12400 Old Glen Hwy #3
Eagle River, Alaska 99577
(907) 622-8889 http://www.shinessush.com/
Shine’s has long been a favorite place. I was therefore surprised when there was another café in its old storefront place. I had just returned after a two year absence and was looking forward to sharing my favorite haunt with my sister and nephew when they arrived in a few days for their Alaskan adventure. I was fortunate enough to locate Shine’s in its new location a few blocks away on the opposite side of the main street through town. The new banner, Shine’s Asian Fusion Bistro, beckons you onto a larger facility but with the same delicious offerings.
I picked up Pattie Sue and Ron at the Anchorage airport after their late morning arrival. We stopped in Eagle River for lunch at Shines before heading home to Chugiak. After all, the airlines haven’t done an adequate job of feeding and caring for the passengers for a long, long time… We ordered from the Lunch Special Menu. Pattie Sue chose the Sesame Chicken (Chose 1 Item from A List Below, $9.00, Most dishes served wth Miso Soup, Salad). Nephew Ron ordered the Lunch Box (Choose Three Items Below, 1 Each from A to D, $11.00). He chose the Tempura, California Roll, and the Teriyaki Chicken. I also chose a Lunch Box. My choices were the Tempura and California Roll but I chose the Sesame Chicken for my final choice.
We all started off with a bowl of salad and a bowl of miso soup. The salad was a mix of greens with some shreds of carrot and purple cabbage for color contrast and eye appeal. The dressing was light, had a slight tartness but underneath was a sweet component; very tasty. The miso soup was hot, savory and whetted the appetite for the meal to come. We had to reassure Ron that drinking the soup from the bowl was acceptable table manners. Pattie Sue’s Sesame Chicken was am ample serving of nicely cooked breaded chicken morsels, sprinkled with sesame seeds and drizzled with sauce. There was a serving of steamed rice and a small salad of finely cut greens and radishes. She said the chicken was cooked through, was tender and had good flavor; delicious. The rice and salad made a nice accompaniment. The serving was large enough that some of her meal went home in a “doggie bag.” It made a delicious snack the next day.
The Shine’s Lunch Boxes are actually Bento Box plates. That presentation has long been a favorite of mine. The five-compartment tray has a place for the sushi roll, the tempura, the rice and the entrée. A final and a smaller compartment for the beni shoga, pickled ginger, and the wasabi. The pretty presentation does belie the amount of food in the serving.
The Shine’s shrimp tempura is always a treat. The skewer holds several shrimp together making a large serving something resembling a super jumbo shrimp. The batter was nice and brown, crispy fried; perfect as usual. The California roll, an inside out makisushi roll, was well made. The rice was sticky and held together
even with ham-fists manipulating the hashi. The delicious crab and avocado filling was tasty and the coating of sesame seeds seemed to get lost in all the other succulent flavors. The chicken serving was ample. Ron felt there was a bit too much of the teriyaki sauce on his but otherwise the taste and texture was excellent.
The sesame chicken was very good. The chicken morsels were nicely breaded, fried a nice brown and
coated with a tasty sauce and, of course, the sesame seeds.
Even for travelers with ravenous appetites, the luncheon special meals were more than ample servings to quell the hunger; a successful introduction into the food chain of wilderness Alaska. The new incarnation of Shine’s Sushi is an improvement in spaciousness and diner comfort. The old featured tables and chairs all in close proximity to one another. When busy the ambient noise level was high; something usually overlooked.
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