Stock options Stock options (June 08, 2001)

Add Dashi, a hip new sushi restaurant, to your dining-out portfolio

by Joni Ratts

Menlo Park's new Japanese restaurant, Dashi, deserves high marks. The name, dashi , means "stock" in Japanese, and is the base used to make popular sauces like teriyaki and tempura. Traditionally it is made with water, kombu (dried kelp) and katsuobushi (flakes of dried and cured bonito fish).

Owner Calvin Chan remodeled the strip-mall site of the former Tokyo Cafe to create a fresh and exciting establishment, featuring a cuisine he describes as Pacific Rim fusion. Open since late March, Dashi is Chan's first venture into the restaurant business. His aim was to target the GenXers with a trendy, high-tech atmosphere and sumptuous sushi bar. It appears he has succeeded.

A native of Macao, Chan holds a degree in construction management from Cal Poly, and has service bureau and screen-printing businesses among his list of accomplishments. Chan faces the challenge of his latest venture with a fresh eye.

Enlisting the help of his partner, Otto Yu, an interior designer, he has given Dashi style and detail. It has a clean, fresh look, leaning towards minimal without the impression of being sparse. The interior walls are tones of warm yellow and orangey red; the ceiling is purple. As evening progresses the colors meld to a mellow background, keeping the high room from being cold and impersonal. The lighting, a chic blend of paper lanterns and discrete tracks, lends an inviting mood.

Booths and tables are well placed for maximum seating without overcrowding. Pottery vases, with bamboo fronds, hang above the tables from rattan handles -- effective in their simplicity.

The menus, designed as purple semicircles, have a techie feel, and are filled with colorful pictures for the uninformed. A curved fish forms the D in the Dashi logo. The staff also makes a striking appearance in solid black, with white logos emblazoned on their sleeves.

Diners at the sushi bar, which seats six, watch chefs prepare exotic creations from an array of appetizing ingredients. Head chef Edward Wong, who trained in Hong Kong under a Japanese master chef, is the force behind the culinary delights of Dashi. And it is the impressive cuisine, as well as the eye-catching interior, that is attracting diners here.

My companions and I felt the menu selections were extensive, with choices well beyond sushi. Dashi offers items from the grill and oven, tempura, udon (buckwheat noodles), donburi (rice bowls) and rolls, as well as many combinations. Our waiter was helpful and friendly, and offered welcome suggestions that allowed us an assortment of taste experiences.

We started with grilled shitake mushrooms ($3.95). The perfectly grilled mushrooms, three to a skewer, were as pleasing to the palate as the eye. They had good texture, and were served with a peanut sesame sauce which was a delicious complement to their earthy flavor.

Spinach goma-ae ($3.95) was a winner. The boiled greens, neither mushy nor overcooked, were mixed in a sesame sauce that set off the spinach flavor rather than overpowering it. Our least favorite appetizer was gyoza ($4.95), pork dumplings served with a soy-based dipping sauce. I would have liked them crispier.

Dinner-box specials ($12.95-$16.95) offered a medley of tastes, and were presented in attractive, rectangular lacquered trays. These were served with miso soup, rice, tempura, salad, gyoza and fruit. This is a practical way to try a variety of Japanese dishes for a reasonable price, but ordering individual selections satisfies the more adventurous palate.

Miso soup, in a lacquered bowl with tofu and seaweed, had a nice consistency. It was a bit salty, but to my liking. The salad, pieces of crab on rice noodles with slivers of lemon and cucumber, was served icy cold in a pottery bowl. It had a refreshing taste, sweet and tart at the same time, with a hint of vinegar.

Tempura, a mixture of prawns and veggies, was excellent. The batter was light and airy, the vegetables fresh and the prawns moist. The accompanying tempura sauce enhanced their flavor. Teriyaki choices, however -- both the chicken and beef -- served over bean sprouts, were rather bland and not what I expected. Orange wedges, rosettes of pickled ginger and green wasabi-garnished the trays.

Box dinners also included either sushi or sashimi. The night we were there the chef's sushi selections were ebi (cooked prawn), maguro (tuna) and sake (salmon), as well as sashimi maguro , sake and gai (red snapper). All had good texture and presentation, and were easy on the palate.

From the wider menu my companion sampled some personal favorites and was generally pleased. She thought the unagi (eel) ($4/two pieces) was excellent, with a firm texture and a light smoky flavor, but she found the California roll ($3.95) slightly heavy on the crab, which created a vaguely unbalanced taste. The shrimp tempura roll ($6.95) was well prepared and delicate, although heavy on the mayo. The ikura (salmon roe) ($5/two pieces) was sweet and not slimy.

At meal's end her comment was, "Dashi's sushi is as good as I've eaten anywhere." We all agreed.

Our only disappointments were the lack of hot towels at the end of our meal and the fact that Dashi does not yet have a liquor license. Pending approval of their license application in mid July, they will offer a variety of sake and Japanese beer to accompany their fare. We hope by then they will also offer hot towels.

The artful food arrangements and eclectic dishes combine to make dining here a delightful experience. Dashi is not a fly-by-night sushi joint. They know what they are doing, and they do it well.

Dashi, 873 Hamilton Ave., Menlo Park, (650) 328-6868

Hours: Lunch: Mon.- Sat. 10:30 a.m. - 3 p.m. ; dinner: Mon.- Thu. 5 - 9 p.m.; Fri.- Sat. 5-10 p.m.; closed Sunday.

Atmosphere: Dashi is a friendly, casual and appealing place to eat. Trendy, high-tech atmosphere attracts all ages. Don't let the strip mall location put you off.

Highlights: Sushi and sashimi with a wide variety of Japanese dishes. Spinach goma-ae and grilled shitake mushrooms are winners. Excellent unag i. Portions are generous.
Reservations: Yes Credit Cards: Yes Parking: Yes Noise Level: Medium Beer & wine: Liquor license pending Takeout: Extensive menu Website: www.dashifood.com Delivery: No Catering: Yes Wheelchair access: Yes Highchairs: Yes Outdoor seating: No

Have a tasty comment or tidbit? Contact Food Editor Mary Orlin at (650) 326-8210, ext. 312 or email morlin@paweekly.com.