Review: Sushiya

Wrapping Up Edinburgh Fringe

Tokyo roll: deep-fried breaded chicken fillet
and avocado

Our annual trip to Edinburgh for Fringe was slightly chaotic this year. On the Thursday night, we were still looking for a place to book for dinner on Saturday. We thought everything would be packed, but by some stroke of luck Sushiya were able to give us a table for 5 at 8pm. The place had come highly recommended by word of mouth, and it was just 5 minutes from Haymarket Station, letting us catch the last train home after stuffing our faces. I had been told it was small and casual, and I knew nothing beyond that as I refrained from Googling (I've decided to make this rule for places that people IRL recommend!). At worse, I thought, we'd have some reasonably priced sushi. However, we actually had great sushi, and I came away wishing that my local was as good (sorry Yorokobi!).

 On the left: 20 pieces of beef tataki

On the right: BBQ eel nigiri

We were, I suppose, the perfect group for a sharing menu: at least three of us were sushi-obsessed, accompanied by two other easygoing diners. At the very start of the meal, we rattled off a long list of "wants" to our waitress, and bolstered this with two or three additional dishes during our meal. I will let the (phone) photography do most of the talking but I'd like to say that my favourite dish of the night was BBQ eel nigiri - sweet, oily and luscious. The Tokyo roll deserves an honourable mention - I have a particular weakness for the nori, breaded chicken and mayo combo. The beef tataki was very fresh, and I almost felt like I didn't need the sauce to swallow down the slivers of meat. I was also impressed by the soft shell crab roll, which isn't one of my usual preferences. 

 On the left: chicken and egg donburi 

On the right: grilled miso aubergine

Most of the prices were very reasonable: 5 pieces of sashimi cost £5 and upwards, most sushi costs £4.50 and upwards, rolls start at around £8. The rice and noodle dishes hover around the £10 mark, apart from the fancier beef sirloin and mixed seafood dishes. The only surprise is the tempura, which starts at £8 for a rather small portion. Dessert is limited to sesame or matcha ice cream, and will perhaps feel an unnecessary expense for £4 a scoop, but it is good quality. In fact none of the ingredients - raw ingredients included - made me feel like the restaurant was skimping on quality. We paid £30 per head for food and alcoholic drinks, and I wouldn't claim this is a cheap meal, but it is good value for money considering what you get. 

Dragon roll: avocado, cucumber, king prawn tempura

My only advice would be to skip the noodle and rice dishes unless you need something big to fill you up. The oyakodon (or chicken and egg donburi) we sampled was good, but not great. Similar, or even better versions of those dishes can be had elsewhere, albeit probably for a bit more money. Visiting in a group of three or four is also a good idea - this gives you a group small enough to fit the space there but lets you try a large cross section of the menu. Service is quick and friendly, but at no point did we feel like we were being pushed out,, even on a crowded Saturday night. Beware that the seating isn't the most comfortable: high stools and tables abound, simulating counter-top eating everywhere. Indeed, the restaurant does feel like a bit of a takeaway, though it probably seats almost 30. Given the size, I would definitely recommend booking before you go. And if you're in Edinburgh and like sushi, you should definitely go.

Food: 7.5/10

Service: 7/10

Atmosphere: 7/10

Value: 7/10

Final Score: 7.5/10

Contact Information

A: 19 Dalry Road, Edinburgh, EH11 2BQ

T: +44 (0)131 313 3222

W: www.sushiya.co.uk

NB. The final score, while influenced by the sub-scores, is a qualitative reflection of my overall impression of the establishment.

Review: Izumi

Sashimi in Dhaka

Chef's sashimi platter

Most of my trips back home involve gorging on food that only Bangladesh can offer. I can claim this trip was slightly different, if only because on top of the usual gorging I made an effort to explore the evolving restaurant scene in Dhaka. Izumi had been on my Wishlist for a while, not just because it was one of the newer restaurants in town, but also because it specialised in Japanese cuisine, a rather uncommon offering in Bangladesh. 

The restaurant sits at the end of a quiet side road in Gulshan, away from the noise and pollution of the main avenue. The site is gated, and a short driveway leads up to the guarded main doors, typical of many establishments in Bangladesh. Walking through these doors we found ourselves in a large Japanese themed lobby, with a small reception booth to our left. I headed straight there to ask for a table, as the staff present seemed hesitant about approaching us. After a check of their reservations we were led through to the ground floor dining area, a softly lit room with generously spaced tables. Restaurants around the world should take note – especially higher end establishments who have no excuse for squeezing guests together like sardines. 

A spacious interior

Despite being a weekend, the floor was largely empty, and the other guests seemed to be businessmen entertaining clients or Asian expats out on expenses. We were seen to quite quickly by a polite and helpful waiter. He pointed out items on the menu the kitchen was current unable, unsurprisingly to prepare due to a lack of imported ingredients. While I sympathise with the hurdles Bangladeshi businesses must face importing unusual ingredients, it is something to be aware of before visiting establishments like Izumi. Our waiter helped us with our orders, talking us through the contents of each dish. He was vague about portion sizes though (good news: they’re big!,) and we had to do a bit of guesswork with amounts. 

On the left, complimentary tofu with veg and sesame.

