American Japa Sushi – Kissimmee

FOOD

The Basic Experience gives American Japa’s Brazilian-style sushi personality plenty of room. Start with the traditional djo: salmon encircles sushi rice, cream cheese sits on top, and the finishing touches run from fried garlic and green onion to strawberry, pepper jelly or guava. It is a small piece with a generous appetite for embellishment. You can keep it savory, or let the fruit join in.

That same fondness for dressing things up extends to the breaded hot rolls, filled with salmon and cream cheese. Garlic and crispy kale belong to the savory end; guava and strawberry jelly take them somewhere sweeter. Doritos is another topping. Yes, the chips. The Philadelphia roll keeps the salmon, cream cheese and chives in an unfried form, making the difference between the two easy to appreciate.

For a closer look at the fish, nigiri and carpaccio deserve attention. Salmon Special Nigiri adds lemon zest, truffle oil and salt to salmon over pressed rice. Thin salmon carpaccio comes with ponzu, while its torched counterpart wears teriyaki and sweet potato straws. Those are two quite different treatments of the same fish: one built around a citrus dressing, the other around surface heat and a more elaborate finish.

Tuna offers its own path through the meal. Thick-cut sashimi leaves the rice aside; the tuna roll brings chives and sesame into the mix. Tuna temaki gathers fish and seasoned rice in a nori cone, and a spicy version is available as well. Hand rolls have their own substantial appeal here, including a filling of cooked shrimp and cream cheese and a deep-fried salmon Hot Temaki with chives and panko.

The hot appetizers are worth more than a distracted glance between sushi dishes. Pork gyoza are pan-fried dumplings with pork and vegetables, while sushi fried balls put salmon and cream cheese inside tempura-battered rice. Shimeji mushrooms sautéed with garlic, soy sauce and green onions offer a different sort of savory bite. Edamame gets truffle oil and salt; miso soup brings tofu and green onions to the warm side of the meal.

Among the cold starters, sunomono pairs thin cucumber with sweet rice-vinegar dressing and sesame. Ceviche uses citrus-cured tilapia with tomato, red onion and cilantro. Then there are Nachos Sushi: chips carrying kani salad, diced salmon, spicy mayo and eel sauce. A little playful excess is entirely consistent with a kitchen already inviting guava onto sushi. These starters broaden the meal beyond another sequence of rolls.

Premium expands the selection with grilled octopus and shrimp, cod-and-potato fried balls, and Chef’s Toppings Djo with additions such as torched Brie or shimeji. Its Chef Ceviche combines salmon, tilapia and octopus with passion fruit juice. Those dishes belong to the upgrade, making Premium particularly appealing for diners drawn to grilled seafood or the chef’s richer djo toppings. Basic already offers plenty beyond plain rolls; Premium takes the embellishment further.

Both full experiences include a sweet finish. Harumaki dessert spring rolls offer Nutella, dulce de leche or Romeo & Juliet—cheese and guava, a very companionable pair. Fried banana provides another warm dessert, while vanilla or cream cheese ice cream can take guava or chocolate syrup on top. The guava has made it all the way from sushi to dessert. Clearly, it was comfortable staying for the whole meal.