SameSame Asian and Sushi Restaurant

September 2023
SameSame in the Park Raanana strip mall is now kosher. The restaurant is the northernmost shop in the row, facing Derech Yerushalayim.

The goal at SameSame is to provide good food at a reasonable price. The restaurant offers Asian style foods that are adjusted for the Israeli pallet. The menu is a mix of Israeli top picks from the Asian world.

Chen Samuel is the new owner of this restaurant. The name Chen, meaning "charm," describes this new owner. Soft spoken with a warm smile, Chen is unusually charming, especially for a restaurateur.

"I don't work on Shabbat" explained Chen. His previous restaurants in other cities were always kosher and closed on Shabbat, so when Chen bought this long standing restaurant at the Park Raanana strip mall, he naturally assumed it would be kosher. He uses only kosher products, he closed the restaurant on Shabbat and acquired the hashgacha of Rabbanut Raanana. The closure on Shabbat met with protests and even pickets from some of the extreme secular population. In his disarmingly charming way, he professes that the ruckus was totally unexpected. He has never seen this reaction to a restaurant opening and I am sorry that he had to encounter it in Raanana, the city where I live.

The menu at this kosher SameSame branch is the same(same) as the menu in former non-kosher restaurant. The only difference is that all the products are kosher. The meat is glatt, the vegetables have a Badatz hashgacha and the rice is checked before cooking. There is no freezer at the restaurant. All the products are delivered fresh daily and dishes are prepared the same day.

The long menu (both Hebrew and English) is a mix of Asian cuisines. The flagship of the restaurant is the sushi, with a long list of different types, most of which are tweaked for the Israeli pallet. The favorite is the Fire roll. Must be spicy, I thought. Not exactly. The top layer of the roll is raw salmon that is seared with a blow torch, creating a crispy shell. Teriyaki sauce and spicy mayo is drizzled on top of the roll and is topped by crispy sweet potato flakes for the crunch. Sounds good, but I went with the safe Crispy Sushi, rolled with cooked salmon and avocado, coated in tempura, My companion noted that I had to ask for the wasabi and the sauces, and that they came to the table in plastic take away containers rather than traditional dipping bowls, as we are accustomed to at other restaurants.

My companion chose the Tempura Chicken from the Rice World section of the menu. The platter came with a bowl of the chicken dish and a separate mound of rice. The generous portion of chicken chunks coated in Tempura were stir fried in Szechuan sauce. Mushrooms, green and white onions, and carrots were folded into the mix and sprinkled with cashew nuts. A mound of pristine white sticky rice rounded out the flavors. This is a an appetizing dish that he could not wait to dig into. The dish was thoroughly enjoyed. Looking around the restaurant we noticed this Tempura Chicken dish on several other tables. It seems to be a winner.

There are also soups, starters, and many other dishes to choose from on the two-page menu. the traditional Wonton Soup and Miso Soup and the less commonly seen Ramen Soup with chicken. Note that the restaurant can prepare a vegetarian version of most of the meat and fish dishes. Also there is a large selection of vegan dishes. Just ask.

Chen makes it a point of greeting every one of his customers. As one couple was exiting, he asked them if the food was good. No, the client said, it was not just good, it was better than good. And that is a recommendation.

Location: The restaurant is located at the northern corner of the strip mall. There is comfortable seating indoors and additional seating under an outdoor awning. When we visited this restaurant on a mid week afternoon a large group of retirees sat together comfortably under the awning.

Parking: there is plenty of outdoor parking in the parking lots and along the length of the strip mall. The spaces turn over frequently so if you have to wait for a space it will only be a minute or two.

A Tip: When I entertain a large crowd I have been known to save myself some work and serve a platter of sushi for the appetizer. With a quick phone call a beautiful appetizer that delights the table, is delivered.

From the Menu
Eggroll (2) starter NIS 19
kimchi pickled vegetables NIS 22
Roll on Fire sushi NIS 46
Tempura chicken NIS 52
crispy roll sushi NIS 43