Pigging-Out On Sushi Rolls In Toms River New Jersey

Restaurant Reviewed by: Jane Ong

Bingo!! My colleagues and I finally found a place in Toms River that serves decent sushi.  We were working in our client's office again near the Ocean County Mall when we took our courage to try out this spacious Japanese restaurant next to Applebee's which we swore we would never return.  After our previous bad experience with very fishy tasting sushi, we were really skeptical.  But extreme hunger beat our fear.  We are glad that we tried this place out.

 Like many restaurants here in Toms River, this restaurant doesn't have the liquor license, so we were unable to order sake or Sapporo beer.  I ordered a non-alcoholic Lychee Mojito, which was really Sprite  mixed with Lychee juice, served with mint leaves. It tasted pretty good but I wish I could have the alcoholic version.

To play it safe, this time we decided to order only sushi rolls that didn't have any raw fish. As shown on the above photo from front to back, we had the Cucumber Avocado Roll ($5.00), the Shrimp Tempera Roll ($7.00), the Dragon Roll ($10.00), and the Smoked Salmon Roll ($5.00). These sushi rolls are so far the best sushi rolls we had tried in this area, even though we had only been to two Japanese restaurants here in Toms River so far.  The last one we went to was owned and operated by Chinese from Mainland China.  This one is operated by Taiwanese from Taiwan.  From my years of love affairs with sushi, the best sushi had been the ones served at restaurants that are run and operated by the Japanese.  Unfortunately, such restaurants can only be found in the big cities like Los Angeles and New York, not here in Toms River, New Jersey.  Sushi made by Chinese usually tends to be too sweet. It's often made with fish that isn't too fresh and rice that doesn't have the great taste and texture as the real Japanese sushi rice. More sweet sauce and sweetened mayo are usually used in sushis made by non-Japanese.  I personally much prefer the sushi made by Japanese chefs, but I'm happy to have found this place that serves rolls that are somewhat decent. But still, I don't think I will ever dare to try any rolls or sushi that has raw fish when I'm here in Toms River. 

While all the rolls we had ordered at this restaurant were pretty decent, our most favorite is the Cucumber Avocado Roll because it was made with very fresh and crisp cucumber.  This roll just tasted refreshingly good.  

Restaurant: Ichiban Japanese Fusion Cuisine Hibachi Steak House

Address: 1201 Hooper Ave, Toms River, NJ 08753

Tel: (732) 736-8868