Tokai Restaurant, Japanese Hibachi and Sushi • Cedar Park

Tokai Restaurant, Japanese Hibachi and Sushi • Cedar Park

By Candace Birkelbach Friday, 17 October 2008

With an abundance of sushi restaurants in the area, it’s hard to find one that leaves a lasting impression. From first glance at the festive decor to the last bite of dessert, my dining companions and I were impressed with the simple elegance of Tokai, a Japanese hibachi and sushi restaurant that opened in Cedar Park in August 2007.

A cozy restaurant suitable for a family outing, Tokai offers traditional Japanese dishes cooked on a hibachi (gas-heated) grill, traditional and creative sushi rolls, light appetizers and a children’s menu. The box lights, flowers and fountains create a nice ambience. Owners Wendy Wei and Ricky Chen have more than 15 years in the restaurant business.

Keeping in mind that sushi and hibachi are meals that take time to prepare, we decided to nibble on some vegetable tempura ($3.95) and crab puffs ($4.75) while sipping hot sake ($9.95).

The sake was an excellent complement to the vegetable tempura. Crisp carrots, broccoli and onions were surrounded with a light, tasty batter, deep-fried and served with a soy dipping sauce.

The pinnacle of the meal was definitely the Tokai roll ($9.95), sunflower roll ($11.95) and spicy tofu roll ($4.95). The sunflower roll combined spicy tuna, spicy salmon and shrimp tempura in soy paper with honey wasabi sauce and spicy mayonnaise. The extra tempura flakes wrapped in the roll were a hit among my fellow diners, who declared the roll an adventurous play on texture.

As many fellow vegetarians will attest, giving up sushi was one of the hardest parts of converting. Luckily, the spicy tofu roll was my savior at Tokai. It contained delicious bits of fried tofu in a spicy sauce. We all agreed it’s rare to find sushi that provides a confetti-burst of flavors for the palate.

For our main course, we opted for salmon hibachi ($10.95) and shrimp and chicken hibachi ($14.95), finding them large enough to split. The sauces were the stars of the entrées, making sautéed vegetables, meat and rice come alive with Japanese flavor. The hibachi platters are also accompanied by a salad with peanut ginger dressing and miso soup.

Another dinner option is the bento box with a choice of vegetable tempura ($8.95) or chicken, beef, shrimp or salmon teriyaki ($10.25) served with rice, soup, salad and a California roll in a box-style plate.

For dessert, tempura deep-fried ice cream ($3.95) and mochi ice cream balls ($2.95) were a delightful ending to our meal. The first was a scoop of vanilla ice cream surrounded by a cake-like tempura coating and drizzled with chocolate sauce. The mochi balls were definitely a new discovery for us, with mango ice cream surrounded by sweet rice paste.

Happy hour:

• Mon.-Fri. 3-6 p.m.
  • Six kinds of sushi for $1.99 each
  • $1 off all sushi rolls
  • Domestic beer $1.50
  • Imported beer $1.99
  • Hot sake: small $1.99, large $4.99
• Tokai’s lunch specials are $1-$2 less than the dinner price.

• Chen and his sushi chef create special rolls periodically after customers approve them. Feel free to suggest a new roll if you do not see it on the menu.

Tokai Restaurant, Japanese Hibachi and Sushi, 601 E. Whitestone Blvd. Ste. 720, 528-8282, www.tokaihibachi.com, Sun-Sat: 11 a.m.-10 p.m.