Lumiere Restaurant

To celebrate my birthday, my husband and I went to the Lumiere Restaurant for dinner. The place was packed at around 7pm. The restaurant has simple and clean décor with ample lighting. We both ordered the chef’s tasting menu.

The waiter brought us a complimentary bite of avocado cream on a biscuit to start off the dinner.


For appetizers, we had the fish tartare with ginger, cucumber, avocado, and sweet & spicy soy-sesame vinaigrette sauce. This starter has a strong Chinese influence to it. The taste of sesame oil is very profound in this dish.

As second course, we had the seared sea scallop which is served with a lemon cream. The scallop is very smooth and cooked just right. The lemon cream is slightly sweet.

Our main dish is the dry aged ribeye steak with a side of french fries. The ribeye was very tender and the red wine sauce has a bit of a mushroom taste in it. It was the best dish of the night. The French fries were very thin and crispy.

After the main dish, the waiter brought us a cheese course. Honestly, I do not appreciate the dryness of the cheese. I prefer slices of Kraft cheese that I can get from the supermarket.

For dessert, we ordered the Valrhona Manjari Chocolate Soufflé Cake with hot fudge, vanilla ice-cream, and Maraschino cherries. The chef used bitter dark chocolate but the dessert turned out to be way too sweet. Its name is also deceiving. It is not a soufflé, rather it is more like a molten chocolate cake.

Forgetting about the dessert, everything else tasted great. Lumiere is a restaurant that we would definitely recommend. It is not too expensive and the French food is very solid.

HOKAT Rating:
92/100

Address:
1293 Washington Street, Newton MA 02465

(617) 244-9199
http://www.lumiererestaurant.com/

Fin Sushi and Sake Bar

After going to the BSO Tanglewood Rehearsal in Lenox, we decided to visit a local sushi joint in the neighborhood. The restaurant is called Fin Sushi and Sake Bar. It is opened by an American chef and the restaurant has a décor that is mixed with western elements and Japanese elements. The wall color is bright red, which is really sharp. The owner puts a lot of American action figures on display, which includes a whole set of Simpson characters. We did not have high expectations going in, since this restaurant only got a 23 rating at Zagat.

First off, we ordered the hamachi sushi and uni sushi. The hamachi sushi is a piece of fish that is close to the belly, which makes it smooth and slightly fatty. It literally slid down our throats. The uni sushi is creamy as usual and is pretty fresh.

Then, we ordered a few maki’s, which include the following:

1) Dynamite Roll (Spicy tuna, avocado, tempura bits, and tobiko on top). The spicy tuna has a nice balance with the creaminess of the avocado and the crunchiness of the tobiko on top.

2) Fire Dragon Roll (Eel, avocado, topped with torched salmon). Surprisingly, eel matches well with torched salmon, which has a slightly burnt taste to it (in a good way). If the chef had replaced it with raw salmon, then I can imagine the taste to be quite strange.

3) Finally, Enter the Dragon Roll (Eel, shrimp tempura, avocado, topped with avocado). The extra avocado on top triples the creaminess of this maki. This was our favorite maki of the night. The barbequed taste of the eel matches well with the crunchiness of the shrimp tempura and tobiko. And avocado pretty much goes with anything.

We were pleasantly surprised at the great quality of the food. The ingredients are fresh, and the mix-and-match of the maki’s is very appropriate. This tells us that the Japanese are not the only ones who know how to make sushi.

HOKAT Rating:
90/100

Address:
Fin Sushi and Sake Bar
27 Housatonic St # B, Lenox MA 01240-2572
(413) 637-9171
http://www.finsushi.com/

Uni Sashimi Bar at the Clio restaurant

We have always wanted to try out this Japanese sashimi bar at the Eliot Hotel in Boston. Uni Sashimi Bar is located at the lower level of the Clio Restaurant. Since it’s a “sashimi bar”, seats are very limited with only a few seats at the bar and four to five individual tables. Right off the bat, we ordered a Lychee Martini. It is extremely refreshing in this 90+ degrees summer day. We began our journey with the first course for the evening, which is the Uni Spoon (Main Sea Urchin with a quail egg yolk, osetra caviar and chives). The Maine sea urchin is very creamy by itself. When it is combined with a quail egg, the creaminess triples and is very moist! The saltiness of the caviar truly enhanced the overall taste of this “one bite dish”.

Our second course is Uni & Hamachi with aji amarillo and pickled radishes. Uni matches very well with hamachi. Uni is bold and creamy, while hamachi is mild and smooth which neutralizes the strong taste of uni. The aji Amarillo gives it an extra spicy kick, while the pickled radish gives it a sweet after-taste.

Next, we ordered the Chef’s Choice Innovative Interpretation of Sashimi Platter. This combination plate includes three pieces each of the sweet botan shrimp, salmon, octopus, striped bass, hamachi, and tuna sashimi. The botan shrimp is fresh and has a sweet taste to it. It also has a small amount of truffle on top. The salmon is matched with a black bean sauce, which feels like a Chinese twist. The octopus is a little too chewy for our taste. The striped bass does not match with the kimchi on top of it. The hamachi is the best of the bunch, and it is smooth and fresh. The bean sprouts on top of the tuna is quite strange. Overall, the fish is of high quality but the sauce for the mix-and-match is a little out of place. Given the bite size and small quantity, the sashimi platter is way overpriced.

After eating all the fish, we decided to have the Steak Teriyaki of Kobe Beef. There are eight thin pieces of “kobe” beef which is served with sweet kabayaki glaze and a side of red wine sauce. The sauce has a rich taste to it and has a little mushroom aroma. We expected the beef to be much fattier and smoother, since they call it “kobe” beef. However, it is not the same grade as the kobe beef that we had in Japan.

