Japanese food fresh and fast at Yamasa Japanese Grill

Review: Yamasa Japanese Grill

Rating: Two and a half forks out of four

Where: 327 N. Hillside, Suite 100, 316-688-6008

Hours: 10:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays; 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Sundays.

Type of food: Grilled Japanese entrees, sushi rolls

Alcohol: No

Having nearly perfected the art of Chinese takeout, the owner of the popular Great Wall chain has turned his attention to Japanese food.

Benny Lin opened Yamasa Japanese Grill three weeks ago in a new strip mall near Central and Hillside - right across the street from one of his Great Wall restaurants. (He has seven others spread between Wichita, Derby and Wellingt on.)

Yamasa's small menu features basic Japanese dishes and a few sushi rolls, all made quickly (and, Lin says, healthily) for on-the-go customers. There's plenty of seating for those who prefer to dine in. ON THE MENU: No need to waste a lot of time pondering menu choices. Yamasa basically serves several variations of four things.

There's teriyaki, served with either chicken, steak, shrimp or scallops; yakisoba, a Japanese fried noodle dish served with your choice of protein; combo plates, which combine your choice of two Teppanyaki grilled meats; and a variety of sushi rolls.

DON'T-MISS DISHES: We tried a little bit of everything at Yamasa and were impressed with the freshness of the ingredients, the speed of delivery and the affordability of the food.

Our favorite treats were the sushi rolls. The menu offers 10 inventive varieties, including a delicious crispy spicy tuna roll with a dreamy center of cream cheese and tuna, an outer layer of deep-fried goodness and a nice spicy sauce drizzled over each bite. One order of eight rolls costs $6.25.

We also happily noted that Yamasa's tasty California rolls ($3.95 for an order) were able to avoid a problem of many fast-food sushi rolls - icky rice gumminess. These tasted like they'd been recently assembled.

Our other dishes were fine but a bit flat. Particularly disappointing was the chicken teriyaki ($4.99), which didn't taste much like teriyaki at all.

The generous serving of yakisoba with shrimp ($6.29) was better, and the shrimp were fresh and plentiful. But the concoction lacked flavor and zing.

We liked the steak and shrimp combo ($10.99), made with tender chunks of meat, bite-sized shrimp and vegetables like onions and mushrooms. Its flavor was zipped up with the addition of soy sauce at the table - and with the sweet orange ginger sauce the restaurant offers with each dish.

AMBIENCE: Much like Great Wall restaurants, Yamasa offers a small but tidy dining room with attractive touches. But the sunny room definitely has the feel of a take-out joint, with Styrofoam plates and plastic cutlery. One excellent upside: Unlike many of its counterparts around town, Yamasa is well vented, and customers don't leave smelling of Teppanyaki grill fumes.

PRICE RANGE: Quite affordable. Entrees range from $4.99 to $11.99; sushi rolls, served in orders of six to eight pieces, range from $3.95 to $7.65.

SERVICE: The restaurant is well-staffed with polite, speedy employees.

This story was originally published August 3, 2007 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Japanese food fresh and fast at Yamasa Japanese Grill."