For 35 years, Ming Yat restaurant served up generous platters of Chinese dishes from its location on North Augusta’s Georgia Avenue. With its ornate painted Chinese lanterns, red and black décor, and welcoming waitresses—of whom, my mom, Betty was one—it was a go-to for many.
I like to think of Toki Jr. as its heir apparent.
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Sure, it’s Japanese cuisine, featuring poke bowls, udon and hibachi, but it offers the same generous portions and the same welcoming vibe.
Toki Jr.—the sidekick to Toki Japanese Steakhouse, both in Evans and Martinez—shares the former Ming Yat location with restaurants Your Pie, AR Workshop, and Sheila’s Baking Co. And with plenty of outdoor seating on a covered patio, it’s the perfect spot for families or friends who just can’t decide on one place to eat.
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Typically, my daughter and I stop by Your Pie to order her favorite cheese pizza, then head over to Toki Jr. Inside, the restaurant is strictly utilitarian—it’s small, but filled with tables, and you place your order right at the counter. I always get the same thing: my favorite poke bowl, the samurai. It’s topped with raw salmon, edamame, avocado, sliced cucumber, tobiko (fish eggs) and spicy aioli (I usually ask them to hold the tobiko).
“We’re sitting outside,” I always say, and with a head bob and a smile, they say, “We’ll bring it out to you.”
Then, my daughter and I settle down at a patio table somewhere between the two restaurants and wait for our meals. Sometimes, if we’re early enough, we peek into Sheila’s to see if we might want to get a donut for dessert (she closes at 1 p.m. most days) or check out AR Workshop in case they’re offering a special kids craft that day.
But usually, we don’t even have time for that before our food arrives. While my daughter happily bites into her pizza and apple slices from home, one of the Toki Jr. staff walks down with my meal in a white plastic bag, with another head bob and a smile.
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When I unwrap it, it’s simple, just a black plastic bowl that when opened reveals shades of coral, bright green and white. As I dig in, the first taste is the spicy aioli, which is a creamy Japanese mayo that warms the mouth. Then, it’s the cool sweetness of the cubed raw salmon. Digging deeper, I discover bright green beads of edamame nestled atop a rice seasoned with vinegar. And clustered to one side are a clump of sliced and halved cucumbers, adding an additional layer of coolness and a clean flavor.
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It’s my happy place—sitting there on that breezy patio that stays cool even on the hottest summer afternoons and enjoying that dish that is, in the broadest sense, a bit of an homage to that old restaurant where my mom worked and where I often visited.
Make Your Reservation
Toki Jr.
434 Georgia Ave., Suite 105
tokijapanessteakhouse.com/tokijr
Entrée cost: $9 to $29.25
Danielle Wong Moores is a local freelance writer who’ll never turn down a shrimp cocktail, sushi or cheese dip. Her greatest food influences are her mom and writers MFK Fisher and Amanda Hesser. Her Dine and Dish column runs the second and fourth Friday of each month.
