Takin' it back to Takahachi

Under food:

Takahachi

It felt like we haven't been to Taka in a while. We were craving tempura one day, so off we went. DJKung ordered the Spanish medium-grade toro (fatty tuna), beef skewers (unpictured) and tempura soba. I got my fave bento box. The only gripe we had was that the tempura shrimp was not up to Taka's par; this evening, it was rather tiny and had extra breading.

Spanish medium toro. It tasted pretty fresh, a bit firm and a bit fatty. DJKung described it as "balanced."

Tempura soba. This was pretty hearty, and DJKung commented on how rich the broth tasted.

Bento box. Isn't it purty? From top left: tempura shrimp and veggies; sashimi (yellowtail tuna, tuna, salmon); braised pork and veggies; fried oyster; grilled salmon. I never get bored of the selection and can switch up my bites. This also comes with either soup nor salad, and either white or brown rice.

Somebody next to us ordered the toro sushi, so we were kinda jealous. We ended up getting it too (copycat!).

Left: unagi (eel) hand roll. Right: two pieces of toro sushi. The unagi was devoured after a few bites. The toro sushi was good too, melt-in-your-mouth buttery tuna. Yummmm.

Take me to Takahachi!!!

Under food:

Takahachi

85 Avenue A

New York, NY 10009

(212) 505-6524

http://www.takahachi.net/

This place has staying power. I remember coming here back when we when this area was rough around the edges. We were always broke back then but we wanted to still hang out "in the city"... As with all sushi joints, the size of the sushi has gotten smaller over the years, but Takahachi continues to deliver fresh, fresh fish.

I usually get the bento box. It comes with a nice array of tempura, a piece of fried salmon fillet, your choice of sushi or sashimi, a little salad, and dessert--- all very prettily arranged. The chirachi is not bad, either. DJKung prefers the beef skewers and the nabeyaki udon.

On this particular visit, we were in the mood for something different. We ordered some items from the seasonal menu.

Fried flounder. This dish is simply divine. The fillets are crispy golden on the outside, juicy on the inside. The bones are fried separately and are crunchy. Served with a citrus-soy sauce.



Fried vegetable tempura. (I think we were craving fried food that night). Their tempura is one of the best I have tried around, very light batter, very crispy, and cooked just right.


Fried shrimp. This is shrimp dipped in batter and fried, but without the panko crumbs. Nevertheless, it is light and crispy. It is served with a thin mayo-based sauce. (Yeah, I think we were really craving fried food.)

Onigiri special. Their daily special is served between 5pm and 7pm, and is a very good deal. That night, I had squid tentacles and greens (broccoli rabe?) and tuna over rice.

Sashimi platter ordered by DJKung.

If you have some spare cash and are jonesing for something new, give their tasting menu a shot. This is a five-course gustatory adventure and the dishes are impressive. We tried it some time ago, and I can no longer remember the specific things we had. There was a sorbet in the middle. And a dish of cute napoleon-like constructs of sushi in the end. Everything was very pretty and quite delish. On the other hand, if you are hungry, the dishes are tiny and not at all filling.

On a final note, the music here is quite notable for a restaurant. Not that the music is throbbing or in-your-face, but rather, it seems to match the mood. We learnt of a great band, Hauschka, from one of our visits here.