gas•tron•o•my

April 21, 2007
Cuisine: Japanese, Sushi

3131 Walnut St, Philadelphia 19104
Between 31st & 32nd Street

Phone: 215-222-2542
Website: none

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Appetizer I: Salad with Ginger and Orange Dressing

Appetizer II: Miso Soup

Round I: Shrimp Tempura Roll, Inari, Tuna Nigiri, Tako Nigiri, Salmon Nigiri, Yellowtail Nigiri, Sweet Potato Roll, Philadelphia Roll, Spicy Salmon Roll

Round II: Tuna Roll, Salmon Roll, Spicy Crunchy Tuna, Spicy Crunchy Salmon

Round III: Shrimp Tempura Roll, Rock N Roll, Unagi Roll

Round VI: Unagi Roll, Spicy Crunchy Salmon Roll, Rock N Roll

Round V: Yellowtail Nigiri, Salmon Nigiri, Tuna Nigiri, Spicy Salmon Roll, Kani Nigiri, Inari, Tako Nigiri

Round VI: Philadelphia Roll, Shrimp Tempura Roll, Rock N Roll, East Roll

Round VII: Kani Nigiri, Shrimp Nigiri, Unagi Roll, Rock N Roll, Spicy Crunchy Salmon Roll

Round VIII: Unagi Nigiri, Salmon Nigiri, Tuna Nigiri, Mackerel Nigiri, Clam Nigiri, Yellowtail Nigiri

Round IX: Shrimp Tempura Roll, Tuna and Avocado Roll, East Roll

Round X: Inari

Round XI: Spicy Crunchy Tuna and Sweet Potato Roll

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In honor of Paul’s 24th birthday, a posse of 12 gathered at Ajia for their delectable All U Can Eat sushi, which is reasonably priced at $21.95, plus tax and tip. The special also includes unlimited miso soup and salad. It was my second All U Can Eat affair of the week (Lacroix being the first), but I was ready to throw down once more because there’s always room for sushi.

The restaurant was packed on Saturday night and the service was extremely spotty because one waitress was working the entire room. This was my fourth time testing my stomach’s limits at Ajia, so I knew what to expect when it came to service. In my book, great sushi at a great price more than makes up for nonexistent service.

As usual, I passed on the soup and salad to save room for the good stuff. The Astronomer is a fan of the salad’s orange and ginger dressing. The miso soup is decent as well.

The variety of nigiri and rolls offered for the All U Can Eat special is impressive. Our group’s favorites were the Shrimp Tempura Roll, Spicy Crunchy Tuna and Salmon Roll, Unagi, salmon and tuna nigiri, and the Sweet Potato Roll. The Inari, Unagi nigiri, and Philadelphia Roll are three of my personal favorites.

The ratio of fish to rice is perfect and the fish is generally very fresh. However, the Mackerel seemed a bit off on this evening. All of the sushi is made to order, which takes a while with a large group.

After 3.5 hours and eleven rounds of sushi, we left thoroughly stuffed and satisfied.

For a complete menu, click below…

Continue reading ‘Ajia Japanese Fusion’

March 23, 2007
Cuisine: Japanese, Sushi

1705 Chestnut St, Philadelphia 19103
At S 17th St

Phone: 215-564-3306
Website: none

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Eel Roll - eel, cucumber ($6.99)

Edamame Salad ($3.99)

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Sushi is the one food I can eat for meals on end without any sign of palette fatigue. I would eat it more frequently if the best stuff (Toro!) wasn’t so pricey and the cheap stuff wasn’t so substandard.

The man, AKA my boss, sent me off to class last week to sharpen my skill set. For lunch one day, I decided to try Tokyo–the colorful menu on the restaurant’s front really drew me in. All of Tokyo’s sushi and salads are pre-made and packaged in to-go containers in their refrigerators. The noodle soups and hot rice bowls are prepared when ordered. I picked up an eel roll and an edamame salad, paid the cashier, and ate them on the premise.

The eel roll consisted of 12 pieces, which is fairly generous. Sadly, the ratio of rice to eel was 5:1 and the sweet eel sauce was skimpy. The eel roll was one step above the Costco California rolls with imitation crab meat that my mom used to buy me before I became The Gastronomer. The edamame salad was well seasoned and pretty good minus the pale green (read: old) endamame.

Tokyo is a prime example of substandard, inexpensive sushi. Save your pennies for the good stuff or head over to Ajia for sushi that’s palatable and won’t break the bank.

September 16, 2006
Cuisine: Japanese, Sushi

3131 Walnut St, Philadelphia 19104
Between 31st & 32nd Street

Phone: 215-222-2542
Website: none

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Round I: All U Can Eat

Round II: All U Can Eat

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Three friends and I went to Ajia this evening for the All U Can Eat Sushi offering priced at $21.95 per person (tax and tip not included). This was my fourth visit to Ajia and my third time doing the All U Can Eat special. As always, Ajia did not disappoint. My eating companions and I gorged on a ridiculous amount of sushi:

1. Sweet Potatoes
2. Salmon Avocado
3. California Roll
4. Philadelphia Roll
5. Salmon Skin & Cucumber
6. Boston Roll
7. Tuna Avocado
8. West Roll (Smoked salmon, cream cheese & scallion)
9. East Roll (Salmon, avocado, cucumber)
10. Spicy Tuna Roll
11. Spicy Salmon Roll
12. Rock N Roll (Spicy tuna inside wrapped around avocado)
13. Kani (Crab Stick)
14. Tofu Skin
15. Surf Clam
16. Ika (squid)
17. Tako (octopus)
18. Tuna sashimi
19. Salmon sashimi
20. Yellowtail sashimi
21. Spicy Crunchy Tuna
22. Spicy Crunchy Salmon

The sushi rolls were of high quality fish and were not overly stuffed with rice. The sashimi pieces were very fresh as well, but unfortunately were accompanied by rice. Oh, fillers. My personal favorites are the shrimp tempura roll, inari sashimi (tofu skin), Philly roll, and crunchy spicy tuna and salmon.

We did not keep track of exactly how many rolls of each kind, but I assure you that it was well worth our paying price. I left completely drunk off mercury poisoning. Whatta feeling!

Service at Ajia is usually pretty horrible. Luckily the evening we went was fairly quiet so service was pretty decent. Note to self: avoid Friday nights, go early Saturday evenings. The waitress was quite militant about us finishing our sushi before ordering more. I don’t remember them being so adamant about the whole ordeal during my previous visits, but I guess that’s how it goes with an All U Can Eat special.

I crave Ajia every couple of months, so I’ll definitely be returning for another sushi fest soon.