Yami Sushi House

"Relativity teaches us the connection between the different descriptions of one and the same reality." Albert Einstein

When someone tells me about great sushi they've had in Prague, I register little outwardly. Inwardly, I feel the deepest, darkest skepticism.

I, too, once hoped and believed I'd find fine raw fish, expertly prepared, and creatively created, somewhere in the Czech capital. Now, I take reports of super sushi as greatly exaggerated. To me, they sounds like a snipe hunt.

So when a well-traveled and worldly friend told me he was loving the sushi set at Yami Sushi House, I felt all the usual dismissiveness. But it had been a while since I'd had Japanese food and I decided to give it a whirl.

I'd been to the restaurant in Old Town years ago, before its long-term closure for reconstruction.I didn't recall much except they had a decent variety of sushi rolls on the menu.

I went three times and the restaurant was pretty much always full.Tables did seem to turn over fast, but it's not a big place.Reservations are recommended.

On the first visit, I started off with soft-shell crab tempura (175 CZK).This is one of my favorite dishes and it was perfect. The tempura coating on the two small crustaceans was hot and lightly crisp.The crab underneath was fresh and crunchy.

There was a sweet soy dip on the side.To my mind, this crab was an absolute bargain. Besides Sansho, the only other place I've seen soft-shell crab is at SaSaZu. While I loved their version, it now costs 195 CZK for a portion half the size of Yami's.

There are a wide variety of rolls on the menu. I decided to go for the Rainbow Roll (296 CZK).This was barbecued eel, shrimp, tuna, salmon, butterfish, red snapper, and avocado, on top of a roll filled with what they call "crab cream" and more avocado.

The good news is that the fish was all excellent -- very fresh. The tuna was particularly good. The whole thing was a large portion and very filling.

The not so good news is it's filling because of what I'd classify as too much filler."Crab cream" is basically surimi or imitation crab that has been shredded and mixed with mayo. Also there was just too much rather bland rice. There was a double-wrapped roll of it under the precious fish.

With a bottle of Mattoni mineral water (35 CZK), the bill came to 506 CZK before tip.

On my next trip, I sat at the sushi bar. Unlike some places in Prague, they do have Japanese chefs behind the counter.I was ignored for 10 minutes by the waitresses. Finally, a chef took pity on me and got one of them to make contact.

I started with a bottle of Asahi (70 CZK).I like this beer, but it was a lot to pay for the privilege of trying something besides the usual Czech offerings.

The tuna temaki (100 CZK) caught my eye, and I ordered that.The nori wrapper is formed into a cone and then filled with rice and a fairly generous portion of fish. It was served in a cute little wooden stand.Considering a single nigiri piece is only slightly cheaper, it seems like a good deal. And again, I was impressed with the quality of their tuna.

For the next round, I got another Japanese restaurant non-sushi favorite, the unadon (350 CZK).It's a large portion of warm, barbecued eel served over rice. The fine and delicate meat is covered with a caramel-like sauce.It was a pure pleasure. I used to be able to buy my own at Thai's Asian Food Shop, but sadly they don't carry it any more.

This meal came to 520 CZK before tip.

On my third and final trip, I decided to get what my friend said he loved so much -- the sushi set (470 CZK).

It began with a bowl of miso shiru soup.I thought it was OK, but there was very little seaweed and tofu. I found it quite mild and would prefer a broth with a little more character.

They have Budvar on draft, so I got a .4 liter It was good and cold.

Then came the set.The raw scallop was a sweet and gelatinous pleasure. The squid tasted a bit fishy to me. The shrimp was fresh and snappy. The salmon was perfectly buttery. The red snapper was just OK -- it was a bland fish on its own. The octopus also had a nice snap and crunch to its flesh. The raw shrimp was a pleasure. I really loved the yellow tail sashimi.

There was one nigiri I did not like and it was a big surprise: the tuna. It smelled just fine, but it had a strange, mealy texture. It sort of dissolved in my mouth, instead of needing to be chewed.

I mentioned my trip to Yami to foodie friend, Barbarella. She also complained about this strange tuna texture. It's hard to explain that this happened more than once, especially since I had two other good experiences.

It also struck me that the chefs seem to be masters of illusion. The rolls were made to look big with large amounts of rice. And the fish on top of the nigiri were made to look bigger because the finger of rice underneath was absolutely tiny so there is a lot of overhang.

I was pretty full, but decided I should try a dessert. I got the banana tempura with honey (90 CZK).They do know how to fry that crunchy batter just right. It was simple, but I liked it.

