Balducci's Royal Sushi Bar (Victoria & Alfred Waterfront)

Address: Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, Shop 6162, Ground Floor, Cape Town
Tel: 021-4216002 / 4216003
Email: info@slickrestaurants.com
Web: www.balduccis.co.za

Balducci’s is well known for achieving, if not greedily snapping up, numerous awards in fine wine and exceptional food since 1998. Its sophisticated style, complimented with impressive service-orientated chefs and waiters, certainly does make it a hard one to critique.

Balducci's Royal Sushi Bar is situated just outside the main restaurant. Surrounded by familiar cosmopolitan retail stores bustling with activity, it is easy to overlook this upmarket elegantly comfortable "shark cage" as you scurry your way through the shopping mall.



The Sushi Bar is definitely an innovative idea, and there is certainly no feeling of detachment. The environment is warm and inviting, although some folks may not like sharing too much of their personal space or unintentionally overhearing the latest petroleum takeover gossip. However the entire decor together with the enjoyment of fine quality Sushi contributes to a really personal soothing intimate experience. We hope management do not change a thing.

Balducci's Royal Sushi Bar is certainly what one would call an “extreme dive” into fine quality Sushi. Leave all thoughts of shark-chum or stink bait at the magnificent Two Oceans Aquarium.



(pictures compliments of the Two Oceans Aquarium)

In this structured island getaway you will get nothing but the absolute taste-smacking best. Nothing describes Balducci's Sushi better than the echoing words "quality, quality, quality." Arguably Balducci's Royal Sushi Bar is a contender for being the very best that Cape Town has to offer.

Regular patrons may be treated to a few portions of seared tuna while they await their order. The Balducci's Sushi menu can be described as simplistic, yet very chic and informative; sushi dishes on the one side and picturesque descriptions of the various types on the other. A very good concept that demystifies this sought after Japanese cuisine for sushi-newbies.

Don’t expect to find overly-extravagant Sushi rolls or new Afri-Japanese fusion items served at this establishment. Balducci's really focuses on delicious, succulent basic flavours. But let’s not forget about presentation, after all, this is probably the second reason most of us fell in love with this cuisine. The Sushi served at Balducci’s is visually stunning. Ever had Sushi so stunning, that you feel guilty you might be destroying a Mona Lisa? At Balducci's, just imagine sushi presented in HDTV (high definition television). The experience certainly makes for a photographic excursion as well. The Rainbow platter is probably the most stunning dish of them all...I wonder if I am the only one who also thought the decorative flower was edible.

And that people, is what sets Balducci’s apart from the competition. Their direction for keeping it simple while offering the absolute very best quality sushi ingredients and accompanying artistic skill is what makes them one of the best. Their standard portions are very generous. I absolutely love their Rainbow Platter, and yes when I have reached the end of that “rainbow”, I do feel like I have found a pot of sushi-shaped gold trinkets.

Every visit to Balducci's only reconfirms all the things we have come to love about Sushi. Not put off by a brief Eskom blackout scare, I ordered a Rainbow Platter (what else) and my girlfriend Selene ordered some salmon roses, prawn california rolls and a prawn hand roll. The Rainbow Platter consisted of 4 roses (salmon and tuna), 4 rainbow rolls (prawn and avocado in the centre, topped with salmon, tuna and avocado slices) and 4 salmon fashion sandwiches.



Other establishments offering a Rainbow Platter have some variations on the former, but essentially they are made up of the same flavours. We'll have to investigate the birth of the Rainbow Platter and do a report back to you guys in a future article.

Generally 12 pieces of sushi may still leave you a little bit peckish for more, however at Balducci’s, the generosity and dense solidity of each serving is undeniably noticeable. Somehow the Sushi Chefs manage to pack all those succulent bursting flavours into a mouth exploding serving.

On rare occasions you may find the ever elusive Head Sushi Chef vigorously at work. His skilled hand and the precision of his work is really impressive and appreciative. His assistants certainly have impressive skill as well, and their “works of art” certainly do him proud.

In terms of condiments, pickled ginger, cucumber strips and mayonnaise there is plenty of. The more sought-after light salt soy sauce is always present. Their mayonnaise, we have to say has quite a unique taste. It is a much more “tastier” mayonnaise than we are used to. Not as creamy as Cross and Blackwell or Nola, neither as watery or salty as the No-Name brands. We can only assume that it must be an imported brand, although it wouldn’t surprise us in the least if this is home-made from their kitchen. Any comments from our readers on this one?

