Reviews
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| David Collins - New London Day | ||||
Peking Tokyo: A Hidden Treasure Amid Mystic's Tourist HubbubPublished on 7/18/2002
Curiously, there is careful balance here between the two cultures, starting with the use of both the Chinese and Japanese cities in the name. The dining room, too, is equally divided, with a sparse Japanese style on one side and a more traditional Chinese restaurant look on the other, with framed Chinese-style prints and black metal chairs. To be honest, Peking Tokyo's décor is not its most appealing charm, although the sushi bar on the Japanese side is well done, with a glass screen that allows diners to watch the chef at work. A little dimming of the lights on both sides might help shake the feeling that you've been here before, in another town, another shopping center. The menu, too, will be familiar to habitués of Chinese restaurants, with all the traditional favorites, like General Tsao chicken, egg rolls, steamed dumplings, spare ribs, won ton soup, fried rice and lo mein noodles. The Peking menu, in fact, is vast, with plenty of choice in soups and appetizers and poultry, pork, beef and seafood entrees. The Tokyo menu is also traditional and extensive, from miso soup and seaweed salad to dozens of sushi choices as well as teriyaki and tempura. While Peking Tokyo does have a sort of cookie-cutter quality in décor and menu selections, it excels in preparation and presentation. Everything we sampled was fresh, tasty and not nearly as predictable as we might have expected. The restaurant also is well managed, with excellent service, and we felt coddled, from the warm greeting we received at the outset, with a presentation of hot towels as soon as we sat down, to a closing with fresh fruit and fortune cookies when the check was presented. Everyone was attentive, without being intrusive, and we never felt rushed. We straddled the line between Japanese and Chinese, and though both were equally good, I enjoyed the Japanese more. This might be because we sat directly at the sushi bar and enjoyed watching the flawless knife work as we chatted and sipped warm saki. While we were there, a group of at least a dozen young men and women, celebrating a birthday, ordered two huge platters from the sushi bar. The big combination of rolls was served on enormous wooden plates, shaped like boats. It took two cooks the better part of a half hour to assemble them. It was like being at launching. For our part, we sampled the rainbow roll, $8.95, on the recommendation of our host, and it was a tasty and colorful medley of salmon, avocado, gray sole and crab. Also recommended, and very good, was the spicy tuna roll, $4.95. In addition to the a la carte sushi menu, with a wide range of selections from the ordinary —cucumber, crab or shrimp — to the exotic — eel, flying fish roe or squid — there is a sushi entrée menu. These selections, from $9.95 to $19.95, include an assortment of sushi and sashimi, with soup and salad. The highlight of our visit was off the specials board, an order of Johnny's mussels, named for the restaurant owner. These were big green mussels, garnished with a Japanese mayonnaise, laced with scallions and browned under the broiler. Sweet, plump and silky smooth, they were served piping hot over a bed of shredded white radish. They were maybe the best mussels I have ever had, and alone are worth a visit to Peking Tokyo. (They are a frequent special.) From the Chinese menu, we tried the lamb in two flavors, $14.95, a house specialty. This was an interesting combination of two different variations of lamb, one in a hot and spicy sauce, the other in a milder broth, with scallions and onion, crunchy water chestnuts, broccoli, green pepper and lemon strips. They were separated on the plate by a big red radish cut to the shape of a flower bud. Also from the Chinese menu, we sampled the shrimp and scallops in garlic sauce, $14.95, a more routine choice but very good, a spicy kick that was attention grabbing but not overwhelming, with a generous portion of medium scallops and shrimp mixed with mushroom, water chestnuts, celery, broccoli and green and red pepper. Peking Tokyo has been open for about a year, but it is hard to find, tucked into a corner of the factory outlets on Coogan Boulevard. I was a little surprised that it wasn't busier the night we visited, given that Mystic's tourism season is in full swing. But given the quality, the diversity of the menu and the obvious commitment of the management, I predict this will become and remain a popular mainstay in the roster of restaurants here for a long time. |
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| Angie Jacaruso - Jewett City CT | ||||
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I LOVE THE FOOD AND THE SERVICE HERE! I have been a BIG BIG More ... I LOVE THE FOOD AND THE SERVICE HERE! I have been a BIG BIG fan of Johnny's Sushi. I am getting Hitched this summer and PEKING TOKYO is the first choice for the wedding party!!! - 04/05/2009 |
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| Charlie - Ledyard Ct | ||||
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Forget going to Providence and New York City: They More ... Forget going to Providence and New York City: They all come here for best of fresh sushi and so should you. Try it and you'll be a customer for life. Charlie - 04/04/2009 |
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| Ken1 - Mystic Ct | ||||
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I started eating at Johnny's restaurant about 4 years More ... I started eating at Johnny's restaurant about 4 years ago. When it comes to restaurants in Mystic, this is one of the most specialized and one of the best. I have NEVER had a bad meal in this establishment. The waiting staff are polite and responsive and the owner Johnny Lin is a wonderful host. His food preparation staff are polite and friendly and you can watch your food being prepared right in front of you. It is delicious. You can tell how popular and special this restaurant is when you are eating and Johnny himself goes up front to welcome most of the guests there by name! The prices are extremely reasonable for the quality and quantity of the food. I cannot recommend this reataurant highly enough. Enjoy!!! - 01/31/2009 |
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| Andrew Tillinghast - New London, CT | ||||
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I had a business meeting at Peking Tokyo this More ... I had a business meeting at Peking Tokyo this week and absolutely will return again. , The food not only was fabulous but the presentation was beautiful. Additionally the service was extremely friendly. When it comes to Mystic Restaurants this one is a winner. - 11/24/2008 |
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| Norman Braverman - Mystic Ct | ||||
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Re: Mystic Restaurants. I have been eating at Johnny's More ... Re: Mystic Restaurants. I have been eating at Johnny's since the first week he opened 8 years ago.. when it comes to sushi no one does it better then Johnny. I have yet to place an order off the menu. I simply say make what ever you like. That assures me something different every time and I have never been disappointed. Every dish is fabulous. If you haven't eaten sushi at Johnny's, you haven't eaten sushi... - 11/24/2008 |
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