Sunday, November 16, 2008

Sushi Choo - Sydney CBD, Sydney (+ Taggage)

Back down along the hidden alley into the wondrous new world of The Ivy complex. This time I had only planned for a simple dinner with my cousin but once we turned left at the end of the alley and entered the building, we were hit by a big blast of class and felt really out of place. But as we have gone too far (and I really wanted to try this place) we decided to give it a shot.

Sushi Choo is a really cool name for a sushi train ^^! I like the bubbly designs but when you see the inside of the sushi train it is quite spectacular I think. The warm mood lighting mixed with some token Japanese icons and a splash of pizazz.

This entrance lantern looks very Chinese to me haha but Asians all look the sammmmeee :P

Piggybanks - green and kinda scary...

Come come kitties - with moving arms :) but not as quite as the one at Sushi-ya.

Go Astro Boy!

Another Chinese influence is the stamp system, like at Yum-Cha, where they stamp your card when they take your plate away. Just to keep your area nice and tidy :) Well it is a classy place hee hee.

The sushi train choo choooooo! Too bad there was no actual train like the one I saw in Japan hee hee.

This was a first for me hee hee beertrain! Good idea if the beer stays chilled in those ice buckets and they come in pairs ^^!

I thought the plate system was a bit confusing and I am still unsure which plate costs how much but the atmosphere and presenation of this place is dazzling. But the important stuff is still to come so Here Comes the Food.

Toro Nigiri
Wow... when this slice of tuna heaven enters the mouth, it melts and just sends you into a flavour spiral. I am not sure which cut but the fattiness was very high and flavour was very fresh even though it mayb have revolved around a few times already haha. This was definitely the best dish off the train I got mmmmm.

Unagi Nigiri
The eel had already cooled down but that is one of the problems with sushi train, the hot food suffers unless they are ordered fresh. The sweet sauce was not overpowering and the eel was very fresh as it did not have the unpleasant taste that sometimes comes with lower quality eel.

Salmon Aburi
Very tasty again and I like how they made it different to other sushi places. Instead of the usual mayonnaise etc they decided to make it a bit lighter with just some sea salt and a dash of lemon juice. It was simple and very tasty as it also had a pretty high fat content which made me think it might have been salmon belly aburi.

Our friendly and kind waitresses then offered up the specials which we tried 2 of the 3. There weren't many people dining with us, maybe cos it is still new and quite pricey, so there were not that much choice on the train.

Tuna Ca....something X| (I need a notebook to write down the names)
This dish, which I shall name Tuna Salad, was very refreshing with a pleasant dose of olive oil and lemon juice. Nice big slices of tuna were wrapped up with fresh rocket, red onions, negi on top an surronded by cute cherry tomatos.

Wagyu steak
The other special we ordered was this wagyu steak. It was disappointing but it had very nice presentation. The vegetable rolls were crips and fresh but were quite bland. The wagyu itself was quite tough which is a sin when it comes to meat! Total disappointment :(

Spicy Tuna Handroll
But damn the handrolls made me completely forget about the wagyu. These are probably the best handrolls I have had for a very long time! Just the combination of everything was perfect. Fresh tuna in a mild spicy sauce, crisp seaweed, strands of cucumber and white radish, a touch of roe and a mysterious crunch which I later found out was fried tempura batter! The batter was the magical touch for me, a pleasant crunch which fills you mouth with all sorts of flavours and dimensions. Another great touch was that the filling goes all the way to the end YAY!

I was hooked so I had to get more...

Spicy Salmon Handroll & Salmon Handroll
The spicy salmon was very good as well but lacked the spice of the first one I had. The normal salmon was not as good as the spicy brother as it lacked all the other ingredients but a big piece of fatty salmon is welcoming as well.

and more...

Negi Toro Handroll
Beautiful combination again with fatty chunks of tuna.

But the first one was the best so I had it again haha and I got photographs of the sushi chefs making it :D

YUUMMM ^^!

Final note is that the handrolls are the best hahaha! The service, atmosphere, and quality of food (some hit and miss) are all very nice BUT this place is not cheap! It is a very nice experience but be prepared for quite the hefty bill and leaving only on a partially filled stomach. The nigiri sizes are a bit smaller than other places so you have to order more to be filled.

Sushi Choo
Level G 320 George St
Sydney 2000
Ph: (02) 9240 3000


Now on a different note, the wonderful NQN (read some interesting facts about her on the link) has tagged us ^^! We have to write 6 facts about ourselves and then pass it onto 6 other foodies :D Fun indeed!

