Murasaki

Summary

Here is another nice neighborhood spot off Vernon Blvd in Long Island City. Reviews seem to rave about how good this neighborhood sushi spot is, so we decided to give it a try.

The peach sparkling sake was relatively inexpensive and mighty tasty. The peach flavor tasted artificial, but it was still pretty good. It felt like drinking champagne without the heavy alcohol taste and with that artificial peach sweetener.

Every guest is served this small side dish of bean sprouts and seaweed. It’s nothing out of the ordinary, just your typical veggies marinated in that vinegary sweet medley.

The soft shell crab with miso garlic butter sauce was an interesting take on the dish. At typical Japanese restaurants, they usually serve this without sauce on top and instead with a small ponzu sauce on the side accompanied by radish. Nonetheless, this was still pretty good. The sauce reminded me a little bit of that orange zesty dressing you might find in Japanese salad dishes.

The broiled squid was a special on the first page of the menu and was accompanied by thinly sliced carrots and teriyaki sauce on top. The squid was pretty good in that it wasn’t too rubbery and was actually pretty tender. It’s also decently priced for the amount they give you.

The hamachi kama is essentially fried yellow tail collar. I don’t quite remember the sauce on the side, but it did not taste like the normal ponzu sauce. The collar was crispy on the outside, and the meat was tender on the inside. Some parts of it were dry due to the frying, but again, not complaining much considering the price. Portion size might seem a little small, but the collar as usual is very deceiving when it comes to the amount of meat.

The first roll at the top I think was the crazy tuna roll. I don’t remember all the details, but it was a special and had a kick to it since it had a slice of jalapeno on top.

The second roll at the bottom was the LIC roll (rainbow roll). It had yellowtail, kani, tuna, salmon, avocado, tobiko, and scallion. This was surprisingly pretty good. the fish tasted fresh.

There isn’t anything super fancy nor super exotic about this restaurant. What I do like about this restaurant is that when you’re craving for rolls and your typical Japanese fare, it’s a great place for what it is. The price is slightly cheaper than Manhattan prices, and to top it off the food is pretty good!

Final Verdict

It’s an excellent Long Island City Japanese joint for a no frills straight forward sushi craving.

Yelp Jabs

The portion was very very small. It looked bigger in the pictures though. I know they have good prices but I would go to other cheap places that have similar prices and bigger portion.

This Yelp Elitist fits that Asian stereotype where they typically go for quantity over quality. Sure there might be a slight upcharge to certain dishes, but people should never try to equate cheap and sushi together.

I ordered take away from here recently based on the good reviews from others. It was pretty standard sushi quality overall, but the construction of the rolls definitely left something to be desired… The biggest problem though was that the rolls were falling apart everywhere!

Another Yelp Elitist lacking any sort of common sense. Has it ever occurred that maybe the actual transport caused the integrity of the roll to break? People, if you’re going to judge a restaurant based on a take away (to go) order after you carry it back for some time, mind as well judge yourself on how unrealistic your expecations are.