2580 Alta Arden Expy
Sacramento, CA 95825
Rating: 
First of all, I am sorry that the Bi Bim Bab picture came out that way. I must have moved my arm and got super hungry. On this busy Valentines Day evening, we vowed not to visit American restaurants due to the large crowds and long waits. So, we opted to try out the recently renovated Mana restaurant in the Arden area. There was no wait, and the restaurant was about half full. The restaurant was decorated for the holiday with many Mylar balloons strewn over the ceilings. The hostess quickly seated us and provided the menus.
Today, we decided to order rolls that included the Maya, Spieg, and Lion King. We also ordered their Dol Sot Bi Bim Bab. The rolls were of decent size, comparable to Arigatos. All the rolls tasted fresh, but there was not to much flavor. There was not too much of a difference between the Maya and Spieg except one was crunchier with the soft shell crab. Although the green onion added more flavor to the two rolls, I would prefer the rolls sans green onion because the added taste detracts away from whatever flavor the roll had on its own. The lion king was disappointing in comparison to Arigatos. The roll was not that hot and tasted mushy. The Dol Sot Bi Bim Bab tasted OK, but was not that flavorful. The bowl would have tasted better if it had more variety of vegetables. Understandably, since the restaurant served both Japanese and Korean food, they are unable to make the dishes as authentic as possible due to food variety constraints.
Overall, the food served did taste fresh and the service was great even on the holiday. There is a large variety of rolls on the menu, but I had trouble finding rolls without cream cheese or spicy tuna, which I do not like. The availability of Korean options is nice, and Mana does do a relatively good job in the execution of the dishes. If you wanted to eat both Japanese and Korean food at the same time and not be too disappointed, then Mana would be a good choice.
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