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| - I've eaten twice at Fuji Yama in the past month and like the place overall.
The atmosphere is very cheery, which is definitely needed when you dine in a basement location. When you walk in, a recording calls out "Irashaimase," or "welcome". When you leave, it says, "Arigato gozaimashita" (thank you).
On my first visit, it was a dreary, rainy Saturday. There weren't many people there, however, we came in just between lunch and supper. The waiter was fairly attentive and friendly. The restaurant was clean and sunny.
My companion and I opted to try a bunch of appetizers (the 20% discount was an incentive). The Avocado & Salmon Salad was absolutely delicious. The explosion of flavours danced in my mouth with each bite of Coconut Tempura Shrimp. The miso soup was flavourful, while the Philadelphia sushi roll was a delightful surprise (salmon, cream cheese and cucumbers). The tamago sushi was huge compared to other places (not too sweet, just right). The edamame croquettes were also tasty, very tender. The chicken karage was nice and crispy on the outside and juicy inside. It wasn't greasy.
The only dish we weren't crazy about was the calamari. At first, we thought they were ordinary squid rings but when we ordered it on the next visit, we learned that that's just Fuji Yama's version of calamari. There's something interesting about the batter but the calamari was a little rubbery.
My second visit was for lunch on a weekday. My companion and I felt badly for the waitress for she was the only one taking care of nine tables. Needless to say, service was slower the second time round..
I ordered the tonkatsu (breaded pork) and tempura lunch special, while my companion order the gyoza and tempura lunch special. The portion sizes were comparable to Sushi Ginza, Tokyo Garden and Banzai. My tonkatsu was quite dry, so much so that I needed to dip it in my tempura sauce. Everything else, however, was top notch.
This time, I had room for dessert. The waitress recommended the ice cream over the pie. The green tea ice cream had just the right amount of matcha. Very tasty!
Prices are pretty comparable to other Japanese restaurants. We definitely want to go back again to try other items on the menu (just not the calamari or tonkatsu).
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