Sakura

I think most people have a restaurant which sets the bar for a certain type of food. And if you're like me, then you'll order that type of food or dish at other places already knowing that it's never going to live up to your favorite.That is what the soft shell crab roll at Sakura is for me.

The soft shell crab roll is the one pictured in the lower left.

Why I LOVE the soft shell crab from Sakura:

1. The soft shell crab roll is served in a chopped style, instead of "legs" like a spider roll.

2. Not only is the filling inside the roll, they give you a TON on top!

3. The sauce is soooooooo good. 

Really, it's something you need to try. Most people I know try it and become Sakura soft shell crab converts!

There are other reasons why I love Sakura:

1. The miso soup has tofu in it.

2. I know one of the servers. (So to be fair, I might be a little biased.)

3. The chicken teriyaki is tasty. 

If you go here, I recommend a reservation. It's a very small restaurant, and it gets crowded quickly.

The Rating

The Info
7201 N. Keystone Ave.
Indianapolis, IN 46240
(317) 259-4171
www.indysakura.com

Kimu Asian

Kimu Asian was added to the list after reading about it in the New York Times article, "In Indianapolis, the World Comes to Eat". It's a Burmese restaurant on the edge of Greenwood and Indianapolis, right across from the Greenwood Park Mall. We decided to adventure there when we were in the mood for something really exotic. ;-) Sarah was unfortunately absent from this excursion, but not to worry; my good friend, Rani, stepped in for a guest appearance. This was Rani's first Feed My Food Baby experience, but she was already hip to the rules. She knew she was going to have to share her meal.

Per the Nuvo article about Kimu, the owner worked as a sushi chef prior to opening Kimu. This explains the random sushi menu in the middle of the table. Since we were wanting exotic, we opted out for the sushi.

The service was really slow (took us about 30 mins to get our checks), but very helpful and friendly. With the server's help, we ordered the Pork with Pickle Mango, Pork with Bamboo Shoot, Tuak Tuak Kyaw (Chinese Style), and Curry with Tofu. I also did something I don't normally do; I ordered the Burmese sweet hot tea instead of water or beer.

My favorite was the curry with tofu. The tofu worked really well with the potatoes, carrots and coconut sauce. This was the dish that I kept grazing while we were waiting for our check. I think I might just be a curry lover.

What I really enjoyed about the pork with bamboo shoot is that they used pork belly instead of chopped pork loin...and who can resist pork belly? It was really tasty, and I liked all the veggies with it. Unfortunately, I didn't really notice the bamboo shoots...oh well.

I couldn't try the pork with pickle mango (I'm allergic to mango), but I'm told that it tasted a lot like the pork with bamboo shoots. I think it looked better, and really wanted to try it. I was very tempted to risk breaking out around my mouth for a taste, but I was supposed to go out afterwards and that's not very attractive...

Last but not least, the tuak tuak kyaw which is a dish of sauteed meat of your choice and veggies. We ordered it with beef. I really liked this dish right away, but Jamie was put off, at first, that the beef was ground. They went a little heavy on the sauce, but once you mixed it with the nice, you didn't even notice. I would order this again.

I have to say, while I wasn't disappointed with the food, I was disappointed by how much everything reminded me of another type of cuisine. I was really hoping for something really different and memorable. The tea reminded me of Indian chai; the curry was like thai curry; and the other dishes were like chinese dishes. Oh well, I now know better than to expect something different. Maybe next time I'll try the sushi too.

The Rating

The Info

Kimu Asian

1280 US31 North

Greenwood, IN 46142

317-893-2221

Coupons are available at www.coupons4indy.com.

Sizzling Wok - Michigan Rd.

I'm still trying to make it a habit to take pictures before eating food...so when Jamie and I got take out from the Sizzling Wok on Michigan Road, I had a setback in my habit progress and forgot to take any pictures...but luckily, the Indystar took some great pictures of a couple of the dishes we had.

Before you judge the amount of food we ordered (and devoured), Jamie ordered enough food for 3 people, but P ditched us. We were going to be nice and leave P some, but all of the dishes were so delicious that when we paused and assessed the situation, all of the food was gone...oops...

We ordered the goi rolls (pictured on Indystar). They're like spring rolls with a sweet dipping sauce.

