Sakura Kaiten Sushi
61 Little Collins Street, Melbourne
03 9663 0898
Japanese, Sushi
$$$
Food
- Various Grilled Nigiri
- Jellyfish Ship
- Deep Fried Oyster
- Takoyaki (Octopus Balls)
- Soft Shell Crab
The Good
The fish dishes were mostly fresh, well prepared and flavoured nicely. The slight charring on the outer skin gave it extra flavour and texture.
The Mediocre
The dishes categorically had way too much dressing. The flavour balance is hence lost and the resulting flavours that come through were from the sauces, as opposed to the freshness of the ingredients - which is a core philosophy of Japanese cooking.
The Bad
The soft shelled crab was cold and limp by the time it was rotated to our table. The resulting batter was oily and soggy and offered no contrast to the crab itself. How disappointing.
The raw wagyu slices were unfortunately not of high quality despite the price tag. The beef contained tendons, and for raw beef, was rather chewy. It just refused to melt in your mouth despite the marbling. I wonder if this would’ve been better cooked…
The so called octopus balls had a distinct lack of octopus within. Much of it was just msg-laden ball of starch. It’s akin to eating a fried, mushy dough that was savoury. Salty donut anyone?
Traditionally, jellyfish is one od my favourite sushi dishes. Unfortunately this only resulted in disappointment. It was rather chewy and exceedingly salty. Most likely than not, the jellyfish itself was not fresh and salt was used to mask the fact.
The egg sushi was completely drenched in a sickly sweet sauce. So much so that the egg flavour itself was totally absent.
Pork belly sounded good in theory. However the resulting piece of protein was more akin to an over-fried, dried piece of hard bacon than pork belly. Calling it pork belly is blatant false advertising.
The Verdict
The poor quality, and poor preparation of food dished out on this evening is a total disgrace to Japanese cuisine. Compounded by the exorbitant prices charged (~$250 for 5 and all left hungry), this is simply unacceptable.
I really did want to like this place and was on the hunt for a Sushi joint to replace my default - Hontaru. However the price, given the quality, was completely unrealistic.
Would Penguin Eat Again?
Nope. Nope nope nope.