Sun-Chan

[Daniel]

Sun-Chan

2707 Broadway, New York 10025

Btwn 103rd & 104th St

Phone: 212-749-5008

I was excited to read about this place and was looking forward to going here tonight.. They havent been answering there phone.. Anyone know what the story is..

[cchen]

No idea why they aren't answering the phone but its a solid neighborhood restaurant. Slightly overpriced for what it is but probably the best Japanese option near Columbia

[Daniel]

Just back from dinner.. Had a fun time.. We sat right in front of the grill.. They use a gas one.. Check out the menu on menupages.com.. Its the same besides the daily specials.. Which had a very nice looking shortrib.

We started with cold dishes. Octopus Wasabi, Radish and Boiled Little Sardine..

Both dishes were done well..

Octopus:

Sardine:

Next we ordered from Yakitori.. We got a bunch.. Chicken meatball, chicken skin, gizzard(not pictured),duck,pork belly,beef liver bacon wrapped enoki mushrooms,and ginko nuts.. Inexpensive and done really well considering they dont use Charcoal.. The lady making it was really funny.. She would run into the back and talk to people while dancing around.. She put out a fire on the grill by patting it with her bare hands.. She had her small kitchen space well under control.

Our seats:

First was Ginko Nuts on top, Duck in the middle and Pork Belly on the bottom.. Ginko Nuts were perfectly carmalized.. The duck was sliced too thin for me(I am willing to say it might be connected to the three dollar cost), but still very good.. The Pork was just excellent..

Ode to Chicken:

On top CHicken Skin, in the middle Chicken Meatball, bottom is the straight up Chicken..

Chicken Skin was just as good as you would think.. Chicken Meatball might have been frozen but was still good, the Chicken was good..

Bacon wrapped Enoki Mushrooms and Beef Liver.. The mushrooms were great.. Second to Yakitori Totto.. The Beef liver tasted a little sour..

There was a gizzard in there too that we ate..

Fish:

Rice Ball:

This was a rice ball that had spicey Cod Roe.. Rice stuffed with Spicy Cod Eggs and then grilled.. She would brush with BBQ Sauce while rotating.. It cooked on the grill for 20 minutes.. Leaving the outside crispy.. We could not stop eating this thing..

Inside:

We then ordered oysters wrapped in foil, Grilled Whole Saury($6.50!) and some Sardines..

Wrapped:

Here it is.. Three or four Oysters, Enoki Mushrooms, Ginko Nuts with a little butter.. The mushrooms were steamed perfectly.. A thing to think about for your next bbq..

Sardines.. I think they were stuffed with Roe. You ate the whole thing and they were great.

Grilled whole Saury.. This fish is a favorite of mine.. I think of it like a firm little baby blue.. Just great.. The skin was crisp and salted.. Lovely..

A destination on the UWS with in 20-30 blocks.. There are many things I am looking forward to trying.. The have a sushi bar we didnt even look at yet.. They had some nice Sake offerings.. We drank two different bottles of unfiltered.. One bottle was $9 the other was $11.. Food bill was $69... We left well fed and well served.. This place will be in my rotation..

Edited August 5, 2006 by Daniel (log)

[Daniel]

Went for dinner.. We started with Wasabi Octopus and the Kohada..

Liked the Octopus better this time then last. Love the radish and there was more wasabi..

Next was pickled Kohada Fish.. Its very much like Herring. This was done really well.. Along with the Kohada slices, they wrapped cucumber around the marinated fish w/ shiso leaf.. The shiso cucumber worked well.. The sliced pickled radish we enjoyed.. I think this dish is very good..

My girl ordered a spider roll.. Served with cucumber and roe..

For the yakitori we ordered 2 beef tongue, chicken skin, beef liver, bacon wrapped enoki mushrooms and a cheese stuffed tofu..

1)The tofu (back left) was a little greasy and very cheesy.. Some people would really like these guys. 2)The bacon wrapped mushrooms on the far left were very good.. I would prefer more crispy, so next time I will request it..3)Beef liver this was my girls favorite thing of the night.. 4)Then was a piece of chicken.. They misunderstood did not bring the chicken skin we ordered.. Cooked well had a nice syrupy bbq sauce..5)The two beef tongue.. These guys were good..

Short ribs slice very thing.. Great flavor.. Threw a little of the red pepper they give you and some lemon to cut the fat.. They came out sizzling hot..

Still a few more visits to trying everything I am looking forward to..

P.S

On our walk home we passed the taco truck on 96..

Al pastor and carnita. Not a bad taco at all.. If I spoke spanish well enough I would ask for double meat on the carnita.. The pastor had a great pork flavor..

Edited August 8, 2006 by Daniel (log)

[docsconz]

Nice reports, Daniel. The food looks good. Too bad about the chicken skin the second time around. Is the clientele mostly from the neighborhood? College crowd? Does this place compare to anyplace else that you have been to in the city?

The little sardines reminded me of the Spanish baby eels - I can't think of their correct name at the moment. They have become rare and very expensive, though.

[Sneakeater]

Anguilas?

[docsconz]

Anguilas?

←

Precisely!

[Daniel]

Nice reports, Daniel. The food looks good. Too bad about the chicken skin the second time around. Is the clientele mostly from the neighborhood? College crowd? Does this place compare to anyplace else that you have been to in the city?

The little sardines reminded me of the Spanish baby eels - I can't think of their correct name at the moment. They have become rare and very expensive, though.

←

Thanks Doc.. The chicken thing wasn't a big deal.. I didnt even bother to bring it to there attention.. When we went last night at like 630 it was empty with the exception of one woman sitting in the back reading a newspaper with her dinner.. When we had gone on Friday, it was mostly a Japanese Clientele.. There were a few students mixed in however..

I would put this place along the lines of several Japanese Restaurants.. I posted a review of this place called Decible not too long ago review of decible.. Decible is more of a like a sake bar that serves food..But, they have some of the same type of dishes..

This dish is the octopus from Decible also served at Sun-Chan

The also do Yakitori like several Yakitori places in Manhattan, they have donburi, house made tofu, noodles, and sushi.. And a pretty nice list of Sake.. I am a big fan of unfiltered and they have two well priced bottles for me.. The big difference I think with Sun-Chan is it is not so centered around the bar.. The restaurant is more of a "American Traditional" sit down kind of place.. I think this might be the only one in this genere that offers large entree's or prix fix meals.. Starting with a soup,salad,entree and dessert type thing..

Either way, its really unusual for the UWS so I am happy..

[Eatmywords]

Great pics Daniel! Looking frwd to checking this place out. The herring looks particularly appetizing!

(Can't believe you stopped for tacos! )

[Daniel]

The Kohada or Herring was really the best thing we had there.. However, my girl still argues the beef liver was.. But the Kohada was as good as anything I have had at any Appetizing store or German Deli.. Is it strange to crave a bagel at a Japanese Place..

The girl was so surprised I wanted to walk the 20 blocks back to our apartment instead of taking a taxi.. My excuse of "honey, it would be nice to walk off dinner" was short lived when she saw the Truck.. She knew right away..