South Bay: Azuma Japanese Cuisine

Here's proof of how much my family loves me: my first night back at home, we had hot pot.  I hate hot pot.  They know that.  They giggled the entire time I pitifully nibbled at the meat and sipped at the soup.

Well, I showed them.  I mysteriously got sick the next morning.  Fever, vomiting, all that good stuff.  I didn't feel well enough to eat anything until two days later.

After geeking out at Totem (I am a huge fan of Cirque du Soleil, as is the rest of my family), we treated Ahyi to dinner at Azuma as a gigantic thank you for getting us tickets to the show:

I couldn't have asked for a better way to return to the world of the eating.  My family has a long history at Azuma.  I've been dining there since I was a kid and many a major family event was celebrated within these walls:

In fact, most of my memories at Azuma also include my Ahyi, so it was the perfect place to round out the night.  (Though if I were honest I would admit that the choice was made mostly out of necessity, as all the other restaurants we called were booked through the night.  Damn you, Alexander's Steakhouse!)

One of things I love most from Azuma is their agedashi:

While other Japanese restaurants give you four, Azuma serves you a pile.  A beautiful, awesome pile.

Since we were celebrating Ahyi's generosity, we went a little crazy with the appetizers.  Besides the agedashi, we also ordered edamame:

A sashimi boat:

The best karage I've ever had:

And grilled ginger squid:

By the time our main entrees arrived, I was too full to really enjoy them.  Each entree came with a salad:

And a bowl of miso soup:

I went with the combo dinner option, so I got to choose two entrees.  My first was tempura:

My second was salmon teriyaki:

My sister went with the steak teriyaki:

And the beef sukiyaki:

My mom and Ahyi both ordered sukiyaki and tempura.  Whereas my dad, always the rebel, forwent the combo dinner altogether and got himself a chirashi:

So. Much. Food.  At least it seemed like a lot to me.  Though perhaps that was due to my appetite having not quite fully recovered.  Everyone else at the table continued to eat long past when I felt like I had to stop or risk explosion.

Azuma may not be as sleek and modern as newer Japanese restaurants, but its charm lies in its old school tatami mats and elderly Japanese waitresses in their kimonos.  It makes me sad that Azuma isn't as busy as it once was, but at least its old clientele hasn't strayed, my family included.


Azuma Japanese Cuisine
19645 Stevens Creek Blvd
Cupertino, CA 95014
(408) 257-4057