I received a $5 off coupon for a meal at Sarku Japan. It's kind of like
a Japanese-style Panda Express only the menu is a bit more limited to
teriyai type items. I've had the chickken version and it was wanting.
It's almost impossible to screw up shrimp except to give too little. But
they did.

So this time I went for beef.

I've eaten at various ones over the years while travelling and desperate
for anything but Subway. The quality in the past wasn't all that bad,
nothing great but more of a "you could do worse" type of thing.

So I set out with a coupon to order the teriyaki beef combo. It comes
with two small spring rolls and a drink. I substituted noodles for rice
for an additional 80 cents. With a bottle of water it came to almost 15
bucks and minus the $5 coupon, just under 10 bucks.

The spring rolls were almost liquid in the middle. Considering they're
vegetarian, that's almost impossible to do. I couldn't tell if it was
grease or some other liquid. I didn't care, I 86'ed those suckers after
spitting out the first bite. -4 out of +10.

The teriyaki came in a tray with a side salad. The side salad veggies
were fairly tasty and come with some sort of salad dressing. 5 out of
10.

The teriyaki meal was kind of small and the noodles were just the high
side of barely passable. The sauce was ok but the beef was somewhere
about 2 out of 10.

Considering I gave this place a 7 out of 10 (fast food scale, of course)
a few years back, this was about 1.5 out of 10. I don't think it was the
particular restaurant as much as cutting corners on quality.

At least they didn't screw up the bottled water. Yet.

Not going back.

https://www.sarkujapan.com/menus/

On Sat, 23 Mar 2024 17:31:02 -0000 (UTC), "Scott Oaf - (I'm really
Chudnozzle)" <ChadLuzer@zoho.com> wrote:

>
>I received a $5 off coupon for a meal at Sarku Japan. It's kind of like
>a Japanese-style Panda Express only the menu is a bit more limited to
>teriyai type items. I've had the chickken version and it was wanting.
>It's almost impossible to screw up shrimp except to give too little. But
>they did.
>
>So this time I went for beef.
>
>I've eaten at various ones over the years while travelling and desperate
>for anything but Subway. The quality in the past wasn't all that bad,
>nothing great but more of a "you could do worse" type of thing.
>
>So I set out with a coupon to order the teriyaki beef combo. It comes
>with two small spring rolls and a drink. I substituted noodles for rice
>for an additional 80 cents. With a bottle of water it came to almost 15
>bucks and minus the $5 coupon, just under 10 bucks.
>
>The spring rolls were almost liquid in the middle. Considering they're
>vegetarian, that's almost impossible to do. I couldn't tell if it was
>grease or some other liquid. I didn't care, I 86'ed those suckers after
>spitting out the first bite. -4 out of +10.

LOL That's really fucking gross.

They don't look too awful bad in the photo
https://www.sarkujapan.com/wp-content/uploads/assets/img/food/Spring%20Rolls-024_V2.jpg
but the wrapper looks kind of thick to me.

>The teriyaki came in a tray with a side salad. The side salad veggies
>were fairly tasty and come with some sort of salad dressing. 5 out of
>10.
>
>The teriyaki meal was kind of small and the noodles were just the high
>side of barely passable. The sauce was ok but the beef was somewhere
>about 2 out of 10.
>
>Considering I gave this place a 7 out of 10 (fast food scale, of course)
>a few years back, this was about 1.5 out of 10. I don't think it was the
>particular restaurant as much as cutting corners on quality.
>
>At least they didn't screw up the bottled water. Yet.
>
>Not going back.
>
>https://www.sarkujapan.com/menus/

KlausSchadenfreude <klaus.schadenfreudeREMOVE@gmail.com> wrote in
news:1efuvitb5s7pieu2r346f0jqj8ee4glvve@Rudy.Canoza.is.a.forging.cocksuck
ing.dwarf.com:

> On Sat, 23 Mar 2024 17:31:02 -0000 (UTC), "Scott Oaf - (I'm really
> Chudnozzle)" <ChadLuzer@zoho.com> wrote:
>
>>
>>I received a $5 off coupon for a meal at Sarku Japan. It's kind of
>>like a Japanese-style Panda Express only the menu is a bit more
>>limited to teriyai type items. I've had the chickken version and it
>>was wanting. It's almost impossible to screw up shrimp except to give
>>too little. But they did.
>>
>>So this time I went for beef.
>>
>>I've eaten at various ones over the years while travelling and
>>desperate for anything but Subway. The quality in the past wasn't all
>>that bad, nothing great but more of a "you could do worse" type of
>>thing.
>>
>>So I set out with a coupon to order the teriyaki beef combo. It comes
>>with two small spring rolls and a drink. I substituted noodles for
>>rice for an additional 80 cents. With a bottle of water it came to
>>almost 15 bucks and minus the $5 coupon, just under 10 bucks.
>>
>>The spring rolls were almost liquid in the middle. Considering they're
>>vegetarian, that's almost impossible to do. I couldn't tell if it was
>>grease or some other liquid. I didn't care, I 86'ed those suckers
>>after spitting out the first bite. -4 out of +10.
>
> LOL That's really fucking gross.
>
> They don't look too awful bad in the photo
> https://www.sarkujapan.com/wp-content/uploads/assets/img/food/Spring%20
> Rolls-024_V2.jpg but the wrapper looks kind of thick to me.

