Iwa Ya — Restaurant in Houston

A group of us came for the first time. Place orders at the counter and your order will be brought to your table. Everything else, self- serve.

The staff was efficient. They kept picking up empty dishes and keeping the table neat, so that's a big plus for an Asian eatery.

The food was tasty and in good portions. There are THREE complimentary soups, two to go with or before the meal and one for dessert - all with good flavors. The miso was my favorite as I could get all the seaweed and tofu I wanted. Someone had the creamy corn soup and said it was good. The red bean soup was how I liked it - sweet, but not overly sweet! I think the tea is also complimentary.

Even though they could use some practice shaping their rolls, there was a generous amount of eel in my unagi - more than I get at other Japanese restaurants. The bigger eel dishes came out first, making me wish I'd ordered one.

My bento box special was pretty good. Besides pork, there was also salmon. I believe the salmon piece is from the collar. I would have liked tempura vegetables, but it was good. The wasabi wasn't hot enough, but they have low sodium soy sauce.

This may not be what I consider a serious Japanese restaurant, but you certainly can leave full without too much damage to your wallet.

If it weren't for one thing, I would definitely come back with my husband. It's the same reason I don't plan on returning to Vinh Hoa restaurant, which happens to be in the same strip center - the sewer smell when I first walk in. It's possible the center is so old that the sewer system needs to be updated.

Anyways, there is a brand new Crawfish & Beignets right next door. It used to be a grocery store. I'll check them out to see if its sewer lines have...

Hokkaido 2.0

Another cheap sushi spot with high quality. It's like you can't go back. Though I really do like the sweet red bean soup that Hokkaido provides, it doesn't account for the actual quality of sushi that Iwa Ya has.

You do get free unlimited miso soup and this sort of corn soup.

It's the same ordering system as you would at Hokkaido. You get a piece of paper and pencil and check off which sushi items you want as well as ordering from the menu at the counter.

I do wish they had some nigiri or sashimi piece that Hokkaido serves but we went with what they had. And everything we ordered was still really really good.

One of the hand rolls and rolls that really stood out was how crispy and meaty the spider rolls were. I couldn't stop talking about it.

We also ordered eel, burnt salmon, dragon roll, and texan roll.

To my surprise, the burnt salmon didn't look burnt but it sure did taste it. It had this nice char taste to it, and it really was actually good. It just didn't look blacken.

Dragon roll was definitely good. They are really giving on their rice to meat ration. Less rice on sushi is always the goal.

I wasn't really a fan of the texan roll. Few days later and I can't even remember what was in it, other than I just wasn't a fan of the ingredients.

You can just tell how much of a higher quality their sushi is vs going to Hokkaido. Yes. Both are cheap places, but you can truly tell the difference. There's no going back. Don't get me wrong, I'll always be a fan of Hokkaido, but now that I've tried Iwa, it's just so much better.

This place is in a decent location to get dessert once your finished as well. So its a win-win.

Watch out Hokkaido. You have competition...

This is one of the cheaper Japanese restaurants that still has crazy good quality. I have been there almost every other weekend since it opened in November 2018, so there are few items that I highly recommend: the spicy shrimp tempura sushi (just enough texture and softness to the taste), fried rice (sounds simple but is delicious), gyudon (rice covered by delicate pieces of beef), sashimi plates (extremely fresh), and bento boxes (very diverse plating). I will always recommend this plate for casual dining but AMAZING food. What is even better is that they have soups for free on the side that you can keep getting for yourself: red bean soup, cream corn soup, and miso soup. You could always call them ahead of time and ask for "buffet" round which is essentially having 5-6 dishes one after another for ~$20 per person. They only do it for large groups. The dishes would include sushi, sashimi, grilled fish, and tempura. Trust me, eating meals in that format makes you...