One of the restaurants I went to during dineLA’s Summer 2013 Restaurant Week was Sake House by Hikari, a Japanese fusion restaurant located in the heart of downtown Culver City. The dineLA dinner menu consisted of 3 courses, with dishes ranging from Sashimi Salad to Lobster Yaki Noodle.
To start off our dinner, the waiters served each of us a generous bowl of Spicy Miso Soup. This was definitely not a traditional miso soup, but it was very unique and savory. The shitake mushrooms and jalapeños added an intense level of flavor and spice to the dish.
For the first course, I tried the Sashimi Salad and Zensai One Two Three, which were both beautifully plated. The Sashimi Salad contained different cuts of sashimi on a bed of mixed greens. The portion was small (only one piece of each type of sashimi), but it was well put together. There was no need to dip the sashimi in soy sauce–the house ginger dressing alone added a nice touch of flavor.
The Zensai (Japanese for “hors d’oeuvre”) One Two Three included two pieces of crispy rice with spicy tuna, a small bundle of seaweed salad, and three pieces of popcorn shrimp with garlic mustard sauce. The texture of the rice contrasted well with the creaminess of the spicy tuna. The seaweed salad was fresh and crisp. The popcorn shrimp, although generously coated with the sweet and tangy sauce, retained its crispy texture.
Our main courses included a variety of sushi and sashimi–the 9 pcs Sushi with Tuna Roll and 12 pcs Sashimi with Spicy Tuna Roll. Both dishes, especially the sushi plate, were beautifully arranged. Unfortunately, compared to their presentation, the taste and quality of the sushi and sashimi simply did not deliver. Some pieces of fish, such as the tuna, were sinewy and difficult to chew. Despite this, we continued to eat everything off our plate. We were more than satisfactorily full by the end of our meal!
For dessert, our options were Green Tea Ice Cream or Tempura Ice Cream. The green tea ice cream was not overly sweet and had a strong green tea flavor. The tempura ice cream–a big scoop of green tea ice cream deep-fried in tempura batter–was simply divine. The warm, crispy shell paired perfectly with the cold and sweet creaminess of the ice cream.
Despite the subpar quality of the fish, we enjoyed our dinner here. I recommend dining here for the non-sushi dishes, which were delicious and generously portioned. If you can handle the heat, don’t leave without trying the Spicy Miso Soup!
Sake House by Hikari
9729 Culver Blvd
Culver City, CA 90232
http://www.sakehousebyhikari.com
Price: dineLA Prix Fixe Dinner Menu, $35
More Food, Please 
Those ice cream options are incredible! I envy your dining scene and also the opportunity to get out 🙂 Enjoyed reading your report very much.
I do consider myself lucky to be able to dine out often in a city like LA. In fact, I just attended the LA Food & Wine Festival yesterday–ate a lot of amazing food and spotted a few celebrity chefs!!
Thanks for stopping by! I always appreciate it 🙂
Sounds like Restaurant Week here, glad you had a good time! The tempura ice cream sure looks great!
The tempura ice cream was a delight to eat! Thanks for visiting 🙂
Everything looks so delicious! I’m very tempted by that tempura ice cream
I love tempura ice cream! Even though it’s not healthy at all, these are one of the things I’m not afraid to indulge in once in awhile 🙂
Yum 🙂 I don’t believe I’ve had spicy miso soup before, but it sounds interesting. I like the usual miso soup and a bit of a coward on the spicy side though. Sushi and Sashimi look fabulous though. I’m going to ignore that tempera ice cream so I don’t crave ice cream.
It was my first time having spicy miso soup, and I really liked it! It’s okay to give into your cravings once in awhile 😉
Sounds like a great meal! YUM!
It sure was! I was so full by the end of the meal. Thank you for stopping by! 😀
just loved the beautiful spread of so many delicious dishes,a perfect restaurant time…but seriously we heart those perfectly molded sushis…beautiful and unique idea of having tempura icecream:-)
It was a wonderful dinner, and the tempura ice cream was a nice end to the meal! Thanks for stopping by! 😀
Spicy miso soup sounds fantastic; I’m going to have to see what I can come up with as a recipe!
Check out my post of our new favorite restaurant called Nuka. They don’t have spicy miso soup, but the dashi in their udon is the best I’ve ever had.
http://mauigirlcooks.wordpress.com/2013/08/16/restaurants-of-maui-nuka/
I enjoyed this post;,thnx!
Please do come up with a recipe for spicy miso soup, and share it on your blog! I will be looking forward to it 🙂
That udon sounds yummy–will head over soon to check out your post! Thanks for stopping by!
What a great way to enjoy a new restaurant. Looks like you thoroughly enjoyed yourself!
I certainly did! I always love trying out new restaurants. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
Everything looks delicious but what a pity that the sushi was a bit disappointing. We love sushi and can’t wait for the weather to warm so we can enjoy it for dinner again.
🙂 Mandy xo
I was shockingly disappointed by the sushi, especially given how beautifully plated they were! Everything else was delicious though! Hope you get to eat sushi again very soon 🙂 Thanks for stopping by, Mandy!
I can imagine how hot that miso soup must have tasted with jalapeños in it. I am not an expert of Japanese food but judging from your descriptions and photographs, you must have had a whale of an evening. Thank you sharing, the experience!
The miso soup really was quite spicy, but I loved it! I definitely had a great time that night given the plethora of food. Thank you for stopping by! 🙂
I am a big miso soup fan but I am loving the idea of jalapenos added! I must explore this idea asap!
Same here! I never thought about adding jalapenos to miso soup, but it’s a great way to add a nice twist to the classic soup! Hope you come up with a recipe soon and share it on your blog 🙂
The fresh, raw fish; seaweed and green tea ice-cream are calling my name. You have some amazing restaurants in your neck of the woods! I am looking forward to reading more about your eating adventures.
I love fresh sushi! I am lucky to be living in a city with a huge variety of restaurants. I’ve eaten out a lot over the past few years, but I feel like there are still so many places to try! Thanks for stopping by 😀
We have similar taste! Love sushi, too. I only wish Albuquerque had 1/100th of the great restaurants in your area. Lucky duck!