Ozeki Sushi, Chatswood

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...

Half-grilled scallops ($5.50)

One of my sushi pet peeves is dry rice, and thankfully there was none of that during our visit.

Shark's fin and jellyfish sushi ($3.20)

Avocado, crab meat, egg sushi ($3.50)

Seaweed sushi ($2.80)

Possibly crab. ($4.50)

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).

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).

Sea urchin (5.50)

Some sorta vegetarian thing ($3.20)

 

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...

Sagunja, Mandarin Centre, Chatswood

Generally, I loathe sushi. Cheap sushi, anyway. And by cheap, I mean those dodgy sushi trains that claim to charge you $2.90 to $5+ a plate with the majority of sushi offered falling within the upper brackets of their price list. The sushi served is often poor quality with dry rice and tough nori.

Sagunja, on the other hand, is different. There is no price hierarchy, which means that it's easier to budget for, the portions are great for the price, and the food is a lot tastier. I've been coming here since they opened yearssss ago, back when all plates were $2.50. Since then, they have raised their prices in increments all the way up to... $2.90. It's distorted billing a little bit, as $20 happily bought you 8 plates. Nevertheless, they allow for split bills, and $2.90 is still a steal in comparison to places like Sushi Bar Makoto.

The number one thing I look forward to is their scallops. They have two types - raw and half-grilled. The raw scallops aren't marinated with anything, so the seafood taste can be a bit too strong for my liking. The marinated half-grilled scallops, on the other hand, are amazing. Every time I go, I stuff my face with at least 4 plates of them and scan the food preparation area eagerly for any activity involving blowtorches.

Raw scallop on rice

 

Half-grilled scallops

The half-grilled salmon below was served with chopped Spanish onion and the same sauce used with the cooked scallops. As with the scallops, the proportion of meat to rice is excellent. 

Half-cooked salmon

The salmon sashimi is fresh, but I tend not to eat more than one plate of these, as my taste buds tire of raw food easily. It wasn't too fishy, but I would prefer that they squeeze some lime or lemon over the top.

Salmon sashimi

The slices of salmon below were attended to by the blowtorch and garnished with Japanese mayonnaise and nori furikake (seaweed and sesame seed mix). The garnishing added a welcome touch of salt.

Half-cooked salmon

Just as a note, if you're like me in the late 2000s and had sashimi-obsessed friends but was unwilling to risk contracting something from the consumption of raw fish, Sagunja does offer a range of cooked dishes. These include takoyaki (octopus balls), plates of teriyaki/ chilli chicken strips, chicken schnitzel sushi, gyoza (dumplings) and deep fried prawn wontons.