Japaneiro's Sushi Bistro and Latin Grill - 04/09/10

Our first stop, on the journey of the common food for less, is Japaneiro's Sushi Bistro and Latin Grill or as we like to call it "JAPS". Our Friday night visit to Japaneiro's, at the Sugar Land Town Square, began with a long walk from the parking garage to the restaurant, winding through all the impatient people waiting on tables. The street was chaotic with children running in circles as we walked through the maze of parents to Japaneiro's. On the outside, the restaurant had outdoor seating and is common to all the other restaurants in the Sugar Land Town Square. Once walking in, the loud cadence was overwhelming. The ceilings were high and everyone in the restaurant were yelling across the tables to be heard.

Once being seated, we looked around at the decor. It didn't feel like it combined an Asian and Latin vibe and was more of an afterthought. The atmosphere takes you nowhere. There was one small TV in the bar area, and there was also an area where sushi chefs were frantically rolling with a crowd of onlookers seated in front of them.

 Rock and Roll

As a starter dish, Melanie ordered the Rock and Roll (Cooked Sushi) which consisted a crispy, tempura-battered jumbo shrimp, cucumber, kaiware, green onions and Japanese mayo. It was great and worth the price of $9, and it feeds 3 people (Melanie, Jason and me).

Chicken Sarten

For the main course, Melanie ordered the Chicken Sarten (a lean and tender chicken breast char-grilled latin-style, served with tempura sweet potato and chimichurri vegetable stir-fry) at $12, and she said it was kickin'. The chicken burst with flavor and the fried sweet potatoes hit the spot.  

Hawaiian Roll

The Noodle with tofu

 

Loni ordered the Hawaiian Roll at $12. It came with shrimp and asparagus tempura with cream cheese rolled in soybean paper, topped with avocado, chili powder, mango and coconut sauce, but since she's a vegetarian, she asked for it without the shrimp, which was not a problem. The cream cheese and chili powder really made this roll special. It was a great combination, full of flavor and a spicy kick that complemented the sweetness of the mango and coconut. The soybean paper was also a nice, softer touch than the usual seaweed paper. Loni also had The Noodle ($9) and added tofu (extra $3), which comes with either soba or udon noodles that are sauteed with broccoli, bell peppers, carrots, zucchini and squash. She picked the soba noodles, which are thin and made from buckwheat. The noodles came out in a mini wok and was enough to serve four. The vegetables in the dish were a colorful contrast against the dark brown soba noodles. The tofu was a little too soft for my taste, but the overall dish had a nice flavor with the vegetables; however it was a little bland for what you would expect from asian latin fusion and a little on the oily side. It wasn't anything special that she would order again. 

Pinchos Platter

Jason ordered the Pinchos Platter at $15. It consisted of marinated grilled skewers of a combination of salmon, shrimp, beef and chicken, served over yucca fries and a Latin roasted peppers sauce. The presentation of the plate was appealing, and he immediately tried the beef skewer first, which was tender and tasty. The chicken, however, was the best skewer on the plate, full of bold flavor and spice. The shrimp and salmon were good, but small. The roasted pepper sauce wasn't spicy, and was so watered down, he couldn't really taste it. The fried yucca taste more like a fried potato. Overall the dish was mediocre and less spicy than he expected. Nothing on the plate was special nor a surprise. 

Seafood Rice

I ordered the Seafood Rice at $12. It contained shrimp and salmon rice woked with sauteed veggies, herbs and spices, served in our mini paella pans with sweet plantain slices. It had great flavor but the plantain slices were a little too sweet for my taste.

Which eating our meals, the waitress was quick to refill drinks and even though the restaurant was packed with impatient families and upperclass patrons, she was attentive to our needs. 

Tempura Oreos

For dessert, we ordered the fried oreos ($6). As soon as the waitress set the rectangular plate on our table, our four spoons hit the oreos in unison. There were 3 golden fried oreos with a small scoop of ice cream, four dollops of whipped cream, one strawberry and one blueberry. The oreos were warm and melted inside the crispy batter. The cream filling mixed with the chocolate cookies was a wonderfully delicious and decadent dessert and a great finish to a decent dinner of eating and yelling. 

There were some hits and misses on what we ordered, but overall, you can't go wrong on sushi, dessert or tempura. We gave this place a rating of 3.5 out of 5.

- Roxy

Japaneiro’s Sushi Bistro & Latin Grill
2168 Texas Drive
Sugar Land, TX 77479

Hours of Operations:

Tuesday – Thursday ~ 11:00 am – 10:00 pm

Friday & Saturday ~ 11:00 am – 11:00 pm

Sunday & Monday ~ 11:00 am – 9:00 pm