ASAHI

Where: Asahi Japanese Restaurant, 1470 N State Street, Orem (don't blink, or else you'll miss it!)

Who Went: Chelsey, Owen, Lyvia, Charles

Number of Visits: 2

What We Ordered: Honeymoon Roll, Vegas Roll, Calamari, Scallop Nigiri, Spicy Tuna Roll, other various rolls

What It Cost: $45.30 for four people

What We Thought:

Sushi. On a budget. In Utah County.

Normally, these words would make me go running in the opposite direction...

But last year on Valentines Day night, somehow the stars magically aligned, and even though we didn't have a reservation anywhere (on Valentines Day! In Utah!) we miraculously stumbled on what surely is one of Utah County's hidden restaurant gems.

You'll have to forgive me again for the lackluster photos -- they really do not do this food justice, but the unlucky combination of dim lighting + dead battery on my good camera resulted in these subpar camera phone photos. But I can't hold off any longer on Asahi!

First off, this place is very reasonably priced. They have a cool, relaxed atmosphere, and a terrible location (very hard to see from busy State Street in Orem), which makes it so you don't really need a reservation, even on one of the busiest nights to eat out in the year. Their staff is incredibly friendly and fast, and its just a very inviting place to relax and enjoy some high quality sushi.

Now, I grew up hating fish during my entire childhood, so the world of seafood is still in its fledgling stages for me -- meaning I hate it when any type of fish tastes fishy or in any way not fresh. I'm very sensitive to it and am totally picky. I don't know how they do it or where they get their fish from, but Asahi's sushi and nigiri are incredible! I even liked the raw scallops (not pictured). This is pretty amazing. Their sushi chefs are fun to watch, and prepare beautiful dishes that are also fun to eat! The calamari above was good -- I've had better before, but if you're with someone who is new to calamari, it might be a good first taste, since they tasted basically like really good onion rings with a super tasty sauce. The calamari was sliced a little thin for me, but like I said, maybe good for someone who's hesitant to try it.

I'm not going to go into each roll, except to say they were all incredible delicious, and I wasn't disappointed with any of them! I know it is kind of lame of me, but I love a good Vegas roll (hardly sushi, I know, but its fried and delicious, so whatever), and they definitely make a scrumptious one. My favorite roll is kind of unique -- the Honeymoon roll. It has smoked salmon and jalapeño and a little sliver of mango in there. It is SO good! I've never had fruit in sushi before, and it is awesome!

My cruddy phone camera cannot capture the awesomeness of the little roe on top of this roll -- if you don't think too much about what it is, they are super fun to eat :) Like little popping surprises in your mouth while you are enjoying the delicious flavors of the sushi roll. Highly recommended.

What You Should Do: I never thought I would recommend a sushi place in Utah (where does the fish come from?!!??!), but Asahi in Orem is definitely a great location to check out. They make quality products at very reasonable prices. To curb that sushi craving, there is no better place! ALSO, Monday through Thursday after 7 (I think) is happy hour, where you can get rolls at half price. Its pretty amazing. Normally I feel like sushi is always a huge splurge, but at Asahi, I can get sushi I actually like for prices that I definitely like!

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Wild Ginger

Where: Wild Ginger, 366 N University Avenue, Provo

Who Went: Chelsey & Sidney

Number of Visits: 1

What We Ordered: Wonton Soup, Fried Dumplings, Sesame Chicken, Beef & Broccoli

What It Cost: $24.37

What We Thought:

What used to be a cheap and rather shady Chinese buffet has been transformed into a more upscale and delicious Chinese restaurant near downtown Provo! When you're in the mood for Chinese food that doesn't come from a paper box, Wild Ginger is a great place to check out. They have a huge range of menu options (seriously, the menu is like 20 pages or something), and lots of specials and also sushi choices, if that's your thing. Sidney and I decided to go with a couple classics, and were delighted with the results.

We both started out with the wonton soup, which was included with our entreé. I loved the plethora of soft wonton noodles in the light broth, and enjoyed the spicy soy sauce that could be mixed in as well. They offered a great variety of condiments and sauces that could be used to customize the soup to your tastebuds, and I thought it was a great way to start off the meal.

Though not necessarily the healthiest option, these fried dumplings were absolutely delicious. It was a huge portion, and definitely would have been enough food for an entire meal, and even though I tried to convince Sidney to eat some, we were both completely stuffed by the end of our meal. These dumplings were fried without being too greasy, and were full of delicious flavor. I tried making my own dumplings once and decided that they were way too much work so I always appreciate heavenly dumplings that someone else prepares :)

Just look at how perfect that sesame chicken looks. Yeah, it was pretty dang good. Just the right amount of sauce (not dry, not drenched), and perfectly sized pieces of chicken (I hate it when you get a piece of chicken that takes like ten bites to eat) helped make this sesame chicken dish perfect. Coated with plenty of toasted sesame seeds and a flavorful sauce, this dish is definitely a good choice. I usually prefer spicy foods, so I probably would have gone with the orange chicken or something with a stronger flavor, but Sidney was overall very satisfied with this dish.

I absolutely loved my beef and broccoli, which surprisingly came with much more than just these two ingredients. I thought the mixed in zucchini and carrots were a fantastic addition that enhanced the texture of variety of this dish. The beef was tender and savory, and all of the vegetables were cooked to perfection. I thought the sauce was great, and was pleasantly surprised by the fried rice I had on the side. There weren't any vegetables or anything mixed into the rice, which I was initially disappointed about, but this made it go really well with the beef & broccoli and completely the dish nicely.

What You Should Do: Definitely check it out! I think that Wild Ginger may be my new favorite Chinese restaurant in the area, which is a bold statement for me because it has taken forever to decide! They have a cool atmosphere, convenient location, reasonable prices, and delicious dishes.