A Japanese adventure

Takumi Sushi & Hibachi
197 Daniel Webster Highway, Nashua
603-891-1717
Hours: Lunch 11:45 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mon. to Fri., noon to 3 p.m. Sat.; dinner 3 to 9:30 p.m. Mon. to Thurs., 3 to 10:30 p.m. Fri. and Sat., 3 to 9 p.m. Sunday
Reservations preferred on weekends
Accessible to the handicapped

Takumi is a quiet refuge in an undistinguished one-story building away from one of New Hampshire's shopping corridors.

A koi fish pond near the entrance is one of the most calming features in this 183-seat restaurant, which is divided into several rooms: a 12-seat sushi bar; a dining room; five hibachi stations, where food is prepared on large table-top grills; and a small private dining room.

Toru Oga, 49, a sushi chef trained in Kyoto, is known for Oga's Japanese Cuisine in Natick and is part-owner of Takumi and the Ginza restaurants in Brookline and Chinatown. He recently opened Oga Japanese Tapas in New York City.

On a Sunday evening with my party of four, I chose the dining room rather than limit our choices at the sushi bar or hibachi stations. We decided to order appetizers from the multipage menu, and, as it turned out, we stumbled onto the Japanese custom of eating small servings of many things.

Executive chef Michael Wang, 36, a native of Shandong, China, who has trained since 1992 in several of Oga's restaurants, explained in a phone interview that fresh fish is delivered twice a week and that many of the marinades and sauces are made from scratch.

The gyoza ($6), crescent-shaped, ground pork dumplings, are a lip-smacking, slightly spicy appetizer filled with chopped Napa cabbage, ginger, scallion, salt, and garlic. We could have easily eaten another plate of the six tender, pan-fried dumplings, which are served with a sauce of chili oil, rice vinegar, and soy sauce.

Everyone also enjoyed the classic tempura appetizer ($8), three large, crispy shrimp and thick slices of sweet potato, zucchini, and eggplant dipped in a light batter and deep-fried.

Yakitori ($6), a popular street food in Japan, is an appealing appetizer for anyone new to Japanese food: chicken nuggets and scallions grilled on skewers over charcoal, served with a teriyaki dipping sauce.

The agedashi eggplant ($6.50) is a large, skinned, deep-fried eggplant resting in bonito tuna fish stock with tiny nameko mushrooms, grated daikon radish, and topped with two shrimp tempura and flakes of bonito tuna. The smoky, sweet flavor infused with the essence of eggplant made for an enjoyable first bite. Though my guests enthusiastically devoured it, I found it less appealing because of the strong eggplant taste.

''Today's sushi appetizer" ($8) comes with four pieces of raw seafood on rice -- peachy orange marinated salmon, bluefin tuna, shrimp, and fluke. It is beautifully presented with a lemon slice shaped like a snail.

The sashimi was equally fresh, rich, and irresistible. ''Today's sashimi appetizer" ($9.75) is an assortment of bluefin fatty tuna tartare, fluke, and fresh salmon on a white plate dotted with olive oil, and an emerald green shiso dressing, a type of mint nicknamed Japanese basil.

Hotate-hokkaiyaki ($8.50), or scallops and crabstick, which is imitation crab baked in spicy mayo, is a delectable combination in a rich sauce dotted with shiitake and enoki mushrooms, and seven spice chili seasoning.

Still slightly hungry, we ordered the nabeyaki-udon ($13.75), or ''noodle one-pot," filled with thick noodles, scallions, carrots, bamboo shoots, Napa cabbage, chicken, two shrimp tempura, fish cake, a cherrystone clam, and topped with an egg boiled in the fish broth. It is real Japanese comfort food.

For a beverage, we chose the cold Momokawa Diamond sake, ($5.50, glass) which arrived in a short, clear glass nestled in a small, black-and-red box. This rice wine is made in Oregon, our friends from Eugene reminded me.

We also poured the Sho Chiku Bai hot sake ($7.50, carafe) -- described as spicy, light, with hints of plum -- into ceramic cups. Why choose one over the other? Sip one in hot weather and the other on cold days.

The tempura ice cream ($5.50), a ball of green tea and vanilla ice cream wrapped in a tempura flour crust and deep fried, is surrounded with whipped cream and fresh fruit.

It's easy to imagine a shopping expedition and stopping in again, this time to try the sushi bar or hibachi station.

ELISABETH TOWNSEND