Our latest stop was at Lotus in Farmingdale. Located right on Conklin Avenue, in the middle of downtown, this place was hard to miss. The decor was a mix of traditional and modern, with pendant lighting and textured walled art. All the servers were decked in all black with these adorable sushi ties. As we sat down to eat the place was slowing filling up. Our server Steven took very good care of us, keeping our glasses full and bringing clean plates, as did everyone else like Jim, the gracious owner Michael and our awesome chef Tony.

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  Chinese Noodles and Sweet Duck Sauce Our night started with complimentary fried Chinese noodles and sweet duck sauce. After viewing the menu, Lotus offers a mix of both Japan and Chinese dining options. Tastes good but we're not a fan of fried food.

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  Katana, Kurosawa, and Hatsumago Next we are brought the sake sampler before being treated to our first dish. The sampler consisted of Katana, Kurosawa, and Hatsumago. They ranged in that order from driest to sweetest. Michael's favorite was the Hatsumago with its slightly sweet taste and I preferred the dry, smooth, clean Katana.

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  Katana, Kurosawa, and Hatsumago Here's a shot of the sake tasting sampler card.

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  Pepper Tuna Our first appetizer was Pepper Tuna, with a citrus ponzu and light wasabi mayo. It was perfectly seasoned, tasting almost like steak and nearly melted in the mouth. It was easily a favorite.

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  Here's another shot of the Pepper Tuna dish.

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  New Kiss Next we had the New Kiss - salmon, avocado and shrimp all wrapped in a piece of tuna sashimi and plated with an onion sauce. The dish was not bursting with flavor but was clean, rich and the light onion sauce complimented the fish without overpowering it.

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  Here's a close up of the New Kiss dish.

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  And another angle of the New Kiss.

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  Lobster Salad Alright, here comes the Lobster Salad. We had to contain ourselves from scarfing this down. This dish was unlike any typical lobster salad we have had - usually little pieces of fish mixed with large quantities of spicy mayo. This was big chunks of lobster mixed with edamame, corn, pineapple and a very light mayonnaise all topped with slices of avocado. It was refreshing, light, sweet and incredibly tasty. Best lobster salad we have had.

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  A close-up of the Lobster Salad. Yum!

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  Hot Mussels Next we had Hot Mussels, with spicy mayo, tobiko and scallions. Having never tasted mussels before, these were a miss for both of us. We found them too chewy and just fishy.

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  Fire Dragon Next came our first sushi roll, the Fire Dragon. It was white tuna, avocado, jalapeno and tempura crunchies inside and the entire roll was wrapped in tuna sashimi (no rice) and topped with spicy myo, eel sauce and roe. The roll had an overbearing spicy taste.

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  Close-up of the Fire Dragon.

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  The Long Island The Long Island, with spicy tuna, cucumber and eel, was interestingly wrapped in a tortilla pancake. Again, no rice. This roll started with a crunch and ended with one as well. It was well seasoned and good and the pancake worked well, surprising us both.

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  Close-up of the Long Island roll.

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  Scallops We took a mini sushi roll break and got Scallops. They were garnished with asparagus and topped with eel sauce for a very colorful dish. The fish was perfectly good and tender.

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  Close-up of the Scallops.

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  The Flying Dragon Okay, back to the sushi. Next came one of our favorites of the evening and a must order - The Flying Dragon. This roll contained a delicious crab and shrimp salad, mango slices and was topped with the BIGGEST piece of eel we've ever seen! Our creative chef formed the entire roll into a snaking flying dragon, completing it with a face made out of crab ears and pieces of squid for the eyes. Not only did it look exquisite, it tasted the same. Everything, from the seafood salad, to the mango, to the eel blended amazingly well together.

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  Another angle of the Flying Dragon.

  

  One more angle of the Flying Dragon. They put alot of work into the roll so we want you to see it up close and personal.

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  Lobster Salad Mixed with Avocado and Mango Next was more of the scrumptious lobster salad mixed with avocado and mango, inside rolls topped with three different colors of tobiko. These were as colorful as they were delicious.

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  Closer up.

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  Godzilla Then we tried a Godzilla - spicy tuna and avocado inside a roll that was flash friend and topped with eel sauce and spicy mayo. We didn't care for this, our sushi does not need to be fried, and it tasted simply like warm tuna.

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  Here's a shot close up.

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  Rose Roll Next we had a Rose Roll. Tony switched this up a little and we were served spicy salmon salad wrapped in salmon sashimi and spicy lobster salad wrapped in tuna sashimi. Both were topped with tobiko, both were luscious and the tuna barely beat out the salmon as our favorite. This is a great twist on sashimi and highly recommended.

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  Top view.

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  Another angle.

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  Angel Roll Not quite at the point of no return, we next got an Angel Roll. This was pepper seared tuna and asparagus inside and in the same fashion as a Rainbow roll, it was topped with tuna, yellowtail, salmon and eel. While this roll was good, if you're craving pepper tuna order the appetizer instead.

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  Close up.

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  Custom Roll: Salmon, Avocado, Mango, Lobster Salad Last but not least, we had to try the towel eventually, was a roll we requested they make. We enjoy watching what chefs create after telling them what we like and Tony's eyes lit up in excitement as we explained we wanted a roll with salmon and avocado inside with slices of mango and lobster salad on top. Tony delivered and hit it out of the park. The dish was plated with both mango sauce and sriracha and he topped the roll with bonito flakes which resembled onion yet had a wonderful smoky taste, but actually comes from tuna. We suggest having Tony make one of these special for you.

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  Up close.