Wok in Motion

On our way to the Funny Bone to see Dave Coulier a few weeks ago (which was hilarious by the way...cut. it. out), we stopped in to Wok in Motion for dinner.  It's located just across from Abelardo's in West Glen.  They offer stir fry Chinese dishes and sushi.

Sadly, we were one of two occupied tables for dinner on a Saturday evening at around 7pm.

The restaurant is casual but inviting and you can choose from about twenty seats or sit at the sushi bar.

They are open M-F for lunch and for dinner daily with lunch and dinner on Sat.

We had no complaints with our meals as they were cooked to order and service was prompt.  We ordered the pot stickers and crab rangoon for appetizers (apparently we were really hungry) and the Jack Daniels infused Mongolian steak and the Kung Pao chicken.  At $12 and $9 respectively for our meals, we were satisfied.

It was definitely a step up from your normal fast food Chinese joint and we've had the sushi in the past and it was good, but not particularly memorable.

If you're shopping at West Glen or dancing the night away at Tonic or Shotgun Betty's next door and need some food, stop by and check them out for something different.  If you like Mongolian beef, you'll like the Jack Daniels beef.  I'd order it again.

Over-all, a very casual, tasty experience.  Go here if you are looking for a step up from fast food, but more causal than a Cafe Su or Red's.

Wasabi Chi

I have really enjoyed my experiences at Wasabi Chi.  It's located on Douglas right near the Merle Hay mall.  It's sister restaurant, Wasabi Tao opened last year downtown.  

As you can probably guess, I was in this last visit for a Bento Box to continue my Bento Box tour of Des Moines!  I assumed it would be a lot like the one I had at Wasabi Tao, which was great because I liked it a lot.

To my surprise, it was much different.  I ordered the teriyaki chicken box and was promptly presented with miso soup.  I did hear another diner ask for hot and sour soup instead of the miso, so apparently that's an option too.

The miso soup was ok, but not as awesome as the spicy egg drop at Wasabi Tao.  My salad could have used a little more ginger dressing, but overall it was a great box.  And at $7.95 a great value as usual.

The chicken was juicy and especially good.  The "obligatory fried side" was a shrimp rangoon (tasty).

I like that they offer kids meals (Little Ninja meals) and they really have a wide menu including lots of Asian favorites like Pad Thai, fried rice and of course lots of awesome sushi.  Wasabi Tao and Chi both do a great job producing constantly good sushi.  Check out both locations and see which is your favorite!

Wasabi Tao

Wasabi Tao is the sister restaurant to Wasabi Chi (which is located near the Merle Hay Mall) and is located downtown on Walnut St, right across from the Gramercy Tap.

Being that I'm on a Bento Box kick, I stopped in for a Bento Box of course!  I'm getting quite versed on the Bento Box offerings at each restaurant in town and I definitely have some favorites.  It's refreshing that each offers such different options and I was not disappointed with Wasabi Tao's.


They have such a large selection that it was hard to choose.  They offer chicken, steak or salmon teriyaki, shrimp tempura, yaki udon or sushi or sashimi boxes.

I went with the chicken teriyaki so I could keep it an even playing field to make a better comparison with other boxes I've tried it town.

I have to say, Tao's box stood up the competition pretty well.  At $8.50 it's just a great value.  I was first impressed that I was offered a spicy egg drop soup in lieu of the miso and it was fantastic.  You can't go wrong with creamy ginger dressing over some fresh salad and their California roll was excellent.  The chicken teriyaki was in a rich sauce and I appreciated the fresh steamed veggies.  The shumai wasn't my favorite "obligatory fried side" that I've had in a local box, but it was tasty.

Over-all a winning box.  More food than I could finish for lunch and so much variety.  Ahh..the   wonders of Bento Boxes.  They service a lot of the downtown lunch crowd so it gets busy at lunch time, but they are fast and efficient with a good amount of seating.

It's obvious that I'm addicted to Bento Boxes and I'll happily order one from Wasabi Tao again soon.  Try it out or come in just for the great sushi, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Sakari

I'm officially on a Bento Box kick.  I love the boxes at Miyabi 9 and recently had a great one a Sakura Sushi in West Des Moines and Wasabi Chi on Douglas near Merle Hay Mall, so I decided to go for it at Sakari Sushi Lounge on Ingersol.



