Tsukiji Restaurant borrowed its name from the famous fish market in Tokyo. While this small hole-in-the-wall sushi joint at Gardena was known for their cheap and big portion sushi lunch set, we came here for their dinner Uni set.
The sushi chef is very talkative, eager to recommend and very friendly. Our neighbors at the bar were regulars and the everyone-talk vibe felt like a big family.
I got the cheapest Uni set ($25) that includes amuse bouche, sashimi, uni bowl and dessert.
The Amuse-bouche: a cold plate made of various fish parts. The sashimi was rather thick for my preference.
The Uni Bowl. Very delicious! The amount is generous though the uni’s quality wasn’t consistent (a few of them didn’t taste as good).
My partner got the more expensive set ($35) includes amuse bouche, sashimi, uni sashimi, cook fish, sushi and dessert.
The Uni sashimi is straight out of box with a bit of garnish on the side, a bit too much to eat as alone (too much of a good thing!). The fish steak was well seasoned and well cook.
Sadly the sushi wasn’t so fresh. We side ordered an Unagi sushi, it was cooked and good.
We also tried a bit of the exotic things. Fried Shirako is fish milt, aka fish sperm. The texture feels like…tofu? The chef also made us tried Plum flavored Cricket, gotta say it’s quite good – the texture and taste is no different from your regular dried shrimp.
The Tamgao (Sweet Egg) is fluffy and wonderful. Chawamushi (steamed egg custard) is flawless, it’s incredibly smooth and tasty.
The dessert is the chef’s proud Homemade Flan. He’s right, it’s VERY GOOD!
We had a lot of fun chatting with the chef and other patrons. The warm, down to earth homely vibe makes the perfect sushi joint environment for me.
Though I have mixed feeling about the dinner set, as some of the sushi quality was only so-so (skippable). I felt that the Uni bowl alone is good enough, which you can get for cheaper during lunch time. Their cooked dishes are all very good though (we also had a not-in-photograph beef tongue that’s excellent). Exotic items like bugs and fish sperm also made this place feel special.
Tsukiji Restaurant
1745 W Redondo Beach Blvd. Gardena, CA 90247
that uni looks fabulous. the $25 set seems a killer bargain. South Bay “omakase” is definitely stepping up again.
This is one of my favorite restaurant in south bay. I’m glad you are able to dome down and try out this place. On a good night, they do have some of the freshest stuff out there. Bummer that they didn’t come out to your fullest satisfaction.
I got to try out the uni bowl next time. Thanks for the rec!
OMG you tried cricket!!! I don’t think I have the guts….
I really really love Shirako!! I didn’t know it is called milt. But its quality differs from time to time – a good shirako is creamy and….heaven. Though I think I only tried it raw or as tempura, not battered deep-fried like the one you tried.
i don’t get it… you’ll try raw fish semen, but cringe at crickets?