Well, I lied, before the fish proper come appetizers. We all had miso soup and salad. Not a whole lot to say here, as they were both tasty if completely prototypical versions of these sushi staples.
After this came edamame, which we recieved gratis due to our 'long' wait time for our orders to come out. I didn't think the wait was too long, but hey, I'll take the free food and cheers to the service!! As far as these little green guys are concerned, they were pretty good, but maybe a little too salty.
My girlfiend ordered two items. This is the first - a sashimi sampler with Salmon, Tuna and Whitefish. All three were great high quality offerings, being great examples of their respective species. The size was also a bit larger than what one might expect, always a pleasant surprise.
She then had a salmon roll and a house specialty - the Havana Roll. The Salmon roll is what you'd expect, a generous portion of high quality salmon wrapped in rice and seaweed...good stuff. She was a little less thrilled with the Havana Roll though. Consisting of eel, plantain, avocado and Shiso leaf on top, she said that really the only thing she could taste was mint, so that was rather disappointing for her.
Marc ordered four rolls, with one of them being the most impressive roll I've ever seen. The first roll (from left to right) was the Crunchy Roll (salmon, crab, roe, cream cheese, scallion, tempura fried). He was very happy with this roll; all of the flavors came together nicely in a fishy, tempura'd amalgam of delicious sushi roll goodness. Next came the ever popular Spider Roll (tempura soft shell crab, lettuce, cucumber, tobiko, mayo, sesame seeds). Again, a very large and very tasty example of this very popular roll. His third roll was his least favorite, the Spicy Krab Roll (krab, avocado, tempura flake, masago). While not bad, he didn't think it was up to par, being relatively bland. His fourth roll was his favorite, and indeed one of his all time favorite rolls - the Lobster Volcano Roll (California Roll topped with baked lobster and mayo). I think the pic says it all - a very generous portion of lobster heaped upon a California Roll and covered in that house mayo sauce. The lobster was cooked well and its flavor really came through...a very strong offering for sure, and one of the most impressive rolls I've ever seen.
I went for the Exotic Sashimi Sampler. It may look like something of a mess, but let me assure you - this is the best sushi I've ever had. Starting clockwise from the nine o'clock position, I'll bullet point the various items -
- Tempura Sweet Shrimp Head - My first experience with these deep fried wonders, they're absolutely delicious, tasting somewhat of crab rangoon, but much smokier and crispier...I could eat these all day!!!
- Salmon Roe - I've never thought too much of Salmon roe, but this was just on another level. Not overly salty like most varieties I've tried, every little orange orb just burst with intense and delicious salmon flavor...I was impressed.
- Scallop - The scallop is diced and tossed in mayo and lemon juice, then placed inside the lemon peel. I'm not normally the biggest fan of scallops, but this was awesome, just a little difficult to eat with chop sticks.
- Surf Clam - Difficult to see in the picture, it's actually nestled in between the scallop and roe. Unlike any other clam I've had, they almost look like little claws. The meat is very sweet and has a very odd texture...somewhere between squid and salmon.
- Japanese Mackerel - I was a little leery about this fish, because the Mackerel I'm used to is overly fishy and somewhat unpleasant...not so with the Japanese variant!! This was very good, similar to Yellow tail...just better!!
- Sweet Shrimp - My first experience with the sweet shrimp body...the head had been great, but what would the rest taste like? Excellence!!! That is what it tasted like, just the powerful shrimpy flavor bursting onto your palate with a large helping a sweetness that just really made it spectacular. The texture is very interesting too - it's creamy, but in an especially pleasing way.
- Tuna Trio - Maguro, Blue Fin, Toro - The dark red Maguro is the classic tuna that most people are used to and this was a capital example of the fish, just delicious. Blue Fin Tuna is actually endangered, but after tasting it I can see why...it tastes like the pure essence of awesome. The flavor and texture is just so much better than the standard Maguro, it opened my eyes and took me to another level. Lastly comes the Toro, or the fatty belly of the Tuna. Perhaps the most sought after cut of fish by sushi connoisseurs, I know what all the fuss is about now. It doesn't have the most intense tuna flavor, but it is incredibly buttery in terms of both taste and texture...I really enjoyed it!!!
- Baby Squid - The last item consisted of a few medallions of baby squid, which I found much more pleasing this way than in their full grown form. Not nearly as chewy as the adult squid, the texture is much more pleasant, and the flavor is much more intense...talk about a win-win situation!!!
For dessert we all decided to share an order of deep fried ice cream. The tempura'd confection was most delectable (well, I've never had a deep fried ice cream I didn't like) and we made sure that the bowl was cleaned in no time at all.
So, our meal at Kata Thai Sushi Kitchen turned out to be an overall incredible experience, with only a couple of slip ups. Service was very good and the place isn't noisy in the least...in fact it's rather quiet. Now, we only ate the sushi, but a full Thai menu is also offered, we just didn't end up sampling it, so I can't speak for its quality...but rest assured I will be back and will find out!!! Go here and get some great sushi.
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