San Shi Go 345 is a Japanese delight

DINING OUT

The enticing menu of Japanese cuisine featured at San Shi Go 345 was

introduced to Laguna Beach more than a dozen years ago when master

sushi chef Koichi Sakamoto launched his popular restaurant in the

busy Village Faire Shoppes on Coast Highway.

Since that memorable opening day, the bustling dining room has

more than doubled in size, the sushi bar now accommodating some 27

patrons, an adjoining patio offering alfresco seating for at least 30

guests. Interestingly, to his further credit, the enterprising

Sakamoto opened a similar venue in his native Osaka, Japan only a few

years ago and more recently, in Costa Mesa, a venture whimsically

called Oki Doki Asian Cuisine.

With the Pacific Ocean viewable from most tables, this spacious

facility has gained renown for its comprehensive menu and affordable

prices.

Notable among almost two dozen sushi bites and as many rolls are

tuna maguro mounded atop steamed rice shaped in the form of tiny

lobster tails and tuna tartar with caviar, each sided with wasabi and

pickled ginger.

Then, for those wary of raw fish, comes a baker’s dozen of

fascinating appetizers. These superlative temptations include

delectable pot stickers stuffed with whole shrimp and minced

vegetables, baked New Zealand green lipped mussels in creamy smelt

caviar sauce, sauteed sea bass with Manila clams and an overwhelming

melange of sauteed seafood crowned with asparagus tips, shitake and

enoki mushrooms. For a mere $8.95 the dish includes tiny sea

scallops, calamari curls, baby shrimp and tender clams or a choice of

any one of these in total.

Browsing the dinner menu we discover an octave of appetizers, most

tabbed at $4.50 for pan-fried pork dumplings, going to $6.95 for

jumbo fried scallops. Salads range from $1.75 for cucumber or greens

to $9.95 for sashimi with back sesami. Soups start at $4.95 for Udon

or soba noodles served with a side of salad and go to $7.95 when

embellished with fresh seafood. All entrees start with a bowl of miso

soup, a salad and rice, these three items also prefacing the quartet

of vegetable plates tagged at $6.95 and $8.95.

Seafood platters at $8.95 to $16.95 feature such as a sea bass

filet and Manila clam duo sauteed with sake, garlic and soy sauce;

shrimp, scallops and clams with vegetables; and assorted crustaceans

with sashimi and sauteed finfish. Twelve beef and poultry offerings

start at $8.95 for sesame chicken and breaded, fried katsu chicken.

Amazing is the discovery of four grilled New York steak

specialties at a mere $10.95 and $11.95 each. These taste sensations

arrive in tender thick slices embellished with a choice of ponzu

sauce and radish, 345’s teriyaki sauce, garlic seasonings, or sliced

with mushrooms on a bed of sauteed Japanese vegetables. Another happy

surprise is that for only $3 more with any entree, delicately lacy

shrimp and vegetable tempura are available.

Other options are four donburi specials and a trio of fried rice

dishes, each served with soup and salad. The former at $7.95 to

$13.95 translate to such as chicken and vegetables with egg sauce,

grilled fresh water eel and seasonal fish, all atop steamed rice. The

latter, for $5.95, $6.95 and $7.95, are tossed with vegetables and

egg, chicken, beef or seafood.

A porcelain carafe of hot sake is de riguer with these tantalizing

delicacies, $3 for a small serving, $2 more for the large. Wines by

the glass are equally affordable commencing at $3.50 for the house

selection. Green tea, plum wine and red bean ice creams are a mere

$1.50 a scoop, a dish of fruit to serve two is $3. And can you

believe a cup of coffee is still only $1, milk and soft drinks $1.25?

Did we say affordable? Oh, yes!

* GLORI FICKLING is a longtime Laguna Beach resident who has

written restaurant news and views columns since 1966. She may be reached at 494-4710 or by e-mail at [email protected].