The city of Charlotte, North Carolina has been growing rapidly for years. Because of this growth, the suburbs have been growing too. Gastonia is one of those suburbs. It was time for lunch when I was in town and rather than eat at a chain restaurant, I decided to check out Sakura. It is the original Japanese Steakhouse in Gastonia and has been serving up sushi and Japanese dishes for over a decade.
I started off with a house salad that came with a choice of dressing – either ginger or a shrimp sauce. Naturally I chose the ginger dressing because it always has amazing flavor and is perfect with fresh, crispy lettuce. This was a pretty big salad compared with the small bowl that I usually have with a Japanese lunch.
Since it was cold outside, I went for the Japanese ramen soup. This homemade chicken broth was loaded with tender ramen noodles, fresh mushrooms, carrots, and spinach. Sliced up on top was a chicken breast. The chicken was thinly sliced and breaded with panko breadcrumbs and fried till crunchy. The flavor of the chicken complemented the salty taste from the broth. This soup was very filling and extremely hearty.
I am glad I stopped by this local Japanese restaurant. He staff was extremely friendly and waited on my every need. You should check out what they have to offer at http://www.sakuragastonia.com/
Enjoy!
T
