Japanese food with a Manga touch

From sushi to noodle soup bowls, this casual dining place is Japanese food haven.

Love Manga? Or perhaps anime or Japanese films or, in fact, the wholesome Japanese cultural experience is your thing?

If yes, then ‘You Mee’, an elegant yet casual restaurant in Forum mall, Whitefield is your place to be.

My friend and I, catching lunch there, were welcomed by a well-lit place, with black and white floors that contrasted nicely with the subtle-coloured furniture.

You would think the place is vaguely familiar, and you would be right — the ambience here is that of the sort of sushi bars you see in films.

The news about their sushi had reached us well before we stepped in, and we decided to take on the ‘Godzilla Roll’, the ‘Spring Vegetable’ and the ‘Trio Roll’ one after another.

You’d be spoilt for sushi choices at ‘You Mee’, but what was just as impressive was that they had mastered the rare art of making sushi that doesn’t fall apart.

New York Cheese and Chilli Oil.

Not everyone is a fan of sashami, but the ‘Crab Wrapped Salmon’ called out to me.

I highly recommend the ‘New York Cheese and Chilli Oil Dimsum’. The waiter told us that a customer comes all the way from Pune just for these and I certainly saw why. The cheese and water chestnut combination with chilli oil is a match made in heaven. I could eat three baskets of those in a sitting.

Miss good pork dumplings? Not to worry, the very smooth ‘Spicy Pork Dumpling’ is a perfect bite.

The ‘Konjai Chicken Noodle Soup’ did not let us down either. I felt it’s the soup you would badly want when you are sick.

My friend loved the ‘Tenderloin Teriyaki’. The Japanese-style sliced beef with baby bok choy teriyaki glaze had the right amount of saltiness and punch to it, and we were sad that it had only reached our table when we were already so stuffed.

Everything was going so well that we thought the dessert would be the cherry on top, but it was just alright.

The ‘Traditional Thai Water Chestnut’ was a good beginning to the sweet end — light, refreshing, chilled — but the ice melted before we knew it leaving us with watery coconut cream.

If ‘You Mee’ thought they could pull a fast one on the Malayali in me with their ‘Banana Fritter Sunday’, they thought wrong. I know a ‘pazham pori’ when I see one — I’ve been there and done that!

In all fairness, though, the whipped cream on it made a difference.

Overall, I would recommend ‘You Mee’ for their sushi and dim sums. But be warned, after you order, they may come back to tell you they don’t have certain dishes.

Fun fact: Not too many places have a unisex bathroom, but this one does.