of the shrimp in the various sauces. He particularly liked the creaminess of the coconut sauce, and he liked the concept of the lobster sauce soup, which reminded him of egg drop soup, with an added bonus of large shrimp. Speaking of large shrimp, my hibachi order arrived, and I was pleased with how fresh the seafood tasted and how large the portion was. The gyoza was also seasoned very well and piping hot. We were also informed of the other hibachi options: New York strip
most popular selections. I was told hundreds of these rolls are made for customers every day. It also features tempura shrimp with cream cheese, but with spicy imitation crab salad on top, and served with spicy mayonnaise. My friend picked two simple rolls: a salmon roll ($3) and a spicy tuna roll ($3.50), followed up with a Christmas roll ($9.95), which is made of spicy tuna, cream cheese and cucumber, wrapped in green soy paper and topped with crab salad.
steak, chicken breast, tofu, and even squid! Vegetarian hibachi options are also on the menu. Then it came time to order what we’d been hotly anticipating: the various sushi rolls. There are over two dozen custom rolls on the Koizi dinner menu (a smaller version is available for lunch), and we wasted no time telling Sky that we wanted an assortment. I chose the Koizi roll ($8.95), which consists of tempura shrimp, spicy tuna, seaweed salad, and cream cheese, drizzled in eel sauce. I also ordered the Dancing Krab Roll ($8.95), which is one of Koizi’s
First, my thoughts about the sushi rolls. I loved the Koizi roll...the spicy tuna and shrimp together made for a savory combination, and the texture of the rice made it feel like a mini-sandwich, which I loved. The Dancing Krab Roll was delightfully crunchy, and the addition of the imitation crab salad on top was genius, as it was very flavorful. The Christmas roll was colorful, my friend noted, and the tastes came together beautifully, with the cream cheese as the uniting agent between the tuna and the cucumber. The simpler rolls were put together nicely and
were so good that they were consumed in about...thirty seconds each. Afterwards, we were tempted with dessert options, which include Chinese-style fried dough with sugar ($1.95) and various ice cream flavors made on-site daily, but we were too stuffed. We made a note to come back another time to try those delicious desserts, because to truly appreciate Koizi is to become a repeat customer (which I’m proud to say I’ve become).
Koizi Endless Hibachi and Sushi Eatery 3 locations in Tampa Bay:
17012 Palm Pointe Drive New Tampa, 813-971-1919 11245 Causeway Boulevard Brandon, 813-653-2999 4120 Little Road New Port Richey 727-376-1888 Lunch served from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Dinner served from 3:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. www.facebook.com/koiziendlesshibachisushi
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