This final bill was 605 CZK before tip.

Look, I know Yami has many fans. I've heard from more than just my friend about it. And the full seats there make their own statement. I did have a lot of good fish there. I loved the crab and the eel. I'm sure I'll be back from time to time.

The prices aren't bad... for Prague. The quality is generally pretty good... for Prague. I think those qualifiers are required.

My top choice for sushi here is still the very modest and simple Sushi Tam Da because of its value for money quotient.

But if I go to my favorite cheap sushi spots in New York or Atlanta, I'll pay less than all the well-known Prague places, and the stuff will be much better. I'll even be bold and state that I've enjoyed some American supermarket sushi more than a lot of what I find in this town.

It's all well and good if you are loving the sushi somewhere in Prague. For me, it's still a relative question and the reality tastes a little different.

Yami Sushi House
Masná 3
Prague 1 - Old Town
Tel. (+420) 222 312 756

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Sushi Tam Da

"That man is the richest whose pleasures are the cheapest." Henry David Thoreau

Sushi in Prague is too expensive. Cheap sushi is hard to find. ThaiOishi, which I wrote up recently, was one of the few relatively inexpensive places I've found.

I've heard some speculate, "Well, Prague is far from the sea. That's why it's expensive." Which is nonsense. Paris is far from large bodies of water, and I've found plenty of Asian shops there with nigiri for 1 euro each.

So when I find another cheap sushi place just a 10 minute walk from my flat, I have to stand and applaud. Or sit and write. I thank "Crispy" again for tipping me off.

I'm talking about Sushi Tam Da on Perunova, not far from Vinohradska.The non-descript exterior is matched by the non-descript interior.There's just one room, and it ain't too pretty.But I'm less picky about where I eat than what I eat.

My favorite sushi is unagi, or freshwater eel. In Prague, it is usually one of the most expensive things on a sushi menu.

So when I saw Tam Da's sushi menu, I couldn't believe my eyes. It offered four California rolls (surimi, avocado, cucumber) with each roll topped with unagi. And it was only 88 CZK.For some perspective, at Miyabi, just one piece of nigiri with this fine flesh will set you back 100 CZK. One unagi nigiri at Samurai costs 140 CZK. At Sushi Bar the same order is an astonishing 249 CZK. Tam Da gives you four pieces of unagi with a roll underneath for a fraction of that.

But is it better?

It's certainly better than the cold, rubbery unagi I had recently at Hanil. Maybe the eel is better at the other places I mentioned. I wouldn't know. Except for my Hanil experience, I've always considered unagi too expensive to order and enjoy in this country.

Tam Da's were tender, tasty, and served cool. The roll underneath was less successful -- the surimi didn't have good texture and the avocado was not ripe. But all I cared about was the eel -- the rest was just an inoffensive platform for it.

I always order tuna nigiri (38 CZK) and salmon nigiri (34 CZK).The pieces may be slightly smaller than average, but the prices were at least half of what you'd pay elsewhere.

Tuna nigiri at Sushi Bar is 149 CZK and their salmon is 99 CZK. At Samurai, the prices are 90 CZK and 80 CZK, respectively.

I was happily surprised the Tam Da's tuna tasted so fresh, with no fishiness. The buttery salmon glistened. The rice was also not too cold, and had a sweet tang to it. Perhaps there was too much rice vinegar in there for some, but I liked it.

I also tried their tuna maki (64 CZK) and salmon maki (58 CZK).It was just fine, with the same good fish.

The menu has a bad habit of calling many different kinds of maki "California rolls." I tried the one with salmon, avocado, and cucumber (68 CZK).The salmon was good, but again, the avocado wasn't ripe. Still, it was a filling portion for a fair price.

The sushi was served with a very sweet and spicy kim chi, along with Kikoman soy sauce.I was drinking Mattoni with my meals.The beers available are Kozel, Gambrinus, and Pilsner Urquell.

What about the non-sushi offerings? Tam Da does have a larger menu that covers those familiar Czech-Vietnamese interpretations of Chinese, Thai and other Asian cuisines.

On one visit, I went for the cold spring rolls.They were filled with omelet, lettuce, red pepper, cucumber, shrimp, and unflavored noodles.They were very bland, and would have much benefited from the insertion of mint or basil. There was a sweet dipping sauce on the side.

I tried Tam Da's version of Tom Ka Gai soup (34 CZK). The spicy, sweet coconut broth had some of the usual ingredients like cilantro and lemon grass.Despite the sweetness, it was bland and needed some balance. I asked for fish sauce in Czech and English, but the owner didn't understand. So I said "Nam Pla" the Thai word for it, and he got it.

