Like many Asians, I love Japanese food. The meal is an art in itself from the preparation of the ingredients all the way to the plating. I miss my visits to Japan in recent years, and I miss good Japanese food even more since returning to UK. The other week, I went to a really nice Japanese restaurant called Sushi Atelier in central London. Here's the website for @tdctunes and anyone else's who's interested. It's quite a small restaurant so booking is highly recommended. When we went on a Saturday evening, they limited the dining time to 2 hours, not ideal and customary for a Japanese restaurant, but I could live with it.
We got to sit at the bar which in my opinion is the best seats in the house as you get to see the chefs preparing the food. Remember I said Japanese food is an art in itself? Good sushi chef takes many many years of training. The ingredients have to be top notch quality as the fist is eaten raw, therefore every slice and every cut has to made with precision. Too thin a slice of sashimi (raw fish) means the customer is not getting value for money, and if cut too thick that adds additional cost to the business. A good chef shouldn't top and tail a piece of sashimi to the correct size as the bits they cut off can't really be used in another meal (well you can, but it's not very nice nor professional).
Drinks
First up, we order some sake. This is a Japanese wine made from fermented rice. The rice is a special type of brewing variety different from the ones we normally eat. Sake has higher alcohol content compared to wine, normally around 15% to 20%, and can be drunk either warm or cold, depending on the type and quality. Ours was served cold.
Food
If you've never had sushi before, they are basically rice with raw fish. Sushi rice is shorter and has a softer and slighty sticky texture. The rice is moulded by hand into a little bite size block and a piece of fish is placed on top. This is called a nigiri. This sushi set consists of 12 pieces of nigiri, each with a different type of fish. The topping or sauce that goes with each type of fish is different. It was absolutely divine!!! So good that we ordered a second round later on.
Sometimes the sushi rice is spread out flat, a piece of seaweed is placed on top followed by the fish and other ingredients, then it is rolled up and sliced into pieces like this.
Here's two different mixed sushi sets with both types of sushi. The first sushi roll is covered in fish roe (the red dots) to give it another texture and also enhances the presentation. And the second set is covered in sesame. The main difference between the two sets is the filling inside the sushi roll, and the type of fish on the nigiri. In the first there was three pieces of salmon nigiri and two pieces of tuna nigiri. The second set was all tuna, with spicy tuna in the rolls.
Apart from being a tiny on the small side, I couldn't fault the food here. Maybe I hadn't had good Japanese food for a long time, but hand on heart, it was absolutely top notch. My only complaint, would be the service.
We were told the dining time would be two hours, and normally that would be sufficient. We ordered a few plates in the first hour as we wanted to spread the pace out. Then we ordered more at the beginning of the second hour. Half an hour later our food still had not arrived and we only had half an hour till the end of our dining session. When I ask the waitress, she said it normally takes a while to hand make the sushi (yes I know that, but not that long!!!) and since they're very busy on a Saturday, I should have ordered earlier! Wow!! So the problem is with me as the customer!!!! I wasn't pleased at all with her tone, and whilst I didn't actually complain, I told the manager there is no way I can enjoy my food if I have to rush it because they want their table back in 30 minutes time. In the end the manager said he would extend our session for another 30 minutes and made it sound like it was a special offer for us!! 😡 To be honest, although this whole incident is not a massive deal and I've encountered worse, but when you're paying £60 a head for dinner, you expect a bit better service than this.
Answer to August HPUD Guessing Contest
A week ago I shared a photo of my sushi meal and asked you to guess how many pieces of sushi was on these two plates. The plate on the left has 12 pieces, and the tuna sushi set had 13 pieces. These two plates had 25 pieces of sushi in total.
There were many guesses this month but only one correct winner. We haven't had that for a long time. Congratulations to @crosheille you are the sole winner of the 10 HBD prize this month!!!
| Hiver | Answer | PUD? |
|---|---|---|
| @merit.ahama | 8 | -- |
| @cute-cactus | 11 | -- |
| @soyunasantacruz | 12 | -- |
| @starstrings01 | 16 | -- |
| @bilgin70 | 17 | -- |
| @mipiano | 18 | -- |
| @vickoly | 18 | -- |
| @ace108 | 18 | -- |
| @uzercanan | 18 | -- |
| @depressedfuckup | 20 | -- |
| @lizelle | 20 | -- |
| @wittyzell | 21 | -- |
| @joshsticks28 | 21 | -- |
| @baycan | 21 | -- |
| @micheal87 | 22 | -- |
| @littlebee4 | 22 | -- |
| @incublus | 22 | -- |
| @gems.and.cookies | 22 | -- |
| @emeka4 | 23 | -- |
| @coquicoin | 23 | -- |
| @phortun | 23 | -- |
| @tdctunes | 24 | -- |
| @arrliinn | 24 | -- |
| @leaky20 | 24 | -- |
| @discoveringarni | 24 | -- |
| @trumpikas | 24 | -- |
| @crosheille | 25 | x |
| @tengolotodo | 28 | -- |
And for everyone else, please find your special HPUD Sushi Club badge!!! As always, thanks everyone for your entry, and look forward to seeing you again in September!