We tried the rice noodle combination (pictured on Indystar). We didn't get as many garnishes as pictured, but I didn't miss them. The broth was so flavorful, I was drinking it by the end of the meal. Definitely my favorite dish.

The lemongrass chicken was also really good (pictured on Indystar). It was a good balance to the rice noodles.

All of the food was really well cooked and had a ton of flavor. Nothing was too salty, and everything had a good amount of heat with the option of adding more. I really loved it, but I usually love the shady looking whole in the wall places.

The Rating

Info

Sizzling Wok

7280 Michigan Rd.

Indianapolis, IN 46268

317-298-9001

The Journey

Maybe you've wondered where my love of food came from. You probably thought I got it from my parents when they instilled their love of food upon me by cooking and taking me to all kinds of restaurants. Well, that's partly right...I did get my love of food from my parents, but not because of the reasons I listed. It's because the only place my parents will eat out at is the Chinese buffet. Why? Because my dad is cheap, and my mom likes to eat a lot. My dad, sister, and I have probably tried nearly every Chinese buffet in the Indianapolis area.

For my dad's 65th birthday, he decided to go to the Chinese buffet. Normally, we go to the China 8 buffet on 86th and Allisonville Rd. In my opinion, it's the best buffet in Indy, but only on Sundays. They have this fish dish, which is my fave, and they only serve it on Sundays. It's called something different everywhere I go..dragon fish..phoenix fish...flounder?? Since it was a Saturday, we went to The Journey.

And it was really good. They had a large variety of sushi, udon soup, my favorite fish, crab legs, and all of those other standards. Everything I tried was delicious, and even things that I would never try at a Chinese buffet, like pizza and mac and cheese, looked delicious. There was a variety of fruit: kiwis, lychees, oranges, watermelon, etc. And one thing different is that they have a chocolate fountain with marshmallows, strawberries and those wafer cream sandwiches. The interior is modern, and not like what every other chinese buffet looks like. The only thing I hated was the flow of the buffet. It seemed like some lines ended at the same place and then you were stuck in the middle.

China 8 buffet is still my favorite buffet on Sundays. And The Journey is my new favorite buffet on Saturdays.

The Rating

- Only 1 because it's a buffet and not in Vegas.

Info

The Journey

7155 E. 96th St.

Indianapolis, IN 46250

317-578-9933

www.thejourneyin.com

Sensu - Grand Opening

Last night, my friends and I went to the grand opening of Sensu in downtown Indy. For $10, we enjoyed an all you can eat buffet of samples from their menu. And if the samples actually represent the food that's going to be served there, this place is going to do fine!

The following samples were served: (Photos courtesy of Sensu Indy, except for the one of the scallops)

Variety of Sushi

Black Cod with Miso

Creamy Spicy Crab: Snow crab with creamy spicy sauce garnished with scallions and chives

Spicy Tuna Poke on Crispy Wontons: Tuna with chili pepper, green onion, ginger and soy served on crispy wonton

Tuna Flatbread: Ahi Tuna on crispy flatbread with greens, grape tomato, and wasabi aioli

Kobe Beef Toban Yaki (really tender!)

Scallop with Jalapeno Salsa (one of my favorites!)

Rock Shrimp Tempura with Creamy Spicy Sauce

Toast and Jam: Crispy Shrimp Toast with Spicy Tuna Jam (AMAZING!)

Wasabi Pea Crusted Salmon

All of the food was amazing. Some of it was on the salty side, but I didn't have anything too bad. My faves were the toast and jam, the creamy spicy crab, the kobe beef and the scallop. I didn't get to try the black cod with miso, and no amount of flirting with the buffet line attendant allowed me to cut or made him save me a plate. I should have put in more effort into my outfit. Oh well, next time.

Sensu turns into a club after dinner, and it looks like it has potential. It has 2 levels and looks really nice. They clearly put in a lot of money into the place and didn't half ass any of the construction and just called it urban or industrial. One down side is that in a place like that I really like to order my Extra dirty Grey Goose martini with bleu cheese stuffed olives. They didn't have bleu cheese stuffed olives, so I ordered something else. Boo.

The Rating

Info

Sensu Asian Fusion Restaurant and Nightclub

225 S. Meridian St. Indianapolis, IN, 46225

Dinner Reservations: (317) 536-0036

VIP Accomodations: (317) 488-9020

www.sensuindy.com