JP Sushi Japanese Kitchen - Monterey Park, CA

Slave girl and I wanted something light for lunch. I remembered passing JP before and thought this would be the best time to try a new Japanese restaurant.

JP was Chinese operated Japanese restaurant. It was cozy inside and the menu was quite small. They had lunch special menu even on Sundays, and it was only available during lunch time. We decided to go with duck breast infusion with red wine, chirashi bowl, and grilled eel bowl.

Duck breast came with 7 thin slices at $8 per dish. The meat was cold and tasted gamey. The wine infusion was thoughtful, but I didn't think it helped the duck meat much. I also didn't understand the tomato, it did nothing for the dish. For over a dollar a slice, I would say skip this.

When we ordered the grilled eel bowl, we were asked if we wanted sushi rice. That was nice and yes we got the sushi rice with the bowl. When the actual bowl came, the eel was cold, the rice was mushy and cold. It was a total disaster. Later on I asked the server if that was the intention and I was told yes. Well guys, if you have the word "grilled" in your description, most people would think the food should come out hot... I am just saying. Taste wise, it was ok. Nothing amazing and the little chunks of sushi eggs didn't really do anything for the dish other than making it more mushy. If you ever go there and want the hot eel bowl, make sure you order eel and egg bowl, not grilled eel bowl.

The chirashi bowl was good. It had items like clams and tiny sweet shrimps. The scallops inside was especially good, sweet and tender. In general, the ingredients in the bowl was fresh and enjoyable.

After we finished the bowls, I was still hungry since the rice bowl didn't come with enough rice, so I ordered Sakura shrimp scallop fried rice. The fried rice came out hot but also bland. I was hoping the taste of the shrimp could make up for the lack of seasoning, but sadly the shrimp was just too small to make any impact. I was not satisfied but I was full finally.

The service was awkward due to the girl standing very close to the table without any real engagements during the meal. Overall, I think I would go back only if I wanted a quick sushi fix, nothing else.