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Friday Lunch Buddies: Japanese @ Samurai

Samurai Grill & Sushi Bar
5701 Gibson Blvd SE Albuquerque, NM 

(505) 260-0011 

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A bunch of us (Mike, Stef, Tian, Cristina, Kuan, Betty and I) went to Samurai for Japanese food this past week.  We were seated at a tepan table:

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We've never been here before, so we didn't realize it was really a tepan restaurant.  (Note: they do serve sushi there, but no one did) I suppose Samurai is a little different from Japanese Kitchen where you can order rice bowls (i.e. katsudon)

Anyway, we were greeted with decent miso soup and Japanese salad:

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I forgot exactly what each person ordered, but most of us ordered rice dishes and yakisoba (fried noodles, is a very simple dish and is sold very cheaply. It is probably Chinese in origin and integrated into Japanese cuisine like Ramen. Even though Soba is part of the word, yakisoba noodles are similar to ramen noodles and made from flour. Yakisoba can be flavored with Okonomiyaki sauce or salt and black pepper)

Here were some highlights:

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Yakisoba (before and after):

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Glamor shot of the chicken rice dish:  

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http://www.hungrycactus.com/wp-content/uploads/sauce-yakisoba-ikara_lg-7395516041.jpgfood buddy 030Ok, now onto the review.  After I talked with the others about what they thought, I think we all agreed that our meal didn't have much flavor.  The yakisoba didn't use the Okonomiyaki sauce (left), the meats weren't flavored well (glad they were not overcooked though), it wasn't very filling, and they used too much butter and salt (right).

What's worse, was that our chef didn't do much tricks…boo! Annoyed  No onion volcano!  And wait…did he flick something at Tian in the beginning?  I dunno…

This is what it's suppose to be: 

[yt: x2MWhEIEea0]

If I want good japanese food, I won't come here.  If I want to see clowns, I won't come here.  If I want a bland meal, I might consider coming here. 

Hungry cactus' verdict: C