BRB-Closed

BRB
1381 S Diamond Bar Blvd
Diamond Bar, CA 91765
909-396-9968

BRB is a Korean restaurant that has sushi and bento boxes on their menu!  I'm not big on Korean tofu, but I decided to try their sushi.  They had a good selection of rolls, and nigri sushi, all at an good, inexpensive price.

There are tables spread throughout the restaurant with a sushi bar/counter on the right hand side of the restaurant.  It was fairly busy for a Monday at 2:30pm.

Spicy tuna roll $5.95 and shrimp tempura roll $6.95.

The spicy tuna roll was fine.  Pretty fresh, a good value, much better than the super market sushi. 

The shrimp tempura roll could have been good, if they didn't put a ton of sauce all over it! 

Sun Oh Roll- $9.95.  Tuna outside, and crabmeat and avocado inside.  This had a bit too much sauce, it wasn't soaked with sauce like the shrimp tempura roll. Good fresh tuna, avocado, and crabmeat.

Service is good.

If you want inexpensive sushi, BRB, fits the bit.  They are a Korean restaurant with Korean dishes on the menu.  But, they do a good job with their sushi!

Ahi Poki

Ahi Poki
1377 E. Gladstone
Glendora CA 91740
909-305-6002

Ahi Poki is a chain, with store in Calfornia and Arizona.  It's the usual poke bowls, were you choose the proteins and toppings you want.  They have a fully cooked chicken option for those who do not eat or like seafood.

This Ahi Poki was located at the western end of a huge shopping center in Glendora.   If you entered off a Lone Hill, you would go through traffic for people going to the many other stores include a big box store and a Home Depot.  You're better off going on Gladstone to get here.  I think this entire shopping center is filled with chain restaurants!

Regular bowl- $10.95- two proteins- kimchi shrimp, ahi tuna- in a sweet citrus and creamy citrus sauce, with brown rice as the base.  Topped with corn, mangos, green onions, crab salad, and cucumbers.

Everything here is fresh.  I liked the kimchi shrimp option- good flavor and much better than plain shrimp.   I think the portion size is a bit small, and the proteins are strictly measured.  They'll give you more toppings but I want bigger portions of protein.

Service is good.  The lady who helped me was very nice.  She first started to put in a creamy citrus sauce, and then realized I wanted a sweet citrus sauce.  I told her, it's fine, just mix them together.  I wouldn't be so agreeable if she was rude.

I like the freshness of poke, but most poke places have small portion sizes for what you're paying.  Sure the bowl looks big, because you're getting a lot of rice or whatever base you want, and toppings which are relatively inexpensive. 

Tokyo Town Sushi

Tokyo Town Sushi
12820 La Mirada Blvd
La Mirada, CA 90638
562-902-7600

Tokyo Town Sushi is located in a shopping center that is undergoing some renovations.  That's why you don't see any signage on the front of this building.  It's a medium sized place with tables in the middle of the room, the sushi bar on the right, and booths on the left.

They have "happy hour" pricing all day Monday-Thursday.  Then from 11am-6pm on Friday to Sunday.  I went for lunch on a Wednesday, so I got the happy hour prices.

Shrimp tempura- $4.95. Regular price-$6.95. Frozen pieces of shrimp, fried well.  Nice and crunchy.  A good deal.

Tuna sushi-$3.50.  Regular price- $5. Nice portion.  Good fresh fish.

Popcorn shrimp roll-$7.50.  Regular price-$10.95. Popcorn shrimp on top of California roll.  A huge portion, with loads of popcorn shrimp-which were crunchy and good sized pieces of shrimp.  The rolls were good and fresh.

Shrimp tempura crunch roll, $7.50.  Regular price-$9.50. A fresh and good tasting roll.

Service was good.

I would go back to Tokyo Town Sushi anytime.  The happy hour prices are a steal.  The regular price are a good value!

Otomisan Restaurant

Otomisan Restaurant
2506 E 1st St
Los Angeles, CA 90033
323-526-1150

Otomisan Restaurant was listed in a LA Eater as one of 15 Hidden Gem Restaurants for the winter of 2018.  A Japanese restaurant in Boyle Heights intrigued me and I made a trip down here.

