Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Taste of Tokyo in the Financial District

On rare occasions, George and my schedules collide at work for our favorite pasttime: lunching!

Some time ago, we both had a hankering for sushi, but good sushi in the Financial District is a bit scarce.  Still, George suggested a spot he deemed decent-Taste of Tokyo.


We went at 11:30 because George was extra hungry (and he had a hair appointment later that afternoon). 

There were plenty of tables available, and we got the best table by the window by the requisite Japanese paper lantern.

George studied the menu long and hard and selected the beef teriyaki box. 

It came with an appetizer

Picklish cucumbers.

And a salad

George said the dressing lacked distinct flavor and was not very good.  His face looked very displeased eating it.

The beef box. (Clockwise starting with beef, bean sprout salad concoction, steamed rice, dumplings(??) and shrimp tempura)

The beef looked limp.  George said the pieces were unevenly cooked: some were too tough and others were better cooked.

Bean sprout salad

I think George said these were dumplings of some mysterious sort (meat to be determined)

Super fried shrimp tempura

I ordered the spicy salmon and a spicy hamachi roll.

Spicy tuna.  Rawness to the max, sorry, Diana.  It was not that great either - the tuna was pulverized to a puffy mess, and it was borderline too warm (warm raw fish = trouble!)

The hamachi roll was better both temperature and texture wise.

George let me try one of his shrimp tempura because one was enough for him.  It was a huge greasy fried stick of tempura.  You could barely discern any shrimp in the middle of the friedness.

All in all, the food was okay.  It's a good spot if you really have to eat something that is kind of Japanese and has lots of seating near your office.  I think George could sense some of my disappointment during the lunch, so he did not tell me the next surprise that came out **complimentary** (my favorite adjective in the whole world):

Free oranges !!  I especially love how they did not unwrap the toothpicks the entire way.


Seriously. Tasted so good.

The orange slices sit on top of an orange top inside the orange bowl itself.  So elaborate!

This ender momentarily lifted my spirits about the Taste of Tokyo.
I am a sucker for sweet, succulent and free oranges sliced in amazing ways.

So correction: only come to Taste of Tokyo if you don't expect much of Japanese fare, and you love citrus gifts at the end of your meal.

After, we walked back to the office, which was in the midst of a Greek celebration at the Bull.

George says these fellows marching are the equivalent of the Buckingham Palace guards for Greece where they do not smile or anything.  I would never make it in their group.  I could not keep a straight face if I had pompoms on my feet.




60 Beaver St
New York, NY
(212) 809-4711 or (212) 809-4677
Taste of Tokyo on Urbanspoon

2 comments:

  1. HAHAHAA omg those shoes are hiiiilarious!

    also i would like to eat a lot of that shrimp tempura right now. so. hungry.

    ReplyDelete