Want to go?
WHAT: CJ Chan Chinese & Japanese Cuisine
WHERE: 2747 W. Alex-Bell Road, Moraine
HOURS: 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday
INFO: (937) 259-8882 | www.mycjchan.com
The new, second location for CJ Chan Chinese & Japanese Cuisine is now open at 2747 W. Alex-Bell Road in Moraine, and we stopped by to see whether it could match the original.
The answer was yes, and then some.
You may be familiar with CJ Chan’s first restaurant that opened in 2010 at 536 Wilmington Ave. at Irving Avenue near the University of Dayton. It’s been a bustling place virtually from Day One. The second location is tucked into a strip retail center that also houses the original Chappys Tap Room and Grille location, just east of Ohio 741/Springboro Pike.
CJ Chan serves sushi/sashimi, specialty sushi rolls, and a wide variety of Chinese and Japanese dishes for dine-in and carryout. Its most popular sushi roll at the new location is the cooked "Dayton Roll" ($9.95), with imitation crabmeat, tempura-fried whitefish, cream cheese, asparagus, and avocado, anointed with spicy mayo and eel sauce.
The Dayton Roll sushi specialty roll at CJ Chan. MARK FISHER/STAFF
For those who prefer uncooked rolls, the Triple Roll ($9.95) stuffs a generous amount of yellowtail, salmon, and tuna in a roll with avocado, with a sprinkling of caviar and a panko-style crunch on top. Or try the Volcano Roll ($10.95), tuna blended with spicy mayo topped with sliced salmon, avocado and salmon roe. Both are among the best specialty sushi rolls in town.
Single pieces of the Volcano Roll (left) and Triple Roll from CJ Chan. MARK FISHER/STAFF
The family that operates the restaurant found a fine recipe for Thai Curry Chicken ($9.50) and decided to introduce it at the new location only. Its flavorful sauce borrows the best attributes of Panang and Green curries, served with chicken breast, onions, broccoli, carrots and bamboo shoots.
Thai Curry Chicken at CJ Chan in Moraine. MARK FISHER/STAFF
The restaurant's version of Singapore noodles — on the menu as Singapore Mai Fun ($8.95) — is also among the best in the region, blending thin rice noodles with shrimp, pork, chicken, shredded cabbage, carrots, scallions and fried egg. The dish packs a pleasant-and-robust punch of heat with its curry powder, white pepper and red-pepper flakes.
Singapore Mai Fun noodle dish from CJ Chan in Moraine. MARK FISHER/STAFF
The new 1,800-square-foot restaurant has a seating capacity of about 55, with an atmosphere that is inviting and relaxing.
The restaurant is worth a drive, and a visit here will make diners wish CJ Chan’s third location comes to their neighborhood.
>>>>Related: Asian restaurant to open 2nd location Saturday
About the Author
