Ryan and I got to go to Ooka in Doylestown for Sushi today because Donna went bowling with Jojo and left us to make our own lunch. I have gotten several recommendations from Facebook friends and Chowhounds on how good the sushi is at Ooka so eating there has been on my Foodie to-do list for quite a while. The recommendations were spot-on; the sushi was top notch, the venue was very comfortable and the service impeccable.
Both my meal and Ryan’s meal came with Miso Soup and Garden Fresh Salad with Ginger Dressing. The Miso Soup was one of the best miso soups I have ever had. A hearty broth with delicious pieces of Mushrooms, Tofu and Scallion floating in it. The Garden Fresh Salad was pretty typical of other Japanese restaurants’ salads with the exception of the Ginger Dressing which was Creamy and with a Delicate Ginger Flavour as opposed to the usual version that comes with overwhelming ginger flavours. We also tried some Japanese beer and went for the Sapporo brand. I actually like the match up of beer and sushi so it was working for me. 
It was a little strange for me to have appetizers after soup and salad but that’s the way they do it at Ooka so we rolled with it and enjoyed them when the came. The Fresh Edamame were served piping hot with Sea Salt. The little pods of Soy are fun to eat, slightly salty and moist to the bite. This maybe the perfect appetizer to go with beer, a sort of the Japanese version of peanuts. The other appetizer was Shumai, little steamed shrimp dumpling with a Ginger Sauces. The dumplings were the perfect size and had a delicate flavour of shrimp and that dumpling flavour that seems to come with all dumplings. My Friend Doug over at American Greetings introduced me to Shumai a few months back and I am glad he did. They were excellent at Ooka.
Ryan went for the N.Y Steak Teriyaki Bento Box.The Angus beef steak came with and order of rice, two California Rolls, Shrimp & Broccoli Tempura and a Japanese Treat. The steak came medium rare and coated in sweet teriyaki sauce. The rice was perfectly cooked. Both Shrimp and Broccoli Tempura were perfectly cooked and crispy but leaving the shrimp and broccoli fresh and delicious. The California Rolls were classic and even a little larger in diameter than I am used to getting. The dish also came with two Gyoza Pan-fried Pork Dumplings served with a Ginger Sauce. Ryan had not tried Gyoza before and despite being stuff from all the previous food he liked the delicate pork flavour, the slight char from the pan frying and the gentle ginger sauce. He shared one with me so I knew he was pretty full when he starts to share his food.
I went for the Sushi and Sashimi Lunch Special. It came with 3 pieces Sushi, 5 pieces Sashimi, and a Spicy Tuna roll. The Special usually comes with a Salmon Roll but I upgraded to a Spicy Tuna roll. Both the Sushi and Sashimi were very fresh and the cuts of fish were perfect. The Tuna almost melted in my mouth, the Salmon the same and Shrimp was fresh and sweet. The Special also included Octopus. I think Octopus is a great test for a sushi restaurant, cut it wrong and it tough, keep it too long and it’s tough, cook it too long or too short it’s tough. The Octopus on this plate was tender and flavourful. The Spicy Tuna Roll was creamy with a good tuna taste and spicy enough to make it interesting but no over powering like so many second class sushi places. The Whitefish and Yellowtail were delicate in flavour and perfect in texture almost little works of art. The overall presentation, and I love good presentation, was excellent for this dish as well as the ones that preceded it.
Great flavours, great textures, great presentations, great service and great company – my son. Net-net a great meal for us. You should try Ooka if you haven’t already.
Read other reviews about Ooka here, here and here.
Ooka - 110 Veterans Lane, Doylestown, PA 18901-3412 (215) 348-8185
Facebook Friend, co-worker and Social Media guru Marc and I went for Sushi for lunch earlier this week. We both love sushi and usually just walk down George Street but that day we wanted to try some place different. A quick Google search and we found Midori Sushi just a couple of miles across the river in Highland Park. We went and it was great. Not only great food but great value, we had miso soup, four rolls and ice teas for less than $20 each.
Marc went for the Yellow Tail Roll and the Volcano Roll (Lower left photo) as his choices. Marc thought that his Yellowtail Roll (upper left on the plate) was excellent and one of the best versions of it he has had but it couldn’t hold a candle to the Volcano Roll. That roll was a combo of Yellow Fin Tuna, Alaska Salmon, Avocado and Cucumberon the inside and Caviar and 2 kinds of Spicy Sauce on top. The roll was well named as the two spicy sauces brought the heat. Marc shared one piece with me and I usually like to add some wasabi to add some heat but it wasn’t needed. The two kinds of fish brought the sushi flavour and the avocado and cucumbers brought the texture. An excellent roll and worthy of the trip to Highland Park and Midori Sushi.
It was a special treat for me tonight as Ryan, Robbie, Donna and I ended up at the same restaurant at the same time. This time is was Ota-ya in Lambertville. We have gone for there before for the teppanyaki but that was booked up already so we ate in the main dining room. Donna and Robbie ordered the chicken teriyaki, Ryan the beef teriyaki and I got mixed seafood teriyaki.
The teriyaki dinners come with Miso Soup and a House Salad. Since Ota-ya is a BYOB we purchased some Asahi beer at Welsh’s liquor store to go along with the meal. The House Salad comes with Ginger Dressing. The aroma of the ginger is fairly pronounced but fairly mild to taste. The fresh veggies in the salad crunched and contrasted nicely to ginger dressing. This is the one salad that Robbie and Ryan both gobble up. The Miso Soup was very pleasant with small dice of tofu, scallions and seaweed. The miso broth was light and slightly salty. The floating bits of tofu, kelp and scallion contrasted nicely in texture with each other making the miso soup a success.
Donna and Robbie’s Chicken Teriyaki came with large portions of chicken covered in a thick teriyaki sauce and some stir-fried veggies. All the dinners came with steamed fresh rice on the side. Donna described her chicken as moist, flavourful and sweet. The veggies were crisp, well cooked and very tasty. I think well cooked veggies are a mark of a good restaurant so I was surprised they were good here. We asked Robbie his opinion, he nodded and kept eating. Another good sign LOL.
My Mixed Seafood Teriyaki arrived last and it was a very fine presentation as you can see in the photo. Plentiful Shrimp, Scallops and Lobster along with the same stir-fried veggies and rice Donna, Ryan and Robbie got. The seafood were gently grilled leaving some nice char marks and flavour. I prefer Atlantic Lobster to Caribbean Lobster, but these tasty southern morsels matched well with the teriyaki sauce. The dense bay Scallops had a nice mouth feel and a sweet taste that matched also with the sauce. The Shrimp were flashed grilled keeping that sweet shrimp and texture you want in shrimp.
After a great day of work, and that maybe difficult to says these days, I met my poker buddy Erika at Mustang Sally’s. Mustang Sally’s is just a few blocks from our offices and on the way to Penn Station so it worked for both us since we both live in Pennsylvania. I am still new to the New York Bar scene so I am now judge of how Mustang Sally’s ranks compares to others bars but I will comment on the food. After quizzing our wait staff Erika and I ordered the beef quesadilla, chicken wings (medium) and vegatable dumplins. The quesadilla was very tasty with the sour cream, tortilla, pico do gallo and spicy meat and cheese. The chicken wings had some good heat but not too much, a flavourfull sauce and good portion size. The dumplins with ginger sauce were bland and gummy. The ginger sauce did make them editable but I would not order them again. I did like the staff at Mustang Sally because they were attentive and responsive to my questions.
