In the Surry Hills suburb of Sydney, both Edona Sushi Noodle Bar and "I Am Sushi" offer up the similar deli style. Unlike Eat Me Sushi, which you walk into and pass the dining area in order to see the display case of rolls, at Edona the dining room is off to the side of the restaurant, so their display case is practically on the sidewalk. Passersby can't help but notice the rows of rolls all neatly categorized by headings like Fusion, Seafood, Meat and Vegetarian. To make things easier, every roll at Edona costs A$3, whether you choose Teriyaki Tuna or Seaweed Cucumber.
Here, the condiments also cost extra. Bowls filled with the little plastic fish-shaped dispensers of soy sauce (these seem to be quite prevalent in Australia), wasabi packets and containers and ginger each indicate the price—from 10 cents to 30 cents.
I ordered the Egg Cucumber Roll, which was actually more like an egg salad roll with cucumber inside it. Not the most savory I ever tried, but I had gotten it for novelty, since I had not seen one like it anywhere else. This was the same reason I ordered the Teriyaki Potato roll at nearby "I Am Sushi," because the strangely squarish and mushy-looking roll with avocado inside featured a seemingly soggy and cold blob of fried potato, which made it all the more interesting that they considered this a sushi roll. It was an aberration of a sushi roll, really, not just in style and appearance but in the interesting ingredients. It tasted just like a potato salad, with gooey sushi rice surrounding it. With the teriyaki sauce inside, it really wasn't bad.
Edona Sushi Noodle Bar
101-103 Devonshire St., Surry Hills NSW
02-8399-3839
I Am Sushi
418 Elizabeth St., Surry Hills NSW
02-9211-0800
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Sushi Bar Makoto: A Sushi Train Restaurant
Sushi Bar Makoto is so frenetically busy and popular, the dishes of sushi are double-stacked on conveyor belts; you can sit upon a stool and watch the selections whiz past, the little signs next to the plates indicating the names of exotic sea gems: Bar Cod, Trevally, Sea Urchin from Tasmania. But there are familiar names as well—lobster salad gunkan-style sushi with flying fish eggs, seared salmon sushi topped with salmon eggs marinated in soy sauce (hence the brownish hue to the roe), shrimp tempura sushi with red onion and Japanese-style tartar sauce. There are even cups bursting with fruit, the oversize lids on them askew and nearly toppling as the offerings round the corners of the belt path.
I fancied one particularly colorful two-piece roll which consisted of pumpkin tempura with red and yellow radish, with flakes of furikake dusting the tops. Presumably due to having made many a revolution around the bar, the pumpkin tempura inside was soggy and cold, but still serviceable (the tangy crunch of the pickled radishes inside did help the taste).
For such a trendy joint filled with young people, the atmosphere is unexpectedly dull; most patrons sit dour-faced and quiet as they pick at their food. And not surprisingly, there are communication difficulties with the staff, who stare at you wide-eyed with childlike puzzlement when you ask the simplest questions. A waiter came by and asked if I wanted a "wet-tish." It took me a dazed and confused number of minutes before I figured out he was offering "wet tissues"—what we would call "wet-naps" in the States. But for the most part this is a help-yourself eatery; specials can be ordered from the chefs behind the bar, who quickly cater to your whims.
These whims could easily be any one of the three "Chief's Special Handroll" (that's how it's written) selections posted on the wall: Fried Salmon Belly with Mentaiko, Paradise Prawn Cutlet with Sundried Tomato, Tempura Ika with Pineapple. As I expected, the latter was the tastiest in my opinion because of the integration of a tropical fruit (plus you just can't go wrong with fried squid); but I had to try the others as well, and because there's only so much even I can eat in one sitting, I strolled around the street for a spell before returning to Makoto for a second round. By then the restaurant, getting ready to close for the afternoon, was practically giving away whatever was left on the conveyor belt: everything after 3 p.m. is only A$3 a plate, but you can only take it to go. As the color-coded price guide at the bar shows, most plates normally range from A$2.60 to A$6.60. Not bad for a slightly higher-end conveyor-belt sushi restaurant.
Sushi Bar Makoto
119 Liverpool St., Sydney NSW
02-9283-6767
I fancied one particularly colorful two-piece roll which consisted of pumpkin tempura with red and yellow radish, with flakes of furikake dusting the tops. Presumably due to having made many a revolution around the bar, the pumpkin tempura inside was soggy and cold, but still serviceable (the tangy crunch of the pickled radishes inside did help the taste).
For such a trendy joint filled with young people, the atmosphere is unexpectedly dull; most patrons sit dour-faced and quiet as they pick at their food. And not surprisingly, there are communication difficulties with the staff, who stare at you wide-eyed with childlike puzzlement when you ask the simplest questions. A waiter came by and asked if I wanted a "wet-tish." It took me a dazed and confused number of minutes before I figured out he was offering "wet tissues"—what we would call "wet-naps" in the States. But for the most part this is a help-yourself eatery; specials can be ordered from the chefs behind the bar, who quickly cater to your whims.
These whims could easily be any one of the three "Chief's Special Handroll" (that's how it's written) selections posted on the wall: Fried Salmon Belly with Mentaiko, Paradise Prawn Cutlet with Sundried Tomato, Tempura Ika with Pineapple. As I expected, the latter was the tastiest in my opinion because of the integration of a tropical fruit (plus you just can't go wrong with fried squid); but I had to try the others as well, and because there's only so much even I can eat in one sitting, I strolled around the street for a spell before returning to Makoto for a second round. By then the restaurant, getting ready to close for the afternoon, was practically giving away whatever was left on the conveyor belt: everything after 3 p.m. is only A$3 a plate, but you can only take it to go. As the color-coded price guide at the bar shows, most plates normally range from A$2.60 to A$6.60. Not bad for a slightly higher-end conveyor-belt sushi restaurant.
