Need help - what to order at Japanese restaurant?

JeanCricket

Going to dinner at local Japanese restaurant (Mt Fuji near Mahwah, NJ) and don't know what to order that is low cal ...


Any advice is most appreciated! I didn't want to mess up my weight loss and I get sooooo tempted in restaurants :-( (my weakness). Thought if I planned in advance I wouldn't get tempted by menu items ;-)


Thanks all :-)

Jean

PS I can't eat shrimp/shellfish (allergic) but regular swimming fish are ok...

Kaitou

Miso soup is low-cal, so eat that to help fill up if you can. Watch the sushi rolls--if you eat multiple ones you can be taking in a lot of rice that can plump up the calories. I think sushi rolls are anywhere between 150-350 calories so if you're eating multiple ones @_@ you might be better off order a big piece of salmon to eat instead, if you like that.

There's also things like grilled squid that is low-cal (though apparently it's high-cholesterol if you're worried about that).

lamps1303

Agree with the miso soup idea. Really low in cals so you don't have to worry too much about how much you have. Try to stay away from the items heavy on the rice, like nigri. You could probably have a couple of the small rolls but sashimi (just raw fish) is your best bet and super healthy. Sushi tends to have a reputation for being super healthy - it is if you make the right choices, or it could become a carb-fest!

edited to correct spelling error!

martinel2099

Spicy Tuna rolls are pretty good bang for your buck calorie wise, if you don't like fish then try California rolls. If you're at a hibachi restaurant you can cut down the calories significantly by not having the fried rice, there's a ton of calories there. Also cut down on the sauce, the yum yum sauce is terrific but lots of calories.

dbmata

Sashimi.

Go for it.

VeryKatie

If you're not turned off by raw fish, sashimi would be a good option. It's just a slab of fish, sometimes seared but always raw. I recommend tuna or butterfish if they have it. Mackrel and salmon are very fishy flavoured when raw. Luckily for you, Japanese restaurants have lots of fish options which are very lean.

Watch out for sauces (soy sauce isn't too much but they like their spicy mayo combo too) and anything called "Tempura" - that's deep fried batter. Do expect teriyaki sauce on most things, even if it's not listed in the menu. I find some places go really heavy on the teriyaki.

Miso soup is a somewhat good option but can be high in salt and also depending on how much tofu you get in it, there can be some hidden calories.

I like California rolls. They're about 300ish calories for about 6 pieces? Not sure sure, I'd look that up. Just stick with one if you're limiting your calories. Some lower options might be the veggie rolls since they are often composed of only the veggies - like cucumber or pickle or shiitake (mushroom) rolls. Yam rolls will be tempura though.

You might also try nigiri sushi - this is the type with the little ball of rice and a piece of fish on top. Very little to no seaweed would be used. These are nice because the orders usually only come with 1 - 3 pieces, so you can order smaller quantities and therefore have more control (even though they have rice - usually about 2 small bites per piece... just to try to give you a sense of the size).

Edamame seems like a good option but is actually high calorie.

EDIT: Ok, seriously? A mushroom type got censored!? - I added in an "i" so that you kind of know what it will be called.

EDIT: I see about the shellfish... watch out for that California roll. It usually uses imitation crab - I don't know if you can have that? Squid and octopus are also a shellfish allergy wise! Stay away!

Also, take a look at this site... it's for a place called Ra Sushi so it's probably not the same place, but it might help you get a feel for calorie amounts in certain rolls.

http://www.exercise4weightloss.com/weight-watchers-points-ra-sushi.html

You can also ask them if their spicy sauces are mayo based or not. If not then they probably aren't too bad.

Looking at the menu for your restaurant (http://www.mtfujirestaurants.com/menus_HH.htm), I'd select for things like:

- Tekka Maki
- Kappa Maki
- Sake-Skin Maki
- California?
- Oshinko Maki
- Unagi? -It's eel... is that considered shellfish?
- Tobiko is fine - don't know if you'll like the texture (kind of gritty)
- Some of the hibachi stuff might be okay, but plan for a bit of butter or teriyaki in the sauce
- Some of the steaks might be good, and you could plan to eat half. I'm usually willing to use a bit more calories on something like steak since it keeps me full for a long time.

And stay away from things like:

- Gyoza
- Shrimp, Veggie, Assorted Tempura
- Tako or Calimari or Ika or Ebi, Scallion (for allergies) and dynamite rolls - tell them you have an allergy for sure
- Futo Maki
- Tamago is eggs - so that's up to you, they may be cooked with oil

sistrsprkl

I like to get veg sushi and seaweed salad... and miso soup.

Francl27

Miso soup and sashimi typically. Or miso soup and a couple salmon/avocado rolls... that's 800 calories or so.

missADS1981

steamed chicken with veggies, garlic sauce on the side.

missADS1981

as far as sushi avoid anything with "spicy sauce"

i go for tuna sashimi and some vegetables

whovian67

Bento box with chicken teriyaki is awesome.

jasonmh630

Bento box's are good... Also, maybe lunch portions of the hibachi meals. I usually get Hibachi chicken and/or shrimp and that comes with fried rice (or white, if specified) and mixed veggies. The place down here in Alabama that's AMAZING is called The Rice Box, and is usually around 600-700 for all of that, depending on what type of meat you get.

JoRocka

any sushi/sashimi that isn't a fancy roll but straight fish will be good.
Sashimi is a better option- more meat and less rice- but you really wind up doing a number on your calories with the whole dragon/godzilla/philly whatever roll.

A good rule of thumb is that sauces are the number one calorie killer when people go out- and drinks- so the more you can cut down on those- or find options outside of heavy sauces- the better you'll be.

Otherwise
miso
salad
steamed veggies
and choice of grilled meat is a win win- can't really go wrong with those options.

bree827642

Not sure if sodium is an issue for you, but a lot of Japanese food in N. America is high in salt - just something to be aware of. Miso soup in particular can be v. high in salt.

If they have a sashimi salad, that can be good to order if you're trying to break into raw fish. Also with sushi itself (slices of fish on rice) you can also order that then eat less of the rice with the fish.

Things like chicken karaage, pork katsu and even some types of chicken teriyaki are deep-fried, so if the menu doesn't say you might want to ask your server

shadesof66

1). Sashimi - high protein..low fat (and if you order salmon it's high in omega 3 FFAs which are really good for many aspects of health)
2). rice-free rolls - most good Sushi places offer these alternatives - tend to go by the name of ex-GF of ex-BF rolls out here in SoCal - rice is replaced with cucumber or some other veggie generally..so low carb alternative to the standard rolls.
3). Low Sodium Soy sauce always...

Have Fun...

VeryKatie

I posted this link before and just wanted to comment that it seems they've accidentally listed the calories under all the tfat column (everything was shifted to the right one column)

http://www.exercise4weightloss.com/weight-watchers-points-ra-sushi.html

Kaitou

@VeryKatie: I'm glad you mentioned that about octopus/squids being shellfish (allergy-wise). I didn't know that and I apologize to the OP for suggesting it.

LexiMelo

If you're not turned off by raw fish, sashimi would be a good option.

+1

My favorites are white tuna, salmon, and yellowtail. (these are probably the most mild).

JeanCricket

Thank you all SO MUCH! This is really helpful and makes me look forward to dinner instead of anxious! Will let you know how it goes :-)

JeanCricket

Thanks again for all your suggestions. Ended up eating a salad with ginger dressing, 1.5 veggie spring rolls, 1/3 cup edamame and a cucumber roll. Also a few bites of hibachi veggies...

Next time will try for some sushi as well :-). Still getting used to eating out and how to estimate calories so tend not to eat enough for fear of going over!