Convey Sushi... yum yum!

 A sushi conveyor belt in downtown Houston... say what?!  

Anyways, this place was fabulous!  I went there for lunch AND dinner on the same day... yup, you heard me... same day (and it was worth it too!)!  During lunch, this place serves everything on the conveyor belt for $3.  I walked out with a $13 tab and that included tip!  Anyways, the fish was fresh and the rolls they had out were tasty and delish.  I tried their gyozas and it wasn't bad either (have to be honest tho, there were 3 pieces of gyozas and it was not that crispy since its been circling around the belt).  They also had katsu (fried pork cutlet) and it was fantastic (crispy and tasty)!  The only complaint I have is that most of their rolls during lunch were california rolls dressed up.  

For dinner... what I LOVE about this place is how you can order what you want on the conveyor belt.  Yup, that's right! You can "customize" your experience with rolls you like!  The server explained that since it's usually not busy during dinner, the sushi chef lets the customer choose what sushi rolls they'd like and he'll make them for the belt price.  Now, this is a great idea to just sample random sushi rolls you've been dying to try (but haven't worked up the courage to).  

The most expensive plate for dinner was $4.50.  For two people, the tab was $55!!!  And trust me... I was STUFFED!  My favorite rolls there were the Red Moon and the Congress roll.  And... on Fridays, its all day happy hour!


Now, don't come here with high expectations with service.  Our server kept forgetting our order and she also was not familiar with the menu.  I asked her about a specific roll and she couldn't answer me... luckily she was pretty.  Anyways, its a mom and pops restaurant, which is a plus in my books!  I should be back there sometime soon for dinner because I'd like to try all the rolls on their menu.  

Sushi King for a "princess"

My sister apparently has never been to Sushi King, so for her birthday I took her there to celebrate. Just to let you know... Sushi King is one of my favorite "high end" sushi restaurant.The food here is savory and mouth-watering. The staff definitely matches the ambiance of this place as well.

Since its my sister's birthday, I "popped" a bottle of sparkling sake. We had the Stars Kizakura Pure. This sake was fabulous! It was light, sweet, and bubbly! My sister and I polished it off by the time dessert came around.

For appetizers, wehad the Beef Ishiyaki. Omg...just typing that out is making my mouth water. This lovely (and fun) appetizer is cooked on a hot stone at your table! You get a plate of thinly sliced certified Angus beef (raw of course) and marinade. It was my first experience with Ishiyaki, so our server cooked half of it for us. The smell of the beef being seared over the stone was amazing! What's great was, it tastes just like it smells... AWESOME! This is definitely an experience one ought to try when you visit Sushi King.

For our entree, my sister ordered their Sapporo Rib Eye. This dish was yummy! The ribeye was marinated with Sapporo beer (hence the name) and was cooked to perfection (medium rare). It was served with a side of mashed yam (topped with corn) and green beans. The mashed yam was heavenly and rich. The steak itself was tender and juicy.

Now, I ordered two rolls (of course I did... its a sushi place!). I ordered their Poseidon Roll and their Cowboy Roll. The Poseidon roll is made up of blacken tuna and avocado and topped with spicy salmon. It was creamy and delish! The Cowboy roll is made up of spicy tuna, crunch tempura flakes, and avocado and its topped with blacken beef. Again, absolutely amazing!

Now, for my sister's birthday, the restaurant gave her fried banana with ice cream. It was cute... the restaurant prepared it to look like a dragon. The dessert hit the spot and ended the evening well. I'd have to say that my sister's birthday dinner was a success!

Okay, about the place itself. Sushi King honors their reservation so I highly recommend that you make one, especially during the peak hours/days. We went on a Thursday night and the place was not crowded; however, after dinner the place looked like it filled up some. What I love about this place is how there is a piano in the middle of the dining room and a pianist actually plays on it (hey now, sometimes the piano is just decor). It is definitely a place to impress someone on a first date or bring your significant other just because.

Lunch at Osaka

So for lunch the other day, I was craving for sushi and ended up at Osaka in the Montrose area. Funny thing is, I ended up getting the "Bento Japanese Lunch Box B," which includes 2 skewers of chicken with teriyaki sauce, vegetable tempura, pork gyozas, seaweed salad, and three slices of salmon sashimi (no sushi). The bento box also includes a cup of miso soup and creamy ginger salad.

The salmon sashimi was fresh and the slices were thick. The seaweed salad sits on top of sliced cucumbers, and it was also fresh and crisp! Initially when I tasted the chicken with the teriyaki sauce, the taste was not as sweet as your usual teriyaki chicken. However, after tasting the chicken on its own, you can taste that the chicken was marinaded with rice wine (something that I thought was unique). The chicken was juicy and delicious! The vegetable tempura, however, was a disappointment. I thought the vegetables were "over breaded" and all you're really eating is the breading. The plus side of it was the fact they had pumpkin tempura (my favorite!)!!

Before I forget, shrimp and vegetable tempura is usually what is served with the bento box, but I asked them to substitute the shrimp tempura for more vegetable, and I received gyozas instead. It was nice of them to be able to substitute that out since other restaurants refuse to do that for you.

The awesome thing about Osaka is their "freebies." Osaka gives you free appetizers and dessert. Usually for dinner you will get a gyoza (literally just one piece per person). During lunch, I got one piece of the Hawaiian sushi roll (which was delicious!). The Hawaiian sushi is made with crab, jalapeno, and mango, topped with white tuna and strawberry. That one bite was yummy and it made me feel healthy eating it too!

For dessert, Osaka usually serves you one scoop of ice cream (your choice of flavor: green tea, plum, mango, or ginger). I love the plum flavor! Green tea and mango is yummy too. The ginger, I heard, is also something for everyone to try.

Personally, I would like to come back here once a month for lunch. There are other better luncheon places if you're craving for the bento box (Fish is one of them, which I will blog about after I grab lunch there soon).

There are two locations of Osaka: one on Westheimer and the other on Bellaire blvd. Just so you know, I've only tried the restaurant off Westheimer and had no idea that the second location exists until recently.



Bento Japanese Lunch Box B


Hawaiian Roll (my free appetizer)