THE key to enjoying Japanese food is having fun and savoring each bite with genuine pleasure. And so, Sumo Sam, one of the leading Japanese chains in the metro, unveiled its new menu offerings this week that explores the fun side of Japanese cuisine.
Famous for its tempura, Sumo Sam features this best-selling item in its new tendon (crisp and golden tempura served on a bed of fluffy rice) offerings — Ebi Kakiage Tendon (a generous helping of two pieces of ebi or shrimp tempura and two pieces of kakiage or battered vegetable patties on a bed of hot, steamed rice), and Soft Shell Tendon (two pieces of soft-shell crabs, coated in tempura batter and fried to a golden crisp, served on a bed of hot, steamed rice).
Sumo Sam’s best-selling tempura can also be found in its signature sushi called Sumo Roll. It’s the restaurant’s take on the classic California Maki because it’s coated with tobiko (fish roe), except that it is topped with tempura bits and crowned with a shrimp.
More than this, however, the chefs of Sumo Sam have also given the classic tempura a modern interpretation by using small shrimps, all peeled and naturally curled up, in its Rock Shrimp Tempura. The crunchy bite-sized, melt-in-the-mouth shrimp tempura (or shrimp popcorn) comes in Sweet and Spicy variants. Both are delicious bites with their own flavor profile, and foodies will have a difficult time choosing which variant they like better. I myself cannot pin down which I like better. I like them both. The Spicy Rock Shrimp Tempura is not too spicy; it has just the right kick. The Sweet Rock Shrimp Tempura is not too sweet; it just has that nice sweetness to it.
Unagi (grilled freshwater eel) is another major ingredient that figures prominently in Sumo Sam’s new menu. When it comes to sushi rolls, it offers Daikon Unagi Maki, which is sushi rice rolls with unagi filling, wrapped in a wafer-thin slice of daikon (radish). Unagi lovers can also enjoy this special seafood treat in the new Unagi Set, which is broiled premium Japanese eel on a bed of steamed Japanese rice, drizzled with a sweet and savory sauce, and served with ochingko, tamago, edamame and miso soup.
Speaking of sushi rolls and appetizers, Sumo Sam introduces quite a few new ones, including Ebi Chizu Aburi (shrimp sushi topped with a layer of cheese that is blow-torched), Edamame Gyoza (which incorporates brined edamame or soybeans in the potstickers or dumplings), Buta Kakuni (chasyu or Japanese roast pork simmered in spicy sauce for four hours before being steamed then deep-fried), Tuna Tacos (diced fresh tuna loin flavored with a spicy, wasabi-infused sauce, served in mini taco shells and accompanied by a tangy salsa), and Yakitori Sampler (mini skewers of meat, seasoned with sea salt and lightly grilled).
The new menu items rolled out include three delicious desserts — Tempura Banana Split (banana bits dipped in tempura batter, deep-fried to a golden crisp, and served in a paper cone with three mini scoops of ice cream with bits of toppings), Dorayaki (two towers of mini Japanese pancakes with three different fillings), and Yakinori and Matcha Crepe (a crepe with strawberry and banana filling, drizzled with chocolate sauce and sprinkled with chopped nuts).
These new menu items are now available in all Sumo Sam branches.
(Photos by Rafael R. Zulueta.)
