Kai

Sushi is one of my favorite foods. Done right, it can highlight the subtle differences of the fish and can even include layers and layers of flavor. I have my favorite sushi restaurants, one is Bonsai on Schillinger Road but the hours are wonky and the Japanese owners go home for months at a time.  Another is Kai on Old Shell Road.

One of my favorite things to get is the Tuna Ball. Depending on what else I order, this could be an appetizer or the majority of my lunch. The inside is made of a krab salad, that's much like the topping of a typical volcano roll but without all the mayonnaise. The ball is then covered with spicy tuna, then several different fish eggs and some spicy mayo as well as eel sauce. It's like eating the top of some of your favorite rolls without the rice. I think that's why I like it so much. 

It's not uncommon for my brother and I to order the Noah's Ark when we go to Kai for lunch. This is a huge amount of food for about $70. You get soup and salad, crab rangoon, three chef's rolls, sashimi and nigiri (chef's choice). You also get two flavors of mochi, which is a dessert. The Noah's Ark is definitely not for those who like cooked sushi rolls. There's a lot of raw stuff going on here.

Noah's Ark

All of the rolls that come with the Noah's Ark are good. There's a mix of cooked and raw. The payday roll is your deep fried roll. The other two, the tuna lovers roll and the red dragon roll, have mostly raw tuna on top or inside. As with any sushi rolls, the rice is an important factor for flavor and texture. I don't like to eat a lot of rice but Kai has some of the best I've ever tasted. The rice can elevate the more simple rolls to stellar levels. There are times I prefer the simpler combination of flavors in traditional rolls than in special rolls. 

Sashimi Deluxe Combo $20

I feel like Kai has some of the freshest sashimi in town. I love all of them. In the Noah's Ark, there are 8 pieces of sashimi, which includes tuna, salmon, yellowtail tuna and white tuna.  If I am not getting the Noah's Ark, I would get the Sashimi Deluxe Combo which has 12 pieces of the same fishes. The salmon is usually the best with its melt in your mouth texture. With the combo, you do get a little bit of seaweed salad with it.

California Deluxe Combo $15 and a Red Dragon Roll

One of the best thing about Kai are their nigiri. Nigiri is a small piece of rice with raw fish or other seafood on top. If you're getting any of the combos, it's usually chef's choice so whatever they feel like giving you. What I like is the slight twist that Kai has on the nigiri. For instance, the octopus nigiri is a pickled octopus instead of boiled like some of the other places I have tried. The shrimp, or ebie, also has a slight pickled flavor. The only one I have not liked is the egg nigiri. It's a cold piece of egg omelet on sushi rice. The bright orange eggs one, I think it's salmon roe, is one of my favorites. I have already mentioned the freshest of the fish for the sashimi and that also applies for the nigiri.

Have you ever had mochi ice cream? I just recently tried it and it was all thanks to Kai. It's a ball of sweeten, pounded sticky rice filled with ice cream. I can't even try to describe it to you. I do know I like it. Hey if you get the Noah's Ark, it's free so why not be adventurous and give it a try.

As you can tell, I do like Kai for its sushi. When it comes to the rest of the menu I'm not so sure. My friends have ordered some of the other dishes like the ton kat su. The meat has come out dry and so was the rice! My brother tried the ramen when they first introduced it. He was not impressed. We've talked about trying it out again but to be honest, I like the sushi too much to stray far.

If you're ordering sushi, you should be prepared for a bit of a wait especially when it comes to rolls. I have never seen more than two sushi chefs on duty. Most of the time there is just one chef. The service at lunch time is usually outstanding. I can't speak for dinner time. I have ordered take out then but not dine in.



If you would like to check out Kai's menu, check out their Facebook page.