Kat's 9 Lives

So far! I drove back up to LA today again and on my way grabbed lunch & dinner. For lunch I went to an old favorite, Asakuma. It's a well known Sushi place and there's valet parking that's only $2 with validation for lunch. I like going at lunch because some of their cooked dishes are good and cost less during lunch but the same portion size as what you'd get for dinner. Their interior was the same ole wooden touch but with a hint of modern. They were super busy for lunch, but as it went past 2PM there were less people around.
I had to start off the lunch with my favorite appetizer, the Spicy Tuna with Crispy Wonton Skin. They have the best and most flavorful spicy tuna ever. I was never that big of a fan of spicy tuna until I had it here. Every time I stop by LA I debate about ordering some for take out and devouring it in the car! I have their number programmed in my phone that should tell you how much I love this. O=P They have spicy tuna on crispy wonton skins with creamy wasabi sauce, black tobiko, and cube-cut avocado. The sauces that they drizzle atop the spicy tuna only adds to the lusciousness of the spicy tuna. They use roe and an abundance of sesame oil in the spicy tuna itself that gives a delicious lingering taste in your mouth.
Both of our orders came with the typical Miso soup and Sunomono. I don't know if it was because I was starving or not, but the soup was very flavorful. Personally, I don't like the sunomono here but then again I am "allergic" to all vegetables. For my main order, I got my favorite New York Steak Teriyaki. I usually change the order because I don't like the vegetables and side dishes that normally come with the meal. My favorite part of this dish is the fried udon noodles. So I always ask them to just give me more noodles and just the meat would be good enough for me. I asked for medium-rare to rare, but it came a little overcooked. As for flavor it's not bad, but I am purely their for my yummy fried noodles.
My Mom got the Sashimi Plate with 3-Tuna, 2-Yellowtail, 2-Salmon, 2-Albacore, and 2-White Fish. The cuts were generous, but I do agree with Burumun that eating in the dining room was nowhere near as fresh or tasty as what you'd get at the sushi bar. Next time I will sit at the sushi bar because the lunch plate was not cheap and I rather pay a little more for much fresher fish.
All in all the food was good, the only thing spectacular was the spicy tuna on wontons that's my favorite dish there. The service was a little inattentive. Their service got worse as there was LESS people there, go figure. I like Asakuma a lot, it's a common place for me to go. It's just good and reliable, although a little bit pricey. They do have some interesting "new-age" sushi that's worth trying if your willing to dish out the dough!

Asakuma