It's a small restaurant with counter seating in the left and about four booths in the right.  The last booth the owner, and sushi chef  were on their phones.  There were only two other customers the entire time I was there.

Spicy tuna roll, $6.95 and shrimp roll, $6.95.  Both rolls were huge.  Good sized portions with plenty of spicy tuna.  The shrimp roll, had small thin pieces of shrimp.  Both were fresh.  Well worth the price, especially for the portion size.

Service was good.

Otomisan Restaurant has ramen, teriyaki and other items, but their sushi selection is limited.  I won't rush back, but have no problems going back.

Sake Sake Sushi

Sake Sake Sushi
289 S Mountain Ave
Upland, CA 91786
909-939-3400

Why are there two pictures of Sake Sake Sushi?  The first picture is their current location, which opened up in early November, 2018.  The second picture was their original location, that was closed down so this shopping center, could get an Aldi grocery store.  The original location was right next to Michael's, and on the south side of CVS.  Now, they are on the north side of CVS.

This shopping center has many restaurants that I reviewed, the now closed China Gate, San Biagio's Pizza, and Handel's Ice Cream- where Wednesday nights are $1.35 scoops!!

The lunch time all you can eat is $21.95.  The only rules are 90 minutes to order, you must eat the rice, and any leftover pieces are charged at $1.50 per piece.

Shrimp tempura-Crunchy outside, but mushy inside, a frozen shrimp tempura that needed more time cooking.

Calamari tempura- it seems they cooked this in two batches.  Some were burned or overcooked.  Others were cooked perfectly.  After eating one of the burned pieces, I stuck to the perfectly cooked pieces.

Seared tuna, shrimp, and tuna.  Good sized pieces, fresh

Rock N Roll- salmon, tuna, and albacore crabmeat, crabstick, avocado- Outside-cucumber and ponzu.  Outstanding roll, fresh and good flavor combinations!

Crunch roll-crabmeat and shrimp tempura inside, crunchy outside.  Most of the shrimp tempura they used in the rolls were small or not that fresh.  One piece has the tail with very little shrimp. 

Shrimp lover: Crabmeat and shrimp tempura inside. Outside- shrimp and avocado.  A very good roll!!

Shrimp Tempura hand roll- just a ton of crabmeat.  The shrimp tempura was ok.

Scallop Tempura roll- crabmeat, avocado, cucumber.  Outside-scallop tempura.  The scallop tempura was awesome!!  There are a ton of them, and all cooked perfectly!

Crunch Rainbow Roll-Salmon, tuna, albacore outside. Crabmeat, crabstick, shrimp tempura inside.  This had a bit too much sauce, but a good dish.

Service was pretty good.  One thing, they total came out to $23.65.  But, when I signed the credit card the card was charged $23.95.  Now, 30 cents isn't a big deal, I did take away that 30 cents from his tip.

Sake Sake Sushi was pretty good, but not as good as some other all you can eat sushi restaurants.  I won't go back.

Sushi Roll Land-Closed

Sushi Roll Land
12959 Peyton Dr Ste B
Chino Hills, CA 91709
909-628-4700

Sushi Roll Land is located next door to 85C Bakery, which used to house City Broiler.  Before Sushi Roll Land this space used to be a tofu and a wraps restaurant.  Sushi Roll Land opened back in May of 2018.  There are about 20 tables spread throughout the restaurant.

It's and all you can eat pl;ace, $21.95 for lunch, and $25.95 for dinner.  There are some rules, 70 minutes from the time your first order is served.  They also limit the number or nigri sushi to 10 and two rolls in your first order. But, they didn't enforce those rules when I was there.  I ordered 3-4 rolls my first order. 

Overall I found the sushi to be good quality.  Many rolls are named after cities and stores in the area, there is a Wendy's, Chase, and a Pomona and Chino Hills rolls.  The portions, especially the nigri sushi are big, except for the shrimp.  Otherwise, the fish are about the size of sushi you order off the menu.  Nigri sushi is one piece.  This is much better than the other all you can eat sushi in Chino Hills-Kiku Sushi!  I was impressed, and I would go back. 

