On my last day on the East Coast, I was DYING for some Asian food... and I'm so glad I found Yume…read moreGa Arukara! We arrived a little before 5:30 p.m., and we had to wait a few mins. The restaurant is on the smaller side, so there is limited seating. We were seated at the bar, so we got to see the udon being made, which was fun! The service was quick and attentive. I got the spicy hot niku udon and it was delicious. The udon was chewy and the perfect consistency. The beef was thin and tender. Lastly, the spicy broth really brought it all together. If you're a spice lover, I would recommend this item! 10/10 When we wrapped up, there was a long wait. I recommend coming for an early dinner, but the line also looks like it moves fast because they turn tables so quickly.

Tl;dr Excellent, chewy udon and fantastic flavors, but service staff needs some better training…read more We came on a Wednesday night for two and had no wait, which was a great start. Having been here twice now, getting the spicy cold beef udon and their special tantan udon is definitely the way to go (made the mistake of getting the soup udon the first time). The udon itself goes without saying. It is thick, super chewy, and cooked just to the right softness. The cold beef udon was perfect--the sauce has a great blend of flavors and is portioned correctly. The tantan was an interesting take that is different from typical Chinese tantan flavors, making it unique to their style. The main issue was the service flexibility. I asked for no cilantro on the tantan, and the server said they couldn't accommodate that request because they wanted to serve it the way the chef intended. This was ridiculous considering the cilantro was simply piled right on top rather than blended into a sauce or salsa. In the end, it was just a waste of time having to pick it all out myself. The best part was the table next to us were able to customize their bowl. The noodles and cold beef udon are outstanding, but untrained staff really changed the mood of the night.

Casual, popular, and bustling Japanese spot in Chinatown. Very tight for space and limited seating…read moregiven it is a basement spot in one of the Chinatown complexes! And it is popular for a good reason. Service is quick, I'm sure they are trying to get people in and out. Very fresh kaisendon (fish bowls) with delicately cut, plump fish. A friend and I got the salmon and tuna don, which were appropriately priced under $20 if I remember correctly. Lots of different cuts of salmon and tuna, which were all covering fluffy white rice, and served with a side of miso soup and Japanese radish/pickled vegetable. If you were to compare this place with other casual Japanese spots serving sushi or sashimi, there is an easily discernable difference in quality. You can tell by the texture and appearance of the fish in your bowl! This is a classic in Chinatown for a reason, and I will never say no to a kaisendon from Tora.

I came here on my last trip to Boston and liked it so much that I knew I had to come back again!…read more Tora Japanese is located in Chinatown--in the basement area of one of the buildings, so seating is pretty limited. I came for lunch with two friends, and they didn't have a table for three, but the hostess was able to quickly accommodate us by rearranging another party that just sat down, and we were able to get some seats at the bar. Service was really fast and friendly throughout our dining experience. I ordered the sake don from the lunch menu, which came with a good-sized portion of rice topped with salmon sashimi and a side of miso soup. Definitely a great spot for a quick and affordable lunch in Chinatown!

***TO-GO ORDER***…read more Food 5/5 -Aburi sushi set of 8, this was the best sushi set I have ever eaten but also the most expensive. Fish was fresh, seared to perfectly smokey but not overdone. My favorite favorite favorite piece was the foie gras. Highly recommend for a special treat. -Torched toro maki, caviar feels like a fancy touch but did not make a significant different honestly. The toro was really good though, overall still an above average quality sushi but I don't think it's worth the price. -Seafood maki, insanely luxurious roll with sweet shrimp and uni and scallop, just all the most delicate ingredients you never see in a sushi roll. Tasted amazing and I would get this again even though it's very expensive. Packaging was superb, sushi was in great condition through delivery service.

I got the premium chef's omakase and bomb handroll -…read more TASTE: 5/5 - solid omakase w oysters, sushi, sashimi, and torched toro maki. And the bomb handroll was perfection: torched scallops, toro, uni, caviar, and truffle everything! TEXTURE: 4/5 - miso soup and edamame to balance the rest of the tender sushi PRICE: 5/5 - $88 premium chef's omakase is a steal, would come back! Handroll was indulgent at $28 though lol SERVING SIZE: 5/5 - more pieces in the omakase than I expected, plus the sake! Filled me up SERVICE: 5/5 - made the Sunday 12:30pm reservation on tock just in case, though wasn't busy when I arrived. My waitress was super attentive throughout my whole meal ATMOSPHERE: 5/5 - upscale decor in this narrow space PARKING: 4/5 - got a metered street spot right on Beacon St x Commonwealth Ave

