Good-Bye Ichiban, Restaurant Review

Style: Asian
My Rating: 4.5/5

Website: http://www.ichibannewtown.com/

Likes: Different Asian Varieties, Best Sushi in Williamsburg, Gorgeous Asian Themed Décor, the best All-You-Can-Eat Maki Lunch

Dislikes: Can be a little pricey, Service is sometimes slow

Brad and I have been going to Ichiban since it has opened up in New Town a few years ago. When you first walk in to this restaurant, the décor strikes you as elegant and calming. It has an Asian feel with pagoda door frames underneath a rose glass ceiling. It is simply stunning.

Once we are seated and have overcome the stunning décor, we sit down to order. There are so many different choices. They have a small amount of Thai dishes, some Chinese, and others Japanese. In my opinion, their most impressive menu section is their sushi. They have cooked, uncooked, sashimi, nigri, seaweed wrappers, soy bean wrappers, and so much more! Even better, they have a maki lunch during the weekdays, and you can get all you can eat sushi from a pretty decent variety. See the menu below.

When we walked into the restaurant this evening, we had a bittersweet notion that this was to be our last time before we moved. Since it was the last time, we ordered our favorites and had some large portions. I ended up taking home half of a meal.

We started out getting one roll of sushi each. Brad ordered the Godzilla roll, which is a deep fried roll with salmon and tuna inside. It is cut to six pieces and topped with fish roe, spicy creamy sauce and scallions with special tammy sauce on the side.

I ordered a Phoenix roll, which has shredded crabmeat with Japanese mayonnaise, avocado, and rice then deep fried.

As a main course, Brad ordered the House Special Duck. We have found that this entrée is tastier than the Kow Loon Duck, and it is also less expensive. We like this dish because the duck is quite savory, and the sauce is spooned over the textured and deep fried crust. The vegetables that are served with it compliment the taste of the duck and are always crisp without being overly crunchy.

I ordered the Mu Shu Beef. I always thought it was odd that they offer this in beef or chicken, but not pork. Anyhow, I love this dish. The texture of the vegetables provide a slight crisp to the beef and the plum sauce to spoon over it gives it a sweet, tangy taste that tickles the tongue when the pancake wrap has been bitten into.

We did not order the Firecracker Beef at Ichiban tonight, but this also one of our favorites.

Although I praise this restaurant, the customer needs to be patient. The service is often slow, especially when sushi is ordered. It is fine when there is time to kill, but this is definitely not a restaurant to go to if you are trying to grab a bite quickly before a movie, the theater being next door.