I love a bargain as much as anyone else. However this doesn’t extend to rummaging in sales bins or queuing up from 6am to get into a Department Store sale only to jostle around and snatch clothes from other shoppers. I am a lazy bargain hunter at best but when a bargain presents itself and it’s in easy reach, I grab it. The easiest bargain to be had in this GFC riddled world has to be Sushi Choo’s $20 All You Can Eat Sushi available from 12-1pm or 6-8pm every day.
I did a double take when I first saw the bargain advertised thinking that it must be one of those cheap and nasty sushi chains that is always featuring in the news for food poisoning scares. Surely this isn’t Merivale’s Sushi Choo? Home to the chic and perfectly merchandised furniture and staff? I immediately told my husband who readily agreed to a date. We rarely go to Sushi Trains because he can easily eat $50 worth of sushi in one sitting so the idea of eating as much as he wanted for $20 appealed to him enormously.
Just in case, we’ve made a booking for two people for 6pm. We arrive at 5.58pm only to be asked to wait for 2 minutes while they get the train 100% ready. At 6pm the black wooden barriers slide open and we enter the room which is bathed in a glowing red. The interior is beautiful although it does strike me as more “Chinese” than “Japanese” (I imagine a Franck Eggelhoffer Interior Decorator type saying “Just make it look Asian!“) except for the robots and Astro Boy figurines.
The sushi train is in full motion snaking its offering around the room. It seems most customers are partaking of the $20 all you can eat deal although a la carte plates can also be ordered (prices are pretty reasonable for many of the a la carte offerings). During the promotion times, the sushi train is a reduced version of the menu so not all of the regular sushi train plates are featured.
Miso Soup $5 (a la carte menu)
Mr NQN declares this to be delicious although I didn’t try this for myself.
Spicy Seaweed Salad
The spicy seaweed salad is of course a favourite with its spicy sesame dressing. I confess we probably ate about 7 plates of this (but Your Honour, they’re small servings!).
I can admit my little secret to you Dear Reader: I love Japanese Mayo mixed with soy sauce to dip my sushi into. Our lovely waiter who is both courteous and friendly offers me a Jalapeño Mayo which I eagerly try. It’s fantastic and gives a little kick to the sushi as my sinuses can’t take wasabi.
Dynamite Roll
My favourite sushi was the dynamite tuna roll. Edged with roe, it’s filled with delicious raw spicy tuna and cucumber with the chili giving it an extra dimension.
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July 8, 2009
by Not Quite Nigella
We often overhear unusual things in public places. Not deliberately mind you, but sometimes a conversation will waft over when there’s a moment of silence and sometimes it’s intriguing so you stop to listen for a bit. We’ve also heard very odd conversations such as the one we overheard at Kasumi Dining Room during our visit. It’s empty save for one table and the music is soft so we can’t help but overhear it.
“What do you think would win in a battle. A Christian animal or a Non-Christian animal?”
I almost spit out my drink chuckling at that. And of course you know the answer they gave right? The Christian Animal would win according to them.
Odd overheard conversation aside, we had been interested in going to Kasumi for a while, over a year in fact ever since we spied it when we dined at Uighur Cuisine next door. Japanese Izakayas are one of my favourite places to eat as they feature small meals of tasty dishes – perfect for someone like me who loves sampling as much as possible. My excitement at visiting an Kasumi Izakaya is dampened when were handed our menus showing a range of set lunches. It seems the Izakaya only comes to life at night.
Chicken Udon $8.80
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June 21, 2009
by Not Quite Nigella
A couple readers of mine (Carolyn and angevb) recommended Sakae to me and as I always do, I write all restaurant recommendations in my black moleskine notebook. This evening, Mr NQN, The Assman and I are in search for good food after an afternoon geo caching (geo caching for them, reading cookbooks in the car for me – yes I am not an outdoorsey person). As a student, the Assman’s criteria was that it needed to be less than $20 per person and it had to have some vegetarian options. Realising quickly that we might have to travel a bit for our meal given these conditions, we decide that Sakae it is!
Complimentary noodles
A small rectangular shaped room it’s busy with diners. We’re given our complimentary appetiser, a little bowl of noodles. These are not too bad although a little sweet and a bit bland. But it’s free and we’re hungry so we aren’t complaining.
Ramune (Lemonade) $3
My husband tries the Ramune – that is Japanese for Lemonade if you sound it out and he and the Assman are both intrigued by Katakana and how the Japanese pronounce western words for which they don’t have a sound (eg the “Le” in Lemonade is “Ra” here). They’re also a bit intrigued by the bottle where you take the top off and push down the glass ball to break the seal and are rewarded with sweet, bubbly lemonade.
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May 2, 2009
by Not Quite Nigella
I love recommendations from readers as I know that they’re just as passionate about food as I am and I am always one recommending food to others, usually because I want them to experience as good a meal as I had. One of my longtime readers, SydneyGal wholeheartedly recommended a visit to Zenya and when I told my husband about it, he was all too eager as ramen is one of his very favourite ever meals.
Unlimited cup of Tea $2.50
Walking inside you’d never guess from the outside that the interior is done so nicely, looking a bit like a bar rather (and it’s dark!) than a brightly lit ramen joint. And a good sign is the queue. There is a crowd of people waiting for a table and one puts down their name and the number of people and tears off the numbered slip and waits for their name to be called. We look at the menu while in line and about 5-10 minutes later we’re seated.
Phoenix Organic drinks $3 each
We’re dining with M and her sons S and In and we try a variety of things from the curious e.g the raw octopus with wasabi to the staples e.g. Teriyaki Beef as well as the bento boxes and ramen. For an extra $3 you can get a serve of 3 Gyoza and a side salad with the ramen and for an extra $5 you can get a mini bowl of ramen with your bento box. Everyone grabs drinks – they stock Phoenix Organic beverages in their very own Phoenix fridge ($3 each).
Tako Wasabi (Raw Octopus with wasabi) $4
The Tako Wasabi arrives first, in a small bowl with a slimy wasabi sauce. The boys refuse to touch it but my husband, M and I try it. It’s not bad although raw squid or octopus is not my favourite sashimi texture. The strong but not sinus clearing level of wasabi is not too bad and my husband finds it too chewy but M likes it very much indeed.
Beef Teriyaki Main size with rice and miso soup $14.80
It’s a little hard to know what side dishes go with what as they’re just placed on the table so we assign the side dishes to whoever we think they’re meant to go to. In is a firm carnivore (vegetables aren’t welcome in his family he says) and so beef teriyaki is chosen for him. It’s not a huge serve although it comes with rice and soup but he does a good job finishing it. It probably wouldn’t be enough for a very hungry person however.
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January 9, 2009
by Not Quite Nigella
Right next to Ramen Condor on York Street, Wynyard, and I mean right, next door, is Goshu Ramen. With a little smaller eating space but a similar looking menu we felt compelled to try both and compare the items. It’s late, about 9pm this quiet Monday evening and I’m eating with my husband and the Assman, two ravenous boys. I am not particularly hungry having eaten my fill of burgers at a McDonalds function a little earlier but I order a dish to contribute to satisfying my husband’s rampant hunger.
That’s my hand on the right, although at first I thought it was the body part of some bizarre creature…
Looking at the menu, the set meals are cheaper but the ramen has less choice and there isn’t a choice between the 3 soups that Ramen Condor has (Miso, Salt and Shoyu) whereas here they’re predetermined according to the selection that you Karaage curry knowing that my husband won’t be able to finish two ramens.
Karaage curry $12.50
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December 21, 2008
by Not Quite Nigella
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