Asakuma: it's all about the huge portions for the price

Asakuma has a few locations around town but is better known for it's made to order delivery service than as a restaurant. I can never bring myself to get take out sushi so we decided to head over to their brick and mortar location in Marina Del Rey. It's not a fancy joint. It's located in a mini strip mall, alongside other inconspicuous restaurants.

The lunch specials are the bomb at Asakuma because they are a pretty good deal. Most are priced around $10 and the servings are rather generous.

Salad and miso soup with fried tofu skins comes with the sushi combo. That's a side salad?!?! It's HUGE!

Salmon salad topped with masago/smelt eggs and bonito flakes came with a huge heap of salad and loads of fish. The salmon skin was nicely crisped.

The salmon salad also came with handrolls (spicy tuna and vegetable). Pretty good deal. I thought the spicy tuna was similar to the quality you would find at a restaurant.

Lunch sushi combination with tuna, yellowtail, salmon, shrimp and california roll.

Uni Sushi is my favorite type of sushi. The uni was fresh, a bit sweet and had that lovely seafood flavor. Although it tasted like they added a dot of wasabi between the uni and rice which kind of ruined it for me. yuck.

Miso cod with a side of steamed vegetables and rice. This was a huge piece of fish for lunch prices. The fish was buttery and tender. Some miso cods can be a tad too sweet but this had the right amount of marinade.

Yes, I know. It's not Matsuhisa quality. But for what it is, it's pretty decent Japanese sushi fare for the price and serving size. Perfect for a quick, affordable lunch.

Hits: good prices, decent food
Misses: not a fancy joint

Rating: ***

Asakuma
2805 Abbot Kinney Ave.,
Marina Del Rey, CA 90291
(310) 577-7999
http://www.asakuma.com/