Tora Japanese Restaurant in Chinatown is Boston’s first Kaisen don restaurant. Four years ago, Tora (Japanese for tiger) was opened by owners Kenix Wong and Patrick Zhong after three years of research around Japan and training in Hong Kong. The restaurant space is simply decorated in hues of grey, white and black with minimal decor. COVID protocols were strictly adhered to with hand sanitizers, spaced out tables to provide a safe dining experience.
Kaisen don means seafood on rice, unlike regular sushi, you get an experience of very fresh and high-quality fish all in a bowl. Since opening, the restaurant has expanded their menu to include hot dishes, sushi, poke bowls but their highlight is still the kaisen dons.
We started out with the Octopus Carpaccio ($10) to share. Four gorgeous octopus slices of perfectly cooked octopus served with tomato, cucumber in a wasabi oil tasted very refreshing with the tomato and cucumber. Then we ordered an order of sea urchin sashimi ($13) for three pieces and sea urchin nigiri ($7) for two pieces. Sea Urchin (uni in Japanese), for the uninitiated, is a small invertebrate sea creature encased in spherical shells covered in spikes living deep in the ocean floor. The edible part is the gonads. There are about 950 species and not all are edible. We were served very high quality sea urchin, as it had a lovely briny slightly sweet taste. The texture was creamy and paired with the rice in the nigiri, or stand alone as sashimi. Uni is an expensive but delicious delicacy. Their prices were very reasonable for such amazing quality and freshness.
We had the Unagi Don ($18), broiled sea eel smothered in teriyaki sauce served with egg slivers over rice. Miso soup and some takuan or pickled daikon slices to complete the meal set. Unagi is fresh water eel known for its bold and rich taste which pairs well with the teriyaki sauces adding a sweetness. The takuan (Japanese yellow pickled radish) slices cut through the eel’s richness. The simple and standard miso soup with tofu, wakame seaweed in miso broth hit the spot. The kaisen don Nagahama ($26) meal set included miso soup and takuan slices. Nagahama (meaning ‘long beach’ in Japanese) is a small town near Kyoto in Japan. Visually stunning, the Nagahama had gorgeous, fresh fish slices artfully arranged over the bed of rice. The spotted shrimp, sea urchin sashimi as well as the salmon, mackerel, squid, and yellowtail sashimi slices completed the dish with some fresh grated wasabi, gari (pickled ginger slices) over a small bed of julienned slivers over the bed of rice. The fresh grated wasabi is way better than the common green wasabi commonly sold in a tub. Dab a little wasabi on your sashimi slice and you can enjoy it with or without soy sauce. The owners will not settle on anything less than the highest quality and fresh ingredients. It shows in the gorgeous jewel tones of the fresh fish slices and of course in the taste too.
Next time you want some sushi and you are in Chinatown, check out Tora in Chinatown. Excellent quality food for reasonable prices, generous portions, and top notch ingredients – especially their seafood. It is a gem; well worth checking out.
Tora Japanese Restaurant
20B Tyler St, Boston, MA 02111, USA
(617) 542-6688
To read this article in Chinese (Traditional), please click here.