That looks delicious. It bears zero resemblance to what I was served.
For just a visual example, there was no color contrasts in mine. It was
all pale "vegetables" of unknown origin. The wrapper, as you pointed out
here, is very thick in the picture.

I don't think it was a problem with the cooking oil, but I suspect they
were deep fried and it was not up to the proper temperature. It could
also be that these were not quite thawed out but I am guessing here.

The veggies in the side salad were quite good and similar to the "spring
rolls" so it's some sort of quality control issue.

>>The teriyaki came in a tray with a side salad. The side salad veggies
>>were fairly tasty and come with some sort of salad dressing. 5 out of
>>10.
>>
>>The teriyaki meal was kind of small and the noodles were just the high
>>side of barely passable. The sauce was ok but the beef was somewhere
>>about 2 out of 10.
>>
>>Considering I gave this place a 7 out of 10 (fast food scale, of
>>course) a few years back, this was about 1.5 out of 10. I don't think
>>it was the particular restaurant as much as cutting corners on
>>quality.
>>
>>At least they didn't screw up the bottled water. Yet.
>>
>>Not going back.
>>
>>https://www.sarkujapan.com/menus/

To be honest, I've been severely disappointed with the quality of the
fast food places in the area.

I've been pleased with a just a few places like Shake Shack, SmashBurger
and JolliBee. The rest are declining badly. Five Guys priced themselves
out of the market for me, not that I can't afford it, but the prices
jumped to almost double here for the burgers. SS and SB have tastier
alternatives and better variety at the same price.

I used to love JitB and Arby's but they're gone from the area.

On Sat, 23 Mar 2024 17:31:02 -0000 (UTC), "Scott Oaf - (I'm really
Chudnozzle)" <ChadLuzer@zoho.com> wrote:

[...]

>So I set out with a coupon to order the teriyaki beef combo. It comes
>with two small spring rolls and a drink. I substituted noodles for rice
>for an additional 80 cents. With a bottle of water it came to almost 15
>bucks and minus the $5 coupon, just under 10 bucks.
>

On the plus side, your review makes it appear you kind of got
what you paid for.

>The spring rolls were almost liquid in the middle. Considering they're
>vegetarian, that's almost impossible to do.

It should be impossible.

>I couldn't tell if it was
>grease or some other liquid. I didn't care, I 86'ed those suckers after
>spitting out the first bite. -4 out of +10.

My *guess* is that they were deep fried, and the rolls soaked up
a lot of the oil.

>
>The teriyaki came in a tray with a side salad. The side salad veggies
>were fairly tasty and come with some sort of salad dressing. 5 out of
>10.
>

Short of serving wilted veggies, it's really hard to ruin a
salad.

>The teriyaki meal was kind of small and the noodles were just the high
>side of barely passable. The sauce was ok but the beef was somewhere
>about 2 out of 10.
>
>Considering I gave this place a 7 out of 10 (fast food scale, of course)
>a few years back, this was about 1.5 out of 10. I don't think it was the
>particular restaurant as much as cutting corners on quality.
>
>At least they didn't screw up the bottled water. Yet.
>
>Not going back.
>
>https://www.sarkujapan.com/menus/

The shrimp LOOKS good. But it should. I expect the 80 grams of
carbs comes from the rice. I would have to skip the rice. But with
your review, I don't expect I'll ever bother visiting any of the LA
locations.

--
Only one shopping day left until tomorrow!

