Chi’s Japanese Cuisine

FOOD

Beyond expected sushi features, Chi’s Japanese Cuisine really stands out in their kitchen. Tempura shrimp is a good introduction to Chi’s hot kitchen. Japanese-style batter surrounds the seafood, making it a substantial cooked choice alongside sushi. Shrimp has a different role here from the small seafood filling in a roll: it is the main ingredient of a hot dish. That distinction is part of the appeal for someone who enjoys a sushi dinner but also wants the kitchen to contribute something worth ordering.

Takoyaki gives octopus an interesting preparation, tucked into round batter balls. The octopus is part of the filling, while the surrounding batter makes the dish quite different from a plain serving of seafood. It belongs among the hot starters rather than the sushi pieces, and tempura shrimp and takoyaki are two further examples of that breadth.

Barbecue octopus offers another way to include octopus in the meal. Here, the seafood is the named dish itself, rather than a filling enclosed in takoyaki batter. The two preparations have different reasons to appeal, even though they share an ingredient. Together with the shrimp, they give the cooked-seafood side of Chi’s more substance than a single fried appetizer beside a selection of rolls.

Kani salad brings crab-style seafood together with cucumber, crunch and masago in a spicy creamy dressing. The cucumber and small roe add texture, while the dressing makes this a richer salad than a bowl of plain greens. It is a cold preparation with plenty going on, and a useful part of the meal for someone who enjoys seafood but wants something beyond rice and nori.

Chicken ramen brings noodles and broth into the dinner. A bowl of ramen is a more substantial kitchen choice than a small starter, giving the hot-food offering some weight beyond batter and fried dishes. The shrimp, takoyaki, octopus, kani salad and ramen are representative choices associated with the AYCE meal; the current dinner selection can vary. Sushi remains central, with these dishes broadening what comes to the table.

Separately, Chi’s individually priced menu gives a wider picture of its Japanese kitchen. Agedashi tofu, gyoza and shumai appear there, alongside vegetable tempura. Those are broader restaurant-menu choices, rather than promises about the unlimited package. They show the kitchen’s range across tofu, dumplings and battered vegetables, useful context if someone in the group prefers to order an individual meal instead of joining the AYCE dinner.

That broader menu also includes coconut shrimp, sashimi jalapeño and teppanyaki choices. Coconut shrimp adds another named shrimp preparation, while sashimi jalapeño belongs to the raw-fish side of the restaurant. Teppanyaki extends the cooked-food choices. Together they explain the larger Japanese restaurant surrounding the AYCE program, while the unlimited dinner keeps its own selection. There is room here for both a sushi-centered meal and serious interest in the hot kitchen.