I posted pictures and if I wrote something if it really stood out or was bad.

Yellowtail, shrimp, and tuna nigri sushi.

Shrimp tempura- This was a premade frozen shrimp tempura that was fried.  The outside was crunchy, but the inside was very mushy.  That means the oil was too hot and the outside cooked faster than the inside.

Fried Calamari-An interesting dish.  I liked this, especially with the onions.  I think it was frozen, but the calamari wasn't rubbery.  Good crunch and flavor.  I know it's all you can eat, but they could make this a bigger portion.

Tiger roll- shrimp tempura, spicy tuna, avocado, cucumber, crunchy flakes.

Crab stick nigri sushi and halibut.

Spicy tuna roll and cucumber roll.

Vegetable roll-avocado, cucumber, deep fried asparagus, tufu, and lettuce.  I ate two pieces before I realized I didn't take a picture.

In N Out Shrimp- Shrimp tempura, crab, avocado, and cucumber.  Outside shrimp, avocado and eel sauce.  I loved this roll.  Very fresh shrimp on the outside!!

Mexican roll- spicy crab and avocado.

Kaya Asian Cuisine

Kaya Asian Cuisine
1640 W Mission Blvd
Pomona, CA 91766
909-622-2689

Kaya Asian Cuisine is basically a sushi restaurant that also serves some Chinese dishes.  Located in the same shopping center as a LA County office and a huge warehouse lumber store, Kaya is a medium sized restaurant.  There is the sushi bar on the right as you enter, and tables spread throughout the store.

Decorated with some title on the wall and a chair rail, it's gives off a warm welcoming feel.

Tuna, $4.50 and shrimp, $4.25,  sushi.  Both are good portions, were pretty fresh.  But, the sushi rice is bland and didn't stick together.  If you dipped it into soy sauce, it would fall apart.

Crunchy roll- $9.50, shrimp tempura, with crabmeat.  There was too much sauce on this roll.  As with the sushi, the rice didn't stick together and would fall apart when dipped into soy sauce.  Next time I order this, I'll ask for no sauce.

Red Dragon roll,$9.95, shrimp tempura and crab meat inside, and tuna outside.  A very good, balance, well executed roll.  I really liked this roll.

Service was good.  There was only one server for the entire restaurant, but I wasn't lacking for anything.  They do a great delivery business, because they had two delivery persons, coming in and making deliveries throughout the entire time I was there.

While Pomona isn't known as a city with a lot of good sushi options, Kaya is pretty good. 

I would go back to Kaya.

Roll Roll

 

Roll Roll 

19657 1/2 Ventura Blvd 

Los Angeles, CA 91356 

818-342-0007 

So, I'm out in the Valley and wanted some sushi.  But, I was only able to get to a restaurant at 2pm.  Many sushi restaurants in the Valley close at 3pm.  I don't want to be rushed, so I find a sushi restaurant that doesn't close at 3pm. Roll Roll is just like it's name, nothing but rolls on the menu.

It's a small restaurant, that seats maybe 20 people.  The trees can make it difficult to find the restaurant as you're driving on busy Ventura Blvd.  It's a very casual restaurant.

Their menu is very simple, rolls are $4, $7 or $11.  They have some teriyaki and side items too.

Lobster hand roll-$7, baked crawfish and cucumber.  This was the best of the rolls from this restaurant.  A good amount of crawfish, a good sushi rice, and fresh cucumbers.  A very tasty roll!  I would put this up against any other sushi restaurant I've been to!

Shrimp tempura roll,-shrimp tempura, avocado, cucumber, and smelt eggs, $7 top and Tiger roll-shrimp tempura, crab meat, avocado, cucumber,  $11, bottom.

When your sushi arrives, the first thing you notice is that the rolls are small in size than other sushi restaurants.  Obviously, one way they can charge the prices.  The shrimp tempura roll was fine.  Nothing great about.  Just a little above supermarket quality sushi.

