Despite the blond wood furnishings, Kaizen’s mini-mall location (beneath an office building), low ceiling and numerous tables produce a vibe that’s more dumpling canteen than Japanese fine-dining. The unpretentious atmosphere and reasonable prices draw groups of office workers, families and even students, all of whom are seeking out Kaizen’s big flavors and portions.
Rather than nitpick over the delicate art of chopping up raw fish, diners here are more likely to tuck into a plate piled high with some of the restaurant’s signature maki. The Sexy Roll (B450), which comes warmly recommended by the grizzled sushi chefs behind the counter, almost has the garish looks and junk-food flavors of humble dishes like takoyaki (squid balls) or okonomiyake (a kind of pancake). Heaped with tempura batter flakes, drizzled in a sweet sauce and stuffed with cream cheese, avocado, tempura shrimp and more, the dish makes a California roll look plain and traditional. At this point, the fact that the Sexy Rolls are rolled either in salmon or tuna becomes almost irrelevant to your overloaded palate and stuffed mouth.
For those who do like to actually taste their fish, the sashimi here is pretty average despite the big (and numerous) chunks making up their sets (B400-B2,500). The salmon is fatty, but also a tad muddy-tasting, while the hamachi (yellowtail) and toro (tuna) have that slightly metallic, bloody flavor. The cuts are sometimes a bit rough, too, with sand in the clams, bits of skin left attached to the fish’s flesh, or cuts along the grain when they shouldn’t be.
We were also surprised that the kampachi (a fish similar to yellowtail, but often farmed), although good, was pre-soaked in soy sauce on our last visit, probably to mask the slightly dry appearance we spotted of certain chunks in the sushi bar’s fridge. Similarly, the hibachi (grilled) dishes range from surprisingly decent (a moist, flakey saba, B260) to underwhelming (a very dry salmon drizzled with an overly sweet soy sauce, B350).
Service, too, has its highs and lows: although warm, staff are also casual and sloppy. We wouldn’t really take a date here (let alone a picky sushi connoisseur), but if you’re with a famished gang that won’t wait 40 minutes for a table at the nearby Sushi Masa, this place is fairly solid value for money. Corkage B200.