Since I still have to think about mine, D goes first:

D
1. I aspire to be Casanova in the kitchen;
2. I likes hot food when the weather is hot; cold food when it’s cold;
3. I am forever on the hunt for the perfect spaghetti bolognese recipe;
4. I have periodic cycles of music-genre listening; just came out of a soft rock phase and now into a 80’s Love Songs phase;
5. When I walk to the fridge to get a snack; I forget my intentions when I open it (same goes for the pantry);
6. Loves C.

Doesn't he sound like just the geek :P jkjkjkjk
And now mine:

1) I am a student of the ways of the bboy and freestyling and want to get into some krump action.
2) I am a winter person... loving grey clouds, rain and cool winds and of course snoooowww! Too bad none here in Sydney sigh.
3) I am very quiet around new people but after I get to know them better I get loud and obnoxious haha.
4) I love everything Japanese... well most things haha (minus the weird and kooky ones).
5) I also love the human anatomy very very interesting :D so I love tv series like Scrubs, House etc.
6) Loves Pupu.

Now here are the Pokemon I choose:
1 - Rita at MochachocolataRita (Mouth-watering hot foods)
2 - Su-Yin at The Journal of a Girl who Loves to Cook (Beautiful cakes and a previous Sydneyian)
3 - Clumbsy Cookie? at Clumbsy Cookie (Cookies and other wonderful treats)
4 - Bowb at RagingYogurt (Interesting reads about food and more)
5 - Veronica at Veronica's Test Kitchen (Macaroon Queen)
6 - Adrian & Diana at Adrian & Diana's Blog (Another fellow Sydneyian reviewer)

FFichiban

14 comments:

flapflap said...

Are the handrolls as good as the ones at Makoto? Mmm, soft shell crab...

I've walked past the alley leading to Sushi Choo a few times and wondered how it would be. Was it very expensive?

Anonymous said...

Oooh thanks for the review. Sounds like the handrolls are definitely the way to go. What a disappointment about the Wagyu (as I can only guess what the price tag was for that). Did they say what the marbling core for the Wagyu was?

D, hehe at the 80s love songs :P

Ffichiban, I had no idea that you were such a big student of dance! I myself looove the weird and kooky Japanese stuff :)

D said...

hahah @ Pokemon I choose you! I'm gonna hit this up some time to try those deliciously-looking handrolls.

NQN - 80's are the best! can't get any more meaningful in terms of the words and how they spoke to you.

Anonymous said...

Flapflap - Ahhh Makoto, dare I say it that this one is better especially since there is greater combination of flavours. I didn't try their soft shell crab handroll but I would bet that it is very good too ^^!

The amount you pay is relative to how much you eat and I eat a lot at sushi trains because they are not really that filling but yes, the prices here are more expensive than other sushi trains.

NQN - Hee hee yupp I loved them and if I go back they would probably be the only things I order haha. The wagyu was $25 and made me a sad panda :( I should have asked what it was but I think I was a bit too rar at the meat then haha.

Hee hee we all love the 80s love songs ^^!

Haha I am still an amateur... but it is fun and good exercise. Are you hee hee? Haha I love most of the Japanese stuff including kooky and weird ones but some are just wayy too over the top like Ganguro girls...

D - Go Ash go, handrolls are the way! Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you

Veron said...

Oh my goodnes...now you tempt me with all that sushi. Oh, and I did go through a pokemon phase with my niece and nephew! Love piKachu!

Anonymous said...

Veron - Hee hee sushi sushi sushiiii ^^! Haha pokemon was so awesommeeee.. until they increased it to like 1000+ different species -__-

Unknown said...

howwww could they manage to cook the wagyu tough?!!! wowww! ehm nowadays i hardly grab anything off the train..i'd prefer to order off the menu heehehe

Unknown said...

I LOVE MAKOTO! ^_^ spicy teriyaki chicken handroll....come to mama!

Anonymous said...

Mochachocolata Rita - I am quite baffled but the marbling score must have been pretty low cos it didn't taste very fatty. Yeah ordering ensures freshly made dishes ^^!

Hee hee I used to go to Makoto hheapppss but now not so much... also they increased prices of salmon or something a while back cos of fuel prices? :S

Y said...

Thanks for the tip regarding the handrolls! Have you seen David LaChapelle's Rize, by the way?

Anonymous said...

Y - Hahah nooo I haven't because it came out before I was into dance but have youuu :D? Are you a krumper hee hee?
The handrolls mmmmmmmmm

K said...

wow! this place seems cool!! where exactly is the ivy complex? hehe i'm ashamed to say i've never heard of it

Anonymous said...

K - Haha there so many levels and it's all new and stylish. Hmm easiest instructions would be if you are looking out onto George St from Martin Place, turn right and walk until you come across a row of black shops and 'The Cupcake Bakery'. There is a small alley which u enter into the Ivy world or you can access via Ash St.

Clumbsy Cookie said...

Ahahahah! Thanks for tagging me!