SUSHI BEI

2021 W. Redondo Beach Blvd.
Gardena, Ca 90247

My cousin and I ended up at Sushi Bei, in Gardena, after waiting for a friend that never showed up(Yes, that's you Mr. Domo Arrigato Mr. Birthday Bato). Well it is his birthday and it was his family that he left us for, so we can't be too made, right? WRONG! I stayed in my jeans for over two hours when I could of been in my favorite, most comfortable pair of sweats! Ready to call it a night after the devastating news, but realized I had to put my jean wearing to use, so off we went.

This place is hidden in a plaza that is connected to the end of a Target's parking lot. It is a really small place that consisted of about six or seven tables and a sushi bar that seated about 10 more people. The place was empty when we got there around ten, so we grabbed seats right in front of the tube that was playing sport highlights. There's nothing better than sushi and sports, it's almost as good as chicken and waffles.

As far as decoration goes, there is nothing fancy about this place, just a very clean simple wooden decor. Sushi wise it's plain ol' good hands down traditional sushi with couple of exotic rolls to keep everyone happy. Once I had fresh sweet shrimp here and the sushi chef kill the shrimp right in front of my eyes! That was an enjoyable experience and the shrimp without it's shell was still flinching on top of the rice! It was cheap too, I believe it was about $7 for two shrimp and then they fry up the head for you afterwards. That's what I call fresh, but I didn't get it today! I'll make sure I get it next time.

The first thing on the list was salmon skin roll. The salmon skin wasn't as crunchy as I like it, but the fresh veggies made a nice crackle when I bit into it. Really good and fresh!

Then we went for the eel roll. I always loved eel sauce from here. It's not extra thick and sweet like most places. It's simple here, it doesn't over power the roll and you can really get a good taste of the eel.

Ume roll totally tantalized my tongue. We requested this to be made without the usual shiso leaf and cucumber slices. We just wanted ume (plum) paste and nothing but ume paste. We love that tart tangy taste of this roll. It made my mouth water like crazy as soon as the ume hit my tongue.

Scallop roll was really good too! There was a delightful contrast of temperatures in you mouth when you take a bite because the rice was slightly warm and the scallop mix was cold. There was big pieces of scallops in the roll mixed with mayo and tobiko (little fish eggs). This had big scallop texture and taste.

We ended our sushi run with and order of tuna maki. I love tuna maki because it is so straight forward and the best way, I feel, to get great flavor from the tuna.

Then there was free dessert! We had a choice of green tea ice cream or slices of orange. We both picked the ice cream and it was good. What a way cap off the night...good sushi...good service...and sports on the tube! ~ Bootsi