Ajisai in Hell's Kitchen, NYC, NY
On a Saturday, after seeing The Darkest Hour with Gary Oldman in Times Square, we decided to eat in Hell's Kitchen with in mind an Asian cuisine. We stumbled upon Ajisai, a place we passed in front of many times, but that seemed to be always packed. We got lucky this time as only one booth was available for the three of us, my nephew being with us.
Dining room at Ajisai in Hell's Kitchen, NYC, NY
This is a nice place, with a nice atmosphere that fits perfectly to the neighborhood. The menu there is fairly big and I would even say, a bit overwhelming. Good thing though is that they put photos of some of the dishes, probably helping the undecided diner. On our side, we decided to share a bunch of appetizers. Here is what we had:
I started off by ordering a bottle of Asahi Dry Black, a very good dark ale that I never tried before.
Asahi dry black beer at Ajisai in Hell's Kitchen, NYC, NY
The first appetizer was the pork gyoza, that were really good: the shell was delicious, and the filling delightfully fatty and tasty.
Pork gyoza at Ajisai in Hell's Kitchen, NYC, NY
Pork gyoza at Ajisai in Hell's Kitchen, NYC, NY
Next was the crispy calamari with sweet chili sauce, one of my favorite appetizers.
Crispy calamari at Ajisai in Hell's Kitchen, NYC, NY
Black miso cod, good, although the fish could have been cooked a minute longer.
Black miso cod at Ajisai in Hell's Kitchen, NYC, NY
Age tofu, a fairly classic dish, made with tofu that is deep fried with bonito flakes.
Age tofu at Ajisai in Hell's Kitchen, NYC, NY
Roti Canai, an indian roti bread served with a curry sauce, not so much of a Japanese dish, but always a crowd pleaser.
Roti Canai at Ajisai in Hell's Kitchen, NYC, NY
And the last appetizer, my favorite and definitely recommended: the "rock" of lamb. I am not sure if it is a typo as it was written this way on the menu and on the bill, but these little lamb chops were for sure rocking my world: they were perfectly cooked and very juicy. I could have eaten another serving and might go there to order two as an entrée.
Lamb chops at Ajisai in Hell's Kitchen, NYC, NY
Last was dessert. We decided to go with a green tea fried ice cream as my nephew Valentin never tried it, but unfortunately it was not as good as what we expected: the ice cream was good, but the shell was too thick and a bit soggy, not crispy. We should have gone with the fried banana...
Green tea fried ice cream at Ajisai in Hell's Kitchen, NYC, NY
Overall we had a good meal at Ajisai and I loved the fact that we could share a bunch of dishes. This is a good place to know after a movie.
Enjoy (I did)!
If you like this post, the photos or the blog, please feel free to share it or post a comment. Merci!
Ajisai - 615 9th Avenue, New York, NY 10036