There were also less usual ingredients like eggplant, basil, tofu, and sliced banana. Banana? That's right banana.

What the soup did not have was chicken. I found this amusing because the translation of the words "Tom Ka Gai" is "Soup Galangal Chicken." For the record, the menu, which is only in Czech, called the soup "Tom Khaguey."

Finally, I went for the "Thai-style rice noodles," which I assumed would be their version of the classic dish, Pad Thai (74 CZK).It looked like Pad Thai. It has many of the expected ingredients. It just didn't taste much like anything close to an authentic version.

The first thing I noticed was the dominating, disconcerting flavor of Czech soy sauce. The noodles were overcooked and gloppy. It was quite salty. I didn't like it. But I asked for some lemon, and then poured the rest of my sweet kim chi into it. After that, it was much better.

The bright spot with this dish was the chicken. Unlike many other restaurants which cook the Phad Thai meat into dry, leathery chunks, this one had buttery, tender, and savory chicken pieces. It's another cheap meal, but just be prepared to season it yourself.

I spoke to the owner and he said business was best at dinner. But he said they are doing a lot of take-away business throughout the day. He said the location is not great for foot traffic, but things are slowly building with word of mouth.

And the words from my mouth are these: Forget about the rest of the menu, but go for the sushi. It is not world class and not even top Prague class, but it is better than you'd expect, considering it is perhaps the cheapest sushi place in the city.

Too often in Prague, eating sushi in Prague can be disappointing in terms of quality. And you walk out feeling financially filleted.

But Sushi Tam Da can be a nice, cheap pleasure.

Sushi Tam Da
Perunova 13
Prague 3 - Vinohrady
Tel. (+420) 602 476 871

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ThaiOishi

"Simple pleasures are always the last refuge of the complex." Oscar Wilde

If I had to pick a favorite cuisine, it would probably be Thai. Or perhaps Italian. Or possibly Mexican. Or could be Japanese. Or maybe American. Or... I digress.

I love Thai food. It's something I'll go out of my way for if I think there's a chance it's good.

Major Dan told me about ThaiOishi, a restaurant with separate Thai and Japanese menus near the Palmovka metro station. He said they did a decent job, the prices were good, and that he and Hana Montanova were semi-regulars. It also received a very positive review in The Prague Post at the end of last year.

The small, square dining room with a small alcove has just a few tables.There are attractive brick walls, and a picture of the Thai king and queen. Otherwise, the decor is not much to write a postcard home about.

The bar section is particularly unattractive and cheap-looking.But looks don't matter so much if the food is good. And the dish I give the most weight to at a Thai restaurant is the Pad Thai.Speaking of looks, my point-and-shoot camera died, so I had to take this picture with my little Nokia.

I ordered this Pad Thai with shrimp (150 CZK). The crustaceans were small, but there was a generous portion, considering the bargain price.

How did it taste? I'd rate it as just OK, a little above average, but not exceptional. It had a touch of sweetness that I like, but did need more lime. The same dishes at Noi and Modry Zub Noodle Bar are usually better and more complex, and with a better mix of flavors (but also far more expensive).

I had an inexpensive .33 liter bottle of Mattoni mineral water (15 CZK), and the bill came to just 165 CZK.On my next visit, I started off by sampling the beer.

ThaiOishi only serves Holba on tap. I had a half-liter (22 CZK).I hadn't tried this beer before and didn't think it was anything special. But it was a refreshing change from the usual offerings like Gambrinus or Staropramen.

I ordered another of my favorite Thai benchmarks, the Tom Ka Gai soup (70 CZK).This was enjoyable. It was bursting with lime leaf, galangal, mushroom, green onion, and coriander. The chicken was surprisingly tender and fresh. There was a spicy kick.

I always wish versions in the Czech Republic would be a little creamier, but I was happy enough with it as it was.

Next, I turned my attention to the Japanese menu and its sushi offerings. I ordered the Rainbow Roll (250 CZK).The first thing that I noticed was that it didn't come exactly as advertised.

The menu said it included barbecued eel, shrimp, tuna, salmon, butterfish, red snapper, and avocado. The difference was that instead of butterfish and red snapper, I got a lightly cooked shrimp along with the fully cooked one, and octopus. The seven rolls were filled with avocado, cucumber, and krab cream.

