Gaja Gaja

Update: no longer open.

Places open and close all the time on South Street. Gaja Gaja, a Japanese/Korean restaurant, opened their doors a few weeks ago amid the bars and cheese steak purveyors along this tourist hell hole. I thought I’d give Gaja Gaja a go, since lately I can’t seem to get enough sushi.

The small interior is minimal-chic, and the open store front makes for great people watching in the warmer months. We sat by the open front, but because the tables were so close together, the only way to get to the far side of our table without asking the person at the next table to move was to step through the window.

The sushi is your standard fare, and there’s nothing exotic when it comes to their veggie sushi variety – cucumber, avocado, kampyo, and shitake mushroom. They were accommodating in letting me sub a veggie roll for the California roll that comes with the 14-piece lunch special. (Fake crab meat is not vegetarian; it’s fish. I don’t know how many people tell me I can eat California rolls because it’s not real crab.) The sushi rice was slightly undercooked, but hopefully that was just an off batch.

I could kill my self for not remembering the name of the Korean dish my partner ordered, but it’s basically a cold soba noodle dish with assorted vegetables and an egg on top with accompanying hot red pepper sauce – like bibimbap, but with noodles instead of rice. This dish of noodles and fresh vegetables was light and healthy, but I couldn’t help thinking the salad-like, fresh, unseasoned vegetables were a watered down version of what you might get at a more authentic Korean restaurant. I’m just used to getting pickled veggies on top of my big bowl of rice/noodles at Korean joints. And Gaja Gaja didn’t offer any kimchi to toss in the bowl. Isn’t kimchi almost mandatory?

Miso soup accompanied both of our lunch specials.

If you’re on South Street and are looking for lighter fare than the cheese steaks that scent the street, Gaja Gaja’s sushi and Korean-esque food might be your ticket. Get there before it changes.

Gaja Gaja, 627 South St., Philadelphia, PA 19147
215-923-0313
Sun.-Thus., 11:30 a.m-10 p.m.; Fri.-Sat., 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m.; closed Mon.