Azuma

After our visit to Azuma in Sugarland, we decided to try the one by us to check out the difference.

Remembered we loved that little beef cooked on the rock thing? Well, we decided to get a larger version of it. Who knew that meant a big bowl of beef with all sorts of veggies like a bowl of stew cooked on top of a setting with a heated rock at the bottom? We didn't (see above). That, in itself, is good enough to be a meal.

Another thing they are known for is their robata. Robata is really skewers cooked on top of charcoal and fire. I think I remember seeing old Japanese TV shows or cartoons where they usually belong to smaller eateries or rolling kiosk where they stop somewhere and sell it for a snack.

I know it's not everyone's flavor but squid is actually very flavorful. There's hardly any mariated on it, but you can taste the fire. And it's a tad crispy.
I ordered an Azuma Roll which has yellowtail, tuna, salmon, and I asked them not to have avacado on it, just because I'm not a fan. Between my squid, the beef and a roll, that's alot of food... so much so that I took half of the beef home as my leftover meal, which was not a bad deal.

The difference between Sugarland and this location: I think the Kirby crowd is used to the uppitdy people, so they tend to expect that you're accommodating to their taste and service. Versus, in Sugarland, while the decor is definitely much nicer than the Kirby location, the feelint is much more casual and relax. Not only that, the server in Sugarland noticed that we brought our own gluten free soy sauce and he volunteer to bring us some without us asking for it. Compare to our Kirby server, who barely noticed that we brought our own soy sauce, not to mention creating more trash for her to clean up. How funny the contrast.

Azuma
Kirby Location
5600 Kirby Drive
Houston, TX‎ 77005
713-432-9649‎
http://www.azumarestaurant.com