Oya Oya Oya

Oya (777 9th Street NW in DC) reminds me of the word "oyez," of the well-known phrase "oyez, oyez, oyez," which means "hear ye, hear ye, hear ye." I have fond memories from my days as a law clerk when the clerk of the court would proclaim, "oyez, oyez, oyez," when the judges took the bench. It's apropos for a discussion of Oya because it's a phrase designed to grab attention, similar to Oya's decor. It's definitely flashy a la the red alligator bar, super-modern fireplace, wall of chains, and cascading water. It's almost as if the atmosphere is designed to compensate for the food, which is by no means bad, but not special either. This wasn't my first visit to Oya. I've been there a few times. I went there for sushi a few years ago. Before Jack Abramoff got shipped off to jail for his various mideeds, he owned a restaurant called Signatures, which was somewhat involved in the political scandal surrounding him. Signatures had fun sushi -- not what you would call authentic , but fun, yuppie sushi. After Signatures got shut down, I believe that its sushi chef moved to Oya. Just an interesting bit of background if you were curious. So, why did I go back? My fellow food-loving friend, Laura, had a gift certificate that was about to expire. While I wouldn't have otherwise planned to return, I thought that given the gift certificate, it would be fine value, which it was. We both ordered from the prix-fixe menu -- $20 for three courses, and with the gift certificate, we only ended up paying $14 each. The portions were generous. We shared everything because we like to maximize our dining experiences. For first courses, we ordered a shrimp tempura roll and a curried sea bass eggroll. The shrimp tempura roll was a standard shrimp tempura roll that one could get at any sushi establishment, which I should have expected. (I was going to order the shrimp and crab cupcake, but the server kept subtly telling us not to order it). The eggroll was a bit underwhelming. I liked the uniqueness of the concept of a fish egroll, but sadly, the curry was barely detectable. It was again, just your standard eggroll, but with fish. For main courses, I ordered scallops with pad thai noodles and my friend selected steak (can't remember which kind). The scallops were delicious, but the pad thai noodles and sauce left a bit to be desired. They were just "there" and didn't really add anything to the meal. The steak was again, not bad, but nothing to write home about, and something that could probably be achieved at home. The star of the meal was dessert. Being chocolate lovers, we both ordered the molten chocolate cake. Despite the large portions and that I already had eaten two courses, I continued to shovel it into my mouth because it was that good!