Bento-ya Goemon — Restaurant in Issaquah

The best Japanese rice meals in town come from this place. They have a strong Japanese-bias authenticity, which means their food are not too "Americanized". Japanese is my favorite cuisine, and this is one of the best I've had here in WA. This is my guilty pleasure, and I come here a lot (sometimes daily, or every other day).

Japanese curry is my favorite curry, and they do it right, with their katsukarē (offered in both tonkatsu and chicken katsu). It reminds me Kyoto for some reason. I have tried almost all their entrées, and I am delighted to say that I have never been disappointed.

While their more American-friendly breaded food like tempura, katsu, and furai (fry) entrées are fine (definitely better than anything in the area), their rice bowls are where it's at. They do offer a variety of food that others are too afraid to serve like saba (mackerel) and kaki (oyster). Even their pork belly "ton toro" bowl is a treat.

I also love their bento entrées, as they come with macaroni salad. This one is definitely a Filipino-Hawaiian influence. They're bigger bento do come with maki instead. They also sell a variety of Japanese snacks, and even some cold Ramune's.

The only real thing I do not like is the small menu — although that is not necessarily a bad thing. I do however wish they have katsudon/oyakodon, and some ika or tako (squid/octopus — gotta love those tentacles!) entrées.

Finally, the staff are great, they always smile and will definitely...

I was nervous about ordering here as I saw a review that mentioned that the food arrives cold and I'm very against hot foods being cold, the food tastes very different and microwaving it is a no go for me. However, I was pleasantly surprised and very relieved when the food was piping out when my boyfriend arrived from picking it up.

He got the chicken teriyaki while I got the mackerel teriyaki as a reviewer mentioned that they remove all the bones. Mackerel is one of my favorite fishes but I just ate the time consuming and pain of the bones. The teriyaki sauce was sweet and savory and coated the cooked vegetables and spring mix below the entree which was really good. The mac salad was delightful with great textures from the macaroni, onions, carrots, corn and other goodies. My boyfriend enjoyed his chicken teriyaki and I also appreciated that it wasn't overly charred or burnt like many other teriyaki joints or sushi restaurants do.

My boyfriend mentioned that the lady who greeted him and handed him the food was friendly and accommodating as we wanted chopsticks so she added that in for us. A solid takeout restaurant that is affordable...

I have worked in the asian food distribution industry for over 6 years. My wife is Japanese and I have lived in Japan for 2 years. Please believe me when I tell you that this place is legit.... the flavors are authentic and the prices are spot on. The only thing I see that is different from Japan is they incorporate macaroni in a side dish which I am sure is by popular demand for the demographic of their customers. SHOUGAYAKI is excellent and has a homemade Japanese grandma taste that I was shocked to have found out of a small bento place in Issaquah. Food is made to order so be prepared for a 10 min or so wait. Phone in your orders if ordering for a larger crowd. You won't be disappointed. I am so glad we found this place. You...