Fresh and flavorful Japanese in Quincy

September 23, 2004|CHEAP EATS, Globe Staff

Fuji is not one of those sleek, hip (read: overpriced) Japanese restaurants where people are as interested in the scene as they are the food. This small corner restaurant is all about what's on the plate: the food's freshness, preparation, and presentation. Fuji has been around a few years, but is now under new ownership, with a new menu and a new look.

The two owners are both Chinese, but love Japanese food. With a large Asian population in Quincy, there are plenty of Japanese and Chinese customers who frequent the spot. On a recent evening, the clientele includes a wide range of ethnicities and ages, including a toddler whose parents shovel baby food into her mouth between bites of their own sushi. It is a well-lit place, and seats about 30. Our only complaint about the ambience is the commercial radio station playing too loudly. The kitchen is small and open, and the clanking of pots and pans and sizzling of food is just part of the package.

But once the food arrived, we managed to block everything else out. We love the kani shumai, small crabmeat dumplings ($4.25) that arrive hot and crisp and melt in your mouth. The dab of wasabi adds a nice kick to the taste buds without paralyzing them. The yakitori -- thin slices of moist chicken surrounded by roasted red peppers ($3.75) -- also has a bite, thanks to a gingery teriyaki sauce, which is really more a glaze. Tempura is often overly battered and greasy, but here it's greaseless and ethereally light. We order the veggie tempura ($3.75) and are rewarded with a platter of assorted vegetables including thinly sliced taro and sweet potato, carrots, zucchini, green beans, and broccoli. (This is broccoli even your kids might like.) The seaweed salad ($4) has a nice crunch, and includes a smattering of sesame seeds and red pepper flakes, though it was served a tad too cold for our taste.

An appetizer special on a recent night is the rising sun ($5.50), a delicious dish that offers a diverse combination of both taste and texture. It looks like sushi, but the salmon bite inside is deep-fried in a crisp tempura crust, and surrounded in a rice and seaweed nest by tobiko, or roe. There's a dab of spicy mayo on top. This is a dish to ooh and ahh over.

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