Man, this place has stepped their game up. I always liked it and felt bad that they seem to get no business but I am here now for a quick bite and it's the best deal around...5.99 lunch special for a mountain of food of your choosing and a drink. They've remodeled and have a "buffet" thing (think mall food court). Just a heads up for those that frequent the area.

[Edited on September 10, 2012 at 11:28 AM. Reason : and free wifi, obviously]

9/10/2012 11:27:12 AM

wait, are you the dude with the long hair at that table near the window?

9/10/2012 11:28:41 AM

you're freakin me out man


also, yes

9/10/2012 11:31:18 AM

lolz

spottings

9/10/2012 11:32:28 AM

wait really? I thought I'd been had. Where are/were you?

9/10/2012 11:33:14 AM

you're the guy with really long hair
Sakura is full of windows
you freely admitted you're sitting there eating lunch right now using free wifi

bigman took a guess

9/10/2012 11:34:16 AM

that's what I figured at first but I took his second post as legitimate

9/10/2012 11:36:31 AM

9/10/2012 11:37:05 AM

gg jerk

9/10/2012 11:38:02 AM

how much is the buffett and does it include the typical hibachi stuff?

9/10/2012 11:38:18 AM

every time i see that bird, techno music pops in my head.

9/10/2012 11:38:33 AM

you may have convinced me to come by there for lunch...

9/10/2012 11:38:55 AM

I know he is a mountain of a man, but i like to picture bigman as a little skinny geeky kid like that guy from Road Trip and The Core.

9/10/2012 11:39:10 AM

i dont think he means true buffet. more like food court chinese where everything is visible behind the sneeze guard.

9/10/2012 11:39:46 AM

this thread is worthless without pictures...was about to go get which which and now i'm wondering if this is worthy of a trip...

9/10/2012 11:41:06 AM

Somehow, I've never been to this place, but I always assumed it was bad. Someone told me it was bad when I was a sophomore in college or something. I guess I should give it a shot sometime soon.

9/10/2012 11:43:22 AM

I've always thought it was good...just not sure how good of a "deal" this lunch thing is...and whether it is worthy of a mid-day trip.

9/10/2012 11:44:44 AM

Quote :

" Somehow, I've never been to this place, but I always assumed it was bad."

Same. But now y'all got me hungry and thinking I may have to get lunch there...

9/10/2012 11:46:41 AM

It's really difficult to fuck up this type of food, IMO.

9/10/2012 11:47:30 AM

Quote :

"i dont think he means true buffet. more like food court chinese where everything is visible behind the sneeze guard."

yep



I mean I'm not saying it's the best food you'll ever have in your life, as in don't go driving here from Cary. But it's pretty solid, better than I'd expect from the mall, and they give you a ton of it and a refillable fountain drink for six bux. This is coming from a big dude that can EAT, and I didn't even finish what they gave me

If you're in the area, check it out

9/10/2012 11:50:25 AM

Was gonna grab a sub for lunch but you mightve changed my planz .

Im krallum and i approved this message

9/10/2012 11:54:05 AM

Sakura Express was really good in like 2003. Last two times I went there ('09 maybe? and last year?) it had gone downhill enough that I had no desire to ever go back--bland bland bland. Now, I may give it another try.

9/10/2012 12:09:38 PM

they have the best white sauce ever

I wish I could convince them to give me the recipe.

9/10/2012 12:11:44 PM

I recently got a whole feast from there.

I did not regret it.

9/10/2012 12:36:38 PM

i always thought sakura was pretty good

they are the ones that put raisins in the fried rice right?

9/10/2012 12:40:55 PM

who the fuck puts raisins in fried rice!??!?!?

9/10/2012 6:05:30 PM

I miss fast food hibachi places like Sakura Express. Nothing like that in DC that I know of.

