“Top Notch Tengu Sushi & Lounge in Westwood, Ca. (4/07)”

Tengu is a very versatile place that can suit just about anyone. It can be a sleek
and a hip place to have a drink and meet people or it can be a warm comfortable
place to sit and have a relaxing meal. The bamboo, stone work and rich warm tones
put you at ease right away. World music plays lightly and the service is friendly
and very efficient. And if you don’t like sushi or fish, you still don’t have
an excuse. The meat dishes are as good as any chop house in the city. It is very
impressive.

To set the tone for a wonderful night, try one of their signature House Infused Sake
drinks. Like the sake infused with Maui pineapples served in a large martini glass.
It is smooth and creamy yet finishes light and refreshing. That will get you ready
for some signature starters like the Sashimi Picante. Its a plate of thinly
sliced pieces of tuna, yellowtail, and salmon drizzled in a light ginger garlic
ponzu sauce with thin round slices of jalapeno pepper on top of the fish. It is an
amazing marriage of ingredients and you are not sure if you are actually chewing the
sashimi or it is melting in your mouth. If there werent so many choices you
would probably want to keep ordering it over and over.

Other great starters are The Blue Point Crab Cakes with panko, avocado salsa and a
roasted bell pepper sauce which gives them a unique smokey flavor like they were
right off a grill. Most crab cakes are made with a lot of bread crumbs and little
crab. These are just the opposite. They are loaded with crab and not greasy and
heavy like some crab cakes can be. Definitely try The Chilean Sea Bass Dynamite
which is served in a bowl with a plastic soup spoon which makes it fun and
different. The spoon comes in handy because you dont want to miss a drop of this
dish. Accompanied by enoki mushrooms, asparagus spears and dynamite sauce it is so
buttery and soft you barely need your teeth once again. If you are still not ready
to move to some entrees then try the Crispy Calamari, the Tuna a la Tostada or the
Grilled King Prawns. The calamari is light and crispy with thinly sliced strips of
zucchini and shallots that are also deliciously crispy and light. It comes with a
zippy refreshing dipping sauce made with habanero lime yogurt. The grilled garlic
soy marinated king prawns are big, meaty and savory and come with roasted tomato and
red bell pepper coulis. The tuna a la tostada are little blocks of crispy rice with
chopped spicy tuna on top, scallion, a ginger vinaigrette and a green wasabi cream.
The wasabi flavor is light, not overpowering and deliciously creamy.

There are plenty of great entrees to choose from if you ever make it that far! The
Sesame Peppercorn Crusted Tuna Steak is one of them and is not to be missed. Its
cooked to perfection, lightly browned on the outside with that rich red color on the
inside. It comes with a shitake-bok choy sauté and sweet soy wasabi sauce. The
peppercorns give it that wonderful little kick, but the tender flavorful tuna is
never lost.

The Roasted New Zealand Lamb Chops have to be tried if you are in the mood to switch
gears from all the delicious fish. Its hard to believe you are in a sushi
restaurant when eating the lamb because your brain keeps telling you that you have
to be in a place that specializes in only meat dishes. The lamb chops are thick,
meaty, tender and juicy and perfectly accompanied by the raspberry miromi demi
glaze. They come with delicious sweet potato chips, chinese broccoli and baby bok
choy. This is a dish that you wont soon forget.

For desert share a plate of chocolate mint, white chocolate raspberry and green tea
Mochi. Its not heavy at all and is the perfect way to wind down with something
mildly sweet after an incredible meal.