Cranston’s Ichiban restaurant, located at 146 Gansett Ave., has one of the largest selections of Korean and Japanese cuisine I have ever seen.

Order a drink and an appetizer and take time to study the menu, which features over 60 homemade sushi and maki rolls, home-made noodles, tempura and teriyaki dishes, Korean and Japanese specialties and other items I had never tried.

The special dishes of chicken, pork, beef and shrimp were all around $20.

I had the Garpung shrimp, cooked in a sweet and tangy sauce mixed with carrots, peas, corn and string bean.

Joyce ordered teriyaki shrimp with a sweet and tasty mixture of onions and peppers. Both meals were accompanied by a generous portion of rice.

Unfortunately, Joyce’s shrimp were overcooked, which made them tough. We notified our waitress, and in minutes a plate of shrimp, cooked to perfection, appeared.

(A reminder: Don’t be afraid to send an item back to the kitchen if not cooked to your liking. A good restaurant will quickly respond, as Ichiban did.)

We were impressed with the staff, who took the time to interact with their guests, and seemed to know many of them. Upon leaving we enjoyed watching the chefs making the maki rolls.

Ichiban is one of the few places in Rhode Island that we have found the delicacy kimchi, which is pickled cabbage with a powerful taste to it.

Ichiban does takeout and delivery. It is closed on Monday and Tuesday. Open Wednesday through Friday from noon to 9:00 p.m., Saturday 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday 1 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Their phone number is 432-7220.