Bites Nearby: Ponzu

Editor's Note: Starting today, Bites Nearby will start focusing on one outstanding dish instead of profiling the overall restaurant. Let us know if you have a choice meal that we should try. Enjoy.

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has been thriving on Moody Street for six years. It has an eclectic menu, with dishes that it calls "contemporary sushi and sashimi," "neo-Malaysian," and "exotic Asian tapas." You're still talking crab rangoon, mango salad with salmon, shrimp tempura, miso soup, sesame duck and lots of raw seafood plates. For non-fish eaters, there are dishes with chicken, pork, filet mignon and vegetarian fare. 

The restaurant has several dozen offerings that combine raw and cooked seafood and fresh vegetables in creative ways, but we chose to check out a classic sushi dish.

Suggested dish: A good dish to check out at any Japanese sushi restaurant is  the "classic" sushi fare. We opted for the salmon and avocado maki rolls (six of them) and the tuna sashimi (four pieces of tuna on a bed of white radish). Both were served with the usual soy sauce, wasabi (Japanese horseradish), and ginger. The fish should be tender -- almost melt-in-your-mouth -- and the rice and other ingredients fresh and not dense. Both were good and suggested that the more-elaborate seafood dishes would be worth a try as well.

The vibe: Elegant and quiet, with a waterfall sculpture in the dining room. But there's still a flat screen above the sushi bar.

Cool factor: The "hot & spicy" dishes are displayed in red type.