Exceptional service with high quality meats and no wait on a weekday lunch! Had the pleasure of…read moredining here with a friend today & enjoyed the basic set, which contained meat that tasted better than some premium cuts at other AYCE restaurants. Milk tea on tap, sauce bar with raw pasteurized egg. Salmon and mackerel also included in the unlimited apps menu now, too. Location is compact given it's in Boston Chinatown, but it has what you need! Restrooms have mouth wash and floss tips, which is great post meal. Been to Mikiya in CA, which has a bit more elevated ambiance & feel but the food and quality is the same. Service was phenomenally efficient, respectful, and great! Come hungry, leave happy :)

It was my first time returning to Mikiya since going for their grand opening about a year or two…read moreago. This time I decided to go for late lunch & experienced no wait time. We got the silver set, which comes with American and Australian wagyu meat options. We opted for this one because it includes the seafood platter, vegetable platter, and choice of one of the following specialty dishes: wagyu tartare with chips, sweet shrimp sashimi, bone marrow, & wagyu nigiri. We decided to each get the wagyu tartare. For broths, we did half sukiyaki and half spicy miso. I think next time I will just get only sukiyaki though because it is so good! We ended up just cooking everything in the sukiyaki broth. The pasteurized eggs are amazing in this broth btw! For all of the AYCE options, you get unlimited drinks + tea, seasonal fruit, ice cream, sauce bar, pasteurized eggs, ground wagyu, wagyu curry, and can order appetizers off their appetizer menu. For appetizers, we ordered seaweed salad, eel nigiri, chicken karaage, & fried shumai. They all tasted as expected, so we were happy about that. I enjoyed the ground wagyu! It was tasty and even tastier after adding in some garlic & chili peppers. Wagyu tartare looked and tasted very fresh. I think if it had some more citrus, it would've been even better. Because raw beef doesn't really have that much of a taste and I think some more lime would complement this well! The seafood platter was awesome. My favorites were the lobster tail, fresh abalone, scallops, and oysters. Amazing! I would say the only thing that I didn't like from my recent visit was the vegetable platter. It had great variety BUT I wasn't have that some of the veggies they gave us were not properly cleaned. Make sure to inspect the vegetables!! The watercress and bok choy still had some dirt on them. But everything else was fine. I always inspect everything before eating (anywhere) but I especially make sure to inspect watercress because it's known to be pretty dirty. For meats, we mainly stuck with the Australian wagyu chuck ribeye! It is my favorite cut from this set. Overall, I'd come back again! I think it's a great place to go for hotpot & is different from your typical Chinese hotpot experience. The silver set is the best to get in my opinion because you get a little bit of everything & to be honest, I don't think you can really taste the difference of the different wagyus (American vs Australian vs Japanese) unless it's being grilled.

This charming little restaurant a few steps down from the sidewalk is a lovely addition to the…read morerestaurant choices in the neighborhood. The decor is bright and cheerful and the room (and restrooms) sparkling clean. The service is quick, gracious and calm. And the food is delicious! I don't care to eat meat, so it was wonderful to have several selections of vegan and pescatarian dishes to choose from. My husband and I enjoyed the soups we chose and want to come back to try the cold noodle dishes.

Nothing beats a place where they have 12-year-old Asian kids from working. The service here can…read morerange from slow to normal considering that the place itself is not very big. The restaurant focuses mostly on soba or udon noodle dishes with a good selection between hot and cold options. It's not going to be the best udon or soba you've ever had. HOWEVER, I tried the cold ikura & uni cold soba and LOVED it. It's seasonal, so I tried that one out and was extremely surprised about how much I enjoyed the bowl. Not too much soup and the uni didn't completely obliterate when I stirred it up. They do use American wasabi though, and I found it superfluous to the dish and wished it was served on the side. But regardless, despite not having some extremely high quality noodles, the flavor and experience of the bowl itself was super pleasant. I ended up coming back the very next day because I wanted to try their clam soba. The clam soba only comes hot, which is a bit unfortunately because I actually think a cold clam soba with some lemon or yuzu would be phenomenol. I've been seeing recipes for it online so I've been wanting to try it, but their clam soba is a lot more standard and hot. They had a very good amount of clams in it, but I generally like their cold soba better. Still good, but didn't give me that feeling of needing to come back the very next day like I did with the ikura-uni combo. Overall, I'd still come back when I'm in downtown!

At Zuma, we ordered quite a few items from the menu, and somehow each one was more delicious than…read morethe last. Our waiter made the experience even better. He took his time explaining the menu, made thoughtful recommendations, and made us feel very well taken care of throughout the meal. We ordered the sashimi platter, several crudo dishes, tempura shrimp, miso cod, skirt steak, tuna tartare, calamari, rock shrimp, and finished with two desserts. Every dish was beautifully presented and packed with flavor. The standout for me was how consistently good everything was. It is rare to order so many items and not have a single disappointment. If you're dining at Zuma, I would confidently recommend every item pictured below. The food, service, and overall experience were all exceptional.

