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| - Here's a little recap of our Saturday night at Roka Akor.
Reservation @ 9pm for an entourage of 5, and we were seated in 1 of their 2 ten-people private dining rooms (the 2 rooms can be connected for larger groups). The contemporary decor is just as beautiful as one would expect from a high-end restaurant: spacious, warm red-wood floor with light brown leather chairs, huge open kitchen and a separate bar area. Our private dining room features elm-wood on 1 side (which artistically disguise numerous storage shelves.), and red mud wall on the other.
The menu was... big. After spending 10 minutes flipping pages, picked a couple selections here and there, then forgot what we had chosen at the first place, we gave up and asked for suggestions. I'll try to recall everything that we ordered. Octopus Salad, Lamb cutlets, Duck breast, Short ribs, Rice hot-pot, Chicken on skewers (Yakitori), Sashimi platter (3 kinds), Spicy chicken wings, Grilled mushroom (I think it was Hiratake mushroom), Vegetable tempura.
Octopus salad and Grilled mushroom were on Chef's Choice menu. The salad was very refreshing, herb-y and sour, great to start off our dinner. The mushroom was blander, but balanced out our high-protein dishes.
The lamb and ribs were just fabulous, and you just have to try them to believe. The meat was cooked to perfection, but the sauces and spices brought them to a whole different level. Our taste buds were in heaven.
Sashimi Chef's selection were just common ones (ours came out with salmon, yellowtail and tuna) but they were fresh. As a frequent to Japanese restaurants for a few years now, this is the 2nd place in the valley that I've had such fresh sashimi. AND this place uses FRESH wasabi!!! 99% of Japanese restaurant in the valley uses powder wasabi. Roka Akor uses wasabi roots, which is less spicy but much more flavorful. Just from seeing this, I knew I was at the right place for sushi.
I didn't get to the Duck breast as my friends finished them all, but the side of fresh mango with Japanese herb was... "unexpectedly aromatically" yummy (that's the only way I can describe it).
We ordered Rice hot-pot to have some carb in our dinner. It was delicious, but frankly a bit salty. It is definitely A LOT for 2 people. The yakitori and wings were alright, since they're just chicken. The sauces again were beautifully done but it's hard to impress me with chicken dishes. Vegetable tempura was just to have some veggie, nothing special.
***Now to the drinks, we got a bottle of Azure sake. Roka Akor is the only place in AZ carries Azure. It's lighter and fresher than common sake, has a delicate scent and light fragrance. It is, indeed, a very special sake, made from a natural spring in the bottom of the Pacific Ocean - yes, from the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. Not easy to do, but very pure water, the secret to this famous sake. Only a limited amount can be collected during the year.
I wish I had room to order deserts, instead, a desert wine to end the night on a sweet note.
The service overall was equally amazing. I don't think our luck of "landing" the private dining room had anything to do with it, but I will go back there soon to find out.
Contrary with other reviewers, the dishes while not huge like those at, say, Buca Di Peppo, they are not as small as people think. Price-wise, it is pricy. Thus, the bigger your group, the better since you can try different dishes and not max out your credit cards.
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