Fuji Steakhouse, Middletown, NY

My Mother-in-law took Teresa and I out for Teresa's birthday and after some time trying to decide where to go, we wound up at Fuji Steakhouse at the Galleria Mall in Middletown. Well, actually we started at another restaurant and looked around and shook our heads. The restaurant looked like it was last cleaned when I was in high school (and that is a very long time ago). We apologized, said that one of us didn't feel well, and left before we even got water. 

We went across the street to the Galleria Mall and entered the restaurant through the outside exit. I was quite surprised by the size of the place, it was quite large, and the fact that you didn't realize it was a Mall restaurant at all. There are about a half a dozen hibachi tables that seated over a dozen people, plus a few regular tables. We opted for the hibachi table for the theater. There's also a rather large bar and it had a box of sake on it, much like a box of wine. 

After looking through the menus we decided to get hibachi. I ordered the salmon, Teresa got the chicken and Mom got the shrimp. We also shared a vegetable tempura and a calamari appetizer. The vegetable was good, the calamari being excellent. We were brought tasty soup, not quite a miso, but similar, and a fair sized salad.

Our chef came along and started to cook for us, and the group of four seated near us. You can see Teresa in the top photo with our chef after we told him it was her birthday. It was indeed theater as he hammed it up and made the flames jump and flipped the spatula and the knife. He made us all a fried rice and I ate quite a bit, and I don't like rice unless it is part of sushi. My salmon was cooked perfectly with a sear on the outside and moist in the middle and it came with two large shrimp, also cooked perfectly. 

The food was very good, fresh tasting and plentiful. Service good and friendly. Prices averaged about twenty dollars per entree, but the portions were large. I'd definitely go back.

Yobo, Newburgh

Calamari

We haven't been to Yobo in Newburgh since Clinton was President but I remembered it as being very good. One of my wife's co-workers was telling her that she went there recently and that she liked it. So off we went to see if it was still as good as we remembered. 

Inside Yobo is an eclectic mix of a Japanese Steakhouse and Chinese decor. There is a small pond in the main dining area with a fountain and there some small 'piracy rooms' with sliding doors. You can watch the sushi guy work and the hibachi guy is behind a glass where you can see him too. This all fits as the cuisine is Chinese, Japanese and Korean.

Egg Roll

We were greeted and seated quickly and then the dilemma occurred. What to order? There were too many interesting choices and I bounced between two types of duck, sushi and tempura.  I decided on the shrimp tempura for the entree and the calamari as an appetizer. Teresa went with and egg roll and the sesame chicken.

Sesame Chicken

The calamari was done in somewhat of a tempura fashion and was quite delicious. Regular readers know how I feel about calamari and that I expect it cooked right. This was cooked to perfection and came with a duck sauce with wasabi. The egg roll was huge, tasty and hot.

My tempura was a large portion with five shrimp (pairs) and vegetables. It was good, but having eaten the calamari done in a similar fashion I would have ordered the duck. The sesame chicken was excellent with large pieces of chicken that were moist with a crispy outside in a tasty sesame sauce. 

Shrimp Tempura

The service was excellent, attentive yet giving space. The food was excellent as well and came out at the right intervals with just the right amount of time between appetizer and entree. The ambiance very nice and welcoming. In short it was every bit as good as I remember and I will return soon. 

Panda House, Danbury CT.

We tried The Panda House in Danbury a few years ago and found it to be good, but not stellar enough to have gone back right away. Today we were debating where to eat and decided to give them another try. We were there at half past four on a Saturday, so they weren't crowded, but they started to fill up as we ate.

     

I'd forgotten that they were a Japanese and Chinese restaurant so I concentrated on the Japanese part of the menu and I ordered the sushi appetizer at $8.95 and there were four nice pieces on the plate; tuna, salmon, shrimp and yellowtail. It took a while to get to the table, and I saw the sushi chef working away, so it must have been fresh. My salad (lettuce with a sort of spicy russian-like dressing) and the miso soup came before the sushi. The miso soup had seaweed, tofu and I think a fish base to it, too much of it actually, and it wasn't that good, and it was a bit smelly. The sushi was tasty though. 

Teresa got the Moo Shu Pork at $9.50 and I ordered the Shrimp Tempura at $17.95, which came with the salad and soup mentioned above. Yes, the prices are a bit high. I tasted the Moo Shu Pork and it was good, as was my tempura. The shrimp tasted fresh and there were sweet potatoes, beans, an onion ring and a carrot in the mix as well. The batter was right and they were fried just right. 

My overall impression is that the food is good, for the most part, the service was okay and the prices are a bit high. Will we go back? Yeah, but we won't be rushing. They have a website for more information.