Sushi For Dessert

Haven't blogged at all this month, so here we go. Asian Palace Buffet in La Mirada, CA offers AYCE weekend dinner for $12.99 plus tax and tip.

The sushi was above average for the price range. I also appreciated the availability of crab items.

I'm possibly the only person who could mix sushi with a dessert plate. Well worth the price and I'd go back if I was in the area.

Fishy Choice

I know some people who won't touch sushi at the supermarket. Well.. as long as it's still edible...

Sushi in the High Desert

  

Daikoku Japanese Steak House in Victorville offers an incredible promotion for all-you-can-eat sushi and hand rolls. Some people may object to eating raw fish so far from a water source... but you'd be missing out on a bargain. $12 for lunch, $15 for dinner. I ate 12 rolls and survived. The hardest part was exercising right afterward.

 Unfortunately, I wasn't able to sample everything on the menu. Yet.

Sumo Roll, One and Done

Nothing lasts forever, especially when it comes to food. Nori Sushi Bar & Grill, located in eastern San Diego County, demonstrated that in the recent months.

This restaurant is a considerable trek off the beaten path. You'll find it in the city of Alpine, some 40 miles east of San Diego proper, in a large shopping center across the way from Viejas Casino.

The item of interest (for me, at least) at Nori Sushi was the barely advertised Sumo Roll. There's no mention of it on the menu. It's not referenced anywhere inside the restaurant. If you happened to stumble upon their website you might have noticed it, advertised as the "Sumo Roll Challenge." 

You get 45 minutes to consume a nearly 5 pound deep-fried monster sushi roll. Succeed, and it's free with a t-shirt. Fail to conquer the beast and you'll pay $36 plus tax. 

Since there was little information about this challenge, I decided to inquire about it with the sushi chef on hand that evening in June 2010. Apparently the owner of the restaurant came up with the idea for the challenge. That was simple enough. 4 people had attempted it before me, and they all failed by a wide margin.

Because the Sumo Roll was still unbeaten, I was given the option of ordered it deep-fried or normal style. I went with the normal roll just because I don't particularly enjoy deep-fried anything. Besides, this way it would weigh a bit less and pack fewer calories. Why not make things a bit easier?

It took awhile to prepare the roll, but once it was brought out I proceeded to throttle the entire platter in 22 minutes. The sushi chef refused to believe I had actually eaten it (come on, I wasn't even that fast), insisting instead that I must have fiddled with the timer or hidden some of the product. Restaurant patrons who were watching me came to my defense. My success was recorded at 25 minutes.

They were amazed that someone finally finished their challenge roll. I was told that I could come back and attempt the deep-fried version on another visit. However, future challengers would no longer be allowed to order the standard roll.

How the times change... as of March 2011, I discovered through a friend interested in tackling the Sumo Roll that the restaurant had canceled the challenge. Dreams of a future deep-fried challenge went up in smoke.

Maybe they'll bring it back. And, hopefully, they'll advertise it more aggressively next time around.

New China Buffet

This is unofficially my 100th post, but that includes a few edits. It's the 90th. Either way I decided to put up a post with lots of photos and less writing.

Last October I stopped by New China Buffet, another inexpensive all-you-can-eat establishment in San Bernardino. Lunch runs for $6.99 including soft drinks, tea, and coffee.

The wasabi was creamier than usual. I wouldn't go here for the sushi in any case.

At this point the wait staff became irritated with me and stopped collecting my empty plates. 

Some may debate the quality, but the quantity's certainly abundant.

The Extremes

How about some quail eggs? Uncooked?

Local Competiton

Matt Stonie and I have this ongoing conversation about the relative value of buffets. He thinks I should avoid Hometown Buffet. When a new Asian buffet recently opened in Colton, I decided to take the Megatoad's advice.

This place is a bit on the small side physically. Given the local restaurant scene, they have their work cut out for them. Located off the Washington St-Mt Vernon Ave exit on the 215 freeway, they're smack dab in the middle of about 20 fast-food joints, sit-down establishments, Starbucks Coffee, Walmart, and about a block away from an established all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant.

Three miles east in San Bernardino you'll hit Hospitality Lane, where you'll see about 35 restaurants including the infamous King Buffet. Buffet Star needs to make an impression around here.

I spent about an hour dining here. My visit occurred on the first Saturday they were in operation, two days after their grand opening on March 24. Weekend meals are priced at $10.95, weekday lunch is $6.95, and weekday dinners run $9.95. Given the neighborhood, the prices seem reasonable.

As per my typical habit at Asian buffets, I started with sushi.


This was better than I expected. Most $10-12 buffets that I've frequented don't put out much raw fish. They typically dole out mostly California rolls, but here they were rolling out tuna and salmon in addition to imitation crab. They were fresh too. As far as value went, this was probably my best sushi haul since discovering Daikoku Japanese Steak House in Victorville with its $15 all-you-can-eat sushi roll special.

The Caterpillar Rolls were excellent. The nigiri was very fresh. Some of the sashimi strips more closely resembled large insects than pieces of sushi. Their wasabi was nice and strong. The avocado was plentiful.


A crowded plate with some 24 pieces. They were large portions.


At this point, the sushi chef noticed that I had been to the serving station several times. He wanted to make sure I liked the food! Well, I was honest.


The salt-and-pepper shrimp was a bit greasy but well done.

And more.


The egg roll, sesame balls, and cream cheese wantons were all fresh. There's also one piece of nigiri on this plate. Couldn't resist one final raw parting gift.


The requisite fruit plate. Watermelon was my favorite selection.


My evil sugar habit finally asserts itself. Coconut macaroons, chocolate pudding, banana creme pudding, brownie, and cake square. "Sweet Tooth" would have been proud of this plate - and the two following.

Instead of the standard soft serve machine, this place has a deep freezer with huge canisters of real ice cream and serving scoops. I appreciated the difference.


No better way to end a meal than with 8 scoops of ice cream, a pile of cookies, a brownie, and vanilla pudding. Those last two plates were awesome.

Honestly, I had no idea no much I'd eaten at that point. Buffets should install scales at their tables. Sometimes it's best to play it safe, so I stopped here and finished my glass of water.

This place needs to stick around. It's got some good stuff. All 11 plates' worth.

Matt was right... avoiding the $5 breakfast paid off big time.

110....

As in pieces of sushi. Not the freeway running through Pasadena.


This is the largest certified dose of sushi I have crossed paths with. There were California rolls, nigiri pieces, and legitimate raw fish thrown in for good measure. It went down at King Buffet in San Bernardino, so suffice it to say that the meal didn't end with these four plates.

Another day, I'll challenge the plate record at Sushilicious in Irvine, CA. Johnnie Excel pushed it to 60, and then Stephanie Torres pressed it to 61. Well... 62 is a steep mountain to climb, but such mountains have been climbed before.

Gotta put on my hiking boots and head to Orange County.

I gotta give a big shout-out to Donsturdy.com for their video of my attempt at the Kitchen Sink at San Francisco Creamery. Awesome guys - totally into competitive eating and food fighting. I see big things for them this year.

More about the Kitchen Sink next time!