On the right, prawns and spinach in spicy mayo - stacked, so bigger portion than is obvious

Food arrived soon after we placed our orders, starting off with a complimentary canape of tofu muffled in shredded vegetables and sesame. While not particularly special, the tactic of serving a small canape was very much appreciated while we waited for our orders. The dish also made me feel we were going to get actual Japanese food - another plus. However, the rest of courses turned out to be a mixed experience. We'd ordered a starter of prawns and spinach in spicy mayo. The portion was rather generous here: more than enough for two and shareable between our three at a stretch. But while it tasted "Japanese" insofar as it wasn't somehow "Bangladeshified", it wasn't very good, and more in line with what I'd expect from a cheap restaurant elsewhere in the world. I felt similarly about our mains - the grilled miso chicken was a delight to find in Bangladesh, but it should have had more miso. Our garlicky king prawns were nice, but similar preparation can be had elsewhere in town for less. It was really the sashimi that saved the day, which was extremely fresh considering it must have been refrigerated for import, and was served beautifully as you can see from the photo in this post. Some of the cuts were a bit awkward, and a bit too large for a single mouthful, but it definitely satisfied our family's raw fish cravings. 

Grilled miso chicken, on the bone

The only sticking point I can imagine is the price, which was TK 3500 for the set before tax. This easily puts Izumi up there with an above average price for sashimi in say, London. In fact, the pricing at Izumi is my main criticism. The restaurant is easily more expensive than others of the same bracket in Dhaka, apart from maybe the newest 5 star hotels. A starter will you set back by around TK 1000, and mains cost from TK 3000 onward. Granted, portions are big enough to be shared, but our bill for one starter, two mains, a sashimi set, drinks and steamed rice came to a total of TK 12000 with VAT, or TK 4000 per head. This is a lot for Bangladesh. Imported ingredients or not, the food - the mains in particular - needs to be better than what we had for our visits to become regular. However, I expect the restaurant will survive on business meals and expats who have few options for eating out. To someone local, I would only say go if you need a sushi or sashimi fix. It will be good, but be aware that it's going to cost you a lot. 

Food: 6.5/10

Service: 7/10

Atmosphere: 7/10

Value: 6.5/10

Final Score: 6.5/10

Contact Information

A: 24/C Rd 113, Gulshan 2, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh
T: +8801933446677
W: www.facebook.com/izumiBD

NB. The final score, while influenced by the sub-scores, is a qualitative reflection of my overall impression of the establishment.

Review: Yatai Izakaya

The Fanciest Japanese in Town

Lightly seared beef with seasoned soya

Yatai piqued my interest the very first time I walked past the restaurant. Housed in a glass fronted building over two floors - and with a balcony overlooking the street - it was a little more striking than the average Aberdonian establishment. A glance inside showed me an open grill, small wooden tables and a funky interior decorated with Japanese signs, labels and sake bottles. I asked around, and everything I heard back was positive, especially when it came to the interesting menu and the omakase eating style. The venue is modeled on a traditional Japanese izakaya, an informal bar of sorts that serves sharing portions of food along with drinks, though Yatai itself focuses more on the food.  

A glimpse inside

Omakase refers to “leaving it to the chef”, where you set a budget and dietary preferences, and let the chef take it away from there. This may sound like handing over too much control, but in practice I’ve found it to work very well, particularly because the folks at the restaurant run such a slick operation. I’ve visited with a group of five where our dietary requirements were quite complicated, with two of us avoiding pork and another avoiding fish, but our waiter organised a menu that worked for all of us – even making sure the members of the party who did want pork or fish didn’t miss out. The chef and the kitchen have always seemed to time the arrival of dishes very well, and I would recommend discarding any preconceived notions about courses and just enjoying the ride. The menu covers a whole range of food from sushi and sashimi to miso grilled meats, fish and vegetables, along with the occasional trendy fusion dish such as salmon ceviche appearing on the specials board.

Review: Yorokobi by CJ

My Local Takeaway

Beautiful, luscious bulgogi served with steamed rice

I lie. Yorkobi by Chef Jang is a proper restaurant, and I am just lucky they do a number of their dishes to take away. I've taken advantage of this fact a number of times, and dropped by for a sit down full dinner a few times as well. Located just two minutes from my front door and serving Japanese and Korean fare, Yorokobi is definitely my go-to local in Aberdeen. The town has an impressive number of restaurants, and although none of them so far have been amazing, a surprisingly large number of them have been very good. I'd even go as far as saying the local restaurant scene in Aberdeen is superior to Richmond, my last (chain-blighted) town. 

Review: Nobu London

Finally a Michelin

Black cod with miso. Apparently Nobu's signature dish, but mixed feelings round our table.

I've wanted to eat at a Michelin starred restaurant for while. There's a lot of talk about starred restaurants in the culinary world, and I've always wondered if these establishments are worth that discussion. I finally got the chance to investigate a few weeks ago when I booked a table at the one starred Nobu in London for a family meal. My parents and little brother were visiting me for Eid, and I wanted to take them somewhere nice. We'd already planned the Red Fort for Indian and Gaucho for steak. I was thus tasked with finding something different, and was guided by my parents who made helpful noises about Japanese.