Last Friday, the Boyfriend and I ventured out for date night.  Any excuse to try a new restaurant, right? 

The reviews on Yelp for Tantalum Restaurant in Long Beach, CA were pretty spot on – interesting ambiance with a cute vey of the bay, only to be ruined by cheesy music in the background.  The food good but overpriced, although I might come here again for the alleged happy hour on Mondays.

Here’s a little Asian fusion for you to munch on:

Spicy Crab Roll Sushi Special – if you’re a sushi lover, then this one’s not for you.  Too much rice, could have used a sliver of a raw fish and I really wished we could have tasted the mango in it for more contrast in flavor and texture.

Wasabi Crusted Filet with brown butter mash, shitakes in a Soy-Demi – so good! It wasn’t so much a wasabi crust as it was a wasabi topping but nonetheless good to my tastebuds.

Miso-glazed Halibut with mash, haricot verts and a mango slaw – this special on the menu one was a winner as well, but only after we sent the first plate back for horribly overcooked fish.  So delicate and delicious with the tangy slaw.

Fried Banana Bread Pudding – dessert was a hit and miss for us.  The bread pudding itself was lacking in flavor and too mushy for our liking.  All of the supporting actors were the definite stars – the crispy outer of the fried banana, the crunch of the caramel sugar crisp and the divine vanilla ice cream totally stole the show for me.

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