Osaka Kitchen

There was a time when travelling into Surrey for sushi would be contentious at best.  Times have changed where not only can we find good Japanese food, we can find all kinds of delicious eats.  You already know my love for Mauna Sushi and their high-quality aburi sushi located near Guildford Town Centre, where I regularly visit.  However, there is another spot also nearby in Osaka Kitchen.  This fairly spacious restaurant sports appealing decor combined with really large portions.

But what about the food quality?  We started off strong with the Hokkaido Hotate and Ebi Ceviches.  Buttery and sweet, the Hokkaido scallops were delicate and fresh.  It was served with a modest amount of yuzu citrus which added some acidity.  As for the ebi, it was not dressed very aggressively having just enough acidity for effect.  The ebi was meaty with a slight rebound texture.  The avocado and tomatoes were fresh.  This came with tapioca chips.  We wished they were just a bit larger in size and firmer in texture.

After the ceviches, we started with some specialty rolls including the David Shot Roll with spicy tuna and avocado in the middle topped with torched chopped scallop, jalapeno, spicy mayo and eel sauce.  Yes, this was a saucy roll, but it didn't eat heavy as it appeared.  The rice was nicely textured being chewy while not dry.  There was only a modest amount of it while the bulk of the roll was dedicated to soft spicy tuna and buttery scallops.

The plate of Assorted Tempura was absolutely gigantic consisting of 5 large ebi and an array of veggies.  We found the tempura batter just a touch thick, but it was still crispy outside.  Things were cooked just right.  Something very familiar to me was the Menbosha.  It is a Korean-Chinese dish which is like the Chinese shrimp toast.  This version was a lot less greasy than the Chinese Dim Sum dish.  It appears that they used brioche here and the bread didn't soak up as much oil.  Inside, the shrimp paste was firm, yet still naturally sweet and had a meaty rebound texture.

To get a sense of all the available options, we decided to try some aburi sushi.  Rather than the standard salmon version, we chose their recommended Ebi Oshi with a creamy and tangy sauce on top.  It was evenly seared with some smokiness and a pleasing appearance.  I liked how the sauce was not greasy despite being mayo-based.  The ebi underneath had a nice sweet snap texture.  Rice was good too being soft enough to hold its shape while still being chewy.

Not sure if the next 2 pictures do the following dishes any justice, but the plates were more like platters that were like 14" in diameter!  The first was the Godzilla Bites.  Sure, the amount of greens gave the illusion there was more food on the plate, but in reality, it was still quite a bit of components.  The Godzilla Bites consisted of a deep fried rice base topped with torched tuna, salmon, chopped scallop, alfalfa sprouts, tobiko, spicy mayo and eel sauce.  I found the rice to be quite firm.  I wished it was just a bit lighter and less dense.  Beyond that the generous amount of fish and scallop were sweet with a background smokiness.  Combined with sweet and tangy salad dressing, the salad was actually addictively delicious.

As for the Osaka Castle, it was more of a fancy seafood salad with a bevy of fresh greens as well as a tower of tuna, salmon imitation crab, hokkigai tobiko and chopped scallops.  When mixed together, along with the salad dressing, this was something I couldn't stop eating.  Normally, at other Japanese restaurants that offer a seafood salad, there is much more greens than seafood.  Not this one here.  There was enough for every bite to contain a cube of fish.

For those who want a one-stop shop for a meal, they can opt for the Osaka Course (for 2 people).  This included Mixed Tempura, Salad, Miso Soup, Mixed Sashimi, Osaka Roll and 2 Ice Cream (Black Sesame and Matcha).  This was only $68.00 and given the quality and quantity, it is a good deal.  The sashimi had a nice sheen and fresh smell.  Texturally it was on point too.  The roll stayed together and wasn't wound too tight.  Loved the mochi added to the ice cream as it gave the dessert texture.

Moving onto the rice part of the menu, we tried the Chicken Katsu Curry as well as the Unagi Don.  Being mild, but not overly sweet, the curry had a nice viscosity and we could taste the spices.  The rice was chewy and dry enough to accept the sauce and maintain an appealing texture.  As for the chicken cutlet, it was barely cooked, which meant it was juicy and moist.  The breading on the outside was crispy and not overly thick.

As much as an Unagi Don can be rather defaultish, not all are made equal.  As for this one, it was decent.  The rice was, by no surprise, exactly the same as the chicken katsu curry.  Being chewy, yet still soft, it went well with the proportionate amount of buttery soft unagi.  It was charred slightly, so it was smoky and full of caramelization.  There was enough eel sauce to help flavour both the eel and rice.

Not being specific enough, we accidentally ordered the Seafood Udon instead of the Seafood Yaki Udon.  Well, we ended up getting both and you know what?  We preferred the soup version more!  It sat in a flavourful dashi that took on the brininess of the mussels, hokkigai, squid and prawns.  Furthermore, the noodles were perfectly al dente.  As for the yaki udon, it had the same seafood and came sizzling on a cast iron hot plate.  We wished the plate was even hotter, as it didn't really caramelize the noodles.  It was still tasty though and at least, nothing was dry nor burnt.

Lastly, we had Tonkotsu Ramen with a side of gyoza (which is included in the combo).  We found the broth to be rather light, yet still was decent for a non-ramen spot.  The noodles were really good though being chewy.  The chashu was more meaty than fatty, yet it was still tender.  Gyoza were good with a thin wrapper and completely seared bottom.  Overall, we found the food at Osaka Kitchen to be rather tasty and generous in portion size.  There are a few items that could use improvement though, namely the tempura and the ramen.  Other than that, I found it good an am planning to bring my family back for a revisit.

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:

- Generally well-prepared eats

- Generous portions

- Nice dining space

The Bad:

- Some further refinement needed with the tempura batter and the ramen broth