Hello, Goodbye Kokai!

Yesterday, a couple friends and I checked out a new Japanese restaurant in town.  From browsing Kokai’s* website a few days before visiting — I always scope out a place before I go — I was pretty excited because the restaurant’s ambiance seemed modern and the menu featured some pretty tasty sushi and entree choices.

Well, one out of two isn’t bad, right?  Heh.  Well, maybe not if that one wasn’t the food!  The restaurant’s size was plenty large for a Japanese joint, with a sushi counter and different types of available seating (e.g., booth, tables), but that’s where the compliments end…

From Farm to Grill, Sea to Table at Green Plate Asian Bistro

Noodles, sushi, and meats.  How could a menu get any more complete than that?!

A frolleague of mine recently introduced me to an Asian restaurant she stumbled upon in a suburb of Miami.  Green Plate Asian Bistro* in Doral opened in July 2014 and claims to be “a combination of authentic Chinese, Thai, and Japanese culinary culture with a modern twist.”  Given my inclination towards fusion cuisine, I didn’t hesitate to give it a go.

I went for lunch and tried the Steak Teriyaki Bento Box.  I originally asked for the Sushi Bento, but decided to pick something else since my waitress couldn’t tell me what the chef’s choice sushi was — and I wasn’t in a very risky mood that day.  I was impressed with the extensive menu of bento boxes Green Plate offered.  (Each bento box comes with a choice of miso soup or house salad, a California roll, a spring roll, and seaweed salad.)

Feeling healthy, I started off with a house salad with ginger dressing.  Standard fare, nothing special there — but not that I was expecting anything extraordinary.  I’d give it an okay.