On Sat, 23 Mar 2024 13:42:52 -0700, KlausSchadenfreude
<klaus.schadenfreudeREMOVE@gmail.com> wrote:

>On Sat, 23 Mar 2024 17:31:02 -0000 (UTC), "Scott Oaf - (I'm really
>Chudnozzle)" <ChadLuzer@zoho.com> wrote:
>
>>I received a $5 off coupon for a meal at Sarku Japan. It's kind of like
>>a Japanese-style Panda Express only the menu is a bit more limited to
>>teriyai type items. I've had the chickken version and it was wanting.
>>It's almost impossible to screw up shrimp except to give too little. But
>>they did.
>>
>>So this time I went for beef.
>>
>>I've eaten at various ones over the years while travelling and desperate
>>for anything but Subway. The quality in the past wasn't all that bad,
>>nothing great but more of a "you could do worse" type of thing.
>>
>>So I set out with a coupon to order the teriyaki beef combo. It comes
>>with two small spring rolls and a drink. I substituted noodles for rice
>>for an additional 80 cents. With a bottle of water it came to almost 15
>>bucks and minus the $5 coupon, just under 10 bucks.
>>
>>The spring rolls were almost liquid in the middle. Considering they're
>>vegetarian, that's almost impossible to do. I couldn't tell if it was
>>grease or some other liquid. I didn't care, I 86'ed those suckers after
>>spitting out the first bite. -4 out of +10.
>
>LOL That's really fucking gross.
>
>They don't look too awful bad in the photo
>https://www.sarkujapan.com/wp-content/uploads/assets/img/food/Spring%20Rolls-024_V2.jpg
>but the wrapper looks kind of thick to me.

You'd expect each item to look good in the photo. And if as much
time and effort were put into the product served as is dedicated to
the product in the picture, it would likely look just as good.
The wrapping does appear thicker than what would be typical. I do
wonder about that.

--
When cryptography is outlawed,
bayl bhgynjf jvyy unir cevinpl.

KWills <kw19@kw.kw> wrote in
news:eonvvihoh0vg8g8trpposag8oeda9omh34@4ax.com:

> On Sat, 23 Mar 2024 17:31:02 -0000 (UTC), "Scott Oaf - (I'm really
> Chudnozzle)" <ChadLuzer@zoho.com> wrote:
>
> [...]
>
>>So I set out with a coupon to order the teriyaki beef combo. It comes
>>with two small spring rolls and a drink. I substituted noodles for
>>rice for an additional 80 cents. With a bottle of water it came to
>>almost 15 bucks and minus the $5 coupon, just under 10 bucks.
>>
>
> On the plus side, your review makes it appear you kind of got
> what you paid for.

Not really. I could get a similar thing at a Chinese takeout. More food,
better quality meat and it'd be hard to imagine getting worse quality
meat of spring rolls. The bottle of water is meaningless to me.

So a quart of Beef Lo Mein, 2 spring rolls and a drink at my local place
comes to

11.50
02.60
01.50
-----
15.60

Lots more food and better quality. From Sarkyu it wasn't even a pint of
food. The salad is there to take up space in the plate so it looks
fuller.

https://s3-media0.fl.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/NwKwTfn3o_ix6SI_PL-2xQ/o.jpg

>>The spring rolls were almost liquid in the middle. Considering they're
>>vegetarian, that's almost impossible to do.
>
> It should be impossible.
>
>>I couldn't tell if it was
>>grease or some other liquid. I didn't care, I 86'ed those suckers
>>after spitting out the first bite. -4 out of +10.
>
> My *guess* is that they were deep fried, and the rolls soaked up
> a lot of the oil.

I've seen this when they're left in too long and the oil isn't hot
enough. I own a small deep fryer, and that's the kind of result you get
if it's not hot enough and you leave them in too long to book the
outside shell. It could also be that they were not sealed at the end and
it leaked in.

>>The teriyaki came in a tray with a side salad. The side salad veggies
>>were fairly tasty and come with some sort of salad dressing. 5 out of
>>10.
>>
>
> Short of serving wilted veggies, it's really hard to ruin a
> salad.

The salad takes up space and allows them to give less food:

https://s3-media0.fl.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/ceAjbnifPjGDhlk0JyBY3Q/o.jpg

The salad is hard to mess up but when it's the best part of a meal as it
is here, you're in trouble.
>>The teriyaki meal was kind of small and the noodles were just the high
>>side of barely passable. The sauce was ok but the beef was somewhere
>>about 2 out of 10.
>>
>>Considering I gave this place a 7 out of 10 (fast food scale, of
>>course) a few years back, this was about 1.5 out of 10. I don't think
>>it was the particular restaurant as much as cutting corners on
>>quality.
>>
>>At least they didn't screw up the bottled water. Yet.
>>
>>Not going back.
>>
>>https://www.sarkujapan.com/menus/
>
> The shrimp LOOKS good. But it should. I expect the 80 grams of
> carbs comes from the rice. I would have to skip the rice. But with
> your review, I don't expect I'll ever bother visiting any of the LA
> locations.
>

It's hard to mess up shrimp. But it's also hard to mess up rice or
noodles. They did.

