Sacha Walters, Staff Reporter
General Tso's chicken and fried rice, one of the patrons' favourites at Little Tokyo in Sovereign Centre. - Ian Allen/Staff Photographer
Little Tokyo is an Asian restaurant pulling in customers with reasonable prices and good food, to go.
"We don't want to scare people into thinking that Japanese food is expensive and so far it works," said Harry Zheng, one of the three owners of the restaurant. He explained that they have done no formal advertising since opening in April but people have been rolling in.
They serve a combination of Chinese, Tai and Malaysian style food. The recipes originate from family dishes, plus the experience of the other two owners, Xing Chen and Fer Yan, who are chefs.
Their combination meals of one, two or three meats with a choice of fried rice or lo-mien noodles cost $250, $280 and $320, respectively. But people order up to four meats, Mr. Zheng said.
"We find that in Kingston we don't really have this kind of food so we thought it would be a good idea," he said.
One of the most popular dishes is General Tso's chicken, which is chicken cooked in a special sauce, similar to a sweet and sour sauce. Other popular dishes include Tai- style fish and phoenix wings. However, vegetarians or anyone not in the mood for meat are not left out. Tofu in brown sauce, which is fried crisp on the outside with a tender centre and drizzled with a brown sauce, is a popular pick. Seasonal vegetables like broccoli, bean sprouts and string beans are also offered.
All three owners are originally from China but are naturalised Jamaicans, who thought Japanese food would do best in Kingston.
The restaurant is stashed away in the food court in the Sovereign Centre in Liguanea, the former home of Pizza Delight. They have been serving a lunchtime crowd and early dinner crowd from April, providing convenient hours from 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., Mondays to Thursdays, 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, 1:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Sundays.
In the future they hope to offer Teppan Yaki, which is where food such as chicken, steak and shrimp are cooked before customers.
