Roka Akor

A friend and I visited the newly opened Roka Akor near Hubbard and Clark in Chicago because our first choice restaurant was booked. I have never been so glad to be routed to a new restaurant at the last moment! :) The waitress at Roka Akor introduced the restaurant style as Asian tapas and sushi. I'm a big fan of smaller plates of food and sharing, so that I can try a lot of different things on the menu.... and that was exactly what we did! Starting off with drinks, we tried "The One" and the Banzai Mule, which were excellent. "The One" cocktail was a sweet martini, exactly what I was looking for. :)


Next came some appetizers of edemame, which was simply made with sea salt, but delicious and tempura rock shrimp with crushed wasabi peas and a sweet chili aiolo sauce. Mmmm!


The vegetable tempura was lightly battered with perfect crispness; it may have been the best tempura I've ever eaten. An artfully prepared tempura leaf adorned the vegetable plate. I had to eat it, why not? :) Can't say I've ever eaten a tempura leaf before. :)





Our main course consisted of their roasted king crab in a chili lime butter sauce and fresh cucumber. The grilled flavor of the crab was superb and I wished I'd had the appetite to try one of their grilled meat dishes.



I could never walk away without at least trying a dessert and I was not disappointed with the baked green tea custard with carmelized banana. The custard had a really strong green tea flavor and was a nice, light ending to a wonderful meal.


Overall, I was impressed with Roka Akor (which gets props for its palidromic name as well)! :) It was a bit pricey, but I've come to expect that of gourmet restaurants in the city. The next time you're north of the loop and looking for a place to eat with very good food, give Roka Akor a try.