Kiku Sushi

Fresh sushi places for a decent price are hard to come by in the Bay Area with its rising cost of living. Kiku Sushi keeps their prices reasonable despite being in Berkeley. The upside to this is getting to enjoy fresh sushi without breaking the bank.

The negi toro roll was decadently fatty. After one bite, I wanted more and couldn’t stop until the plate was finished.

From the specials menu, I got the sardine and hiramasa. Hiramasa (yellow amberjack) is the pink fish pictured below. It was fresh and delicious. I was excited to try the sardine since it was served in two parts: two nigiri pieces and a deep fried body. The nigiri was salty, just like sardines, but flavorful. The fried body is dipped in a special ponzu sauce before consuming. It was crunchy and tasty.

The chirasi bowl was different from the norm since they only offered one slice of fish per variety. It had eel, sardine, hamachi, salmon, albacore, tuna, and tomago. The fish was fresh however, the eel was coated in a cinnamon sugar sauce, which was off-putting. Otherwise, I would recommend this.

(1316 Gilman St., Berkeley, CA 94706)

Ganko Sushi

After wandering around Kyoto all day, we were starving and on the hunt for good food. After much research, we settled on Ganko Sanjo Honten. Like all good food in Japan, it is a chain so you don’t have to travel all the way to Kyoto to try it. I noticed them in every city we visited. They also have branches that serve only ramen or gyoza. It’s easy to spot as the tough Japanese chef is their logo and their entrances are known for its overwhelming displays of plastic food.

We sat at the counter and had an fun experience communicating with the chef as he only spoke Japanese and we knew little to none. 

Toro, boiled crab, and salmon. Despite its appearance, the salmon was smooth and fresh; I ordered it twice. 

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Negi toro roll was nothing special.

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I noticed everyone ordered eel, so I too had to try and it was deliciously sweet and toasted! The unagi had gone through the toaster twice. The uni in the back was mediocre. Sadly the chef served us from the bottom tray of uni, which didn’t look as nice as the top display tray.

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Overall, the sushi was mediocre. Some were amazing, like the salmon and unagi, but nothing to fawn about.

(Japan 〒604-8004 京都府京都市中京区中島町京都府京都市中京区三条通河原町東入中島町101)