Ko Asian Japanese Restaurant Opens in Publix Shopping Plaza

New York-style Japanese food has come to the FishHawk area. Ko Asian opened its doors on Jan. 1.

Located at 5616 FishHawk Crossings in the Publix Shopping Plaza, the restaurant is owned by a husband and wife team, Jenny and Jason Chen. Jason Chen comes from a family of restaurant owners. As a child, his parents owned a Chinese eatery in his homeland of China. His brother, Joe, is the owner of China Star located in the Sweetbay Shopping Plaza on FishHawk Blvd.

Chen moved from China to New York City in 1988 where he began his career as a sushi chef. He explained that the art of sushi is very complicated and he was required to be an onlooker in the kitchen for two years before being allowed to actually make it on his own.

With more than 12 years of Japanese restaurant experience under his belt, Chen’s goal was to open his own restaurant.

“This was my dream,” he said.

Ko Asian boasts more than a page of sushi options on its menu. Customers can choose from both raw and cooked sushi as well as hot and cold appetizers, and several kitchen entrées.

Most of the sauces used at Ko Asian are homemade.

“We can tell people exactly what is in our sauces in case of allergies,” Chen said.

His wife, Jenny, doesn’t want people to be scared of eating sushi.

“The sushi is very healthy,” she said.

The restaurant seats 28 tp 30 and take-out is also an option. Lunch is served Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and dinner is from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday hours are from noon to 9:30 p.m.

Ko Asian is offering a grand opening special during the month of January. From now until Jan. 31, all orders will receive a 20 percent discount.

For more information and a full menu, visit Ko Asian’s Website at LithiaKoAsian.com, or call (813) 684-6668.