Sushi Bar Makoto
119 Liverpool St., Sydney NSW
02-9283-6767
All Aboard Sushi Choo
Hop aboard Sushi Choo, a modern and more glamorous take on the sushi train restaurant concept. Located inside the Ivy, Sushi Choo is contemporary both in culinary style and interior design: the white marble counters and enormous red wicker cage-like lanterns beckon you while the menu entices—you can order "On the Rails" (from the sushi train itself) or "Off the Rails" (appetizers or specials from the kitchen, from miso soup and edamame to sashimi). For early diners, there is even a A$20 All-You-Can-Eat special, which may be well worth it considering many sushi train restaurants charge an average of A$5 for one item.
There is no simple color-coding here for the price guide; the menu actually describes the designs on the plates and their cargo. For example, the plate with the "small leaf flower on black or red" costs A$5.50, and may hold tuna ceviche nigiri, kingfish leek & chilli nigiri, makimono tuna avocado, philadelphia or dynamite. The dish with "black or gold single lotus" is A$9, and could feature the makimono nixon roll, the burning rainbow roll, or lion roll.
Feeling off my rocker with this glitzy atmosphere and such novel names, I ordered one item "Off the Rails"—Kingfish Jalapeno, thinly sliced with yuzu soy, coriander and jalapeno, for A$10-while grabbing another one from "On the Rails"—seared salmon enhanced with yuzu.
Sushi Choo
Level G of the Ivy
320 George St., Sydney NSW
612-9240-3000
There is no simple color-coding here for the price guide; the menu actually describes the designs on the plates and their cargo. For example, the plate with the "small leaf flower on black or red" costs A$5.50, and may hold tuna ceviche nigiri, kingfish leek & chilli nigiri, makimono tuna avocado, philadelphia or dynamite. The dish with "black or gold single lotus" is A$9, and could feature the makimono nixon roll, the burning rainbow roll, or lion roll.
Feeling off my rocker with this glitzy atmosphere and such novel names, I ordered one item "Off the Rails"—Kingfish Jalapeno, thinly sliced with yuzu soy, coriander and jalapeno, for A$10-while grabbing another one from "On the Rails"—seared salmon enhanced with yuzu.
Sushi Choo
Level G of the Ivy
320 George St., Sydney NSW
612-9240-3000
Introducing the Balmain Bug
Ever heard of the Balmain Bug? Neither had I. And that was why, despite the other temptations on the menu at Sushi e such as the Wagyu Roll with flamed Wagyu beef slices, and the exotic-sounding maki featuring salmon, baby capers, mixed cress and Spanish onion, I chose the Balmain Bug Roll.
Also known as the butterfly fan lobster, the Balmain Bug is a species of slipper lobster that lives in shallow waters around Australia. The waitress had to explain to me what it was; and I was but a mesmerized tourist, questioning and learning and feeling grateful that such a ritzy place was friendly and welcoming to someone dressed in casual garb and hiking boots, as I had just concluded a tour in the Blue Mountains.
The Balmain Bug order is not a cheap one, either—A$21.50 for this eight-piece cut roll that's no bigger than your average California Roll. However, anything in the lobster family has never been inexpensive, and although the roll was top-tier in taste overall, it didn't seem extraordinarily unlike any high-grade sushi roll with fried shellfish inside it. The rare "continental cucumber" inside, however, did have a soft and velvety texture to it, unlike the rough and crunchy, cheap variation most places stick in their rolls as a filler ingredient.
Ironically, Sushi e was recommended to me by heaps of bogans I had chatted with at the Ivy Bar, and therefore I had not expected an ambience quite as upscale as the one I encountered at this palatial Japanese dining hall. The "e" stands for "establishment," the name of the trendy hotel and nightclub inside which Sushi e is located.
Sushi e closes the deal with a complimentary dessert: a thin vial filled with Vanilla Panna Cotta and Raspberry Coulis.
Sushi e
Level 4 of establishment
252 George St., Sydney
612-9240-3000
Next blog: Sushi in Melbourne
Also known as the butterfly fan lobster, the Balmain Bug is a species of slipper lobster that lives in shallow waters around Australia. The waitress had to explain to me what it was; and I was but a mesmerized tourist, questioning and learning and feeling grateful that such a ritzy place was friendly and welcoming to someone dressed in casual garb and hiking boots, as I had just concluded a tour in the Blue Mountains.
The Balmain Bug order is not a cheap one, either—A$21.50 for this eight-piece cut roll that's no bigger than your average California Roll. However, anything in the lobster family has never been inexpensive, and although the roll was top-tier in taste overall, it didn't seem extraordinarily unlike any high-grade sushi roll with fried shellfish inside it. The rare "continental cucumber" inside, however, did have a soft and velvety texture to it, unlike the rough and crunchy, cheap variation most places stick in their rolls as a filler ingredient.
Ironically, Sushi e was recommended to me by heaps of bogans I had chatted with at the Ivy Bar, and therefore I had not expected an ambience quite as upscale as the one I encountered at this palatial Japanese dining hall. The "e" stands for "establishment," the name of the trendy hotel and nightclub inside which Sushi e is located.
Sushi e closes the deal with a complimentary dessert: a thin vial filled with Vanilla Panna Cotta and Raspberry Coulis.
Sushi e
Level 4 of establishment
252 George St., Sydney
612-9240-3000
Next blog: Sushi in Melbourne
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