by Michael Vyskocil, photography by Nikola Tzenov
Westminster may be thousands of miles from Japan, but you can experience Japanese cuisine’s tastes and traditions on the menu at Sushi Q 5.
Co-owner Jennifer Qiu said that the distinctive menu offerings capture the essence of the freshest meat, produce and seafood. “All of our food is freshly made,” Qiu said. “The rice itself is cooked every two hours, and all of our sauces are homemade.”
More than a dozen appetizers grace Sushi Q’s menu. She explained that its namesake appetizer features deep-fried crabmeat served with cream cheese and Sushi Q’s signature sauce. The tuna Tataki presents lightly seared tuna seasoned with a homemade spicy ponzu sauce. To experience an even bigger and bolder flavor boost, you can sample the salmon or tuna tsunami. In this appetizer, diced salmon or tuna melds with the texture of perfectly ripe avocado and Sushi Q’s sweet-and-spicy sauce.
If you want to sample an appetizer with a kick, try the Sexy Jalapeño. Qiu notes that this dish features jalapeños that are sliced vertically, deep fried and stuffed with cream cheese and spicy tuna. “Once they’re fried, we put our signature sauces on top, and it is hot, spicy and good,” she said.
Eighteen entree items give guests an introduction to sashimi and sushi as well as inventive combinations of the two. If you have a penchant for the taste of scallops, try the Chirashi Don.
This dish captures fresh sashimi’s essence along with seasoned baked scallops and shrimp tempura served over sushi rice.
When lunchtime cravings strike, seek out Sushi Q’s lunch specials. Choose from among the sushi, sashimi, tuna and salmon offerings on the lunch menu. Each comes served with a house salad with ginger dressing and a bowl of miso soup.
The care and attention that goes into the Sushi Q menu offerings emanate from Sushi Q’s owner and chef, Kenny Qiu, Jennifer’s husband. Kenny received his instruction in sushi preparation from a sushi master at a top-rated hotel in Japan. “Before he even touched a knife, he had to learn how to prepare the rice, and he washed rice for one year. After a year, the sushi master passed him and started teaching him the art of sushi,” she said.
Qiu added that serving the community is a significant area of focus for the Sushi Q staff. Last year, as the COVID-19 pandemic began, Sushi Q reached out to Carroll Hospital to offer meals for health care workers. “We showed love, and we got a lot of love from the local community that supported us” during the pandemic, she said.
