Hunan Gourmet Restaurant & Lounge by Monica

Located in a strip mall on Route 9 Manalapan, Hunan Gourmet was easy to find. The atmosphere was very nice and they have a small, but trendy and cozy looking bar/lounge area. They have half price rolls Sunday through Thursday ALL DAY and| Friday & Saturday from 8:30PM to close. I forgot to write it down but I believe I had the futo maki roll and the rock and roll...roll, which was shrimp tempura, caviar, cucumber and avocado.

The rolls both tasted good and the fish was fresh. They were definitely on the small side but this might have been the most inexpensive half price menu I've seen so it's understandable. Next time I would just order 3 rolls.

P.S. Jen and I have obviously been slacking off. We'll just have to force ourselves to eat more sushi and remind ourselves to post!

Hunan Gourmet
Ste 23, 357 US Highway 9
Englishtown, NJ 07726-5125
(732) 972-3500
www.hunanon9.com

Sushi Yoshi *Vermont*

I know it's not in NJ but it's sushi and it was good, so here it goes.

Sushi Yoshi

February I was up in Killington, VT for an annual group skiing and snowboarding trip. Our last night in town on Saturday night, we chose Sushi Yoshi for a group dinner. They have table service for sushi, a separate hibachi section (that was booked until midnight!) and a small but lively bar area.  I ordered the Yellowtail with scallions Roll (of course) and a Rainbow Roll. As described by their menu, a Rainbow Roll was a California Roll wrapped in 6 slices of fresh fish which in my case was tuna, salmon and what I believe to be white fish.

The husband ordered tuna sashimi and we both agreed our tuna looked funny…but not color wise. It was more like extremely pressed looking but its smelled fine and the color was great so we felt safe eating it.  I’m glad I did because the Rainbow Roll was fantastic. Fish tasted fresh and the size of it was definitely a generous portion (and for $16.95 it should be).  Yellowtail with scallions Roll did not disappoint either.  So while this restaurant was pricey, it was a tourist locale so it was expected. Considering it might be the only sushi place in town, I had no problem spending a few extra $.

Sushi-O by Monica

Well that was an interesting dinner. Jen, my sister and I went to Sushi-O located in Edison on Route 1 south in a small shopping mall. The inside was decorated beautifully and being on a diet, saying I was starving is an understatement. We sat down in a cozy booth (yea!) and checked out the menu. Great menu. It had colorful pictures of the special rolls and perfect descriptions of each one in English. I ordered the 

 

White Dragon: Shrimp,crabstick,lettuce & crunchy inside topped with white tuna & avocado for 10.95 and the 

Samurai Roll: Crab, avocado & crunchy inside topped with tuna & salmon also for 10.95.

First bite was fantastic, tons of flavor in every bite. Jen and sis tried the White Dragon and agreed it was great. Huge portions, these two rolls were more than enough and I was stuffed. Only problem was by the last bite I didn't feel so great. I gave some more of the White Dragon away and on my last bite of the Samurai Roll...well I thought I wasn't going to keep it down. I was fine but needless to say the sushi rolls left me feeling slightly ill the rest of the night. I don't want to blame the sushi but I don't think I'll be going back their either.

So to recap:

• Great decor
• Medium pricing (special rolls $10.95-$13.95) 
• Bad music (clubby/house music the whole time)
• Good service (very attentive)
• Excellent descriptions on the menu
  
• Taste was great at first but the enjoyment diminished as the meal went on though.