Tag Archives: Japanese

Asian, Japanese

Sushi Mioga

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It was an unplanned visit to Sushi Mioga with a friend, on a Sunday afternoon. Since another restaurant in the same complex had 45 minutes waiting time, we decided to check out this place instead.

Inside Sushi Mioga in Portland
Inside Sushi Mioga in Portland

I love conveyor-belt-sushi places, but I still had to find a decent restaurant in Portland, where the sushi did not taste too mediocre. Sushi Mioga is located in the new Timberland Town Center with lots of other good quality restaurants, a cafe, grocery, and other cool stores. As soon as you walk into Sushi Mioga, you’ll see that it’s a clean, open, and spacious place to dine in. We only waited few minutes to get a table and servers/attendees are fast and friendly too.

Our sushi plates in Sushi Mioga, Portland
Our sushi plates in Sushi Mioga, Portland

Unlike few other sushi-belt spots in Portland/Hillsboro area that I’ve visited, all the sushi plates we tried here were surprisingly fresh and can be made-to-order. They have all sorts of options from raw fish to rolls to vegetarian to nigiri and also with different sauces and spices. You can tell if a conveyor-belt-sushi place is good by the quality of their wasabi. Wasabi in most of these other places (if not all) are usually very bland and ruins my whole experience of eating sushi. Sushi Mioga’s wasabi had a perfect kick and flavor…you’ll love every piece of your sushi with it.

We tried few spicy sushi and nigiri with tuna, salmon, and crab along with a plate of fried wonton. Honestly speaking, I did enjoy each of those for their freshness, taste of raw fish, and perfect sizes. You can also pick sliced salmons in teriyaki sauce, small drinks, tempuras, desserts, and many more things from the belt. If you don’t find something, you can order from the menu. We just picked whatever looked good and we didn’t regret any of them.

Conveyor-sushi-belt in Sushi Mioga in Portland
Conveyor-sushi-belt in Sushi Mioga in Portland

Sushi Mioga may not serve the best sushi in town but for the price and with tons of options, this is my new favorite conveyor-belt-sushi restaurant for now. This would definitely be my first option whenever I’m in the mood for inexpensive and good sushi.

Asian, Burgers, Japanese

Mr. Bento Burger – Hillsboro

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I’ve been hearing about this Mr. Bento Burger for a while from my manager. I didn’t exactly know what it was…is it Asian or is it a burger shack or both? I had to know what’s going on there.

Outside Mr. Bento in Hillsboro

So, Mr. Bento Burger was my last night’s dinner spot. It’s conveniently located very close to Intel’s RA location on Cornell Rd. This is a Japanese inspired gourmet burger place that offers all sorts of burgers including the regular ones and something called “Rice Burgers” (?)…that’s something I got to try next time.

It’s a small and modish place with indoor and outdoor sitting arrangements. I loved the Asian style interior design with regular tables and bar-like high chairs. Service here is A+ too; I saw the cashier (they don’t have servers or waiters ) coming to every table and asking if everything is OK.

Inside Mr. Bento in Hillsboro

This can be a bit expensive for burgers, at least more than what I was expecting. I paid little more than $20 with the tips for my salmon steak burger and a drink. Yes, it came with a side of Asian salad and 4 pieces of pot-stickers. Regular or sweet potato fries are separate if you want them with your burger (and they can replace your pot-stickers with fries). But that dressing on the Asian salad…OMG, it was unexpectedly delicious. My burger came with a big chunk of perfectly cooked salmon steak, slices of jalapenos (which I ordered extra) and other stuff. And man, it was hot but good.

My salmon steak burger at Mr. Bento Burgers, Hillsboro

Some of the other burgers that caught my eyes were kimchi burger and Hawaiian burger…maybe next time. But you can spicy up yours with extra ingredients like jalapenos, kimchi sauce, grilled mushrooms, and etc.

This would be a perfect place to come for a quick yet gourmet bite. I have to bring my burger-lover daughter here to try some of their other items in the menu, especially, their Thai iced-tea for sure. Fusion eatery at its best.

 

 

Asian, Japanese

Nikki Sushi & Steak

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It was one of those nights when I wanted to treat myself to a nice place. I was in Tigard area and Progress Ridge Townsquare is one of my favorite hang out places here. I came to the Ava Roasteria and Al’s Bowling across the street many times but never had a chance to try any other restaurants in this relatively newly developed shopping plaza. Progress Ridge Townsquare is lined with variety of eateries, coffee shop, grocery, and other stores. After driving around the parking lot for couple minutes, I finally picked this Japanese place, called Nikki Sushi & Steak.

Inside Nikki Sushi & Steak in Tigard, OR
Inside Nikki Sushi & Steak in Tigard, OR

The restaurant is a nice medium size place with a warm and welcoming atmosphere. This is a place where I’d bring my close people for different occasions who are looking for a fancy but not too formal place. I felt it’s a relaxing yet a trendy place to dine in. I was there on a Monday night. The crowd was light and the service was fast.

Nikki Sushi & Steak has a wide variety of Japanese dishes, ranging from hibachi, to sushi/nigiri plates, to teriyaki and bento-box. Price is a bit on the high range, in fact slightly higher than regular hibachi where they cook in front of you, but here they don’t cook in front of you. I ordered shrimp hibachi which was about $20 for a nice regular portion. You can get either miso soup or house salad with most of the entrees here. I went with the house salad which they forgot to give me at first and packed it later to take out. I indulged into the perfectly cooked big shrimps and the fried rice, though wasn’t enjoying the sauteed vegetables as much…they were crunchy and perfectly spiced but those zucchini pieces tasted bitter. But overall I’d give this dish and the restaurant a thumbs up.

Shrimp Hibachi in Nikki Sushi & Steak in Tigard, OR
Shrimp Hibachi in Nikki Sushi & Steak in Tigard, OR

I would recommend Nikki Sushi & Steak to anyone living in or visiting Portland, doesn’t matter if they like Japanese food or not, but then again who doesn’t like sushi boats or Japanese steak?