Like I said, I let the $5 coupon get in the way of common sense. From
now on it's corner store take out for me.

On Sun, 24 Mar 2024 18:19:19 -0000 (UTC), "Scott Oaf - (I'm really
Chudnozzle)" <ChadLuzer@zoho.com> wrote:

>KWills <kw19@kw.kw> wrote in
>news:eonvvihoh0vg8g8trpposag8oeda9omh34@4ax.com:
>
>> On Sat, 23 Mar 2024 17:31:02 -0000 (UTC), "Scott Oaf - (I'm really
>> Chudnozzle)" <ChadLuzer@zoho.com> wrote:
>>
>> [...]
>>
>>>So I set out with a coupon to order the teriyaki beef combo. It comes
>>>with two small spring rolls and a drink. I substituted noodles for
>>>rice for an additional 80 cents. With a bottle of water it came to
>>>almost 15 bucks and minus the $5 coupon, just under 10 bucks.
>>
>> On the plus side, your review makes it appear you kind of got
>> what you paid for.
>
>Not really. I could get a similar thing at a Chinese takeout. More food,
>better quality meat and it'd be hard to imagine getting worse quality
>meat of spring rolls. The bottle of water is meaningless to me.
>

I failed to take into consideration places outside of LA. In the
greater LA metro area, you got a $10.00 meal. Not knowing where you
live (it's not important to me), this may not be applicable for you.

>So a quart of Beef Lo Mein, 2 spring rolls and a drink at my local place
>comes to
>
>11.50
>02.60
>01.50
>-----
>15.60
>
>Lots more food and better quality. From Sarkyu it wasn't even a pint of
>food. The salad is there to take up space in the plate so it looks
>fuller.
>
>https://s3-media0.fl.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/NwKwTfn3o_ix6SI_PL-2xQ/o.jpg
>
>
>>>The spring rolls were almost liquid in the middle. Considering they're
>>>vegetarian, that's almost impossible to do.
>>
>> It should be impossible.
>>
>>>I couldn't tell if it was
>>>grease or some other liquid. I didn't care, I 86'ed those suckers
>>>after spitting out the first bite. -4 out of +10.
>>
>> My *guess* is that they were deep fried, and the rolls soaked up
>> a lot of the oil.
>
>I've seen this when they're left in too long and the oil isn't hot
>enough. I own a small deep fryer, and that's the kind of result you get
>if it's not hot enough and you leave them in too long to book the
>outside shell. It could also be that they were not sealed at the end and
>it leaked in.
>

I've experienced the same from my fryer. This is what lead to my
guess.

>>>The teriyaki came in a tray with a side salad. The side salad veggies
>>>were fairly tasty and come with some sort of salad dressing. 5 out of
>>>10.
>>>
>>
>> Short of serving wilted veggies, it's really hard to ruin a
>> salad.
>
>The salad takes up space and allows them to give less food:
>
>https://s3-media0.fl.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/ceAjbnifPjGDhlk0JyBY3Q/o.jpg
>

The salad looks to only take up about a third of the plate. The
chicken *looks* like it's the majority of the food. Sure, without the
salad, more chicken and rice could be offered. Though I somehow
suspect they would just spread what is shown over the whole of the
plate.

>The salad is hard to mess up but when it's the best part of a meal as it
>is here, you're in trouble.
>

I must agree.

>>>The teriyaki meal was kind of small and the noodles were just the high
>>>side of barely passable. The sauce was ok but the beef was somewhere
>>>about 2 out of 10.
>>>
>>>Considering I gave this place a 7 out of 10 (fast food scale, of
>>>course) a few years back, this was about 1.5 out of 10. I don't think
>>>it was the particular restaurant as much as cutting corners on
>>>quality.
>>>
>>>At least they didn't screw up the bottled water. Yet.
>>>
>>>Not going back.
>>>
>>>https://www.sarkujapan.com/menus/
>>
>> The shrimp LOOKS good. But it should. I expect the 80 grams of
>> carbs comes from the rice. I would have to skip the rice. But with
>> your review, I don't expect I'll ever bother visiting any of the LA
>> locations.
>
>It's hard to mess up shrimp. But it's also hard to mess up rice or
>noodles. They did.

Which is what made me state the shrimp LOOKS good.
>
>Like I said, I let the $5 coupon get in the way of common sense. From
>now on it's corner store take out for me.

Yeah. It's not coming across as anything worth spending money on.
None of the LA locations are really convenient to me. If someone else
is willing to foot the bill, I might be inclined to try it.

--
If the grass if greener on the other side of the fence,
the septic tank probably has a leak.