Ichima, Pasadena

Ichima

The sign inside the little waiting room

325 N. Rosemead Blvd.
Pasadena, Ca. 91107
(626) 351-0560

Went to Ichima Japanese Restaurant in Pasadena June 2nd with my sister for dinner. I was craving rolls. We got there about 7:30 PM and there was about a 15 minute wait period, so I took some pictures.

Wall decorations - cherry blossoms and a fake rice paper window

Oh look! I can see the sushi chefs from the waiting room

After, we were seated and I took more pictures.

Place setting

Sushi menu

I then ordered 4 rolls and sesame chicken. Then my sister said she wanted to try their agedashi tofu, so I ordered that as well. The waitress took our order and then asked if we wanted miso soup, which we accepted.

Complimentary miso soup

My sister thought it was salty, but I thought it was fine. I mean it is miso soup and miso is salty, so, I thought it was fine. All it was missing were the little cubes of tofu.

After, we sat around and chatted and then the food came.

Agedashi Tofu
Okay, I have to say this is NOT the best agedashi tofu, but we paid for it, so I ate it. The batter was like tempura batter and it was not that crispy. It was served on leaves of lettuce and all the sauce ran under it, causing the tofu to not have sauce. They topped it with a little shredded bonito and sliced onions, but they were missing the grated dikon and ginger. It was quite disappointing.

Me eating agedashi tofu

Sesame Chicken
This is one of the best tasting sesame chickens I have ever eaten, but I think that this batch could have been crispier. The dipping sauce was that sweet chili sauce you can buy at the Asian markets. Could have used a different sauce though. I did not really think it matched too well with this flavored chicken.

Asian Sweet Chili Sauce

Salmon Lover's Roll
Shrimp tempura roll topped with fresh salmon.
The salmon was really good that day. Very fresh.

Single Salmon Lover's Roll

Hawaiian Poke Roll
California roll topped with tuna and seasoned seaweed salad.
I really do like this roll because I like the seaweed salad. The sauce was like ponzu (a citrus soy sauce). I was a little disappointed this time with the taste of tuna and seaweed though. Not that it was not fresh, but I think it could have been better.

Taheati Roll
Spicy tuna roll topped with seared ahi tuna, fried onions, and siracha.
I love this roll for the fired onions and the ahi. The spicy tuna roll was good, but this time, it was overly stuffed with the spicy tuna, so I thought it was a bit too much and that was all I could taste. Other than that, I really like this roll.

Me eating the Taheati Roll

Spider Roll
Deep fried soft shell crab roll.
I love spider rolls. I will order this at any place that serves it. The batter around the crab was a little thick though, but it was good none the less (It is fried! How can it NOT taste good?!). I liked how the roe was sprinkled on the top to add color.

Me eating the Spider Roll

Fried Bananas with ice cream - $3.75
This is by far one the the cheapest desserts I have ordered and 4 people can share this. The bananas were wrapped in something like an egg roll skin. The plate had honey, a scoop of vanilla ice cream, the bananas, and whipped cream. It was good, but I think it could have done without the honey and the skin around the banana could have been better. It was like the cheap kind of egg roll skins that are a little floury so that it is crisp on the outside but chewy on the outside and bubble on the outside when they fry. Not my favorite, but the dessert was pretty good.

Another view of the fried bananas and ice cream

Overall, I like Ichima because it is relatively inexpensive and the service is good.

And last time...

Salmon Rolls
The salmon pieces were HUGE XD

Eel Rolls
Tasty, but too much sauce

And there was the Ichima roll, but it was totally blurry...

Ichima Roll
Fresh tuna, salmon, yellowtail, avocado with soypaper.
So much fish, but this is a good roll too especially if you do not like seaweed.