow Roll

San Antonio Roll

Rainbow Roll

Just a stone’s throw from the hustle and bustle of Broadway, tucked away behind a secret garden, is Mon Thai. Despite its proximity to one of most hectic intersections in Alamo Heights, Mon Thai is quiet and relaxing. The service always friendly, steady and quick (A caveat to this is if you sit outside. In that case, service can be noticeably slower – sometimes even with the feeling that they have actually forgotten about you – which is perfectly fine if you have time, and not so much if you’re there on your lunch hour). Most importantly, the food is always delicious. Every time I eat at this small, intimate, gem of a place, it has the wonderful effect of transporting me to a happy place far from the daily stresses of life, and the excess of mundane, uninspired, in your face food with which we are constantly inundated. http://www.monsthai.com/

Each meal starts with a cup of soup which often comes to your table before you even order. Previously that soup was always the same, a broth of fish sauce and soy sauce with tofu. Lately, however, Mon Thai has been mixing it up – much to my delight. I always look forward to the surprise. A couple of weeks ago we were served a wonderful egg drop soup that literally melted in your mouth it was so silky. Also for starters, we often order the Vietnamese egg rolls with iceberg lettuce and hot pepper oil. These fried rolls (served piping hot and sliced in sections) are packed with vegetables along with a ton of flavor. Place a couple of sections in the ice cold lettuce leaf with a drizzle of the hot oil and you have yourself a perfect package of crunchy hot, crispy cold, spicy savory scrumptiousness.

Mon Thai serves a large number of curry dishes and sushi which is always incredibly fresh. Mon Thai also offers a variety of Chinese food dishes which my Mr. tends to lean. He especially likes the Kung Pao Chicken. I have tasted everything he’s ordered and thought each were very good. However, for my main dish, most of the time I order the pad Thai, which if you are a follower of this blog is no surprise, given my complete affinity for this simple, yet incredibly flavorful dish. In my opinion, Mon Thai’s ranks up there among the best in San Antonio.

Girl’s Night Out found us at Sushihana this month. http://www.sushihanasan.com/ Sushihana is a contemporary Japanese sushi bar and restaurant, centrally located on N.W. Military Highway. The same restauranteurs who own and operate Taipei Chinese Restaurant, a San Antonio institution, also own and operate Sushihana. Their expertise is reflected in each and every detail. The atmosphere is fashionably zen in keeping with its Asian fusion food. Every aspect of service is spot on, yet friendly. Our server accommodated my request for Merlot when a Cabernet was offered at Happy Hour. He even ran after me in the rain when I forgot my leftover soup on the table. And the food is fantastic!

We started with the Happy Hour offering Four for You, a 28 piece mix of Spicy Tuna Roll (spicy mayo, sriracha, cucumber & masago), Salmon Avocado Roll (salmon and avocado with rice outside), New Orleans Roll (spicy crawfish, avocado, topped with spicy tuna, snow crab and tobikko), and Spicy Girl Roll (black pepper tuna, avocado, topped with snow crab and chili pepper). A great deal at $19.00! Every roll was really good, made with fresh ingredients – the avocado perfectly green, the cucumber crisp and flavorful, the fish bright in color and taste. While I enjoyed all the rolls, the New Orleans Roll was the stand out. The heat of the spicy tuna and crawfish offset against the creamy cool avocado and sweet snow crab was just delicious. For sushi on a budget, Happy Hour at Sushihana can’t be beat.

We also shared an order of Harru Maki (Japanese spring rolls). They were crunchy, not greasy, but relatively average. The fabulous orange sweet and sour dipping sauce (with chile flakes) is what set this appetizer apart. Sitting at home by myself I may have dipped and licked my fingers too. Sushihana offers many more intriguing appetizers, including Crab Cakes with Asian slaw and ginger soy butter sauce, Seared Scallops on wilted spinach with bacon, enoki mushrooms and crispy leeks, and Pepper Tuna with daicon radishes and Ponzu (a Japanese citrus based sauce).

