Kamei on Broadway (Seasonal Menu)

I remember heading to Kamei on Broadway as a kid and getting my real first introduction to sushi.  It wasn't long after that I got hooked onto slices of raw fish, nigiri and maki.  Fast forward to the present and Kamei still stands in the very same spot with some of the same decor.  However, they have modernized with cocktails and creative menu items.  I sampled that last time I was here.  This time around, we got to try some of their items from the Seasonal Menu.

Although the dishes didn't arrive in this order, I will talk about the smaller plates first.  These included the Spicy Tuna Crisp and the BBQ Pork Kushiyaki.  With perfectly fried sushi rice, the textures were on point.  The rice itself was warm, chewy and seasoned while the outside was uniformly crunchy.  Tuna was buttery and mildly spiced.  As for the pork kushi, it was seared up well being a bit crispy.  With just enough fat, the meat was bouncy and tender.

Onto the bigger plates, we had the Roast Beef Pasta.  This featured thin slices of perfectly medium-rare roast beef.  It appeared to be sous-vide since it was really soft and uniformly cooked (but not completely sure).  The al dente pasta was dressed in a cream sauce with mushroom, onion and bacon.  I could definitely get the onion in the pasta and would've liked to see it cooked down a bit more.  The onsen egg on top added another layer of creaminess. 

The showstopper had to be the Nova Scotia Lobster Pasta.  For $55.00 on Saturdays, you get a whole lobster's worth of meat in a creamy pasta.  I thought this was quite good where the pasta was al dente like the previous dish.  It was creamy, but not heavy.  The sauce was like a hybrid of creamy and brothy.  Hence the broth portion was full of lobster umaminess.  The pieces of lobster were sweet and had that bounce texture.  Moreover, the claws had even more meat (once you got into them).

We also tried the Tonkotsu Ramen which was hit and miss.  I found the noodles to be perfectly chewy with elasticity.  Even the broth was fairly good having a creaminess and meatiness.  The fatty chashu was melt-in-our-mouths tender while exhibiting a rich porky flavour.  So far so good right?  Well, the addition of red onion was a real miss as it was far too strong and overtook everything in terms of impact.  If you are to order this, get them to omit it. 

We also had some Drinks to go with our food including the Sunshine Coast, Coke Float, Shinjuku Martini and Plum Spritzer.  Our last dish was almost as showstopping as the Lobster Pasta.  The Unagi Tamago Don featured a big piece of tamagoyaki underneath the eel.  About that eel, it was literally the whole thing with 2 large fillets beautifully grilled and glazed.  The tamagoyaki was also good where it was sweet and fluffy.  Overall, the seasonal menu at Kamei is quite good.  It features an array of dishes at reasonable prices.  The lobster pasta special is also good and well-priced considering how much lobster you get.  Same could be said about the Unagi Tamago Don.  Nice to see them changing it up with modern offerings.

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

The Good:

- Doing something different as opposed to the regular stuff

- Well-priced, including the cocktails

- Deluxe daily specials where you can have the expensive stuff for less

The Bad:

- Parking is still not the best in the area

- Ramen should not have red onion in it, too strong