The Tiger roll was a bit bigger, fresh ingredients, and a good roll.  Well worth the prices.

Service was pretty good.  Though there was only one server, who maybe the owner, taking care of the entire place.  We didn't get out soy sauce cups, and it took awhile for refills on drinks.

I wouldn't go back to Roll Roll.  I would rather pay a little more for bigger portion sizes, and better rolls!

Sushi Monster

Sushi Monster
2426 Honolulu Ave
Montrose, CA 91020
818-249-2510

 A friend who lives in Montrose told me that she goes to Sushi Plus, a place I reviewed back in 2007.  I was surprised to hear that Sushi Plus was still open. Not because Sushi Plus was bad, but with many restaurants didn't survive the recession!  But, I was shocked to find out that there are three other sushi restaurants on that street!! The other two are Blue Fish and Sake Sushi Bar and Lounge. In addition to Hikari Sushi about half a mile east, that is five sushi restaurants within a half mile stretch when Honolulu turns into Verdugo Blvd.

She liked Sushi Monster the best, so we met up there.

Blue fin tuna- $7.  A good sized piece of tuna, but kind of mushy and didn't taste too fresh. 

Shrimp tempura roll $9.  A pretty small roll, but good fresh quality ingredients.

Spicy lobster hand roll-$7.50.  The best sushi I had here!  Fresh langostino lobster, good sushi rice, cucumbers.  This was a huge piece but the ingredients were light and fresh.

Service was pretty good.  There were three servers helping us.  We got our food promptly.  But, when we asked for the check, we got the wrong bill.  The correct bill arrives and they didn't include the lobster hand roll.  I would rather be honest and tell them that I wasn't charged for something.  It's a lot easier to do when the servers are nice, which all three were.  I still do the samething when the service is bad, but the thought has crossed my mind to just pay the bill and leave.  

I would go back to Sushi Monster just for the spicy lobster hand roll!  I would go back to try other rolls.  I doubt I would try the blue fin tuna. 

Koji Ramen

Koji Ramen
3520 W Temple Ave
Pomona, CA 91768
714-713-7825

This space used to be Cantina Express, among many other restaurants-I recall a Chinese buffet in the earl 1990's being in that space.  Two other Japanese restaurants came before Koji Ramen!  The location, near many warehouses and on the way for Cal Poly Pomona students going back home, would seem to make this an ideal spot. So, I'm not sure why this space has so much turnover.  This shopping center is also where JoJo Pizza used to be!

A large restaurant in an irregular shaped room.  The small sushi bar is along the back wall, with tables and chairs spread throughout the restaurant. 

Shrimp tempura- 5 pieces- $6.99.  Frozen, but well cooked and crunchy!  Worth the price. 

 Crunch roll-$7.99-Too much sauce on top is my only complain.  Otherwise a good fresh roll!

Beach roll- $7.99- Avocado, crabmeat, cucumber and red snapper on the outside.  This could have been outstanding except for a tangy sauce on this.  The red snapper was very fresh and the California roll inside was good  But, the tangy sauce, just isn't for me!

Service-Good service.

I would go back to Koji Ramen for the sushi!  Good quality sushi, at very good prices!

Kaori

Kaori
133 W Chapman Ave
Ste 103
Fullerton, CA 92832
714-871-9395

Kaori is located in a one story building that has a Mexican, a Philly Cheesesteak, and some kind of Asian fusion restaurant.  Right in front of the building is a dirty and gravel parking, and just behind that is a paved parking lot.

Kaori is a dark restaurant with a Japanese motif.  It was pretty busy during lunch.

Shrimp $5 and tuna sushi $5.50.  The shrimp was along the biggest and freshest, I've had!!  Very good quality and well worth the price.  The tuna was fine.  Nothing outstanding or bad about it.

Crunch roll- $10.  A good sized roll, with fresh ingredients! 

Service was pretty good, expect water was slow to be refilled.

I would go back to Kaori, just for the shrimp sushi.  Next time I go, I'll try the other rolls.