Last night I was obliged by a birthday party to set foot inside a sushi restaurant for the first time in my life.
It’s never really occurred to me to go to a sushi restaurant, as I only like a very limited range of fish dishes, and that whole rawness thing disturbs me. Furthermore, the tiny portions and complicated conveyor belt system strike me as simply the wrong thing to be doing with food.
I understood from the menu that there were a number of vegetarian options, however we were not seated near enough to the conveyor to be able to examine anything as it went past, so we relied mainly on pot luck and plates of peas. By the end of an hour or so of puzzled sampling, I remained both unmoved and unsatisfied by the whole experience.
The very thought of a whole category of food that doesn’t interest me just weirds me out. The few things that I didn’t like as a child [namely spinach, olives, and fish in general], I have persisted with to a level where I’m happy to eat them in some or all possible formats. But sushi? What’s the point?
A summary of the problems facing sushi as a food concept
- Fish. Mainly raw
- Very small portions
- Soup that tastes like seaweed and contains small chunks of eraser
- Various other manifestations of seaweed, which all seem to me to be fundamentally wrong. Seaweed is found on dirty beaches, covered in flies, and should not be eaten
- The conveyor belt system, whereby some gannet sitting closer to the kitchen snatches one dish before finishing the last, and you are left with little bowls of what looks like sponge cake, but is probably seaweed.
Maybe one day when we have time on my hands, we will sit down in a quiet sushi restaurant, and work things out properly, and see if there is anything nice to eat. But I’d rather have a pizza.
I’m with you. Tried it, like some of it (the Tuna one is quite nice) but it’s really far more hassle than it’s worth.
AND it’s healthy. I hate healthy food. Pepperoni Pizza for me!!
Oh know I love sushi. I love sashimi which is just the raw fish. And dipping stuff in soya and wasabi. It’s great.
The whole point of small plates is so you can sample loads of different types.
I like smoked salmon, and sushi is kind of like that. You get a bit of flavour from the wasabi and soya on the plain fish. some of the fish is prepared (coriander seared tuna, wasabi curried salmon, etc etc).
It’s healthy and tasty. What more could you want from a meal?
Sushi is absolutely wonderful. Clean tastes. And strong too, if you like the wasabe/horseradish sauce.
Gently fills you up. Salmon and at least two types of tuna are fab. Also mackerel and, weirdly, omelette.
Personally I like the texture of the rice. And I adore ginger.
It;s a bit dear, but as a food experience it is utterly unique and I would be very sad if someone told me I couldn’t ever have it again.
/foodie rant
The only ‘raw’ fish in the world worth eating is to be found in Peru. It’s called ceviche and is very thin slices marinated in lime juice, which ‘cooks’ the fish and sometimes in beer, which doesn’t.
Either way, it never comes on a bloody conveyor belt and it works wonders on a hangover. Hey ho.
I love sushi. The portions may be small but it’s very filling. I prefer the vegetarian options and smoked salmon, but have tried a variety of stuff off Yo! Sushi’s menu. Mmm… feeling hungry now.
Another sushi fan here. There aren’t any good sushi restaurants near here so I occasionally make do with the Tesco takeaway platter when it’s reduced for a quick sale. It’s not bad but I’m dying to go back to Nambu-Tei in Baker Street.
They’re now cropping up all over the place. Far more sushi spots in London now than 3 years ago.
The only thing I was really a fan of was the wasabi/horseradish business, which gave me mega mustard nose-burn. Other than that, the main flavour I experienced was seaweed, and that just isn’t pleasant. Makes me think of grubby northern beaches.
I’m a sashimi addict. I’d recommend trying sushi in a restaurant that doesn’t do conveyor belts, isn’t full of horsey Londoners who are struggling bravely with chopsticks, and actually has a range of sashimi on offer. Avoid the wasabi if you don’t like it, and only put it on the rice if you do – the fish is meant to be high enough grade that you need to taste it, not some horseradish.
Oh, and eat with a fairly settled stomach. It’s not that healthy to eat raw fish, you know. 🙂
I’m quite jealous. I’d love to have the money and time to fall in love with eating sushi all over again.
Yet another sushi fan. It’s small, clean, elegant – and I’m also usually one for huge portions. And wasabi peas are God’s gifts to snackdom. Pity I can hardly get them in cardiff 🙁
If you want an easy-on-the-wallet introduction to sushi, try the Guru Gili conveyor belt buffet just off Covent Garden. All you can eat for
Sushi or ceviche? Ceviche or sushi? Never make me choose!