Umi Japanese Fine Dining

If fresh is what you’re seeking then seek out of U.S. 1. Their creations are actually a masterful work of art made right before your eyes.

I asked chef and owner, Sony Gao, what exactly they create at his Japanese restaurant that would qualify as an Awesome Eats.

“Everything we make is truly Awesome, and the secret is that we keep it simple, we make it fresh, and we keep it clean," he said.

He jumped behind the sushi counter and started preparing a dish called Live Scallops. The creation was presented in a beautiful, but simple, arrangement with sliced cold-water scallops cut live from the shell and fanned out between paper-thin slices of lemon. Now that's what I call fresh.

Before I could break out the chop sticks, a beautiful little mound of Crab Salad was sitting in the center of what looked like a multi-colored Spin Art sheet I had done in summer camp as a youth. Complete with a cherry on top, it looked more like a desert but the salad was moist, light, and had a surprise crunchy bottom. Before I could finish, Ninja Sony whipped out a plate bursting with colors and textures enticing my taste buds to come dance.

Fatty Yellow Tail, Scottish Salmon, white- as-snow Squid, all topped with two stocks of fresh asparagus then drizzled with a yellow sauce; the dish is named ‘Umi Side Up’. Some of the ingredients used to make the vibrant sauce are fresh ginger, garlic, and apple. The addition of black and white sesame seeds kicked it up a notch to being a dish so beautiful, it could grace the cover of Food Arts magazine.

“Our most popular Tuna Spoons are made with Fatty Tuna where we have pulled all of them tendons off which makes the tuna melt in your mouth like butter. We make two different sauces using Bonito (a dried fish) and top each bite with a jalapeno ring for a little kick," he said.

Umi is located at 1500 Jefferson Davis Hwy. If you go, make sure you tell them you are there for their AWESOME EATS!

About the author:

Shelly Van Cleve has been in the restaurant industry for over 25 years and is a longtime foodie. Her Let’s Eat Out Menus Magazine is an award-wining restaurant magazine published and distributed to homes, offices, hotels and visitor centers. Grab a copy at the Fredericksburg Visitor's Center, or email info@letseatoutmenus.com. 

About this column: Awesome Eats @ is a weekly column by local Foodie Shelly Vancleve. Vancleve will taste local restaurant's best foods and she will let us know how awesome the food really is.