

Paul Goldfinger, MD. Editor Blogfinger.net. 9/3/22
I have a friend who is Chinese. He loves sushi, but he cautioned us to only eat in a Japanese sushi restaurant with a Japanese chef. The founder of TAKA on Cookman Avenue in A. Park is Takahiro Hirai, a sushi chef with immense experience and record of excellence.
Chef “Taka” Hirai is Japanese born, and he learned his craft over many years. TAKA is a superb restaurant, and the Chef is a meticulous chief of staff, paying attention to every little detail down to whether his people properly greet diners and make sure that they are comfortable. We had lunch there a few days ago, and he came over to the table and chatted about his business.

Chef “Taka” loves Asbury Park. He started out there in 2000 on Mattison Avenue and then moved to his current location on Cookman.
His restaurant is a huge success, but other start-ups in town often fail. He is concerned that the quality of businesses on Cookman remains high.
The TAKA menu is exemplary, and the quality there is uniformly excellent. I had miso soup and a roll with spicy tuna, avocado and rice. It was sooo good. The other person at the table had tuna, prepared perfectly.
One little known fact about Chef “Taka” is that his first home in this area was on Bath Avenue in the Grove.
HIKARU UTADA. (remastered in 2014). “Hikari”. This is the first time we have posted a Japanese song on Blogfinger.
Here is a related link:
We do share in a common interest. Keep ’em comin!
Rich. Thank you for commenting on Blogfinger even if you are from south of our border down Bradley way.
I value your photo review because I know that you are a fine photographer. Please think of us if you want to submit a special image. It doesn’t have to be Ocean Grove. We post bikinis from all over.
Paul
Great photo!