Lisa Wu and Tiger Chen met and became friends in China about 15 years ago. They moved to the United States in 2002, Wu says, but settled on opposite sides of the country.
Wu spent several years working in a restaurant in the Boise area, while Chen worked as a sushi chef in Boston. He perfected a long list of unique recipes, like a roll that pairs smoked salmon with mint leaves.
They started talking last year about opening a restaurant in Boise where they could serve Chen’s sushi and traditional Chinese food. That dream came to fruition this spring, when Chen moved to Boise and the friends opened Sushi Joy Asian Cuisine.
They remodeled the restaurant themselves, hoping to create a dining room where customers would feel comfortable and at home.
Wu’s husband cooks the Chinese cuisine, and Chen crafts the sushi and sashimi. In a few months, Sushi Joy has accumulated raves on restaurant-review websites. Prices range from $1.75 for miso soup to $43.95 for the “Love Boat” combo of 15 sashimi, 10 nigiri sushi and eight rolls.
The restaurant doesn’t deliver small orders yet. It does catering, takeout, party platters and large-group reservations.
The menu is full of colorful — and colorfully named — dishes:
* “Kiss The Fire” combines mild flavors like shrimp, tuna and avocado with spicy mayo, jalapeno and wasabi sauce.
* “Ninja Sandwich” is salmon, pineapple, tobiko (flying fish roe), crunchy tempura flakes and sauce wrapped in soybean paper.
* “Love Boat” is a chef’s choice of 15 sashimi pieces, 10 nigiri sushi (the traditional oblong fish and rice pieces) and eight house special rolls.
While staples like sesame chicken are on the Chinese portion of the menu, it also has some surprises, such as:
* Sweet and sour spareribs
* Honey walnut shrimp
* Mango tofu
“We all love mangoes,” Wu says.
Audrey Dutton: 377-6448
