Jim wanted to celebrate my A in College Algebra aka pre-calculus aka Why am I in this class again?, so instead of heading home to our usual lunch of whatever I can find that requires the least amount of my energy and time in preparation, he wanted to do something special!
We ended up grabbing a quick lunch from our local favorite Japanese restaurant. Okay, so we only HAVE 2 Japanese restaurants in our area. One of them is Sagami at the Collingswood Circle, which we drove past all our lives and never knew it was a Japanese restaurant until we were in our late 30’s; and the other is Sakura, which has an awesome soup called Seafood Tofu Soup for Two.
The soup is a delicate broth filled with chunky pieces of vegetables (mostly carrots, celery, onions and whole mushrooms), and then given a generous helping of firm tofu along with shrimp, scallops, and crab leg cut into strips like noodles. This was one of the first meals out that I ate following gastric bypass surgery, and it continues to be a favorite. There are days when I have to skip the veggies, because after a soup filled with protein, the chunky vegetables can be a little too much to enjoy.
To go with the soup, Jim picked out two of the sushi specials. They feature several different sushi rolls each month to encourage diners to try new things. They discount them by 50%, and we’ve discovered some delicious sushi this way that we might have otherwise overlooked. For lunch, we picked up a Paradise roll, which is shrimp tempura, wrapped with banana tempura, lobster salad, and topped with tofu and flavored mayonnaise. Okay, I KNOW they don’t eat this way in Japan, but I am so glad they adapt these things for an American palate. This was flavorful on many levels, with crunchy, sweet, savory, and a bit of spice in the mayo. They are certainly flavors I would never think of putting together, but oh my gosh, they were delicious.
The other roll we decided to sample was the Pink Lady. This was chicken tempura, boiled shrimp, and cream cheese, topped with a spicy mayonnaise. This was a much smaller bite, and while it should have been easier to eat as a result, I have such a hard time with chicken. The flavors, again, were amazing and multi-layered, but between the two of them, even though the other roll had more rice (which is a no-no for me), the chicken in this one did me in.
Sushi is a hit or miss thing for gastric bypass patients, and while I find I am able to enjoy a few more bites than I once did, I still have to limit myself. The rice kills me after about three bites, and I’m left with the lovely taste in my mouth and a horrible pain in my stomach.
Sakura is a great place to stop for lunch (they have fabulous Bento boxes), sushi, or a date night dinner. They have hibachi grills in addition to the sushi bar and the regular tables, so there is something for everyone at this great little spot.
Take out items are available.
Sakura Japanese Restaurant
910 South Black Horse Pike
Blackwood, New Jersey 08012
(856) 374-3088