For my entrée I ordered the seafood udon in dashi broth. Loaded with fresh seafood and a ton of fresh vegetables, including broccoli florets, carrots, snow peas and seaweed (is seaweed a vegetable?), this soup is both incredibly flavorful and healthy. A couple of the other items on the menu which piqued my interest were the Orange Miso Sea Bass poached in sake and served with shitake fried rice, snow peas and garlic ginger sauce, and the Grilled Atlantic Salmon topped with cilantro crab and glazed with ginger soy butter with wok fried green beans and sticky rice. I am SO looking forward to future visits so I can try both. And while seafood reigns supreme, Sushihana also offers what look like excellent beef, pork and chicken entrees.

This was only my second visit to Sushihana, but I can comfortably say that it is my favorite sushi restaurant in San Antonio. You will find all the traditional sushi restaurant offerings on the Sushihana menu: gyozo, miso soup, squid and seaweed salads, nigiri, sashimi and tempura. What I believe truly sets Sushihana apart from the others is not only the level of quality of the ingredients used in all of its dishes, but the creativity and imagination also seen in many of its sushi roll, appetizer and entrée offerings. Sushihana serves amazing sushi and so, so much more!

Tong’s Thai Restaurant is located just outside Alamo Heights on Austin Highway. Despite being open for years, my first experience there came on Wednesday at lunch with my Mr. and the little one. I have driven past Tong’s innumerable times and always thought it looked like an oasis in the midst of a somewhat questionable area, even as that area is seeing a bit of revitalization. And in that regard it doesn’t disappoint. The front patio seating is well screened from the Austin Highway sights and sounds by tropical plants and palms, even though they are a bit ragged. The atmosphere inside is warm and interesting, clean and neat, with modern touches, set along side the more stereotypical, but unique, Asian-influenced art and artifacts. http://www.tongsthai.com/

Tong’s offers authentic Asian cuisine with an emphasis on Thai and Chinese dishes. The lunch specials are very reasonably priced and the meals presented quickly by a friendly, courteous and attentive wait staff, making Tong’s a perfect place to go for lunch if you work in the area. A caveat to this recommendation is that the parking is extremely tight and limited, and the lunch crowd relatively large, which can result in a pretty frustrating situation. Although I did not have any trouble getting a space in my compact car, my Mr. in his full-size truck had to park across Austin Highway in parking lot between a no-tell motel and Nosh restaurant (P.S. Nosh is on my wish list – this sister restaurant to Silo serves tapas and cocktails – crossing my fingers on a future post!).

I ordered the Pad Thai since I cannot resist it even when I fully intend to try to something new (besides I am performing a survey on the best Pad Thai in San Antonio – so in the interest of science and my stomach…). Sadly, Tong’s Pad Thai missed the mark for me. The noodles were chewy and while the chicken and tofu were cooked nicely, the shrimp were well overdone and rubbery. The overall flavor of the dish was fine, especially after some doctoring with some fish sauce and sambal Thai chile sauce.

On the other hand, Mr.’s Shrimp Pad Khing (Ginger) was much tastier in my opinion, with plenty of carrots, onion, black mushrooms and strips of ginger, and the shrimp cooked properly. Mr. commented the ginger could have been more pronounced in the dish. But in my bite the ginger was strong and good, with a wonderful peppery kick. He also felt the portion size was a bit weak, including the rice, but in my survey around the room, the other diners did not seem to have this issue, especially those who ordered Thai bowls (essentially the main dish served without rice or a spring roll). And my portion, while not overly generous, was certainly appropriate for a lunch special serving.

The absolute highlight of the meal actually came at the beginning, but I wanted to save the best for last. We started with a cup of the Hot and Sour Soup, which we agreed could quite possibly be the best Hot and Sour soup we have ever tasted. Smooth and silky, loaded with vegetables, this flavorful soup also packed some real heat which, while not for the timid, I happen to really enjoy. Pair a whole bowl of this soup with Tong’s tasty, not in the least greasy, spring rolls and you have a great lunch worth going to back to again and again.