The Review
Another night, another evening filled with sushi. Our latest travels took us to Sushi Ya in Darien. The restaurant is affiliated with the location in Darien Ct and has a similar, yet slightly different menu. The restaurant is right behind Trade Joes located on old kings hwy N. It is very large and Traditional Japanese style with koi fish pond when you walk in . In the front is a separate area for hibachi. The decor is traditional Asian with a modern flare, with some traditional Japanese styled lights over the sushi bar and more modern fixtures thoughout. There are a mix of square and round black tables and plush red booths. We are greeted by their very helpful and attentive staff and seated by Paul, the manager, who brings over some flavored sake.
Sake Samples
We start with a sampler of peach, raspberry, lychee and fuji apple sake. Sake is fermented from rice and takes approximately one month to make and ages at least six months before you can drink it. All the beverages we tried were sweet and nicely chilled. The lychee was the lightest of the bunch and the most enjoyable, followed by the apple, peach and then raspberry. The raspberry was the only one with a slight artificial taste to it.
Lychee
Peach
Apple
Raspberry
Phillip Roll
Wasting no time at all with food, we are served the Phillip Roll. It is salmon and spicy tuna with sushi rice in the middle separating the two fishes. The whole thing was wrapped in slices of avocado, no nori on this one and topped with tobiko. Sushi rice is different from regular rice for a few reasons, but it is mainly due to the shortness of the grain and the dressing coating it. Rice used for sushi is coated with a mixture of rice vinegar and sugar to enhance the stickiness. The roll has a great softness between the tender fish and the avocado. The avocado is perfectly layered and the roll has a square shape, kudos to the talented chef on this one.
Iron Tuna
The Iron Tuna arrives next. It is seared tuna wrapped around crunchy spicy tuna. The pieces of stuffed sashimi are plated with an onion infused ponzu sauce. The fish is super tender and nearly melts in the mouth with each bite. Their spicy tuna is superb, being light on the mayo and heavy on the spice. Nowadays most restaurants use Srircha, a hot Thai sauce, for their spicy fish mixtures due to its ease and great flavor however some still rely on the traditional Japanese spice togarashi, a blend of seven spices. Overall this dish is very enjoyable and a great appetizer.
Christmas Roll
We are brought another dish that you won’t find on their menu, The Christmas Roll. The dish arrives and it is jammed pack. I will try to do it justice but you’ll have to refer to the picture on this one. The roll is a mix of spicy tuna and avocado in the middle. It is wrapped in pieces of white tuna and tuna. It is then stacked into a pyramid, with the entire structure then getting a layer of seaweed salad and crab salad draped over top. Viola, an instant Christmas tree. The roll is a little messy and hard to manage but we find a way and dig in. At first bite you taste a mix of soft and subtle crunch, with a nice spice. There are a lot of different flavors and textures but they all seamlessly blend together. The crab salad is crunchy and along with the tuna it stands out from the rest of the roll. Hopefully it will find a permanent place on their menu soon.