Charlotte: Yama Asian Fusion. Sushi lovers, have ya been?

[lynnlato]

We had dinner at Yama last weekend and I am still thinking about the food. I understand the chef has fresh seafood flown in every 2-3 days. I can attest that the otoro and madai w/ yuzu were hands down the best nigiri & sashimi I have ever had. We also had some very good eel, tuna rolls, etc. We even tried the less traditional, but good Morrison roll (upgraded to a Joe's, I think they called it, which added crab) - tempura shrimp, filet mignon, masago, scallion & a spicy sauce - yummm. The H&M roll was tasty too - tuna, avocado, tempura flakes, spicy sauce. But that otoro, toro and madai really blew our minds. Like butter, it melted in our mouths. I had never had yuzu, which is a Japanese citrus fruit. They grated the zest of the yuzu on the madai and it added a nice, subtle zing. For apps, we had the tempura fried oysters, which were huge and served w/ a spicy sweet sauce - delicious. Gyoza were traditional w/ pork filling.

The owner, Birdie, just returned from Japan where he received his Advanced Sake Professional certification (ASP). He is one of about 100 people in the world who have received such a designation. He brought bake with him 5 bottles of a Dassai 23 sake that is not imported to the U.S. It is the highest quality of sake and we purchased one and tasted it against some of the other higher end sakes.

The service was great. Gabriel was very attentive and also very knowledgeable about sake and the food and was generous with his time and knowledge. I highly recommend this place to sushi lovers. I now know why some say it's the best in Charlotte. We cannot wait to return.

http://www.yamaasianfusion.com/

[mizzdee]

Thanks for the recc!!

[Ciao Italia Foodie]

Love Love Love Yama. Pricey, but LOVE that sake that taste like pears, peaches Yum.

I'll say I like sushi, including at times "pseudo" sushi. Cowfish included when we have time and patience to wait.
Actually, had some good sushi at Cuisine Malaya recently. One of their "special rolls"
(can I just say, I'm glad we had found them :CM: BEFORE they switched to their NEW LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG menu.

Slinky this is not for you. For "pseudo" sushi not to long ago we were aimed in the direction of Tanaka (Prosperity Church RD.) for this exact thing. A nice big ol' fried roll. The first two times were yummy, like had me craving it.
The last two times there has been a long period in between visits ,in hopes things would be better. I like em fried sometimes, but NOT GREASY. Btw, this is an order at the counter joint. We'll go back becuase the first two times were really good, but it will be a while.
Oh and skip the Sunimono salad...what a rip off.

[slinky2711]

Is there any place in Charlotte that has good fish i.e. really good sashimi? Any recommendations? I'm not into rolls that have all that mayo that just disguises the actual taste of the fish.

[lynnlato]

Yea, Yama... best fresh fish in town. Period.

[Tom from Raleigh]

I wish more sushi places would serve craft beer. There are some fine breweries in Japan like Hitchino. I don't mind paying a couple of dollars more for something beyond Sapporo.

[lynnlato]

Agreed. I love Hitachino and first hat it at Momofuku Noodle Bar in NYC several years ago.

Interestingly, the owner of Yama, Birdie Yang, was recently awarded the Advanced Sake Professional designation in Japan (there are fewer than 100 ASP's in the world). Yama's sake menu is impressive and we were fortunate to have a bottle Birdie brought back from Japan that is not available in the U.S.

Here is a write up for Yama for anyone who's interested: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012...

[billyjack]

Duckworths has Hitachino Nest and another I can't remember. Sometimes they'll have one of them on draft.

[lynnlato]

They also carry it at Brawley's on Park Rd. At least they used to. I love the nest the best. ;-)

[birdieyang999]

Yama Asian Fusion in Charlotte carries Hitachino and Koshihikari Echigo micro brews. Also more than 60 different sakes

[billyjack]

Musashi and New Zealand Cafe both have good fish, in addition to Yama apparently (I haven't been but I trust the word here).

[lynnlato]

Oh yes, Musashi too. I haven't heard of New Zealand Cafe. I'll have to put that on my list.

[vttp926]

New Zealand Cafe is really good but it is a tiny place. So be prepared to wait if dining in.

[southernitalian]

Have not been to Yama yet. We tried to go a few months ago but they were closed due to some pipes leaking. I just saw there's yet another sushi place opening in South Park on Morrison Blvd. Sushi Guru. That's three sushi places (unless there are more that I don't know of) right in South Park, probably within a mile of each other. That seems excessive. Doesn't Upstream have sushi too? It will be interesting to see how long they all last in those locations.

[lynnlato]

I think Yama has been around for a while and it has a good reputation. I hadn't heard of Sushi guru. Don't forget Cowfish too. That's pseudo sushi. I'm sure there are many places in the area. But Yama... I'm a fan. Did I mention that already? ;-)

We are still dying to get back for more otoro.