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| - We recently moved to this side of town, and were hopeful that Umai would be our new "go to" spot for sushi. Having been spoiled like crazy by the wonderful sushi and value at New Zealand on Monroe, and still saddened by the closing of Mai Sushi at Colony/Rea, we ventured down to Quail Corners in search of our new neighborhood spot. While the atmosphere is great, the food was not our cup of tea. We started with an order of edamame, which is difficult to mess up. But the beans were clearly not fresh - they tasted like they had been frozen too long because the texture was mealy and the pods were wimpy. Move on to the sushi order - a couple of sake (salmon nigiri) and a spicy tuna hand roll. Well, it was all.. okay. The fish was fine, but nothing special. It was all pretty much tasteless, in fact I think the sushi I've picked up from the fridge in Harris Teeter was tastier, and half the price. I mean, I would eat it if I were really desperate for sushi, but considering how close we are to SouthPark, Park Road Shopping Center, etc., and the fact that Umai's prices are pretty steep for what you get, I would definitely head in another direction the next time I crave sushi.
Now let's talk noodles for a second - because my son is pretty much a ramen afficionado. He is only 12, but has been eating ramen noodles since he could eat solid foods (not the kind that come out of the wrapper). He has an amazing palate, and he certainly does know good ramen... and this was the worst he's ever tasted (according to him). The broth was just wrong (I tasted it, too), like maybe they added some miso then boiled it, which is a huge no no, or maybe the broth had been revived from the day before one too many times. I have no idea, but all I know is that we're not fans. The ramen noodles had pork as the protein, and the texture was tough and inedible. I've never seen my son leave a bowl of noodles uneaten, but despite our best efforts to salvage it with a touch of soy sauce and some sriaracha, we just had to let it go.
Just for full disclosure - I did order a seafood stir fry dish carry out for my husband and he ate every last bite - but he's not really that picky and he was really hungry... The dish was $18, so it should have been way better than "good" in my opinion. It didn't look any better than the seafood dish we've ordered from Chi Thai (in Arboretum Harris Teeter) for years and years, and was much more expensive.
Anyway - I've had better in Charlotte. If you like authentic tastes and textures of Japanese food, you are probably better to steer clear of Umai.
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