MOMO YAMA: 324 Great Neck Rd., Great Neck, (516) 504-0012

CUISINE: Japanese

HOURS: Sun. through Thurs., 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Fri. & Sat., 11:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.

CREDIT CARDS: All major

HANDICAPPED ACCESSIBLE: Yes

Just a short ride from the Queens border in Great Neck is a new restaurant that’s drawing attention for its exquisite Japanese cuisine. The restaurant is new – it opened in August – but the recipes are time tested.

Momoyama owner Jae Hwang brings his 42 years of hotel and restaurant experience in some of the world’s best hotels into Momoyama’s kitchen. Hwang started at Tokyo’s Hotel Imperial, before becoming the head chef at the Hotel Lotte in Korea. He came to New York in 1983 as a chef at Manhattan’s Essex House Hotel, before opening a small Sushi restaurant in the East Village. He sold the restaurant four years later and in 1993 he opened the first Momoyama on 41st Avenue in Flushing. Hwang also teaches Japanese/Korean/American cooking privately, at the Flushing YM-YWCA.

"My head has a lot of recipes inside," Hwang said. "I’m happy when customers are happy and they enjoy."

The atmosphere at the newest Momoyama restaurant is an extension of its owner – casual, warm and friendly. Visitors to the restaurant are greeted in the lobby and escorted to the left, where among walls covered with colorful aquatic murals are walnut wood tables with black Formica tops. The unpretentious atmosphere blends nicely with the service. The staff of 10, including Peter Fong who served customers during my visit, is amicable and informative.

I sampled a wide variety of dishes. Appetizers included baked clams breaded and stuffed with minced vegetables, deep fried whole yellow snapper in a brown carrot and onion sauce, and a sushi platter, featuring fluke, black bass, tuna and salmon served over white rice with pickled ginger, teriyaki sauce and hot horseradish. No surprises here, the tastes were all as good as can be found anywhere. There are, in fact, 22 appetizers to choose from.

Accompanying the wide range of appetizers were over 20 choices from the Sushi a La Carte menu, including fluke, eel, tuna, crab meat, octopus, mackerel, shrimp and scallops. Prices range from $1.50 to $3.50 ands the combinations are too plentiful to list. Assorted raw fish – Sashimi – join Sushi in a dozen menu items which range from $11 to $28.

Perhaps the nicest thing about Momoyama is they take American sensitivities into consideration. Unlike other Japanese restaurants, diners here can find ample hot, hearty choices on the menu – good for cold fall and winter nights.

I ordered the Momoyama Delight: grilled beef, salmon, scallops, shrimp, lobster and vegetables on bamboo skewers served on a sizzling platter with hot soup on the side ($18). It arrived at the table promptly and once there I quickly agreed that the dish was named accurately. The serving was plentiful. The vegetables – carrots and broccoli florets – were cooked to the right consistency, and the grilled beef, salmon, scallops, shrimp and lobster were cooked to perfection.

Momoyama is definitely worth a visit.