Tomokazu Japanese Restaurant 友和日本料理

I assume that many people's first all you can eat Japanese restaurant is Sui Sha Ya *cringe*, it was mine. I remember going to Sui Sha Ya in high school and it would be sort of a bang for your buck kind of meal. But as I grew older, I realized Sui Sha Ya's food does not even taste good. My second AYCE Japanese restaurant was Tomokazu and I think they are a lot better (my second AYCE may have been Shabusen, blah, did not like them either).

Tomokazu is located on the second floor and has booth seating arrangements, table seating as well as rooms suitable for larger parties. The restaurant is fairly clean, spacious and not crowded at all. I have never seen a line up here before but assume it happens for their late night menu.

ADULT $21.95 || CHILDREN $11.95

DELUXE $24.95 || CHILDREN $14.95

EBI SUNOMONO AND FRESH OYSTERS. 

The sunomono has a sweet as well as sour taste and the noodles are cooked perfectly. Next, the oysters could have been more fresh. The oysters are stuck to the shell and tastes old. I have been to Tomokazu maybe around three times this year and the oysters never tasted decent IMO (not nasty tasting, just not worth ordering).

TORO, SALMON, HOKKIGAI, TAKO AND TUNA SASHIMI.

The toro sashimi is actually mostly tuna (left pile) and the two pieces of toro we actually got, tastes old, like it has been sitting out since the morning (probably sitting out since the afternoon from AYCE lunch). Next, the salmon sashimi tastes fresh as well as fatty. Continuing, the hokkigai has a soft snappy crunch. Moving on, the tako tastes tender with a slight snap and has a mild taste of octopus. And last, the tuna sashimi tastes fresh and is the lower body portion which is the proper cut to use for sashimi.

TUNA TATAKI, BEEF SASHIMI AND EDAMAME BEANS.

The tuna tataki is slightly overcooked but tastes fresh and delicious. For the beef sashimi, the cheaper part of the beef is used (same part used for beef teriyaki) and the restaurant should have used sirloin. The beef sashimi tastes very chewy and not enjoyable. Almost every other AYCE restaurant's beef sashimi tastes better than Tomokazu's, including Kaneda's down the street which tastes pretty good. The edamame soy beans are served hot.

UNAGI, TAMAGO, MURIGAI, SHARK'S FIN, MASAGO, TOBIKO AND EBI NIGIRI.

First, the unagi tastes like unagi sprinkled with sesame seeds. Second, the tamago has no slight sweetness, tastes like yellow yolk eggs (compared to free range) and more of a cooked egg rather than a slightly sweet tamago. Third, the murigai tastes fresh, sweet and has a slight crunch. We ordered the murigai twice to finally get two pieces. Fourth, the shark's fin is pretty much jelly fish and imitation shark's fin. The shark's fin tastes less gooey than Kaneda's, has a lighter taste, tastes more fresh and this packaged brand tastes a lot better. Fifth, the masago tastes like soft popping balls, and the tobikio tastes like tiny soft crunches. And last, the ebi nigiri tastes like what it is, packaged shrimp.

OYSTER MOTOYAKI AND SMELT.

The oyster motoyaki tastes warm, not hot and has a very strong/heavy but bearable Japanese mayonnaise taste. Next, the smelt is lightly battered, tastes slightly salty and has a nice light crunchy exterior.

NEW YORK STEAK - FIRST AND SECOND ORDER. 

On the left, the steak tastes chewy and has a fishy salty taste, my friend said it is supposed to have that taste though? The steak is also medium rare which I find kind of odd (I assumed it is supposed to be fully cooked?). Later when she ordered the second one, the steak was fully cooked, had no fishy taste and was extremely dry as well as chewy. I do not know which one I prefer but I like neither. The photo on the right does not even look appetizing, blah, and did not taste good at all or decent.

TEMPTATION ROLL, RICH, BOLD, POWERFUL AND SEXY. SMOKEY BACON, CUCUMBER, PAPAYA, PRAWN TEMPURA, TOPPED OFF WITH AN OUTSIDE LAYER OF SALMON IN UNAGI SAUCE. ALASKA ROLL, SOFT SHELL CRAB ROLL, AND AVOCADO ROLL. 

Tomokazu has four speciality rolls included in the AYCE. The rolls come in half orders which I prefer but none of the rolls interested me. The temptation roll tastes sweet and the rice is very hard. I could not taste the bacon but I could taste the papaya, prawn tempura, cucumber and salmon. Next, the alaska roll is what it is, shredded imitation crab meat, avocado and salmon. Continuing, the soft shell crab roll tastes like a heavy battered soft shell crab. And last, the avocado roll tastes creamy, fresh and refreshing. I wonder if the speciality rolls are prepared in advance? The rice for the other rolls tastes normal but the specialty roll's rice tasted very hard. None of the rolls are heavy in mayonnaise.

BEEF SHORT RIBS AND BEEF UDON.

The beef short ribs taste quite chewy and has a strong sweet taste, but not an overly overwhelming marinade. There are definitely a lot better beef short ribs at other AYCEs (Kingsway Sushi, Richmond Sushi, Kaneda, Agi Taro). The beef udon has an udon broth taste with two tiny shreds of carrots. Also, the udon noodles are not over or undercooked and the slices of beef taste tender.

KOREAN BEEF AND SHISHAMO. 

The pieces of Korean beef have a slight spiciness and tastes a bit chewy, although they have been marinated long enough. Next, the shishamo has a very strong natural salty taste, tastes meaty, healthy and stiff.

MANGO PUDDING AND ORANGE SLICES. 

The mango pudding tastes somewhat watered down and kind of sour, it could pass as a lemon pudding. Richmond Sushi and Kingsway Sushi seriously has the best mango pudding for an AYCE, does anyone disagree?! Next, the slices of orange tastes sweet.

YAM AND PRAWN TEMPURA, AND JELLO.

The tempura has a nice flaky light crunchy batter and is not over deep fried. The prawns have a nice snap and the yam has a nice moist texture The tempura is pretty much perfect, perfect. Look at the flakiness of the batter! Next, the jello does not taste watered down and has the proper firmness as well as jiggliness. If only the mango pudding was this good, sigh.

MIRUGAI, IKURA AND ABALONE NIGIRI.

The mirugai tastes fresh, slightly sweet and has a nice light crunch, just like the first order. Next, the ikura tastes like soft squishy balls with a slightly salty taste. And last, the abalone has real diced pieces of abalone and seaweed, which surprised me. I would have ordered another one but I was too full. I blame the new york steak my friend wanted.

POSITIVES
- Tempura is perfect... perfect
- Cheaper than some AYCE restaurants
- Better and cheaper than Kaneda which is just down the street

NEGATIVES
- Food is ehhh

LITTLE THINGS
- Parking at the back (not sure how much)
- Meter parking $2.00/hour
- Service is mute (hey, better than no service or rude service!)
- Richmond Sushi, Kingsway Sushi and Agi Taro are a lot better IMO
- I do not think I will be back (not because it is horrible, there is just better)
- I visited Tomokazu the night before Ohukuya

Food: 2.5/5
Service: 2.5/5