The Art of Sumou

Located on the Main Street, Bay Shore, Sumou Japanese Restaurant is a pleasant surprise—unpretentious yet stylish décor, creative and colorful menu and a bounty of scrumptious Japanese offerings. Customers are treated like friends or family members and owner, Gary Xu endears the customers with their friendly and attentive service and he is just like an old friend to the nearby customers.

Sumou in Japanese means wrestling, and the spirit of Sumou is what Mr. Xu wants to instill into the restaurant operation and the ethnic culinary art is what he has brought to develop in the restaurant.

He talked about his love of Japanese food with ARN.

“I like Japanese food because it is edible art. I was greatly attracted by its delicate preparation and beautiful presentation. That is why I chose to learn the art of sushi making and other techniques. When I make sushi or rolls, I try to make them in the most beautiful way. I studied art and painting in China and cooking is somewhat like painting. Your works should be visually appealing in the way food is enticing. That's why I chose to work with chefs who sought a harmonious perfection of color, aroma, taste and presentation. The other thing I find simply lovely about the art of Japanese cuisine is the matching of pottery and plates to the enormous variety of dishes. The color of the pottery, shape and texture match the type of dish being served. It's all very creative.”

Breakthroughs in culinary design the kitchen are rarities and come through innovation. At Sumou the owner and his chefs are on their toes so to speak. Mr. Xu is a keen observer and devours cuisines from all over the world. He eats Italian and French food, experiencing, trying and comparing tastes until he has a mind-storm. Then he'll make notes and create new dishes for his restaurant. He also reads cookbooks and newspapers to keep abreast of what's happening in the world of fine dining.

A good example of an imaginative dish comes in the form of Spicy Sea Bass. The sea bass is pickled, grilled and then basted with spicy mayonnaise, garlic and lemon juice which infuses both sweet and rich tastes. The dish is topped with tobiko. A mixture of juices gives the dish a strange tangy twist.

There are five methods for preparing Japanese cuisine: sautéing, steaming, grilling, simmering and deep-frying. Of course sushi and sashimi are raw. As to the Japanese sauces the mainstays include: yuzu, ponzu, miso and teriyaki. Compared with Chinese cuisine which relies heavily on sauces, Japanese does not. The latter do not rely on sauces as heavily and emphasize light tasting fresh ingredients with few enhancements.

Sumou's Top Dishes

Crispy Duck Salad. The duck is marinated, dressed with cornstarch and then fried to get the duck skin crispy. Later it is topped with yuzu sauce and a garnishment of tomatoes which gives the dish an interesting kick. Served as an appetizer it is a crowd pleaser.

Special Roll. Handmade rolls are made with tuna, yellowtail, crab meat, salmon, other fishes and also mixed with Japanese pickles or vegetables to give its tasty flavor. The fish, Japanese pickles or vegetables are wrapped with seaweed and the rice outside with sesame seeds, top with special sauce-eel sauce or spicy mayonnaise and served with ginger, wasabi, and soy sauce. The sushi rice is mixed with rice and vinegar. Our famous Sumou roll consists of spicy tuna,yellowtail and tempura crunch,avocado inside topped with tuna (5 pcs) is customers favourite and also a lot of special rolls and appetizers for examples:-Sushi Pizza, Sumou Salad,Naruto Rainbow,Banzai Roll,Red Dragon Roll,Long Island Roll,Bay Shore Roll,Tri-color Roll,Halloween Roll etc.  

Yankee Sandwich. This interestingly named dish consists of a bed of fried eggplant and spicy tuna which is matched with a lobster tail salad. Salmon is then placed on top of the salad.

Japanese food doesn't have to be advertised, changed or adapted to suit a healthy diet. It is, by its very nature, completely healthy and almost fat-free. Oil is used so infrequently and raw food is a mainstay. Of course low sodium soy sauce is offered to those concerned with too high a salt intake. Besides that, we do have tempura cheese cake, fried banana or Japanese ice cream.

What's On the Menu?

Soup to begin with, including miso and clear soup. Salads with Japanese dressing and all scrumptious types of Japanese appetizers range from edamame to tofu dishes. Noodles such as soba or udon with or without soup are available. Teriyaki beef and chicken, Tempura, sushi and sashimi sushi rolls in a dazzling array of styles. The menus have colorful pictures to help customers choose something they may not be familiar with and for first timers.

Tasteful Interior

Somewhat typical of Japanese interiors, Sumou is done up in dark mahogany wood – tables, chairs and dividers, with the occasional bamboo tree sprouting here and there. The lettering Sumou is engraved in gold in what looks like calligraphy styled letters however it is in the roman alphabet. A glass panel is beautifully etched and engraved with a sumo wrestler. Sumo, as everyone knows, is one of the main traditional sports in Japan. Mr. Xu is in the process of remodeling the 2,000 square foot interior to create an even more stylish and spacious venue.

While there are sumo wrestler restaurants in Japan that serve food made just for the wrestlers, here at Sumou, the offerings are what you would find at any non-sumo Japanese restaurant.

Trends and Musings

Sumuo offers Japanese cuisine at affordable prices and not some kind of mish mash fusion. Even if that's the trend, Mr. Xu currently has no intention of mixing and matching ethnic food from all over Asia. Japanese owned restaurants do not do “fusion”, it is mainly the Chinese or other Southeast Asian owners who capitalize on what mainstream customers like. In that respect, Mr. Xu is keeping with Japanese tradition.

The staff at Sumou also follow Japanese tradition as much as possible. When a customer's glass of beer or water needs refilling, they try to refill it before it reaches empty. They are friendly in a reserved manner, not forcing their smiles on guests yet maintaining enough distance to insure privacy. Customers appreciate that. They do not feel hounded in any way.

One customer review online say it all.

“If you like sushi, then this is the place to go. The sushi melts in your mouth. The restaurant and staff are lovely.”

Sumou Japan Restaurant

Location: 551 E Main St. Bay Shore, NY 11706

Cuisine:  Americanized Japanese cuisine

Offers:  Dine-in, Take-out

Signature Dish:  Crispy Duck Salad, Eggplant and Chicken Teriyaki, Sushi Deluxe

Year of establishment: 2000

Phone: (631) 665-4427

Website: www.sumousushi.com