Saturday, February 18, 2012
Niwana Sushi Roll and Spicy Mindy Roll
Oh dear...when your supposedly "fresh" sushi comes out covered in some kind of mayo-like sauce there is a problem. Usually there is some fresh fish not covered in sauce so that you can enjoy the pure fresh flavor of the fish. Unfortunately for the Mindy roll this was not the case. The menu said there were four different kinds of fish, but to be honest we can not tell you what kind of fish it was nor what that poor fish tasted like. The Niwana Roll was equally disappointing. Though it was not drowned in sauce it should have been. The spicy crab salad on top turned out to be intimation crab meat. Both rolls were boring and not well executed. Sadly, these were their signature sushi rolls.
Niwana Seafood Teriyaki
The seafood teriyaki...where do we begin??? First of all seafood teriyaki should not include seafood that you need a magnifying glass to see. The shrimp and specifically scallops were so small it was pathetic. The bay scallops used in this dish were the size of our pinky fingernails...and both of us have tiny hands. The shrimp were old, rubbery and shriveled. The sauce was the consistency of water and tasted like no teriyaki sauce we have every had. The dish lacked taste, interest and seafood!
Niwana Mushroom Dolsot
This is a traditional Korean dish cooked in an earthen stone pot. The rice is cooked to a nice crispy texture then topped with an assortment of mushrooms. The mushrooms in this dish were not at all fresh. We could clearly taste the canned flavor of the bamboo mushrooms and the shiitake mushrooms had been dried and rehydrate. This dish was only slightly saved by the spicy chili sauce they served on the side.
Melissa's Niwana Review
Ok folks…this is not going to be pretty! It is not often that I have such a horrible reaction to a restaurant. Niwana was by far one of the most DISAPPOINTING experiences of my dinning career. The food was a hot stinking mess! It lacked, flavor, freshness and creativity. I have experienced a lot of Asian cuisine in my time, specifically Korean and Japanese thanks to one of my BFFs (Janet) who has taught me all that I know about Asia styles of cooking. Rule # 1…Freshness! When dealing with fish and seafood, the food MUST be fresh. This food was so far from fresh it was ridiculous! It was so bad that Angela and I were scared to eat the sushi. We really had concerns for our health! Rule # 2…Taste. Food should be tasty and yummy. This food was bland and sad. It had no spark, fire or voice. It just lay limply on the plate looking pathetic and destitute. Honestly I think the food was depressed because it had been horribly mistreated. If I had listened closely I’m sure I would have heard the food’s moans and whimpers of displeasure. Rule #3…Creativity. One of the things I like best about Asian styles of cooking is the creativity, the play on colors, textures, tastes and smells. Niwana’s food lacked all of the above. The only dish that came close was the Mushroom Dolsot. The chef did manage to make the rice crispy in the earthen pot and that gave a nice crunch to the dish. Other than that everything else was sub-par. The service at the restaurant was aggravating as well. Our waiter was disheveled in both appearance as well as his ability to respond to our needs. He never brought a dessert menu and we had to flag him down like one of those dudes on the air port runway to get his attention. I literally became extremely irritated with him, and for those of you that know me, that is a VERY rare thing. Overall, I give Niwana ♪ and honestly I think that’s a stretch.
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