Saketini
Friday, February 10, 2006 11:23
“This is one of the best, unknown places on the Westside” my friend told me. He may be right, and I have mixed feelings about writing it up here. It’s a tiny space and I would hate for my review to cause the reservation list to become unaccessible. I’m willing to take that chance though, because it’s better that it be busy and open than empty and closed.
Saketini is owned by Sung Kang who played Han in the movie Better Luck Tomorrow. In fact, it was Kang who greeted us at the door and seated us with a smile. Despite the celebrity owner and the gorgeous dark wood interior, the food is the real star here.
We started with some drinks while we waited for the rest of our party to arrive. I picked one of the two beers on the menu, Orion, which it turns out is hard to come by in the US, but is revered in Japan. Orion has a slightly sweet taste and tiny bubbles, it may just be the champagne of Japanese beer. My wife and friend opted for Saketinis, fruity coctails which use sake as a base instead of gin or vodka. They were tasty too, although a bit on the sweet side.
On to the appetizers, where our only complaint was that there were too many good choices. You could reasonably make a pan-asian tapas meal just off of the starter menu. We choose two items, first the Ahi Tuna Napoleons: fresh chopped spicy tuna placed between two crispy won-ton skins. Pictured below:
Next out of the kitchen was the yellow tail carpaccio. Sure, it’s a fancy word for sashimi, but the carpaccio did have a unique flavor. Served on a pile of shredded daikon, the yellow tail was topped with a piece of cilantro and a slice of mild pepper (shishito maybe?) then drizzled with a ponzu-like sauce:
After the appetizer, we were ready for the next course. The mango salad came packed with avocado, on top of fresh greens and topped with sweet chunks of mango. A tangy ginger dressing tied the sweetness of the mango and the light salad flavors together:
An absolute mountain of tempura came to the table. A melange of vegetables was arranged next to some sizeable shrimps (oxymoron?). The tempura was a bit different than the standard fare. It was exceedingly light and flakey. I would compare it to dry snow, if snow could be fried and coat vegetables.
My main dish was Japanese Lava Cod. Cod tends to be rich and I wasn’t sure that I was up for it that night. I’m glad that I made the choice though, because the dish tasted even better than it looked. The fish was cooked perfectly, placed on top of asparagus, mushrooms, onions and bok choy, then flavored with a tasty sauce. There was also a dallop of green goodness on the fish. I assume that it was some sort of mild wasabi-potato mixture. It was mild, but definitely flavored with the japanese horseradish.
I was impressed with every aspect of the meal, from the drinks to the appetizers to the main course. We were too stuffed to sample the dessert menu, next time I am going to have to plan better.
Saketini also has a tasting menu and I asked Sung Kang about it. He suggested that you call ahead to reserve for the tasting menu and the chef would keep an eye out when he shops for that day. Fresh is definitely important at the restaurant and it’s not unusual for them to run out of dishes for lack of ingredients.
I have yet to try Saketini for lunch, but there is an enticing day time menu of items priced under $10, as well as take away bento boxes.
So there it is, the best kept secret on the Westside is now out of the bag.
Saketini
150 S. Barrington Ave.
Brentwood, CA 90049
(310) 440-5553
By Jonah (see more of his posts). Jonah is the founder of la.foodblogging and also created Digesty, a food blog aggregator and Cheww.com, a spam free foodblog search engine.
Pauline says:
February 10th, 2006 at 1:37 pm
What an absolutely wonderful review, Jonah! Makes me wish I were in LA right now!
Why We Type says:
February 10th, 2006 at 10:14 pm
I agree! Wait–I’m in Glendale…
I have to ask my favorite question though: how much?
Jonah says:
February 11th, 2006 at 8:01 am
The salads are $6-9, The Starters are $6-12 and Entrees are mostly around $16-18.
You get easily get away with ordering an appetizer, a salad, an entree and a dessert and feed two.
eatdrinknbmerry says:
February 12th, 2006 at 10:51 pm
Great review Jonah. I can walk there!
Ruby says:
May 12th, 2006 at 2:31 pm
I’ve been there a couple of times for dinner back in 2005 and loved the food. I couldn’t understand why the place was so empty at that time and was hoping it could stay in business. Good to hear it’s still alive…the drive to Saketini after work was horrendous…took me forever to get there but it was worth it!
Vanessa says:
May 1st, 2007 at 8:22 am
I have never been there before, and i just found out that Sung Kang is the owner and just knowing that he is there makes me want to go! Am a big fan of you! :)
Ali says:
June 23rd, 2007 at 12:20 pm
Hi, i’am from The North East in the United Kingdom, ever since watchuing Fast & The Furious- Tokyo Drift, i was hooked on Mr Sung Kang(even though married myself), but anyway, i will be re-taking my vows in a couple of years, and never thought of anywhere to do it, well that is until now. And not only would i have a perfect place to have the re-taking of my vows etc, i would hopefully also get to see Mr Sung Kang himself, and maybe get a signed picture autograph of him(as a wedding gift), i know that is a slight bit cheaky of me to ask , but i could never ever ask him to his face due to actually being very shy(believe it or not), so anyway one was thinking of also asking could you send me a price list on a bufet for like a reception(it would only be a small reception), as sadly to say there is not much left of my family, so it mainly would be a very small party if you know what i mean, just one last cheaky request, could you please,please, please say hi to Mr Sung Kang from ,e, thank you to all.
Ali says:
June 23rd, 2007 at 12:23 pm
Hi me again, i can’t believe i done that, i can’t even spell now from the last post a reply, sorry to all, it is just over excitement i think!
MaxMillion says:
June 23rd, 2007 at 2:02 pm
^ Ali — check out their website and see if the answers you are looking for are there. Your best bet is probably to contact them directly for wedding reception buffet info.
http://saketini.com/
Phone Number
(310) 440-5553
E-mail
info@saketini.com
Kostas Daskalou says:
July 9th, 2007 at 5:36 pm
Hi,I am a fan of Sung Kang,my name is Kostas Daskalou and I am from Greece.I would really like to contact with him,I try to send mail to the restaraunt e-mail address but I can’t.If someone can help me about this my msn is bobross00@hotmail.com and my e-mail is bobross00@yahoo.gr.I am always on line and you can contact me any time.Thank you for reading my post,I hopefully wait for your answers.
John Blake says:
December 24th, 2007 at 11:26 pm
A wonderful gem! I’ve read reviews about Saketini and most have been great. Like all restaraunts they have off nights. So I decided to see and taste for myself. I went on typically slow night ,where most places would lax, to my suprise the food was at a 100%, each dish was detailed in presentation and taste. All I care about is the food, this place is 100% about the food. I suggest going on Mondays thru Wed, this place is worth every cent.