I would have preferred the original line up, but I was pleased with the freshness of all the ingredients. I'm a particularly big fan of eel, and this one was tender and delicious. It compared favorably to the cold, rubbery one I had recently at Hanil. Even the octopus was easy to chew.

The Rainbow Roll is one of the more expensive items they serve, but it was nicely filling. The bill for this trip was 342 CZK.

On visit number three, I had some nigiri as an appetizer. I ordered two salmon pieces for 90 CZK.The salmon was buttery and fresh, but on the small side. The rice was well-prepared with a hint of rice vinegar and wasabi.

If you order one piece, it is 50 CZK. That's better than most other sushi places around town, with at least one exception being the newly discovered Sushi Tam Da (thanks for the tip, Crispy).

Then, I took a walk on the Thai side with the Kaeng Phed Nue (150 CZK). This red curry beef fell flat for me.The beef itself was the usual low-quality, tenderized-but-still chewy little strips. The sauce was watery. The large amount of bland bamboo shoots didn't help. I derived some pleasure from the basil, lemongrass, lime, and other flavors fighting to get through. But not enough.

I poured it over jasmine rice (30 CZK), and the sauce all but disappeared from view.
The price was not bad, but in this case, I would have paid more for something better. The total tab for this trip was 292 CZK.

A week later, I was on the Tram 19 and realized it stopped close to ThaiOishi, so I made a fourth visit.For my first dish, I had the chicken satay (75 CZK). I'm sorry to say this was one of the worst versions I've had in a long time.The thick pieces of chicken on sticks had a greasy, uniform surface that led me to believe they were fried in oil. While the chicken was yellow from a marinade, it was almost devoid of flavor.

The sweet coconut-peanut sauce was nice, but served very hot, temperature-wise. I had to wait for it to cool down a bit.

In contrast, I had the satay at Modry Zub Restaurant a week later, and it had the grill marks and smoky taste I was hoping for. On the other hand, theirs was also smaller and almost twice as expensive.

Next, I had the Lab Mu (110 CZK). This was much better.
The minced pork was mixed with the requisite lime juice, fish sauce, red onion, chilies, and ground, toasted rice. It wasn't as spicy or delicious as the version I once had at Modry Zub Noodle Bar, but it was good enough that I'd get it again.

Finally, I decided to go Japanese again and got the beef teppanyaki (180 CZK).Teppanyaki literally means grilled on an iron plate and was made famous in the USA by the Benihana chain.

The chunks of meat were in that nether-zone between tender and tough. Some pieces were better than others. But there was very little seasoning or flavor that came through. I found it boring.

My final visit, which left me more than stuffed, cost 387 CZK. I won't rate the service because I always ate at odd hours and was usually the only customer. The food did come relatively quickly.ThaiOishi does some moderately good sushi by Prague standards, and a few respectable Thai dishes, all for close to rock-bottom prices. But there were definitely some things to avoid.

It's definitely not the kind of place I'd make a special trip for. It's too simple for that. But it is a restaurant I wouldn't mind having in my neighborhood, either.

ThaiOishi
Novákových 9
Prague 8 - Palmovka
Tel: (+420) 775 217 919

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Buddha-Bar Prague

"To do a dull thing with style - now that's what I call art." Charles Bukowski

When I heard last week that a Buddha-Bar had opened in Prague's Old Town, I told V we had to make a pilgrimage.It's part of a stylish chain with restaurants in Paris, London, and many other big cities around the world.

I knew it wouldn't be cheap. But how expensive, I could not say. There were no prices on their Internet menu.

I did know that if I told V in advance how much it would cost, she wouldn't want to go. So I didn't say. I just told her it was a new place we had to try.

The restaurant is underneath the new Buddha-Bar Hotel. We entered through the Siddhartha-Café at street level, which I initially thought was the restaurant.

But for that, you have to descend two levels below the street.

The bar is at the first sublevel. There were plenty of dark and intimate spaces.The area around the bar itself was not that large and had a few clusters of men in business suits. I didn't get a picture of the bar, thinking one of the businessmen might not appreciate getting his picture taken. Better safe than sorry.

The main dining area sits below and can be viewed from the bar area through the big chandeliers.Only five or six the tables were filled in the 150-seat room.

But I did go back on a Friday night a month later and the restaurant and bar were completely full of young, good-looking people wearing expensive clothes freely spending large sums..The space was dominated by a giant Buddha statue.It was also dominated by darkness. There was no possible way to read the menu in that light.

I don't know if it was by chance that there were two candles on the table. But I had to hold the flame right up against the menu to see its offerings.

