Akashi Asian Bistro and Sushi Bar offers Kingwood residents a blend of homemade Japanese and Chinese dishes.
There are more 200 menu items that owner Feiang Chan said are made from scratch, including the sauces. The use of fresh food provides a healthy meal for Lake Houston area residents.
“I keep it healthy by using less oil, so most of the food is steamed. And we use high-quality fish and meat and fresh food,” Chan said.
The family-owned restaurant also keeps the menu fresh by continuously adding new sushi rolls, based on customer requests and suggestions by sushi chefs. They are made moderately spicy to accommodate a variety of preferences.
The latest addition was named the Kingwood Roll and includes a blend of crunchy, spicy salmon topped with eel and avocado, eel sauce and spicy mayo. But the top seller is the Red Dragon Roll, which is a combination of spicy tuna and cucumber topped with a chef-special spicy garlic ponzu sauce.
For those who prefer sushi that is cooked, the owner recommends her favorite, the Texan Roll. The dish is made with snow crab, walnuts, barbecue steak and cream cheese, which is rolled into deep fried potato strips and topped with mango and eel sauces as well as spicy mayo.
Owner Feiang Chan plans to open a second Lake Houston area location near Beltway 8.[/caption]
“The sushi is very popular because everything—even the sauce—is homemade by our sushi chefs,” Chan said. “And we use fresh fruit like strawberry and kiwi in the summer, depending on what you order, but it is still a spicy sauce that is not too spicy.”
The sushi side of the business was influenced by Chan’s brother, Sam, who is an investment partner. Since Chan previously owned a Chinese restaurant with her husband Li—who currently serves as head chef and has 20 years of experience—she also wanted to offer Chinese favorites, such as The Mongolian Triple Delight, which includes chicken, beef and shrimp and is served with jalapenos, scallions and other fresh vegetables.
Akashi Asian Bistro and Sushi Bar uses only fresh tuna for its sushi and fish dishes.[/caption]
The restaurant serves a variety of chef fusion salads that range from soft-shell crab to Kobe beef tataki, as well as desserts that include tempura and mochi ice cream and chimi raspberry cheesecake.
The food has kept customers intrigued since the restaurant’s inception eight years ago, Chan said.
“I started my restaurants in Kingwood because it’s a good community,” Chan said. “I like being a restaurant owner because our customers are happy and they tell us our food is good and that we’re doing a good job.”
The restaurant also has locations in Katy, the Lake Conroe area and Missouri City, and has plans for a location near the intersection of Beltway 8 and West Lake Houston Parkway in the near future.
Akashi Asian Bistro and Sushi Bar
2271 Northpark Drive, Kingwood 281-358-8828 www.akashihouston.com Hours: Mon.-Thu. 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Fri.-Sun. 11 a.m.-10:30 p.m.