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Just... One... Sushi... Short! 😅
Congrats, @crosheille!
Yes you were just one away. 😄
Thanks so much!!
24 was actually the most popular guess!!!
Wow that's such a great initiative, I say a big congratulations to my boss @crosheille
Thank you @vickoly! I'm so tickled that I won. 😆🤭
You're welcome, enjoy, I'll be thrilled had I win too.😁
Have a great day.
Hahaha I bet! 😄
Thanks you have a great one too ~
Don't forget to check back on my month, I run this little contest on the 1st of every month!
Alright thanks so much for the awareness, I'll take note of that, and as well stay glue to your other content as well.
It does look delicious @livinguktaiwan 😎
Never guessed 25 hahaha well done @crosheille 🥳🥳 congratulations!
Have a wonderful Tuesday all 👋🏻😊
Thanks a bunch @littlebee4! Had no idea I would get it but so glad I did. 😃😁
You are welcome, such a nice surprise it is than 😊😎
For sure ~ ☺️
👋🏻😊
!hivebits
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Contest: Nominate a symbol for the quark.
It was certainly a lovely meal Jackie, it's been a while since I had good Japanese food
Great to hear, to many more @livinguktaiwan 😊😉
Oh, this one was difficult, but anyway thanks to being in the HPUD sushi club :D
Congratulation to @crosheille 😎 Well done 👏
Thank you @mipiano! I'm so excited. 😃
I hope you like this month's jumping sushi badge!!! 😀
Every each one :))
Waiting for the September edition :D
Very nice. It seems the owners need extra staff for their busier times. 30min is way too long. The 2hr table limit is becoming more common in Japan believe it or not. Not everywhere, but you'd be surprised how often you do run into it.
I had maguro from Ireland a few months back and it was fantastic. We thought it was really odd that we were eating maguro from Ireland in Japan, but it was very good quality.
Actually I never thought about where the fish is from. The thinking is that if it's from a good Japanese restaurant, then it must be good!
The time limit thing is really annoying, takes the joy out of eating. I mean I don't mind if it's fast foodstuff or cheapy quick in quick out places. But normally you'd like to sit and eat and chat over dinner and enjoy the whole experience if you're going to a decent place. Too bad it's become more popular, even in Japan now.
Lol I was far from getting the answer right. Congrats @crosheille 🎉👌
Lol thanks so much! You just never know but always try to give the best guess. I normally don't win challenges like these so I'm very grateful!! ☺️
It's all about having fun. Better luck next month!!!
Wuaoo excellent congratulations to the only winner @crosheille you have an eagle eye 😉 or you eat a lot of Sushi.
@livinguktaiwan at this point in my life I haven't tried Sushi, I need willpower to eat something raw, the only thing I eat raw is salads, and I know I'm missing out on an exquisite dish of course I want to and I will soon.
What I have tried is sake, I received it as a gift on a birthday and I fell in love with its taste. Too good.
What a disgusting detail. The restaurant and its service, thank goodness the food made up for it all. Thanks for the fun, I won't take up any more of your time.
Thanks @soyunasantacruz! Surprisingly I don't eat sushi, I just love admiring the art of it. I hardly win challenges like these when it comes to guessing amounts so I spent a little extra time trying to get it right! Haha yay! 😄
I'm glad you tried sake and liked it, some of them are quite sweet like the one we had, and is quite suitable for females.
Ceviche is very popular in Peru and that's raw fish, also very nice. Is it not popular in other places in Latin America? But I do understand some people just can't take the texture of raw seafood and find it very slimy, like oysters, another of my favourite. Yummy!!!!
Thanks for dropping by!!!
Ah my God, how crazy when I was in Peru of course I ate ceviche and I liked it very much. I didn't know it was raw fish.
Hahahahahah thanks for bringing me out of ignorance, I learned something new today. 🤣😂
There you go!!! How great is Hive!!!
Wow congrats @crosheille it is well deserved to see you as winner
Thanks @emeka4! I admit I'm pretty happy about the win. 😁
It is a very nice guess and congrats once again
Thanks for your entry every month!!!
