Whether you love it or hate it you have to admit that sushi
is the most representative dishes when it comes to the Japanese culture. I am
not saying that it is the only traditional food by all means and one should
give credit to other dishes like ramen, soba or tempura, but if you would ask
anybody in the world to give you an example of a Japanese dish, they would very
likely say ‘sushi’. Anyway, luckily I am a well and truly sushi lover and it is
true what they say that you haven’t really tasted sushi until you’ve had it in
Japan. Although you can find it pretty much everywhere and sushi-ya
(restaurants) are spread everywhere, like mushrooms after the rain, they do not
come cheap.
Especially good quality sushi. However if you have a regular craving and your pocket doesn’t support a twice a week trip to a good restaurants, you can always visit your local kaiten sushi. To British people this would be quite a familiar concept as it works on the same principle as Yo! Sushi, aka a conveyor plate set up, but at a much lower price. There are a few places that have adapted to the current economic environment and serve 100 yen plates (around 73p at the current exchange rate) or others at a bit higher prices, but nonetheless still very affordable. Now if you really want to splurge there is no shortage of high end restaurants that only have 7-8 seats around a counter where the sushi chef prepares everything in front of you. But I would always highly recommend a trip to Tsukiji market instead. People who have previously heard about this place (the largest fresh fish market in the world) could be slightly put off by the well-known fact that you need to go there very very early in the morning. This is only true if you wish to see the tuna auction and for that you do need to be there at around 5:30 AM. I could never motivate myself to do it though, especially that places are limited and they allow people in on a first come first served bases. So I decided to go at a more humane hour and still see the end of the fish sales (around 10AM). After this I was very excited to go to one of the sushi restaurants at the side of the market, which came highly recommended on several websites. It is called Daiwa and I have to say it did not disappoint. Now on a regular day there is an approximate 30 min wait to get in, but it is soooo worth it. There is a limited number of seats and the place is quite crammed, but the friendliness of the chefs (who occasionally speak a bit of English) and the quality of the fish makes this one of the memorable experiences from Tokyo. Again everything comes at a price and although not as expensive as a high end place, still expect to pay around £40 for one set menu plus a couple of additional pieces. If all this puts you off however and you get very nervous by the fact that you might not understand the name of the fish and what exactly you are eating (of course salmon and tuna are easy to recognize, but from there on it’s anyone’s guess), I have gradually put together a list of fish names (and their English translations) that I have encountered in sushi-yas since I’ve been here:
Especially good quality sushi. However if you have a regular craving and your pocket doesn’t support a twice a week trip to a good restaurants, you can always visit your local kaiten sushi. To British people this would be quite a familiar concept as it works on the same principle as Yo! Sushi, aka a conveyor plate set up, but at a much lower price. There are a few places that have adapted to the current economic environment and serve 100 yen plates (around 73p at the current exchange rate) or others at a bit higher prices, but nonetheless still very affordable. Now if you really want to splurge there is no shortage of high end restaurants that only have 7-8 seats around a counter where the sushi chef prepares everything in front of you. But I would always highly recommend a trip to Tsukiji market instead. People who have previously heard about this place (the largest fresh fish market in the world) could be slightly put off by the well-known fact that you need to go there very very early in the morning. This is only true if you wish to see the tuna auction and for that you do need to be there at around 5:30 AM. I could never motivate myself to do it though, especially that places are limited and they allow people in on a first come first served bases. So I decided to go at a more humane hour and still see the end of the fish sales (around 10AM). After this I was very excited to go to one of the sushi restaurants at the side of the market, which came highly recommended on several websites. It is called Daiwa and I have to say it did not disappoint. Now on a regular day there is an approximate 30 min wait to get in, but it is soooo worth it. There is a limited number of seats and the place is quite crammed, but the friendliness of the chefs (who occasionally speak a bit of English) and the quality of the fish makes this one of the memorable experiences from Tokyo. Again everything comes at a price and although not as expensive as a high end place, still expect to pay around £40 for one set menu plus a couple of additional pieces. If all this puts you off however and you get very nervous by the fact that you might not understand the name of the fish and what exactly you are eating (of course salmon and tuna are easy to recognize, but from there on it’s anyone’s guess), I have gradually put together a list of fish names (and their English translations) that I have encountered in sushi-yas since I’ve been here:
SUSHI LIST
-------------
maguro (まぐろ)= tuna
uni (うに)= sea urchin
toro (とろ)= fatty tuna
tai (たい) = red snapper
saba(さば) = mackrel
aji (あじ)= horse mackrel
tsubukai (つぶ貝) = grain shelfish
mirukai (みる貝) = horse clam
kani (かに) = crab
tako (たこ)= octopus
geso (げそ)= squid legs
ika (いか)= squid
iwashi (いわし)= sardines
hotate (ほたて)= scalop
anago (あなご)= sea eel
shako (しゃこ)= squilla
kohada (こはだ)= gizzard shad
kanbachi (かんばち)= amberjack
zuaigani (ずあいがに) = snow crab
awabi (あわび) = abaloni
-------------
maguro (まぐろ)= tuna
uni (うに)= sea urchin
toro (とろ)= fatty tuna
tai (たい) = red snapper
saba(さば) = mackrel
aji (あじ)= horse mackrel
tsubukai (つぶ貝) = grain shelfish
mirukai (みる貝) = horse clam
kani (かに) = crab
tako (たこ)= octopus
geso (げそ)= squid legs
ika (いか)= squid
iwashi (いわし)= sardines
hotate (ほたて)= scalop
anago (あなご)= sea eel
shako (しゃこ)= squilla
kohada (こはだ)= gizzard shad
kanbachi (かんばち)= amberjack
zuaigani (ずあいがに) = snow crab
awabi (あわび) = abaloni
If none of this is doable though, you can still
just go to the local shop, which will most likely have packed sushi, or if you are a
little braver, then just get the packed sashimi. They are all simply DELICIOUS !
Till next time J x
Our lovely platter attempt, created with bits and bobs purchased from the local shop
Sushi box from the local shop
Sushi platter at an all you can eat shop
Plate of sea urchin sushi (one of my favorite) at a kaiten sushi-ya
Chef preparing sushi at a kaiten sushi-ya
The lovely chefs from Daiwa sushi-ya (Tsukiji Market)
#sushi #tsukijimarket #daiwa #japanesefish
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