 The first photo is someone else's meal  I just had to snap a shot of since they were making it right in front of me at the sushi bar and it looked cool.

This place was busy!  Definitely a fun atmosphere and the chefs were were having a great time behind the bar.

The bento box was $12 which is a little more expensive than the other restaurants in town, but instead of the standard 1/2 roll you usually get, this included your choice of any of the special rolls they offer.

The menu said you could get a salad or miso soup, but I didn't specify and it came with a house salad which was fine.

While I prefer all white meat, the chicken teriyaki was very tasty and a good portion.  The highlight of the box though was the dynamite shrimp.  I have found a new addiction.   These are shrimp and cream cheese lightly tempura battered and fried.  OMG.  Amazing!


All-in-all I loved the fun atmosphere here.  I can see having a great time with friends eating sushi and drinking some cocktails.  The bento box portions were slightly larger than others, which was good because of the increased price and the dynamite shrimp was worth every calorie!  The sushi was beautifully presented and fresh.  Great meal!  And if I had any room left I would have went for the green tea cheesecake.  Next visit.

Sakura Sushi

So the temperature hit 100+ degrees this week as you all are well aware.  I still wanted some good eats, but not something that would weigh me down make me regret it.  I decided to check out the bento box at Sakura Sushi in West Des Moines.  It's right in the same plaza as Hy-vee at Grand and Ep True.

This restaurant was so cute!  I had never been there before even though I drive by all the time.

I pulled a seat up to the sushi bar to watch the action and chat a bit.    There was only one other table seated when I was there during the lunch hour, but the sushi chef assured me it would get much busier later.

I can totally see why he said it would get crazy in there!  It was great!  I ordered the chicken teriyaki bento box which included miso soup or salad, teriyaki chicken, rice, half of a California roll, sliced oranges and two pot stickers.  All for only $7.95!  Options like shrimp and tempura were a little more expensive, but not much,

I always love a good salad with ginger dressing and this one did not disappoint.  They were generous with the dressing and it was a nice starter.  I was so impressed with my bento box.  The chicken was moist and piping hot served over veggies and the tastiest sweet sauce.  It was maybe the best teriyaki chicken I've had in a bento box.  My California roll was fresh and the pot stickers were crispy.  I thoroughly enjoyed this meal

I was too full for dessert (event though I was aiming for a light meal) but the fried bananas would have been my choice even though the ice cream options sounded good as well.

They have all-you-can eat sushi on Mondays for $19.95 and all of the special rolls are only $9.95 on Wednesdays.  These awesome bento boxes are served every day for lunch and are a great deal.

If you love sushi, or any of the Japanese specialties they offer and don't want to fight the crowds downtown, check out Sakura.  You'll like it!

Blu Thai & Sushi

So last week I drove by A Taste of Thai at 215 E Walnut street in the East Village and it was there.  This week, it had a new name, Blu Thai & Sushi.  So of course we had to stop in to try it out.  I couldn't find a website for it yet, but I'll update this post when it has one.

Aside from the signs, the inside was pretty much the same, so I'm thinking they just changed management.

I really liked the daily specials that were on each table (under the glass actually so the are semi-permanent fixtures on each table) they offered a different dish with side and drink every day at a reduced price.

We started our meal with a Thai coffee which is my husband's favorite. They didn't use condensed milk that is often used, but rather a sweet cream that was also very good.

We ordered the chicken satay for an appetizer and while it took quite a while for it to come out, it was worth the wait because they were hot off the grill and seasoned to perfection.  SO good with the sweet peanut sauce.

Our entrees followed soon after and I was surprised by the richness of my yellow curry that was more savory than sweet like I'm used to.  It was also spicier than I expected since I ordered a zero on their scale of 1 to 5 for spiciness.  But I really liked it and had no problem eating every bite.

The hubby ordered the sweet basil noodles and also said it was very good.

We'd definitely come back, especially for lunch since the prices are reasonable (about $8 for entrees), the portions were good and the food was tasty.  I can't wait to try more offering from Blu Thai, especially their sushi and pad Thai.  Check it out!