Asian

MUNCHIES [CA] . Hanamaru

So where have we been eating sushi if it ain’t at Masa’s? We’ve been hanging at Hanamaru (which I tricked myself into believing was a short distance from Yahoo!), with the cramped floor tables and uncomfortable chairs (and no booths) and everything’s sort of dark and blah, but wait.. go up to the counter and you’ll soon see the revolving well-constructed wooden boats with colorful and cultural rubber ducks as passengers bobbing up and down. One such “holiday duck” holds a lit menorah. Behind the counter, the wall is covered with crayola sketches of the menu items. Now it’s getting a little cuter.

We used to go here for the bento box style combo dinners when Chris’ friend used to work here and when we were vegetarians, but now that we’re pescetarians, we can go nuts at the sushi bar. I am often disappointed with and avoid restaurant chirashi, which is basically twenty or so unassembled nigiri fixin’s with the strips of fish, unagi, squid, etc laid out in layers upon a bed of sushi rice. Most places just throw it in a unadorned bowl with waaaay too much rice (the cheapos), but Hanamaru takes the time to prettify it in a square dish with raised sides in their shiniest fake Japanese lacquer (plastic). The itamae also take the time to make sure each generous slab of thoughtfully trimmed fish is twisted into a spiral or fanned with snipped edges. Very cute. I like how the tako (octopus) is sweet and soft here, not rock-hard or paper-thin like some places. They even place a large spoonful of pricey ikura (with I swear the thickest membrane ever, eek) in the center of their diligent design, which you’d swear should roll off the huge seafood goodie mountain. The price is nice, too, I think it’s around $13 for more than what other places give you for $20.

Hanamaru makes quite a few interesting rolls with cream cheese or squiggles of spicy mayo (which are pretty disgusting at other places), although I must warn you to choose these only if they are freshly made, meaning you just saw the chef assemble and place it down. Unfortunately, if less than half of the counter is filled, the itamae go on snooze, concentrating more on their special orders than filling up the boats. The result: only a few measly dishes go on circling forever on the water track, getting stale and a bit gross. Similar caveat: do not grab fried items if they have circled a few times, chances are they were there for most of the day and will be rubbery as heck. Do order the bite-sized fried squid with the chewy little tentacles intact if just for the novelty.

Also try their spicy salmon handroll, or should I say the sweetest, spiciest, largest spicy salmon handroll around with actual green shiso (beefsteak plant) leaves and fresh crispy nori hugging it all. These guys don’t skimp on the fish, let me tell you; this one’s overflowing. I know that’s not necessarily good or authentic sushi, but you feel like you’re getting your money’s worth even though it’s only around $3.50. The chefs really focus on your order too, hunched over, straightening out minutia. It takes a bit longer, but you’ll be presented with a quality product that they are obviously proud of, and that’s important in our flailing work ethic type society.

One reason to return is the service, although I do recommend going at an earlier shift if you can. You’ll also get lots of freebies like edamame or miso soup. There is a somewhat icy reception at night, which is a major shock if you get used to the usual waitstaff. Even the itamae tend to be nicer ones earlier in the day, and there’s even a chef/waitress team that converse in Korean for the patrons that don’t speak english well or prefer not to. The older smiley chefs have been replaced by young kids (some you might think of as punks in the old country) but if you are willing to overlook that, generous slices of fish await at Hanamaru. Heck, someone has to keep those rubber ducks company.

Hanamaru Restaurant [SUSHI, JAPANESE][$$]
(408) 524-5353 - 675 S Bernardo Ave - Sunnyvale, CA

About the Author:

Kris Kobayashi-Nelson is an avid food adventurist who has tried everything from jellyfish to sea cucumber to chicken gizzards. She loved liver and onions with ketchup and cayenne pepper ice cream as a kid.

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