The food was very tasty every dish I left no crumbs lol. Service was top notch from the door to…read moreexit, everyone was welcoming and wished me a HBD Trista was my server she was very attentive:). I enjoyed the ambiance and being seated in front of the kitchen.. getting to see the fire grill and the chefs create was a plus. I enjoyed the artistic atmosphere.

Best sushi I've had in a long time--and I try a lot of sushi restaurants!…read more Not only was everything delicious, but the seafood was incredibly fresh, especially the tuna, which is surprisingly hard to find this fresh. My dad was as a tuna fisherman when I was growing up, so I'm extra picky when it comes to tuna, and this absolutely exceeded my expectations. The staff was incredibly friendly and fun to chat with. I sat at the bar, the service was quick, and everyone made me feel welcome. It was the perfect meal after a long day of walking around the city. I'll definitely be back the next time I'm in Boston!

Two of my kids thought this was the best restaurant of our weeklong trip. I thought it was good,…read morebut the sushi was pretty standard. Don't get me wrong - the quality was good. But didn't stand out. Nice dining room. Good drinks. Favorite part by far was the crispy rice appetizer.

The udon was absolutely delicious... I gave it five out of five without hesitation after just one…read morebite. XO Seafood Udon: The restaurant specifically labeled it "wok-tossed," and it truly had a wonderful wok-hei鑊氣 (wok aroma), with an irresistible fragrance as soon as it arrived at the table. The XO sauce was extremely rich, sweet and umami, and the udon noodles were soft on the outside and bouncy on the inside; the sauce was glossy, smooth, but not greasy, allowing it to coat the noodles evenly and infuse them with flavor. The shrimp, squid, and scallops were all fresh and large, making for a very satisfying meal. The shrimp, in particular, were coated with a thin layer of starch before being pan-fried, adding layers of texture and locking in the juices. This plate removed the scallions and onions to suit my taste, and if you like spicy food, adding a little chili oil would greatly enhance the flavor. The restaurant had an elegant and refined ambiance, and the service was attentive, making it a very relaxing place.

Sushi rolls are fresh, tasty and high quality. I had the vegetarian gyoza and it was very good.read more

Absolutely the best popcorn chicken I've ever had in Boston this is by far a must eat if you…read morealready live here or are visiting and your in the downtown area, short walk from Boston South Station Terminal

Shojo was amazing, from the food to the service. I was catching up with my friends but the service…read moreblew me away. All of the staff were so incredibly friendly as well. I love those place and will continue to come here as a patron. Shout out to Elaine for being the best bartender ever!!

Four words: spicy cold niku udon. The signature is also good!…read more I've been a fan of Yume ever since I found out about it when I went to Tufts for college. It was the Asian-American community's go-to spot for dine-in, take-out, or both! This was back when they had their location in the Lesley University food court too - people would be lining up for 30+ minutes to get a coveted seat at one of their humble seats. I look fondly on when they would yell "perfect" whenever I finished my bowl, praising how I slurped every freshly cut udon noodle and devoured every ounce of broth or crispy tempura bit they put in there. The new location is just a few stores down, still in/out of the Lesley University mall area. It has a nice ambiance and feels less cramped. While I miss the "perfect" yelling, the flavor still tastes just as good even if it's gotten an insane amount of hype since then. Would highly recommend ordering takeout if you're in a rush - they do it very efficiently, both at the original Cambridge location and the new Seaport location too. I'm so happy for all of their success!

On Thursday around 2:30pm, we came and got greeted and seated quickly (no line!)…read more Just to preface, I know they're best known for their cold udon, but fall is starting and I really wanted to have broth! So, I ordered the spicy hot Niki udon and my bf ordered the hot Niki udon. The spicy one was good. I know the bowl looks red and scary but I promise it's not actually that spicy- just enough for a little kick. Broth was flavorful and has good balance of savory/spicey/just a bit of sweetness. However, my bf's non-spicy wasn't as good. The broth was weirdly a little too sweet? It also kinda reminds me of a curry broth which we weren't expecting. He wasn't happy with his broth and preferred my spicy broth. Besides the broth, the actual items in the soup were delicious. The noodles are very thick, slightly bouncy (but not as bouncy as I prefer) and taste fresh. They give you a good portion of beef which is tender. There are probably like 2 tbsp of green onions which was amazing bc I love green onion! And the green onions weren't spicy, just fresh. I think what really leveled the bowl up was the pieces of tempura which added a nice texture. I actually finished my whole bowl and didn't need a takeout container which rarely happens. So each bowl is enough for like one serving (do not share!). There is an open kitchen type situation so I could kind of peak over the counter and see the chefs. They played music on a volume louder than average, but there were good songs. Overall, I would not recommend the hot Niki udon but the spicy Niki udon is great. I do want to try their infamous cold udon which is broth-less. Service was quick and staff were very nice.