Business & Tech

Bites Nearby: Kome

A stylish Japanese restaurant at the Promenade Shops at Saucon Valley

Maybe you're feeling the need to celebrate the fact that you've gotten those taxes done (we won't talk about the refund part of the equation). Or perhaps the warm days we've been experiencing--here and there--have given you a little more pep in your step.

Whatever the reason, if you're hungering for dinner out and you're a fan of Japanese food, you should check out Kome at the Promenade Shops at Saucon Valley.

Ever since it first opened several years ago, Kome's reputation as one of the premier Japanese restaurants in the Lehigh Valley has been growing. Step inside its sleekly appointed interior and you'll begin to realize why.

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The restaurant features two levels, and its open concept-style main dining area bears a resemblence to fine dining establishments in Center City Philadelphia and other major urban centers. The long, elegant bar near the restaurant's entrance looks like the perfect place to savor a pre-dinner drink and people watch.

Of course, it's the food that matters the most when it comes to any dining experience, and a recent visit to Kome did not disappoint in that regard.

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During Restaurant Week at the Promenade Shops, Kome featured a special $15 prix fixe lunch menu that included salad with traditional Japanese dressing, miso soup, a Bento Box entree with choice of meat or fish, and dessert. 

The Bento Box included crispy golden tempura, perfectly pan-seared gyoza (Japanese dumplings), a small slab of melt-in-your-mouth glazed salmon and various types of sushi rolls.

Dessert was a very special treat because it featured mochi (red bean) ice cream wrapped in a wonton-like shell and served with a tiny piece of the most chocolately of chocolate cakes imaginable.

The portions at Kome aren't huge, but that's traditional and should be expected at an authentic Japanese restaurant. Japanese food may look small on the plate, but it packs a powerful punch in your stomach, where its density helps keep you full longer than many mega-sized American food servings could ever hope to.

Additionally, the manner in which food is served at Kome (and other traditional Japanese restaurants) ensures that diners eat at a pace that allows them to feel full before they have overeaten. Eating at a moderate pace is a healthier alternative to scarfing down food in a hurry--and the fact that Japanese appear to have incorporated measured precision into their dining habits may be one of the reasons why theirs is one of the longest average lifespans on the planet.

A trip to Kome won't necessarily help you live longer, of course, but it will guarantee that your life will be a bit more enjoyable in the present.


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