Sakura Restaurant -Sushi&Hotpot -Palau — Restaurant in Malakal

We dine last Valentine’s Day at Sakura Restaurant. I made a reservation for 4 persons for hot pot at 06:30pm. The lady who received my reservation is very jolly and welcoming, though we talked over the phone I can feel that she’s smiling all throughout the call. Restaurant is almost full, so it’s a good thing that we made a reservation. We were led to our table, which was table 81. We were seated in a room with another group of people, we asked if we can have two separate table because we are two couple. However, since they are fully booked they were not able to give us separate tables, which we understand.

Good points: When we entered the restaurant the receptionist greeted us and checked our reservation immediately. When she found our reservation she reconfirmed it to us “Reservation for Ms. Hanika for 4 persons?” After I confirmed, the wait staff assisted as going to our table. All of their staff are well groomed, presentable, and very neat looking. All smiling, looks very professional and well trained. All of them looks great in their uniform. The ambiance inside the restaurant is sophisticated, the appeal is totally different from the other restaurants in Palau. Interior inside is very cozy, not too many displays all over the place which makes it elegant. Their dishes and cutlery are unique and of quality. In my opinion among the Japanese foods that I tried in Palau, their menu items are one of the best. They have wide selection of Japanese foods and variety of drinks. Ms. Sheila, the wait staff who’s assisting our table was very attentive. She took our orders, noticed that we don’t have appetizer so she asked us if we like to have one and showed us the options for appetizers. She knows how to upsell. I’m not good in using chopsticks, she asked me if I would like to have spoon and fork. She’s a very good observer. When we finish our meals, she asked us again if we like to have some desserts. Kudos to whoever trained her, because her strategy is a very effective way to increase sales. Though we didn’t order for desserts because we were too full, they gave as a complimentary slice of cake. I think it’s their valentine’s token for their diners that night. When it comes to price, taste, and serving portion: Price vs. Service Portion, serving portion is small, it’s literally for 1 person only. If you visit other restaurant is Palau most of them have big serving portion, which is good for the price. Price vs. Taste, I think most of their ingredients are imported because only limited items are available in Palau. In order for them to maintain a quality and have a consistent taste they really have to secure that all ingredients they have are available and in best quality. So based on the quality and good taste of their food the price is worth it. We ordered Wagyu Udon, Tuna Poke Bowl, Spicy Tuna Crispy Rice, Wagyu Beef Vanshow Kenbi Hot Spicy soup all taste delicious. Areas that can be improved: I ordered cold lemon tea, I tried it and found out that I had to add sugar syrup, which is served in shot glass like container. I pour it to my lemon tea but still it has no taste, the sugar syrup went straight to the bottom of the glass and didn’t mix with the lemon tea. It would be appreciated if you could include a stirrer to mix the lemonade. There’s no service water provided and no complimentary bread and spread. Other restaurant will deliver immediately service water once you’re seated, and after you place your order they will served complimentary bread. So while waiting for your order you have something to munch and you will not notice if ever your food comes late. My companions and I ordered the food almost the same time, but their food came late. My partner and I were almost halfway through with our meal when their salad arrived. Waiting period can be improve.

Lastly, we appreciate that Ms. Sheila for mentioning the discount if you have local issued ID. Will definitely...

During my week in Palau, I tried five restaurants and really enjoyed Sakura for its beautiful restaurant, delicious food, and helpful staff.

The restaurant is right on the water, literally floating on the water: Sakura is inside a large boat, which is either a new build or a renovated boat that is attached sturdily to the pier. The inside of the restaurant (vessel) is like being inside of what I picture a river boat to be: beautiful wood accents, nice carpet, and a two-story set-up.

The food was wonderful. Our group of six had the hot pot (shabu shabu) options--and a few appetizers. I have limited experience with hot pot, and so I asked the servers many questions. The staff graciously offered to cook our hot pots for us, making the experience much easier for those of us without much experience. The food and pacing was wonderful: we had the wagyu beef and some delicious vegetables and split it all between two people. (Others in our group picked different hot pots that looked equally tasty.) We also tried the spicy tuna crispy rice (I highly recommend it) and some assorted seafood dumplings (also wonderfully delicious).

Finally, the staff was great. On the night we visited, during their soft-openings before the grand opening a few days later, Sakura had a huge staff: we walked in to see several staff members in the entryway to great us. We went upstairs and had our main server attentively caring for us. And when the hot pot ingredients arrived, we had two staff members cooking for our six-person party. The staff explained the food to us and were attentive to our pacing as we enjoyed each part of the hot pot.

Overall, I had a great experience at Sakura and will look forward to more visits when I next visit Palau.

Thank you, Sakura team, for a wonderful...

Honestly, I really wanted to like this place but the experience just wasn’t great.

The smoke inside the restaurant was super strong. It hit me right when I walked in and my eyes started tearing up just from sitting there. It definitely needs better ventilation because it was really uncomfortable.

The tempura was disappointing. The shrimp still had bits of shell and my kid actually choked a little on one. It was kind of scary. The vegetable tempura looked okay on the outside but when I took a bite, the batter inside was still wet and powdery. It clearly wasn’t cooked through.

The kids’ sushi came with a piece of eel that still had a bone in it. My kid got poked while chewing. That should not happen in a kids’ meal.

The sashimi came out looking beautiful but when I picked up one piece, I found a hair on it. That totally killed my appetite.

I really hope they fix these issues because the food has potential but for now I won’t be...