Saji Ya

Tonight we went to Saji Ya to celebrate Pat's birthday. This is located on Grand avenue in St. Paul, next to Dixie's.

As I am sure you have figured out by the name, this is a Japanese restaurant. I have been to many of the Japanese restaurants here in the city, and overall I would place this one in the middle of the pack.

When you walk into the restaurant, the vestibule leaves much to be desired. The interior of the restaurant is also a bit too spare in my opinion, but they do have some neat detailing on the walls behind the sushi bar.

As for dining, you have two options here: you can for for the traditional experience of ordering food off the menu, or you can make reservations for Teppanyaki. Teppanyaki is a set up where a group of people sit around while a chef in the middle cooks and chops food in front of them. Its fast and a fun show. However, there tends to be a minimum number of people you need to have for that experience. We went for the traditional experience.

The menu here offers something for everyone, from sushi and sashimi to all sorts of appetizers and warm entrees. It was particularly good for us as we have people with us who are less adventurous when eating, and there were choices for them to enjoy as well.

For appetizers we ordered Gyoza (pork potstickers) and Harumaki (eggrolls). They were both very good, but I think the gyoza could have been drained before serving. The eggrolls were excellent. Flavorful and crunchy.

All the entrees come with soup and a salad to start. The egg drop soup and miso soup that we had was adequate, but nothing out of this world. However, the salads were really good! It has a orange dressing on it that has a really unique flavor that I loved. When paired with sunflower seeds, it was even better. I could eat that salad all day.

Around the table we ordered: chicken tempura, Pork Tonkatsu, New York Strip, and a sashimi plate.
* Chicken tempura is chicken and vegetables fried in a light batter. This came with steamed rice and soy dipping sauce. It was decent, but predictable. A safe choice for those who may not otherwise like Japanese food.
*Pork Tonkatsu is a port cutlet, breaded and fried. It is supposed to come with a sort of Japanese steak sauce on it, but mine did not come with the sauce. I was not pleased. In addition, it came with steamed rice, ginger broccoli, A chicken drummie, a bowl with sweet potato and pork chunks in it, and a small fried mackerel cake. This is served in what is called a Bento box.

This was really good, and a LOT of food. I liked everything except the fish cake, but that is because I don't like fish! The Broccoli was so good I think it would be a great way to get picky kids to eat it.

*The New York strip in this case was served with a ginger sauce on it. This also came with all the sides that the Tonkatsu had as a bento box. My companion really enjoyed the steak. This is another great choice for persons who may not be into the more traditional Japanese fare.

*Sashimi is raw fish that is sliced thinly, served cold with rice, pickled ginger, wasabi and garnish. My companion rated the Sashimi was good, but not the best compared to other places. In addition, the portion was a little small for the price that you pay for relatively inexpensive fish that was on the platter.

The dessert menu was odd. Other than the obligatory green tea ice cream, it wasn't very Japanese. They had mango cheesecake, death by chocolate cake, and Tiramisu. Yes, an italian dessert in a Japanese restaurant. So, of course my companion ordered the Tiramisu. Overall it was decent in flavor, and it was very nicely plated. However it isn't the best we have ever had.

Over all, this restaurant is good, but not great. This is a good choice if you have less adventurous eaters because they have more tame options than other Japanese restaurants in the city.