9/10/2012 6:54:06 PM

The woman that used to work there would ask if you would like fried "lice"

I probably haven't been in over 2 years

9/10/2012 7:04:07 PM

May have to give them a second chance. The only time I've been it was pretty lousy and despite being the only person in there it took for fucking ever.

9/10/2012 8:09:26 PM

I used to go there a lot when I had a fuckton of classes in Nelson (2006-2008) and that shit was dank. Shrimp sauce ftw. I think the student special was like 4.50 back then. Good times.

9/10/2012 8:27:17 PM

In before Lionheart says it hasn't been good since the management changed back in '03.

9/10/2012 8:37:01 PM

Do they still have that white sauce instead of seafood/shrimp sauce that all other hibachi places have? Once my friends started calling it monkey cum, it was difficult to continue eating there.

Also, did GoldenGirl work there way back?

9/10/2012 8:57:12 PM

What's hilarious is that we have a restaurant in Greenville called Sakura Express, but it's not a mediocre hibachi/chinese place at all. It has korean, thai, malaysian, etc. food and is probably the best restaurant in the whole town. This malaysian lady and one other dude cook all this shit in small batches with homemade sauces. And the most country bumpkin white dude comes out to take your order.

9/10/2012 9:00:51 PM

^^this...the goddamn white sauce.

9/10/2012 10:11:22 PM

I love Sakura Express! The tofu teriyaki is the best in town, IMO.

PS ... white sauce is just a mix of mayonnaise and ketchup, sometimes with added corn syrup

9/10/2012 10:31:00 PM

is it just yum yum sauce?

9/10/2012 10:32:33 PM

Quote :

"white sauce is just a mix of mayonnaise and ketchup, sometimes with added corn syrup "

No, no it isn't.

9/10/2012 10:42:45 PM

^^yes.

[Edited on September 10, 2012 at 10:53 PM. Reason : or at least, i think it is.]

9/10/2012 10:53:15 PM

white sauce = mayonnaise, milk, sugar, seasoning salt, garlic salt, lemon juice + other ingredients to adjust color and/or flavor

9/10/2012 11:02:58 PM

As I said, I've tried making different "white sauce" recipes, and had lots of different kinds of white/shrimp/yumyum sauces over the years, and Sakura's is BY FAR the best.

9/10/2012 11:14:54 PM

You can make that shit at home. A simple imitation is mayo, soy sauce, and sriracha, optional sesame oil. Mayo and ketchup? Please.

EDIT: Sakura's is definitely good.

[Edited on September 11, 2012 at 12:52 AM. Reason : f]

9/11/2012 12:51:35 AM

9/11/2012 12:52:43 AM

Mayonnaise + ketchup = Russian dressing

If you happen to add pickles in there, then you've moved into Thousand Island territory.

I guess that white sauce could be a mix of mayo+ketchup, but it would have to be very light on the ketchup and have other ingredients added in.

^^I don't think that would work.

[Edited on September 11, 2012 at 6:04 AM. Reason : ]

9/11/2012 6:02:42 AM

You add sugar

9/11/2012 7:35:53 AM

^^Step Brothers told me that was called "fancy sauce"

9/11/2012 7:55:15 AM

Quote :

"i always thought sakura was pretty good they are the ones that put raisins in the fried rice right?"

No that's the Asian restaurant that used to be in Mission Valley near the bookstore. Not Dalat but the other one. At least I'm assuming it's no longer there because that shit was nasty.

9/11/2012 8:28:31 AM

China Queen? It was on the underside of that building, not on the top part though.

9/11/2012 9:03:01 AM

I don't think it was Chinese. I think it was a hibachi sort of place.

Found it: http://missionvalleysc.com/akari-express

I can't believe it's still in business

9/11/2012 9:05:51 AM

Oh yeah. I only went there once I think. I don't remember it being horrible, but I don't remember it being good either.

9/11/2012 9:07:53 AM

I think they should paint with something other than dark pink

9/11/2012 9:09:38 AM