If you haven’t already noticed, there’s been a new addition to the quaint Monterey Market neighborhood called Asaka Sushi & Bar. Owned and operated by Nancy Lan and her family, the restaurant is conveniently located next door to the Monterey Fish Market.
When we recently visited Asaka, Nancy and her team were managing a busy weekday lunch crowd. Taking a more conservative, but optimistic strategy in this post-pandemic world, Asaka made its debut via a soft opening in January, and now more than halfway through this year, things for Asaka in Kensington have been going, according to Nancy, “So far so good!”
With a modern and open layout designed by Nancy’s daughter Jacquie, Asaka offers traditional Japanese staples like nigiri and tonkatsu and is attuned to its local community, proudly featuring both a Berkeley Roll (spicy crab with salmon, tuna & eel) AND a North Berkeley Roll (shrimp tempura w/ avocado)! If that’s not enticing enough, Nancy recommended we try their Show Time Roll which features spicy salmon, avocado topped with albacore, a creamy garlic sauce and torched jalapeno and macadamia nuts for a bit of heat and texture - macadamia nuts. How was it? The seafood was expectantly fresh and the light crunch and bit of smoke we got from the macadamia nuts gave us a hint of Hawaiian nostalgia without taking us too far away from home.
With any good meal like the one you’re sure to get from Asaka, you may be looking for the right pairing and that’s where the new version of KE is here to help. Roger, from Arlington Wine & Spirits, says for seafood and sushi, a simple, crisp white wine does the trick. But for great sushi, you've got to go for the sake. He understands that large bottles of sake might be too much of a commitment and that is plenty of variety in smaller 300 ml bottles.
Preferring chilled and filtered, Roger recommended DEN, an Oakland-based sake brewery specializing in small-batch sake using traditional Japanese brewing methods with Cal-Hikari rice grown by Rue & Forsman ranch in the Sacramento Valley. Their aromatic sake pairs exceptionally well with Californian and Asian cuisines, making them a perfect pairing for Asaka!
It should be noted that at the time this article was written, Asaka had just established its social media presence that will likely take off given its very Instagram-able food served by friendly staff wearing t-shirts with phrases like "wassa-bae" and “ You Make Miso Happy”! So don't be discouraged if you don't see a mountain of reviews yet - trust us, Asaka is worth a visit!
Den Sake Brewery
2311 Magnolia St.
Oakland, CA 94607
Asaka Sushi & Bar.
1580 Hopkins St
Berkeley, CA 94707
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