It's been a while since my last update - not because I wasn't eating anything Japanese but more because I was a bit lazy. But here I am, resuming my blogging activities. And what better way to do so with a try at a very famous Kaiten-sushi chain which amazingly and in all truthfulness I've never been too before!
So I've dropped by a Sushiro in Suntec City on a Thursday lunch.
Sushiro at Suntec City
3 Temasek Blvd, #01-649, Singapore 038983
The restaurant is located conveniently at the entrance.
Sushiro is indeed a very famous Kaiten-Sushi restaurant chain in Japan.
"Kaiten" means "rolling", and is a category of Sushi restaurants where the Sushi are served on belt conveyers with the dishes "rolling" through the restaurant. They usually are of a cheaper price but also of cheaper quality as compared to normal sushi restaurants, and more targeted towards families.
One of the uniqueness about Sushiro in Japan is that the founders focused so much on the quality of the sushi that they really didn't prioritize other aspects such as the interior design. Therefore you can get very different and unstandardized looking restaurants in some of the outlets in Japan.
However, at least this place in Singapore looks nice and clean with a high ceiling and spacious seats.
As I enter the restaurant, I hear lots of Japanese voices in the restaurants. It seems like actual Japanese people come here as well - which is always a good sign from a "Japanese Guru" evaluation perspective.
Ok, let's get started.
The Menu
This is the Sushi Menu for Sushiro.
They have a tablet menu which you use to order from as well. However, they conveniently have these old-style paper based physical menus as well.
These are good because it's easy to take a glance at the full assortment of sushi they provide, and immediately highlights what I think is the best thing about Sushiro - the variety of Sushi which they carry.
How many times have you gone to one of the cheaper sushi restaurants to find only maybe 4 or 5 types of fish-based sushi on the menu?
The great thing about Sushiro is that you can actually choose and enjoy different types of fish. This is a rarity in sushi services in Singapore, and makes it so much more worthwhile.
Look at the menu! They have the Engawa (Fin), the Hokki-gai (Surf Clam), the Sword Fish, Spear Squid, Cuttlefish, etc.
These are still really basic fish in a Japanese sushi restaurant setup in Japan, but it's very rare to find this assortment in a family targeted restaurant in Singapore.
Following is the non-Sushi menu (which I didn't end up ordering from).
I always challenge the sushi restaurant with a blue fish. Blue fish are how Japanese categorize fish based on the color of their backs. Fish like Saba (Mackerel), Kohada, Iwashi or Sanma are considered blue fish.
They are much more difficult to maintain the quality as well. They're easy to rot. Especially the Saba immediately starts to deteriorate immediately after it dies. Hence, many Saba dishes are marinated with vinegar. This one is too.
By ordering the blue fish at the very beginning, it gives you a good sense of what's to come.
It's okay. Not bad.
I feel some dryness to the fish but not that much. There is a good amount of fat. The rice is decent as well. Not as fluffy as could be, but again this is a Kaiten-sushi.
It's certainly not the highest quality Shime-Saba, but this is a quick and cheap family restaurant so what do you expect. It could go much worse at different restaurants! All things considered, this is pretty good.
I won't comment on each type I ordered individually, but here are some of the pictures!
Some of the items I thought were nice - The Kampachi was surprisingly nice. Very thick in meat and fresh. Good amount of fattiness for the taste. The Maguro (Tuna) was nice as well. The meat was very soft. No fishiness throughout all the choices today - which I think is really commendable at this price.
I was excited to see the Sushi Nodoguro (Blackthroat Seapearch) however, this was actually not a sushi. This is just using a cooked fish to make a nigiri.
Some of the other items which may not neccessarily be properly categorized under sushi would be the below.
The Mapo was something I've never tried before. This was a bit crumbly and difficult to eat, but tasted nice. It was basically a small order of Mapo tofu in the form of a sushi.
Oh, and almost forgot.
I also ordered this.
Now honestly this is where my biggest complaint for Sushiro lay. How can such a small glass of cup, probably even less than 500 ml or so, cost me $10.50 SGD! This is so expensive for such a small amount.
Guru Rating
As a Kaiten Sushi in Singapore 8.2/1
Yes, I would recommend this Kaiten-Sushi over any other Kaiten-Sushi in Singapore so far. This is because of a relatively higher variety of fish you can order, and also for the overall sound quality of the fish which we have tried. Congratulations on receiving the award. :)