The Ongoing Chirashi Review

"You can never go wrong with the Chirashi." How true, eh? Now we will look at which one of those chirashi dinners will always bring you back for more. Over time we plan on visiting the different places to see where you can't go wrong with ordering the chirashi.

First of all, Chirashi translates into "scattered fish". It is basically a bowl or box half filled with rice and then topped up with scattered fish. It is usually the chef's choice and there is a good variety. Now lets look at all the different ones.

Minato
I would have to say that this would be more of a traditional chirashi than the others. If you are a fan of salmon and tuna, this is the place for you. There is not the great variety as you would find at other places but that is OK. You will find about five pieces of tender, melt in your mouth, salmon and typically three or four pieces of tuna. Now here is the interesting part, you will find a few other kinds of fish in smaller quantities, such as saba (mackerel), surf clam, a scallop, egg and a shrimp. It is an excellent feed and comparable to their sashimi dinners for quantity and variety. It also comes with miso and salad. I find it filling and but I will sometimes order a side of spicy avocado or unagi. For the price, at $17, you can't go wrong with this traditional chirashi.

Hamachi House
This chirashi would have to be the best bang for the buck at $14. It does come with miso and salad. When you get this box of fish it will look more like a work of art than your supper. Always a beautiful display with a large variety of sashimi with some Japanese mushrooms and, of course, some egg. The last time that I had it, there were eight kinds of fish, usually at least two pieces of each but there are the rare single piece treats. The last time it was butter fish. You will find some crab legs, saba, octopus,surf clam, red snapper, salmon, tuna and shrimp. So really, you can't go wrong with this chirashi either, especially if you are on a budget.

Milamodo
For this one, you may draw your own conclusion. It would be the cheapest chirashi that I have stumbled upon. At a mere $12 it does come with the miso soup and salad. It is a small bowl with less fish than the rest. However do not rule it out. The fish is always good and you will find all your staples in it; salmon, tuna, surf clam, saba, egg and octopus. At twelve dollars it does not break the bank at all. If you are looking to enjoy some other sushi with your chirashi you can certainly do so with a variety of nigiri, maki rolls and hand rolls. The spicy salmon skin hand rolls are especially good. Can you go wrong with this chirashi? I would have to think not, especially if you are after some of your other favorite kinds of sushi.

Shige Sushi
As I said before, you get what you pay for and at $20 (or as Alec says $25, we will resolve the price dispute shortly) you will have to bring your appetite with you. Starting with miso and salad, this is a monster feed. Variety? Hells yeah! There is so much fish that they bring you an extra plate so you can pick through a little and clear some space so you can get at the rice. There is pretty much everything you could ask for, all the staples and then some; from salmon, tuna and surf clam to all the treats like sweet shrimp, unagi and masago. You will not want to order any extras. It is a great presentation and topped to the ceiling with fish. You cannot go wrong with this chirashi, unless you are low on funds but you would probably agree that a few nights of mac and cheese would be worth it.

I Love Sushi!
This chirashi is a little different from all the rest. It costs the seemingly standard $17 and comes in the standard chirashi box. Like all the rest of the chirashis there is a lovely spread of tender melt in your mouth fish. The presentation is good and I found all the treats that I was looking for but you get about two pieces of each. There was some tender salmon and tuna. Also there was some butterfish and saba. Octopus made an appearance. There were some more tasty morsels too. What set it apart from the rest was a sprinkle of shredded ginger and Japanese mushroom all over the rice, it was nice and refreshing because you don't really feel the need to pour soy sauce all over it. This chirashi come only with miso soup but no salad. I will say that I will be returning to this restaurant for another chirashi.

Stay tuned, there will be more reviews to come!