I made a goal to try one new eating spot in Bellevue at least every two weeks this summer and my first stop was Ginza on Main street. It’s one of those places I always seem to walk by but never remember it’s there. Then one day the temperature grew to 80 degrees and all I could think about was how I wanted sushi and I didn’t want to cook. Ginza was the perfect spot because it was so close I didn’t have to walk too far in the heat and it had a fun sushi bar to sit at instead of me taking up a whole big table. One of the young men making sushi was so personable and happy to give recommendations on the menu. I had a lot of fun watching him making sushi rolls while I perused the giant menu. My craving lead me to go all out, ordering the agedashi tofu to start, then the seattle crunch roll and kamihama roll for dinner. Mr. helpful explained which rolls come with more pieces than others so I knew that these two would be smaller.
Just after sitting down I was brought a complimentary small bowl of kobachi, which is a cold salad of cucumber and shrimp. Despite my aversion to plain cucumber I wanted to at least try it and lo-and-behold, it was great! The cucumber actually tasted like it had been slightly pickled, so gone was the gross taste I dislike and instead it was slightly sweet and vinegary.
My agedashi tofu was an odd choice given the heat outside because it comes in a hot broth like soup. For whatever reason though, I wanted soup, and I wanted to try something new (not miso soup). In this dish, the tofu is lightly fried and topped with green onion & shaved seaweed. It was very soft and the pieces so large it was a struggle using my chopsticks, I kept dropping them back into the bowl before I could get a bite. It was delicious though, I’d definitely order it again.
My Seattle Crunch Roll was made of tempura salmon, avocado, cucumber, tempura flake and flying fish roe. It had a faint sweetness to it, possibly from the tempura batter or avocado but it was so satisfying. The end pieces are always the hardest to eat, especially with that cucumber sticking out like that! The Kamihama roll had red crab, hamachi, avocado & green onion. It had a more classic taste to it but was equally good. I was inspired to choose these because it was time to try new things so I wasn’t allowing myself to order the spicy tuna roll (loveeeeee this) or anything with shrimp (also a favorite).
On a whim I decided that ice cream was what I needed to finish the meal. I couldn’t decide on the ice cream flavor but a woman next to me said the red bean was amazing so I had to choose that one. It was great, almost had some chew to it because of the beans but was a perfect way to end the meal.
Now I know I love to eat and at times I can eat a lot. Well I surprised even myself by completely cleaning my plates here. Not a single item was left untouched, not even the pickled ginger or wasabi. I attribute moments like that to a perfect pairing of what you’re craving and what you eat. The entire meal was exactly what I wanted, clearly I couldn’t get enough!
I’ll definitely go back to Ginza, it would be a great spot for a quick lunch or dinner with friends. I tend to really enjoy restaurants like this because there are so many interesting new things on the menu to try, it really never gets old.
Flavor Adventures 