Asian Collaboration?

Restaurant Name: Okami

Location: 6218 18 Ave (63rd Street)

Website: N/A

Price Range: 15$

JCL Rating: 4.5/10

JCL's Choice: Shrimp Pad Thai; Yakitori; Thai Ice Tea

This restaurant was a fusion of Thai, Chinese and Japanese cuisine. The design of this restaurant is very contemporary with Asian influence. This is a middle size restaurant, it must have been about 45 seats if not less. A chill atmosphere. The instrumentals that were playing were very calm and soothing. My friends were already seated since I was late. It didn't take long for them to bring more water. Up to that point, it was all good. The menu was really nice, loved the cover page. After we ordered, a few of us had the option of soup/salad. It was brought over really fast as well. 

Then comes the appetizer. It took so long for them to come. And it was one by one, the period between each was ridiculously long. If you are one of those people that wouldn't eat until everyone in the table received their food first, then expect your food to be cold. It was not even busy at that time and the service was so slow. Entree was even worse. My friends chicken udon was cold before half of us received our entrees. 

So the miso soup comes with my entree. It was extremely salty. Your mouth becomes dried after one or two spoons. My appetizer was a seaweed salad. It was layered on top of a mixed green salad and topped with sesame seeds. It was crunchy and well seasoned. The flavor profile was definitely there, but you definitely will need a toothpick after eating this. It will stick to your tooth. My friend had the yakitori chicken skewer. I tried a piece, and it was really good. The chicken was tender bathed in teriyaki sauce. This sauce was really good, a hint of sweetness and very flavorful. Complements the chicken perfectly. 

For entree, I ad the seafood bouillabaisse. I picked this dish because the restaurant I work at also have a bouillabaisse dish, but French style. Bouillabaisse is a fish fumet with the additions of carrots and fennel stems. The presentation of this dish was great. Each seafood was grouped on its own. Mussels and shrimps were nicely fanned out along with scallops on one side, then a few pieces of fish (don't know what fish it is), and imitation crab meat. If you dig through the seafood, you will find green zucchini, baby corn, bell peppers, mushroom and red and white onions. I did not like this dish at all. The scallops were overcooked; almost to the point of rubbery. The shrimp was not seasoned at all. The mussels looks like the frozen precooked New Zealand mussels that I see in supermarkets. The fish was fair, the imitation crab meat was nothing special. Overall, this dish was a disappointment. 

I tried some of my friend's shrimp pad Thai, it was good. Mild in spiciness and was well seasoned. Their chicken with basil was fair, but was overpowered by basil. The green curry shrimp was a bit too salty. Overall, the food is average. Nothing special. But the service speed is lagging behind. But one thing they have on point is that their photos of the plates are legit. By that, I mean the size you see in the pictures is exactly what you receive. The portions are really big. You are definitely eating your money's worth. 

"Shell" We Eat

*Picture taken from website because I forgot to take one*

Restaurant Name: Luke's Lobster

Location: 93 E 7th Street (1st Ave)

Website: http://www.lukeslobster.com/

Price Range: 25$

JCL Rating: 8/10

JCL's Choice: A Taste of Maine, lobster roll

Shell fish has always been one of my favorites. Especially lobsters. The meat is just so tender and juicy. Yummy. That brought us to today's visit to Luke's Lobster. On my walk to work I always passed a Luke's Lobster (different location than this one that I visited), but never knew anything about it. Until my friend linked me the menu. It looked rather interesting so after weeks of planning, six of us finally decided on a day where we are all free to check this place out. 

After a fair walk from Chinatown to 1st Ave, we finally arrived. I was surprised to see that it is not a big place at all. It was around 6PM when we arrived. There was only one person eating there... until we came. This place have a very relaxing ambiance, maybe because it is small and compact. There is about eight stools only. The workers there were really friendly. Glad we arrived at that time, because like ten minutes later people started coming in.

So we all ordered the "Taste of Maine" because we all wanted to... taste Maine. According to their website, their lobsters are provided from a seafood company in Maine and is traceable from the sea floor to your plate. This my friends, is very reliable. So the "Taste of Maine" includes half lobster, half crabs, half shrimp rolls, a pair of chilled crab claws, a bag of chips, and a drink. I picked the smokehouse BBQ chips a lemon lime soda. What else goes better with shellfish than lemon right? According to Rooster and TWong, root beer was a better choice. The rest of us obviously disagreed with them. 

The two chilled crab legs dipped in the cocktail sauce completes each other. The bread on all three rolls were toasted to perfection. The crunchiness was just perfect. A whip of lemon butter and mayonnaise with the shellfish meat and a dash of black pepper was a flawless combination. According to the website, their rolls were sprinkled with "secret spices," I could smell hints of thyme and a taste of rosemary. Although the portion of the so call "half roll" was a bit small, the fillings were not small at all. Big chucks of crab, shrimps and lobster meats were present. 

This was a great experience. I would recommend this place for any seafood lovers (shrimp, crab, lobster), it is worth your money. But do not go in rush hours because there will be no space to sit!