Whoa I won…by myself…the sole winner?!! 😳😲😆🤩
Wow thanks so much! I seriously looked at that picture for about 10 minutes counting and recounting to try to get it right 😂! I’m so glad my effort payed off! Yay! 😄
I must say I do not eat sushi but I love admiring the colors, textures and shapes of it. I’m very particular about seafood and have been that way about the texture of my foods for the longest.
Anyway, glad I could take part in your monthly challenge. Thanks again so much!! 😍
Congrats crosh!!!! I hope it didn't strain your eyes too bad. Maybe now you can try some seafood to compensate, check this out 😄
You should have received your prize now!!! Hope to see you again next month!
Thanks so much Pauline! 😃
Hahaha!! Well I’m glad to know this because I do enjoy a good cooked salmon 😄!
Thanks so much for the prize!! So what’s this badge you’re talking about? Does everyone that enters get one? 👀
It's nothing fancy like the badges you get from HiveBuzz. It's just a little image I make every month to go with the theme of the contest, just for fun 😀
Oh that’s so cool! 😀
It´s official now, Pauline finally managed to come up with a tough round of the HPUD guessing challenge! :D
Great tip @crosheille, congrats! :)
Haha! I wouldn't have guessed I'd be the only winner. It was a nice surprise! 😃
Thanks so much @phortun!!
ha ha! And I didn't even try this month, I just whipped a photo out from my archive 😅
Who would have thought, after all my failed attempts in the pass few months!!
Daaauuummm only one person got it this month. Nice job crosheille 👍
Trust me I'm still surprised I was the only one. Definitely not complaining though. 🤣🤣
I’m enjoying this win since it doesn’t happen often. 😄
Thank you!!
Quite a few people were so close this month, yourself included leaky!!
I think you finally learned how to make it a little more difficult 😉 hahaha 😂
I love Japanese food too, my favourite local haunt is a place called MR Miyagi sushi and noodle bar, it’s not as fancy a place as the one you went to, but their food is divine. Great place to visit if you are ever in Sheffield.
That looks good and they have a wide variety of dishes. I wish we had a similar place like this where we are.
Gonna bookmark the place in case I ever to to Sheffield. Thanks
I've tried sushi in the past, but I can't say that I am a fan of it. I just don't have the stomach for it I guess. It does look beautiful though. I am sorry you didn't have the best experience here. I have never heard of a place limiting your dining time.
I know some people don't like the slimey texture or even the thought of eating raw food, one of my sister is like that she used to have her steak well done, and now has got a bit better and changed to medium to well done!!
A lot of buffet style all you can eat for fixed price restaurants in Asia have time limits so people can't keep on eating non stop, and for other busy places, it just helps so they can do more covers a day. Quick in quick out and make more money!!
yeah, I guess it makes sense about the time limit, but I have never seen it. I can think of some places I would have been kicked out of in short order, but I was spending money, so I guess they didn't care. I think it was a flavor thing for me. I don't really remember. I just recall I didn't altogether enjoy it :)
Lol I was pretty close for someone that has never seen a sushi before:)
That Sushi looks delicious. Too bad the place didn't have outstanding service.
There used to be good Japanese restaurants here in the past, but with the crisis in the country in the last few years, they all closed down. And now there are a few but nothing memorable. I miss eating good sushi.
Congrats to @crosheille 🍣🥳
Thank you!!! 😃😊
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Not even close. Well there's always next month 😊
Love Japanese food and you did it proud in this post except for the end. I'd hate for that to be done to me too. I think they should have told you beforehand it took longer than usual to order the sushi because of the number of customers. A bit of courtesy, you know 😩
It was so fun guessing.
Some restaurants here in Japan also implement the time limitations but usually there aren’t complaints about it. Making sushi is always fast, even when there are a lot pf customers. The sushi master will constantly check your table/plate to make sure you’ll not go hungry. Dunno what happened there.
And yes, the counter seats are always the best seats! It’s so nice to look at how sushi is made.
I've never been curious eating sushi as I'm not a fan of fish but I was always curious how it is like to prepare everything by yourself. Too bad we don't have ateliers here from what I know
hehe I thought there was more, did you eat some ;)
Ah I was convinced it was 24! Congrats to @crosheille on the win though and thanks for the restaurant recommendation/review!
Thanks @tdctunes!! 😀
🥰
Looks so delicious 🤤 that sucks with the 2 hrs tho.. I understand they have a lot of customers to serve, but if you’ve ordered twice shouldn’t that extend your time automatically? The only time I heard of a restaurant limiting customer’s time is just on buffets. Not even fastfood stores tell you to gtfo after some time lol