This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
You would think that sushi is not the kind of Japanese cuisine that lends itself well to the stuff-your-face demographic. But all-you-can-eat sushi parlors have been cropping up in Salt Lake County lately to show that in fact you can chow down on as many sushi rolls as you damn well please.
Sushi Yah in Cottonwood Heights is just such a place, but it also serves other traditional Japanese fare for those interested in something more familiar, including teriyaki bowls and sweet & sour dishes.
The restaurant's co-owners, Jean Xiao and her husband John Hsiang, originally hail from China and Taiwan, respectively, but the two know their Japanese. They have been running restaurants for the 10 years they have been in Utah, said Xiao. "We like it here because it's better for the kids," she said about moving to the Beehive State.
Their catalog of sushi ranges from the well-known spicy tuna and California rolls to specialty rolls with cooked scallop, eel and unagi. The sushi can be presented in long rolls or cone-shaped hand rolls and are priced from $3.75 for the spicy cucumber roll of eight pieces to $9.50 for the Alaskan crab or tempura shrimp rolls. They also offer a variety of domestic and imported beer and wine.
But it's all about the all-you-can-eat service, which costs $14.95 before 4 p.m. with a selection from two of three categories of sushi, or $19.95 after 4 p.m., which gets you sushi from all categories (totaling more than 70 different kinds).
It's not the first Utah restaurant for Xiao and Hsiang. Both also are the owners of the former fusian Asian restaurant called The Fortune in Provo. That eatery has since been closed for renovation and will reopen soon as an all-Japanese restaurant called White Ginger.
The three-year-old Sushi Yah has been operating from a corner building at a Fort Union Boulevard strip mall that has seen its fair share of restaurants come and go, including former Mexican and Italian eateries that were in the same building.
But Xiao and Hsiang are making a go of it with handmade sushi that can keep hungry patrons fed until they can't eat another piece.
Sushi Yah
2440 E. Fort Union Blvd.
Open Monday-Friday for lunch, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and dinner from 5 to 9:30 p.m.; Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Closed Sundays.
All-you-can-eat sushi: $14.95 before 4 p.m. and $19.95 after 4 p.m.
801-944-3933.