Midtown Lunch

Today, in celebration of their 1 year anniversary, Hai Street Kitchen is offering FREE sushi burritos (starting at 11am, for the first 200 customers at both the Center City and University City locations). I have been a fan of Hai Street and their sushi burritos since I visited soon after their opening last year. I liked the shrimp tempura, loved all the veggie fillers and sauces, and was just ok on the pork belly. Plus I was sad there was salmon but no tuna. The kitchen is really receptive to feedback. Now, the rolls are bigger, the pork belly was replaced by citrus pork,  and spicy tuna tartar has found its rightful place on the menu.  And more recently, they did something extra awesome, catering to the ladies and fellas who always want to take it to the next level- any sushi burrito can now be flash fried.

First, I got to try the chicken katsu that I missed out on previously because of a faulty fryer.  The grease-less katsu is a good protein filler and pairs well with most of the toppings available.

Then, I tried out the gorgeous abomination that is the deep fried spicy tuna sushi burrito.  Somehow, they worked out a recipe that kept the outside crunchy without having the greasy leak through the porous nori- according to the chef, this took a lot of trial and error. Lucky for me, I get to reap the benefits of this testing.  While my friend’s tongue was sensitive to the outer crunch, I enjoyed the added texture; basically- ribbed for her pleasure? The screaming tuna roll, whether deep fried or not, is a yellowfin tartar blended with jalapenos along with gochujang, lettuce, cabbage, zucchini, and carrot. I would probably go for less veggie toppings in my roll next time so the tuna stands out more.

With hydration in mind, I sipped on the homemade hibiscus iced tea and the sweet green tea, the latter of which I was completely crazy about. I am so used to enjoying bitter green tea, but some sweetness is nice for a change!

Will you head over to Hai Street to wait for the free sushi burrito today? Keep us posted on the lines.

Hai Street Kitchen, 32 S 18th Street, 215 964-9465