Lunch @ Sushi Ga Ga (Japanese)

Location: London, China Town

Website: www.sushigaga.com

You all probably already gathered that I am forever in love with all things Sushi. Seriously, this addiction is getting pretty serious..I am an addict and I really can't help it. Granted, Sushi Ga Ga isn't on my list of favourite Japanese restaurant, Toku will always remain a favourite of mine. However, I am open to try out variety of Japanese restaurants. Sushi Ga Ga is a great little place for a quick lunch time snack or a evening meal.

Chicken gyoza (Japanese dumplings), although a little soft, it had the flavours to gear up your taste buds for your main. Carried through with a hint of soy sauce makes this dish complete.   The chicken was cooked perfectly and the seasoning had a great balance of flavour. (Below) A selection of sushi is always great to share, especially if you have 2 or more parties with you. So in this case, it was no different. The tapas style of eating has always been a favourite of mine, just like the family style concept that I have lived by.. sharing is caring after all. The platter consist of a mixture of salmon & avocado rolls, grilled teriyaki eel rolls, crispy soft shell crab rolls. tempura prawn roll and spicy tuna roll. This dish was fit for a queen.

A relevantly small restaurant  in bustling China Town, Sushi Ga Ga serves up a good variety of sushi. Whether you are a raw fish enthusiast or prefer the cooked stuff, this restaurant is geared to all audiences whatever your specifications. You certainly won't be short of items to choose from. I highly recommend ordering a variety to share.. its the best way of enjoying the sushi experience. In my opinion, no sushi experience is complete without trying out their raw fish dishes. Would I go back to Sushi Ga Ga? Yes!

Dinner @ Toku (Japanese)

Location: London, Piccadilly Circus. 

Website: www.toku-restaurant.co.uk

I have always been a really big fan of the japanese cuisine, in fact, I could confidently say that it is a number cuisine that I could happily have for the rest of my life. The thing with Japanese food, is that you can't go wrong with it. It is healthy, fresh and filled with such flavours that one I can not put in to words how fantastic it is. My boyfriend booked us a table at Toku for a early evening meal and I was pleasantly surprised at how nice this restaurant was. A little over crowded when we were there, but it added to the atmosphere. I haven't heard much about this restaurant, nor have I ever come across it. Toku serves up simple yet tasteful dishes, in a surrounding that is bustling with the sound of sushi chefs doing what they do best and waiters/waitress providing a friendly yet knowledgable service. 

What I mostly love about Japanese food is that you can either have it in a style of 'tapas' where you can order a variety of dishes to share, or to just simply have a meal of your own, all of which are normally on the a la cart menu. I personally love sharing because it is fun and you can share the experience together. Toku has a vast variety of dishes available on their menu, but we opted for a tapas style dinner. The sashimi (raw slice of fresh fish) was so fresh that when biting in to the fresh fish, it still had a bit of a bite to it. I usually accompany my sushi with a large amount of wasabi (Japanese horseradish) and soy sauce (traditional oriental dipping/marinate/seasoning sauce). I kid you not, the Sashimi tasted like the sea.. it was so fresh.

Along came the mother of all sushi meals. We ordered a 2 plates of delicious sushi rolls, both of which were gobbled up as fast as you can say "moshi moshi". Yes, I was in awe when I devoured in to them, they were absolutely mouth-watering tasty. The first dish we ordered was a teriyaki eel (sweet marinated eel) wrapped in a roll filled with avocado and and prawn tempura (prawns fried in japanese light batter). The second dish consisted of a selection of raw fish wrapped in a roll filed with avocado and crab stick. They both look as good as it tasted.. I wanted more, and more.. and a whole lot more.

With every Japanese meal that I have, dessert is a definitely a must.. it would be a crime not to. Since Toku is in partnership with Japan Center their desserts wasn't unfamiliar to me. I had the Japanese green tea brownie accompanied with a green tea ice-cream, both was perfect to cleans my palette. Green tea ice-cream, in my opinion, is ideal after a heavy meal as it is very light  unlike most dairy based ice-creams, which are heavy on the stomach and scales. My boyfriend opted for the sesame seeded ice-cream with almond flaked ice-cream. They were so light and so refreshing that I even ordered another one for myself.

If I was to be picky about this restaurant, my only complaint would be that it was a little cramp with all the tables slightly too close to one another. But this is a minor glitch, considering the food,  service and the speed of every dish that came out was great!

Dinner @ Tokyo Diner (Japanese)

Location: London, China Town

Website: www.tokyodiner.com

People ask me what my style of comfort eating is, is yours chocolate they ask? No. Crisps? No. Or is it a juicy burger and greasy chips? No. Give me a plate of sushi and refillable green tea and I'm happy as larry. I'm not a huge fan of fast food, mainly because fast food and my skin aren't best of friends. So, what a better alternative to have than to have Sushi as my form of comforting eating. It is fresh, healthy and just so delicious.

Tokyo Diner, a little restaurant located in the heart of London's bustling China Town serves up the most delicious sushi in town. It is one of my favourite japanese restaurants in the city. The sushi is fresh, affordable, service is speedy and good, and the atmosphere makes you feel as though you are in Japan. 

The menu is full of wise words and handy tips for sushi newbies. However, the menu is also limited to only certain types of fish, excluding Tuna as they believe that Tuna is a on demand at high prices therefore causing this type of fish to be overfished. Despite that, Tokyo diner uses this to its advantage by executing the rest of the menu perfectly and most importantly making all their dishes fresh. 

Little touches to the service like providing their customers with free japanese snacks and unlimited refills of japanese green tea makes this restaurant jus that bit more special. The green tea is fresh and cleanses the palette and the japanese snacks are so addictive. 

Their fresh sashimi plater includes Salmon and Sea Bream. It was fresh and flavourful and it definitely goes perfect with a good amount of soy sauce and wasabi. That is how I always have it and it never fails to satisfy my taste buds. Yum. 

My main dish was a cold Udon noodles with a light broth like sauce for dipping. It was a hot sunny day, so I really needed something light and fresh and this was perfect. The Udon was perfectly cooked with a slight crunch to it. The light broth sauce was a little bland but by adding a little pitch of wasabi it gave the dish a hum of heat, which complimented the Udon perfectly.  

My boyfriend ordered this little cute dish of Tofu in a breadcrumbs on a bed of japanese rice with thick teriyaki-like sauce. I'm not too sure what the actual sauce it was, but it had a slight sweetest to it. I'm not a vegetarian but I could definitely live on Tofu for the rest of my life, especially the way that the japanese way of cooking it.. delicious and with lots of flavour. This dish was just that.. perfect in so many ways and it was cooked in a way that the tofu was dense in texture.. just the way we liked it.

For just under £30, you can get a starter to share, two main course and 2 drinks.. bargain or what?! A perfect little restaurant with meals that will get you wanting to fly to Japan, pronto! I am hoping one day my trip to Japan will happen and that I will consume food just like this. Amazing stuff.