Blink and you could miss the narrow entrance to this unexpectedly spacious two-storey restaurant above a bookies shop in downtown Clonmel - but it's well worth seeking out.
It's a younger sister of Waterford city's first Japanese restaurant, which was opened by husband and wife Maorong Zhuang and LingLing Shi in 2015 and has proved a great success thanks to its very tasty food, helpful staff and attractive pricing - all of which also apply to the Clonmel branch, which quickly became a favourite in the town.
As in Waterford, the simple decor is lifted by colourful murals and friendly Asian staff make newcomers feel welcome. Asian street food is a wide-ranging concept and could be confusing but the menu is clearly organised under a number of main headings: Sushi and Sashimi, Wok Stars, Curries, Noodles, and Donburi.
While there's no supplier list for ingredients, there is a reassuring note: “We never use MSG, but instead rely on the freshest locally sourced ingredients, including our Irish beef, chicken and seafood to create our delicious and authentic dishes”. Also, they state on the menu that all sushi is prepared freshly to order and not left over from the previous hour, which is not always the case in sushi outlets.
There are no starters or mains in street food cuisine, leaving you free to pick and choose whatever you feel like. On this extensive menu, Sushi and Sashimi are the main sections, including Sushi Nigiri (rice ball served with a slice of filling); Norimaki (rolled in seaweed); Hosomaki (small pieces rolled in seaweed); and Futomaki (big pieces) and some Sashimi.
The wide range will delight sushi fans, but there's plenty here to please everyone as the second page of the menu offers an equally wide choice of broadly Asian dishes, ranging from stir fries (Wok Stars), and popular noodle dishes - including Teriyaki Soba (grilled choice of meat with fried egg noodles and teriyaki sauce), ramen (traditional bowl of noodle soup, available with meat, poultry, seafood or vegetable and tofu) - to curries, including ever-popular Thai Green Curry.
There's also a section of 'Sides' which are smaller dishes, likely to be eaten as starters in Western style - tempura prawn or duck spring rolls, for example - so you can have a meal with courses if you like, rather than having everything at the same time.
You can have 2, 5 or 8 pieces of any sushi but a good start on a first visit would be the Chef's Selection of five or twelve pieces (€8/18 respectively). This - rice ball with prawn, salmon, tuna, octopus and tofu, for example - is served with wasabi and pickled ginger, all very fresh and cleanly presented. If you're unfamiliar with the procedure, the server will explain that you put some of the wasabi in the little bowl on the table and mix it with the Kikkoman then, after each piece, you have a bit of the ginger to refresh the mouth: simply delicious.
For 'mains' you might try General TSO's (with chicken or monkfish) from the wok - deep fried and with a unusual slightly sweet and spicy flavour - or Cha Han with Chicken (Egg fried rice served with chicken, spring onion, broccoli, sweetcorn, ginger and garlic); an excellent bowl dish, it's freshly cooked, piping hot and with a lovely crunch to the vegetables. Or an equally delicious flat noodle dish is Pad Thai with Chicken & Prawn, with egg, onion, carrot, pepper, beansprout, tamarind and peanut - full of flavour and a favourite with returning fans.
Desserts are western style, but drinks include the traditional Japanese drink sake, some Asian beers and a delicious plum wine, as well as good coffee and several well-priced wines,.
There's also a daily Bento Box - a combination of small dishes such as smoked fish, duck spring roll and chicken curry plus miso soup - which is a popular takeaway and available all day.
As well as serving very tasty food, Kyoto's friendly and very helpful staff are a key reason for its popularity - it's an asset to the town and no wonder it's turned out to be another success.
