[Restaurant] Maneki

Maneki
304 6th Avenue South
Seattle WA

"Once you visit the place, you will come back for the second time, and third.. and forth.. and so on"

Ah... Maneki, I regret that I found this place pretty late compare to my other friends. The first time I went there like 2008 (which I already lived around Seattle since 2001... -_-)

Now on to the restaurant, the restaurant is only open for dinner (5:30-10:30 PM) and I really suggest that you MUST make a reservation way ahead of time if you want to dine there. Why? cause the place will usually fully booked till 9:30 PM, even on weekdays *wow*.

The restaurant it self is not look that big from the outside and its located not on the heart of the International District like other well known restaurants (Jade Garden, Kaukau, Honey Court, Purple Dot, Hing Loon, Ocean City, Hongkong Bistro).... anyway, not saying that the location is hard to find, but it just a little bit up on the hillside, where there's not too many restaurant around Maneki.

On the the menu, for a Japanese cuisine, the price looks very reasonable. Appetizer around $3-$7. Main menu around $7-14.5 (let say its still under $20 if you don't want to get too detail). After looking on the menu, I decided I want to have some feast tonight, so I ordered a little more that what I usually order. The list that I ordered were:
- Sakana Dinner $14.5 (with Makarel on salt *Recommended*)
- Takoyaki (7 pcs) around $4 or less (I forgot the exact price, cause I can't find it in the menu - I might missed it)
- Yakitori Chicken with Teriyaki sauce $4.5

The Taste
Lets start with the Takoyaki and Yakitori. The Takoyaki is delicious, its soft and the filling inside was generous, plus for the price, 7 Takoyaki is alot! (or at least the same price as the rail-sushi one) *but remember, this is a restaurant*
The Yakitori on the other hand, I don't think I will order it again. I don't say it is bad, but its just not stand out, the meat was pretty tender however the teriyaki sauce.. I think I should stick with salt. (plus probably I prefer Takoyaki), so this might be a personal preference.
Sakana Dinner
This one is super worthed, why? First its a dinner set with miso soup, slice of sashimi (total 6 slices if memory served me right), tempura and also fruit (watermelon) all for $15. The sashimi was really fresh even though I went there like 9 30 PM, tuna sashimi is my favorite. Move to the main entree (Makarel with salt). Good things I researched a bit about Japanese cuisine, so I know that I will love salt better than teriyaki in this case, so even though the food looks simple, but the taste was super delicious, I guarantee you will love it. (I haven't tried the salmon version yet, but my friend tried salmon with teriyaki and he not recommended.) The tempura, its fresh and crunchy, nothing special but its good though. and after my stomach full, there's a slice of watermelon that's conclude my dinner.
Maneki is such a nice place to go for a late dinner , and it is one of my favorite Japanese Restaurant around Seattle.

So overall Rating

Food Taste : A (perfect, if you know what you ordering)
Food Price : A (pretty cheap, and worth it)
Restaurant Atmosphere : A- (nice, simple and looks traditional, I love it)

Conclusion : if you like Japanese food, then I recommend you to try and decide it your self.

Picture will be post later, I need to go :D