My first encounter with Genki Sushi was back in 2015 when I had a great meal at the Bugis + outlet. In 2017, I am going back to Genki Sushi, this time I am going to the outlet at Chinatown Point.
Let’s see if the quality is consistent at the different outlet and if there is any deterioration of standard since I was last there 2 years ago.
The Chinatown Point outlet is much more crowded than the outlet at Bugis +. Get ready to wait at least 30 minutes during lunch and dinner, especially on the weekends.
Dining at Genki Sushi is not only a delicious affair, but it is also educational too. Each table comes with a sticker that tells you the correct way to eat sushi.
- Green Tea Powder: Scoop 1-2 spoonfuls of green tea powder into the cup. Fill cup 3/4 full of hot water. Use chopsticks to stir it.
- Wasabi: Scoop wasabi into sauce dish. Keep the container lid closed to maintain moisture and freshness.
- Soya Sauce: Press bottle cap to release the flow of soya sauce and pour a reasonable amount. Mix soya sauce with wasabi. Enjoy the aroma and taste of the combination!
- Pickled Ginger: Ginger helps to cleanse the palette thereby allowing you to savour the different flavours of the sushi.
- Eating Sushi The Right Way: Use chopsticks to pick up sushi, tilt sushi to the side and dip topping into soya sauce. Avoid soya sauce contact with rice if possible. Each sushi should be eaten whole in one go.
I like that Genki Sushi makes sure the instructions are written in grammatically-correct English and not simply translated using Google Translate (we all know how accurate Google Translate is). This is what I call quality.
Genki Sushi uses “Kousoku” (Express) System which delivers food to diners’ table in 2-3 minutes without having to wait for the restaurant staff. The one at Bugis + was shaped like a Shinkansen bullet train and I finally got to see the Formula One car version at the Chinatown Point outlet. Apparently, there is also a double deck Kyosuko system that is only available at Genki Sushi outlets in Japan.
I decided to start off my meal with Norwegian Fresh Salmon [$2.30]. Everyone knows that Norway is famous for their ocean-farmed salmon, I don’t need to explain any more, right?
I wanted to kick it up a notch so I got myself Salmon Triple Flavor [$3.80] where I get a piece of Norwegian Fresh Salmon, a piece of Seared Salmon with Cheese and Black Pepper and a piece of Seared Salmon with Pollock Roe. This is great for those who want to try out the different variations of salmon sushi.
Ending my salmon journey with my favourite Hana Sushi [$5.80]. That combination of fresh salmon, creamy mayonnaise and cold sushi rice just bursts into a symphony of joy in my mouth. I want to wriggle and dance around every time I have this.
Besides salmon, tuna is my next favourite dish for sushi and sashimi and this Fattiest Tuna [$5.80] (which is known as otoro in Japanese) literally melts in the mouth thanks to its extremely fat content.
My friend recommended Swordfish Belly (Toro Kajiki) [$5.80] and I fell in love with it at first bite. It tastes like a cross between otoro and squid, and there is a natural sweetness to it that makes it rather addictive.
Sea Eel Whole [$5.80] is not something you will find in many sushi restaurants. I remember having it at Ryoshi Sushi Ikeikemaru and it was fantastic so I thought I would give this one a try. It’s really one whole piece of sea eel wrapped around sushi rice. It’s impossible to eat the whole thing in one mouthful, I ended up having it in two mouthfuls. The eel is marinated in teriyaki sauce so there is a slight sweetness to it and slightly charred to give it a little smoky flavour.
Upgrade your ordinary Scallop (Hotate) into this premium Scallop Pollock Roe [$4.20]. The scallops are topped with a thick layer of pollock (a species of cod) roe and lightly flamed just before serving. The sweetness from the scallops comes together beautifully with the saltiness from the roe.
Shrimp Roe (Ebiko) [$2.30] has been my all-time favourite gunkan sushi since young. I love crunching on the roe that is has a slightly saltish taste and briny texture.
I am totally digging this Lobster Salad [$2.30] gunkan sushi. You can actually taste the lobster chunks and the sweet mayonnaise sauce compliments it perfectly.
The Deep Fried Oyster is fresh and creamy, each bite is pure heaven for oyster lovers like me.
I am happy to conclude that so the quality is consistently good at both Genki Sushi outlets I have visited so far. Keep up the good work, Genki Sushi!
Addresses, telephone numbers and opening hours of all 5 Genki Sushi outlets in Singapore can be found here.