Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Sushi Tei

C says:

I must say that Sushi Tei’s standard has improved tremendously since we last tried it a couple of years ago. Back then, the menu was uninspired and way overpriced for the selection and quality of the food.

However, on Saturday afternoon, we were at Raffles City and since the basement food area was undergoing massive renovations, we ended up going to the Sushi Tei branch on the third floor.

Maybe it’s just the Raffles City branch, which is apparently new, but it was far better than expected. We had a niku (beef) udon soup, and a selection of sushi like soft shell crab maki. These are slightly above average. We also tried a pan-fried salmon dish with mushrooms in cream sauce. It was a lot less rich than expected, and frankly it didn’t taste quite as good as it looked.

In case you’re wondering why I’m raving about the place given my comments so far, that’s because I’ve saved the best for last. We tried something from their special ‘Spring’ menu, the Aburi Sushi Platter – a selection of broiled sushi, which you can also order a la carte. The combination platter gives you 1 piece of each, whereas if you order a la carte, you get 2 pieces per serving. The items available are scallop, sea bream, salmon belly, yellowtail, swordfish and fatty tuna belly. Instead of being completely raw, the fish is grilled such that the inside is raw and the outside is nicely seared with a hint of charred smokiness. While all the items are delicious, those that particularly stood out were the scallop and the yellowtail.

Alas, since this is part of the Spring menu, it may not be available much longer, as the waitress told us that the Spring menu will only be around till end May. However, all is not lost – apparently feedback from customers and management has been quite positive for the Aburi Sushi, so they may consider including it as a permanent item on their menu.

I’m not taking any chances, though. If all goes well and if our schedule permits, A and I plan to go one more time before the end of May to have another go at the Aburi Sushi.

A says:

C seems to be deluded. It was a hostess (not a waitress) we spoke to and she never said anything about positive feedback from other customers. She said she’d feedback our comments to the management and they might consider adding it to the regular menu.

Overall, I’d still probably go to Ichibon Boshi, but Sushi Tei has really done a good job improving their menu (even though for some reason, a lot of the noodles were out of stock).

And is it just me or does the place look like it’s trying to copy the higher-class Crystal Jade restaurants?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dude, were we hearing the same thing?! The hostess/waitress at the cashier distinctly said feedback from management was that they were considering making the Aburi sushi a permanent menu item. She said nothing about giving our comments TO management.

In fact, I never even told her we liked it at first; all I did was ask her how long the Spring menu would last. She then asked if it was the Aburi that we liked, and when I said yes, that's when she told me about management possibly making it permanent. Yeesh... don't anyhow say if you weren't actually an active participant in the conversation...

And it's Ichiban, not Ichibon.

Anonymous said...

Ha ha!

Anonymous said...

We obviously live in different realities because i'm sticking to my version of the story.

Wait, put the stick down.
Okay, i'll take it back!
Stop hitting me!
Abuse! Abuse!