Why is this place so popular?
Written: Mar 06 '01 (Updated Mar 06 '01)
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Pros: Wide variety of psuedo Asian foods
Cons: It all tastes like it was mass produced in an commissary off-site and brought in.
The Bottom Line: This is a new way to introduce bad sushi to the masses. It's far too expensive for a poor product - a rip-off.
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| tennis_player's Full Review: Todai |
What it wants to be:
Todai presents itself as a modern, clean and contemporary sushi house. It wants to be the solution to everyone's desire for unlimited fresh sushi and seafood. It spends oodles of money on marketing to get that message out. And if looks really meant anything, they certainly look successful from the crowds that flock to its mall locations. It also wants you to think you are getting a terrific bargain for your $25 because of the all-you-can-eat format.
What it really is:
The look is great. But, the quality of the product is actually very poor. It has the feel and taste of product that is made elsewhere by mass production methods and trucked in.
The sushi is tired and the rice is bland when it should glisten. The fish is not nearly as fresh as it could and should be. It looks dull, tastes bland and feels somewhat dry.
The Asian dishes are school cafeteria quality. As an example, the fried rice is mostly egg flavored and not very interesting or complex; the Chow Mein was limp and dull in flavor; the creme brulee felt and tasted like a pre-packaged product from the supermarket; the fresh melon was not ripe; the pasta salads felt very cold and appeared to have been in bulk containers for a long time before being put out for consumption; etc.
The Big Picture:
They have 14 locations now open. There are 7 more locations due to open this year - ALL IN MALLS! Does that tell you something?
It is a buffet format at a single price for all you can eat. Lunch is $12.95 and dinner is $21.95 during the week and $23.95 on weekends.
The selection goes beyond seafood and sushi. There is a section of Asian main dishes and starches. There is also a Western section, including chicken and beef dishes. There is an extensive salad bar featuring both Western and Asian salads. There is an extensive dessert bar.
Once seated by the hostess, a wait person comes by and takes your drink order. This is not included in your single price. It is a large cafeteria environment. You go up to the buffet line and help yourself. Plates and eating utensils, napkins, condiments, etc. are all available at the buffet counter or stations placed near them. You simple go and help yourself.
Dining room attendants are supposed to clear used/dirty dishes. We found this to be lacking at the Pleasanton location.
The Details:
I counted 38 varieties of sushi of which, none were appealing to me. They all looked and felt tired. I was once taught by a sushi chef that you should look for fish that is bright in color, moist and supple to the touch and the rice should glisten in the light. None of these items fit that description. The
rice was somewhat dry and worst of all - it was tasteless, even the Inari Sushi (seasoned sushi rice in deep-fried bean curd pockets) was tasteless. Even heaping slices of preserved ginger could not revive them from oblivion. All the seaweed-wrapped types were tough to eat because the seaweed had dried and was no longer tender. Consequently, when biting into it, it would not shear or break where it was being squeezed with the teeth. The result was the rice and whatever else was inside the wrap squished its way out and plopped onto your plate or table. Yuck!
The fried rice and chow mein were pedestrian at best. Any Chinese Delicatessen sells this at a lot less in cost and with a much better flavor and ingredients and is bound to be fresher. Our homemade left-overs taste better than this.
The Coconut Shrimp was actually the best seafood item and the best Western entree item was broiled strip steak cut into thin strips that were still pink and moist (medium rare) in the center - tender and with good beef taste. And, the grilled vegetables were still crunchy and flavorful.
The broiled whole-lobster was pitiful. I have never had lobster, ever, that was tough. This was tough! The Cajun boiled crawfish were plentiful but tasteless. All I could taste was the spicy flavoring of the cooking liquid. The meat, once you went to the work of shelling it, was tasteless.
Whole Scallops on the half shell were very good - broiled with a sauce. The texture was very good. The Broiled Seafood Medley on the half shell was horrible. I could not identify the seafood mix and the half shell was a fake plastic or ceramic affair.
Peeled/boiled shrimp was small and tasteless and slightly rubbery in texture.
The King Crab and Crab Claws were all tasteless. Worst of all, I suspect these were boiled tasteless to kill all the bacteria so it would keep longer to endure the transportation between each location and the central commissary or wherever they came from. When you eat fresh crab and the juice gets on your hands, your hands should normally smell like crab. After 3 legs and some claws with my hands covered with the residual liquid, I could not detect any crab smell on my hands or napkin! What's wrong with this picture? It was the same scenario for the Lobster Claws with one exception - they were mealy and tasteless.
The Chicken Teriyaki was just OK. It still resembled and tasted like chicken but not very moist on the inside. It felt and tasted like the chicken served on the Teriyaki Bowls at Jack in the Box.
The Shrimp Tempura was sort of OK. One could tell what it was but the batter was very thick - more like the Chinese style of fried shrimp and less like the truly delicate style of the Japanese Tempura. Oh yes, the shrimp inside was not moist or plump.
Desserts were a total disaster. The Creme Brulee was closer to packaged vanilla pudding with a sugar crust that was the thickness and density of single-pane glass - more suitable for "stage glass" used in special effects for movie and TV productions. The cheesecake, again, felt and tasted like something intended for mass consumption at the supermarket. The lemon tart looked good but it had no intense lemon flavor and, worst of all, the crust was limp and soggy, like day-old. And, the Tiramisu looked good but what a surprise awaited me - it was still frozen! This confirmed my suspicion that everything is mass produced elsewhere and trucked in.
Summary:
If you think Olive Garden is real Italian cuisine, you'll like Todai. If you like all-you-can-eat formats without regard to quality of the cuisine, you'll like Todai. If you believe McDonalds and Burger King produce truly good hamburgers, you might think Todai's sushi is the real thing. But in my mind, the tab of $102.11 (excluding tip) is a lot of money for a party of 4 dining at a place not much better than Denny's is way over priced. By the way, I am not a fan of Red Lobster but I never have to guess at what is being served and in general, their flavors are better and more pronounced with better textures.
And think about this - ever heard of truly good cuisine being served at THE MALL? Mall food is, well, something for a quick meal - never a dining destination. Have you ever heard anyone cry out, "Hey let's go to the mall for really good food!"
One good thing about Todai - all items are labeled. Otherwise you might not know what it is you were eating!
As for the all-you-can-eat idea, the quality was such a turn-off that I never had to worry about getting my fair share of the food offerings. However, looking on the bright side, maybe I should frequent this place on a regular basis. I bet I could lose weight since there is little incentive to eat!
The real mystery is how/why so many people flock to this place. Am I the one that doesn't know what is good? It seems as though they have found a new way to introduce the masses to bad sushi without them realizing it! that's a neat trick..
Jim
askquon@yahoo.com
Recommended:
No
Kid Friendliness: Yes
Vegetarian Friendly: No
Notes, Tips or Menu Recommendations My recommendation - go elswhere for better and less expensive seafood.
Best Suited For: Kids and Families
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Epinions.com ID:
tennis_player
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 in Electronics |
 - Top 500 |
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Member: James Quon
Location: Northern California
Reviews written: 345
Trusted by: 250 members
About Me:
A retired Professional from 40 years in technical Sales & Marketing.
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