Owners serve up colorful Japanese dishes

Rich Hsu and Jessica Lin moved to the Northwest Houston area several years ago with the intention of introducing traditional Japanese cuisine to local residents.

The business partners opened U Shi Japanese Grill & Sushi off FM 1960 in 2009 after running a Chinese restaurant in Virginia for 18 years.

"I went to Los Angeles and learned Japanese and sushi cuisine in chef school," Hsu said. "Then I came back and built the restaurant. I was the general contractor and I designed [it] and hired everyone."

U Shi is decorated in traditional Japanese fashion, complete with a rocky waterfall near the front door and several glass paintings hanging over the rows of tables. Customers may choose to sit at the restaurant's sushi bar and order wine, Japanese beer or hot sake, a rice-based drink.

"We put down two chopsticks, put the sake in a small glass, bang it down on the table and pour it in a beer glass and drink it," Hsu said. "It's very fun."

Although the majority of the menu at U Shi consists of sushi, there are traditional Chinese options such as marinated chicken sauted in chili sauce ($10) and fried beef with teriyaki sauce ($10).

With ingredients that range from tuna to smoked salmon, Hsu offers an all-day sushi combo (two for $7.99) with more than 15 types of rolls from which to choose. Crabmeat, avocado, cucumber and sesame make up the California Roll, while the restaurant combines spicy salmon, avocado and spicy tuna together to create the Dynamite Roll.

"Even though the price is cheap, quality and quantity is there," Hsu said. "So far the customers really like this. It's better than a happy hour."

The U Shi Bento Box ($18) is served with shrimp tempura, vegetable tempura, crabmeat puff, spring rolls, California rolls, steamed rice and the customer's choice of meat. The dish also comes with soup or salad and Hsu's house salad dressing.

"Customers are always asking for the [dressing] recipe," he said.

A more elaborate dish, the Sashimi Deluxe platter ($28) is made with tuna, salmon, white fish, yellow tail, white tuna and the chef's choice of two additional items.

"I am so happy every time a customer orders this," Hsu said. "They always get their picture taken [with the food]."

During the evening hours, customers can sing karaoke or host birthday parties at U Shi. Although the restaurant closes at 11 p.m. on weekends, Hsu allows patrons to stay until midnight for karaoke.

"I like it when customers sing because it is one of my hobbies," Hsu said. "They can bring in their favorite CDs in any language."

In an effort to lighten the burden on his customer's wallets, Hsu offers a month-long special for first-time visitors. Every day for the first month someone eats at U Shi, if he or she purchases three items, one under $10 is free.

"It's a very special deal," Hsu said. "You can eat here every day for the month."

Owner recommendations:

• All Star Roll: Spicy white tuna and cucumber topped with pepper tuna, smoke salmon, avocado and spicy mayonnaise sauce with seaweed paper ($11)
• Fuji Apple Roll: A jumbo-sized roll stuffed with avocado, cream cheese, crabmeat, jalapeo, salmon and Fuji apple ($11.99)
• Narida Roll: A battered and deep fried roll filled with spicy salmon, cream cheese, jalapeo and avocado, topped with spicy mayonnaise ($11)
• Shaggy Dog: Shrimp tempura, avocado, crabmeat and house-made sauce ($9)
• Tiger Roll: Tuna, salmon and avocado topped with tuna, salmon, eel, masago and eel sauce ($12)

Sushi roll options:

U Shi offers a handful of traditional sushi rolls that range in price from $4–$6.

• California
• Crunch
• Dynamite
• Vegetable
• Philadelphia
• Salmon
• Shrimp Roll
• Spicy Salmon
• Spicy Tuna
• Spicy Yellow Tail
• Tuna
• Yellow Tail

U Shi Japanese Grill & Sushi, 10892 FM 1960, Houston, 281-897-8288, www.ushigrillsushi.com

Hours:

• Mon.–Thu. 11 a.m.–10 p.m.
• Fri.–Sat. 11 a.m.–11 p.m.
• Sun. Noon–9 p.m.