V started by ordering a beer. It was a small bottle of Pilsner Urquell for a steep 100 CZK. Perhaps they'd like to discourage beer drinking.

I figured the word "bar" is in the name of the place, so I decided to try a gin gimlet.It was excellent -- not too tart, not too sweet.

For fun, I ventured a guess about much it would cost. I said 180 CZK. It actually was 190 CZK.

That's a little above average for most Prague cocktail bars, but not out of line with prices in other world capitals. With the dollar ascendant these days, it felt better to think that it was around $9.

I started with the Buddha Chicken Salad (295 CZK). It was really delicious.The chicken itself was amazing - impossibly tender with blackened edges. It was mixed with a sweet wasabi cream. There was crunchy cabbage and noodles in the mix. Black sesame seeds were sprinkled on top.

This was one of the cheapest things on the menu, but it was a large portion, enough for two to share. This was a dish I'd come back for.

V ordered the tiger shrimp with coconut and basil (460 CZK). The three crustacean came with a fine panko-like crust.The best thing I can say about these shrimp is that they were very large.

The shrimp were warm, but had obviously sat for a while after leaving the fryer. I thought they were on the chewy side, possibly overcooked. V said she detected some coconut, but I couldn't. It was very bland.

On top of that, the basil dipping sauce was also bland. I ground a copious amount of salt into the sauce before it brought up some of the flavor.

For a main course, I had the seared tuna (630 CZK). It perfectly rare, coated with black and white sesame seeds. There was a lettuce and seaweed salad on the side.The tuna was very fresh, but a little tough, with some strings of fat. There wasn't a lot going on beside the taste of the fish and sesame. We wished it had come with soy sauce and wasabi. It only occured to me later I could have asked for it.

There was a small amount of chopped mushrooms on the side that didn't impress either of us much. The cucumber slices were pretty dull.

The whole dish was quite small, really. I thought it was more like an appetizer. The seared tuna starter they used to do at Mozaika was similarly sized and far better for about a third of the price. You just don't get gold-painted walls with it.

V had the lamb curry (665 CZK). I liked it. There was a generous portion of very tender meat with an assertive lamb flavor. There was a less generous portion of brown rice.The sauce tasted strongly of cilantro, and there were plenty of fresh leaves on top. It had a few peanuts in there, as well. There was a good sweet-sour mango chutney on the side.

This dish was also just barely warm, not hot. It seems the kitchen expediting needed some work.

As far as curries go, I'd say it was above average. But was it worth the money? That's fairly subjective and partly depends on the value you put on the style and cachet of the surroundings.

For me, the answer is no. If it was half as expensive or if I made twice as much money, I might go back for it.

For raw fish lovers, there was a full page on the menu for sushi (around 100 CZK per piece), sashimi (around 200 CZK per 3 pieces), and maki.

Since the Internet menu doesn't list prices, I'll help out with a few other dishes on offer: lobster salad - 675 CZK, spring rolls - 365 CZK, wok-fried octopus and frogs legs - 400 CZK, monkfish path thai - 675 CZK, roasted black cod - 790 CZK, red curry shrimp - 700 CZK, Peking duck - 875 CZK, "Wagyu" grilled Kobe beef - 1475 CZK, red curry vegetables - 475 CZK.

This is just a small sample of the items on the menu. And with some of them, you have to order an extra side item like rice.

The service was mostly good and attentive, with a few hitches.

After I squeezed the lime into my gimlet, I left the squeezed peel on the table. It sat there through most the meal until I threw it on a plate being cleared.

Also, we were seated right by a red door that appeared to lead to an office of some sort. A manager kept going in and out, right behind us, at the beginning of the meal, which was rather off-putting and distracting.

For dessert, I couldn't resist ordering a warm chocolate cake with liquid center and vanilla ice cream (250 CZK).It was first-rate, perfectly baked, with high quality chocolate and very good ice cream.

And, wonder of wonders, it was straight from the oven and hot, with steam rising as I broke it open with a fork. Yum.

The total tab was 2900 CZK without tip. That's big money for me and not something we do very often. For a little less money, I'd rather go to Angel, where we recently ate better and for less.

Of course, Angel doesn't have the same international renown or larger-than-life style. Buddha-Bar does have that style. But for the money, I don't think any of it should be dull.

Yes, some of the dishes were good, but I wouldn't call it a great dinner.

Perhaps it is what Bukowski would call art.

Buddha-Bar Prague
Jakubská 8
Prague 1
Tel. (+420) 221 776 300

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