Last but not least, our last dish at Uni Sashimi Bar is the Lacquered Foie Gras and Barbequed Eel. This is an innovative dish with four layers to it, one layer of eel topped with one layer of foie gras topped with another layer of eel and topped with yet another layer of foie gras. The richness and creaminess of the foie gras has a nice balance with the barbequed taste of the eel. The sweetness of the kabayaki glaze is just right. There are also a few finely chopped slices of green apple on top. The layering works very well in this dish. It is one of the best dishes of the night. It certainly gives a solid ending to the meal.

Overall, it was a very satisfactory meal. The fish is of high quality. The service was good and the waiter was very friendly. The innovation is not as impressive as O Ya. However, the dishes were very small and coming to this restaurant requires a deep pocket.

HOKAT Rating:
89/100

Address:
370 Commonwealth AvenueBoston, MA 02215
(617) 536-7200
http://www.unisashimibar.com/

Tokyo Restaurant in Rhode Island

After the New England Revolution versus LA Galaxy soccer match (LA Galaxy won 2-1), we drove down to Providence, Rhode Island. We went to Tokyo Restaurant for dinner. The name of the restaurant is a little tacky, so we did not have high expectations. We noticed that the prices of the sushi are reasonably cheap comparing to other sushi restaurants.

We ordered a plate of sushi that consists of salmon, scallop, hamachi, and uni. First of all, the portion is pretty big with generous cuts of fish. We tasted the hamachi first, which is fresh and smooth. The uni sushi is consistent with the ones that we had in the states, obviously not the same grade as the ones in Japan or O Ya.

Next comes an enormous sushi boat docked at our table. Tokyo Restaurant has an extensive selection of maki’s, a total of 66 possible choices. It was a very hard decision for us because everything sounded so good. We ended up ordering six maki’s, which include the following:

1) Crazy Roll (shrimp tempura, flying fish roe, avocado, spicy mayo). There is really nothing special about this roll. We asked for no cucumber, but the chef forgot about the request.
2) Spicy Roll (spicy salmon and spicy tuna with wasabi tobiko on top). We like the taste of the wasabi tobiko because it adds a little sour and spicy kick to the maki.
3) Fire Dragon Roll (eel, crab, avocado topped with spicy tuna and tobiko). Surprisingly, the taste of eel matches very well with spicy tuna. The avocado adds creaminess to the roll and the tobiko adds crunchiness, which is a nice balance.
4) Kirin Roll (spicy salmon topped with fresh salmon and citrus tobiko). Once again, the chef forgot about the request of no cucumber. However, the salmon inside and outside has a fresh strong taste to it, which is matched well with the citrus flavor and crunchiness of the tobiko.
5) Hot Roll (fried oyster and avocado inside out roll topped with hot sauce). This is our least favorite maki because the oyster has an overpowering taste to it which makes it unsuitable as an ingredient in a maki.
6) Fried Salmon Tempura Roll with shrimp and cream cheese. This is our favorite maki of the night. It’s a freshly fried roll which is served hot. The sauce is slightly sweet which goes well with the fried salmon. We could not really taste the cream cheese though.

It was definitely a good experience at the Tokyo Restaurant. The sushi is reasonably priced and it is a good value restaurant. We would recommend this restaurant to those who go to Rhode Island. After the meal, we also went to the Providence town center to watch the water fire. It was a very fun and satisfying evening.

HOKAT Rating:
86/100

Address:
388 Wickenden Street, Providence RI 02903
(401) 331-5330

Hanmaru Restaurant

A couple who went on vacation with us in Korea spotted this new Korean restaurant on Harvard Avenue in the Allston neighborhood. We decided to give this one a try. This restaurant is conveniently located half a block from St. Paul T-station from the MBTA B line. The restaurant is a well lighted place with simple décor.

It’s time to order some food, shall we? The menu consists of many traditional Korean family dishes and appetizers. The waitress brought us free starters, which include broccoli, fish cakes, kimchi, and potato salad.

Next, we ordered a Fried Tofu appetizer. The tofu is lightly batter up with corn starch and deep fried, and is finished off with a light soy sauce. The skin of the tofu is a little soggy, but the inside is very moist. The light soy sauce is definitely a good match for the dish.

Korean restaurants are usually known for their BBQ bulgogi, and bibimbap. Instead, we tried out two Korean family soups, Gamjatang and Samgyetang. Gamejatang is basically a pork bone soup with pork spine, vegetables, green onions, potatoes, and lots and lots of hot peppers. After the first sip, it felt as if the soup was boiled for hours with the aroma from the pork bones deeply simmered throughout the soup. The meat from the pork spine was extremely tender and was easily separated from the bone. Also, since this soup contains tons of proteins and nutrients, it is good for the body.

The best dish of the night definitely goes to the Samgyetang, which is a Korean Gingseng soup with a whole chicken! This soup brings back fond memories of our trip to Seoul last year. If you have never had this soup before, the soup can be a meal by itself. The chicken is stuffed with sticky rice, ginseng, chestnut, and herbs, and then it is boiled in a broth with some garlic and ginger. The chicken served here is tender with a strong ginseng taste. The sticky rice is nice and filling and so we went home with a fully stuffed stomach. This soup is very authentic compared to the Samgyetang we had in Seoul. We were very surprised to find the same soup in Boston.

This is a very solid Korean restaurant, not known for its BBQ but their soups. The service is attentive and our server refilled our side dishes “automatically” without even asking. Kamsamnida Hanmaru!

HOKAT Rating:
87/100

Address:
168 Harvard AveAllston, MA 02134-2701(617) 779-7907
http://www.hanmaruboston.com/