When Ozeki Sushi first opened, I thought it was another one of those over-priced sushi trains (like a certain one on Victoria Avenue that I won't name). And thus, it was only when I obtained a 25% Entertainment Book voucher earlier this year that I decided to pay a lunch visit one weekend. All the prices below are pre-voucher. I can't remember how many plates we ended up getting, but I think the two of us ordered around 12 plates together (we ordered a few repeats of the sashimi and scallops). This
sounds like a pretty pathetic effort, but the portions were bigger than expected :/
Once seated, I spotted the grilled scallops come by and snatched a plate. Initially, I thought $5.50 was incredibly steep, considering Sagunja charges $2.80 a plate (and is holding a $2.50 special at the moment!), but Sagunja plates contain only 2 scallops while Ozeki Sushi uses 4 (and yes, I know I sound incredibly calculative haha). But how's the quality, you ask? The scallops were fresh and cooked just the way I like it - so they had a smokey flavour and had a great level of firmness. Needless to say I pigged out on these...
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| Half-grilled scallops ($5.50) |
One of my sushi pet peeves is dry rice, and thankfully there was none of that during our visit.
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| Shark's fin and jellyfish sushi ($3.20) |
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| Avocado, crab meat, egg sushi ($3.50) |
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| Seaweed sushi ($2.80) |
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| Possibly crab. ($4.50) |
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| Oyster sushi ($5.50) |
This was my first time having sushi filled with salmon roe. It was enjoyable because it was so moist and I liked the feeling of the little eggs bursting in my mouth (kind of like those fruity pearl toppings that go with frozen yoghurt).
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| Salmon roe + salmon sushi ($5.50) |
It was also my first time having sea urchin. I don't think it's my thing because it was pretty fishy (and a quick Google search suggests that a lot of people find it offensive - acquired taste I guess).
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| Sea urchin (5.50) |
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| Some sorta vegetarian thing ($3.20) |
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| Salmon and kingfish sashimi ($6.50) |
Overall, a positive experience. There was a wide selection and it's a little pricey, but the portions are fair and it's fresh - given the poor reviews about the freshness during dinner time, perhaps it all comes down to the time of your visit...
You don't sound incredibly calculative! I think that Sagunja's scallops are prettttttty good, every time I go I get at least 2-3 plates of them. And at 2.5$ or 2.9$ a plate I think it's a pretty good deal.
ReplyDeleteSushi looks good here. Pricey but with a good variety too it seems. Not sure I'll end up trying it myself because it'd be all too easy to rack up over 70$ by myself (whereas at Sagunja the damage can be limited somewhat haha).
As for the sea urchin (uni, in Japanese) I guess it's more an acquired taste. Give it another go next time, you might like it! I love its texture and taste, so creamy yet seafoody. Like the fat in crab! Oh so good.
Spidey
Welllll now that you liken it to crab, I'll have to try sea urchin again. Perhaps at another venue though - gotta verify that it's my tastebuds and not the restaurant's problem! :)
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