Fujiyama - Awesome Japanese Lunch

Fujiyama Sushi is a little place located in the Suncrest Shopping Center on the corner of Dean Road and University Blvd, and is therefore in a prime location to cater towards the UCF crowd when they get a hankering for sushi. While not the most traditional sushi restaurant by any means, Fujiyama does serve up great Americanized sushi dishes, and the lunch specials are really an awesome deal. That said, if you don't want to simply capitalize on the lunch specials, go ahead and spend a little more to get a taste of some very well prepared sushi staples such as the ubiquitous spicy tuna roll or the less common but equally delicious volcano roll. On this particular visit, however, I went with my parents for a quick lunch, so we indulged in the lunch menu offered.

House Salad and Miso Soup

When ordering from the lunch menu, diners are given the choice of house salad or miso soup to precede the main meal. My parents who frequently eat salads didn't surprise me when they ordered -salad. It's not a bad salad, consisting of iceberg lettuce and a sort of sweet/miso dressing, but it certainly does not set itself apart from any other competing sushi houses. I thought my miso soup was much better than the salad, but again, while a competent preparation it doesn't set itself apart from any other decent miso I've had.

I know I've been emphasizing the sushi portion of the menu, but Fujiyama does offer up many different Japanese dishes as well, from udon and soba, to teppan and tempura. Chances are you'll find what you're looking for, and if you want to go for cooked food rather than the raw sushi, Fujiyama can definitely satisfy.

Teppan Steak

My mom ordered this item which comes with vegetable fried rice and steamed vegetables as part of the lunch deal. Also, two sauces, one a ginger sauce and the other Japanese white sauce are also offered to enliven the food. I did not try the veggies, but my mom liked them and from previous experiences I know the fried rice to be very tasty, much better than your average fried rice. Her meat was cooked significantly more than I would have personally liked, but the flavor was still good, especially when combined with one of the sauces. The only real complaint concerning the meat itself though (it was cooked the way she wanted it) would be that while lean, it was kind of chewy and even a tad dry.

Teppan Salmon

My dad had this special with the same condiments and accompaniments as my mom's dish. All three of us agreed that the salmon was a much better choice than the steak. Moist and possessing a pleasant texture, the only other thing this fish needed to be excellent was some great flavor - which it had!! Slightly sweet with a strong salmon flavor coming through after the initial sweetness, this baby is a winner.

3 Roll Lunch Special - (Hamachi, Spicy Tuna, California)

Yes, I had some of the most commonplace rolls out there, but hey, they're tasty!! (I haven't been to Japan or places like Masa and Urasawa; I'm still allowed to love these Americanized preparations!! ;) ) All the rolls consisted of good quality fish and were generously portioned. One of the best features of Fujiyama's rolls is that they still allow a lot of the constituent fish's flavor to shine through without being muddled by the condiments. The Hamachi was probably my favorite, but I love yellowtail anyway, so that doesn't come as a surprise. The wasabi supplied on the plate is not the authentic stuff, but it does the trick and adds some kick (the waitress, who is familiar with my eating habits, brought me an extra blob of wasabi to satiate my desire to incinerate my intestinal tract - Hooray!!)

Well, that was it for our meal this time. Another satisfying foray into the realm of Fujiyama, and a foray I would recommend to anyone in the area looking for some good Japanese food. Needless to say, I shall return.