As part of the drinks menu, you will always be provided with a seasonal wine magazine, as opposed to a few meager laminated pages. The quarterly magazine also contains a few general articles and offers a brief history of featured vineyards and wine farms. They also manage to serve up some mean cocktails that certainly pack an unsuspecting punch, visions of me spilling my mojito (yes folks, it was only my first one for the night) still haunt me.

The Royal Sushi Bar dessert menu does lack some creativity, although patrons are welcomed to order from the main restaurant menu. I would think that the Sushi Chef may find it offensive ordering food or dessert items off the sushi menu.

It terms of pricing, Balducci's is on the expensive side. Our order, including drinks, coffees and excluding gratuity came to about R450. I know some of you are saying ooouuccchhhhh!!... but enjoying Sushi that good, in such a pleasant environment makes it all worthwhile to miss your levies payment for the month. One has to weight the costs against what you are getting at the end of the day. Their portions are very generous, the quality of their sushi is undeniably superior to the competition, the presentation is top class, their expansive cocktails and wine selection speaks for itself, the waiters are very attentive, friendly and well-informed and the environment is intimate, making it a somewhat exclusive dinning establishment.

A further point to note is that making an online reservation at Balducci's is a breeze. Their turnaround time and follow up confirmation thereof is usually under an hour.

So what more can be said about Balducci’s Royal Sushi Bar. All that’s left is for you to hop over there and sink your teeth into the best Sushi in town. Come face to face with the most delectable Sushi you will ever taste.



Balducci's Royal Sushi Bar is certainly a treasured find – Grant

Hong Seafood Restaurant and Bar (Stadium on Main, Main Road, Claremont)

Address: Stadium on Main Shopping Centre, Shop 14, Upper Ground Level (1st Floor), 53 Main Road, Claremont
Tel: 021-6836700
Email: helen.hongrestaurant@gmail.com
Web: None

"Bowling for Columbine?"...well maybe not. Rather "Bowling for Hong Seafood Restaurant and Bar?". Okay, perhaps I should ditch any aspirations of becoming a Hollywood Playwright or the next Gavin Hood. Enough said, Hong certainly has elements that proves itself worthy of potentially becoming the next main attraction. Hong Seafood Restaurant and Bar is secretly located in Stadium on Main in Main Road, Claremont.



Stadium on Main is predominantly recognised for its bowling alley, Lets Go Bowling, Indoor Action Sports arena, Laser Quest arena and Tiger Tiger nightclub. All of which act as a draw-card for the predominantly teenage-to-young-adult crowd, primarily due to the stadium's entertainment facilities. Of course we can’t forget about the occasional Saturday morning group of wannabe adolescent sorcerers performing planetary battles with their fantasy card games. Yes, Yugi Ho is alive and kicking out here. I know what you thinking, teenage boys and girls with spotty skin shouting, screaming and bluffing their way through skirmishes with dragons, mages and orge. Sounds crazy, but how many of us have watched Lord Of The Rings and are looking forward to previews of The Hobbit. So deep down inside all of us, there is a freckled-faced kid waiting to burst out with a magical melee-fireball attack.

Hong Seafood Restaurant and Bar was surely a review by accident. Our initial intention for the evening was to dine at Jimmy's Killer Prawns in Claremont, unfortunately their sushi bar was closed for renovations, much to our dismay. This eventually led us to play a quick game of rock, paper, and scissors for Mainland China, JB's Sushi Bar or Hong Seafood Restaurant and Bar. I still don’t understand how a sheet of paper wins against a hard rock, but we decided to give Hong a try.

The venue was neat and tidy with the bar perfectly located in a corner part of the restaurant. Seating was available in the restaurant or outside in a designated area. Hong has quite an extensive menu of sushi dishes and it took us a while to decide what to order. Their different platter combinations of sushi is truly amazing. At this stage it is still too early to tell if there is method in their science of complimentary flavours and textures for each platter. However, you do get a bit of everything in some platters, whereas other platters consist primarily of one specific type of sushi-fish. On a side note, and to some of our reader’s request, we unfortunately did not see any vegetarian sushi on the menu. However, the staff appeared very friendly and accommodating, and I would expect that a specially prepared vegetarian sushi meal could be catered for upon request.
Hong also provides you with a fair selection of wines and other alcoholic drinks at reasonable prices. We would have liked to see a little more creativity in the cider and cocktails department.
Our order consisted of a little bit of everything. These were salmon and tuna maki rolls, prawn and tuna california rolls, and rainbow rolls. We certainly couldn’t also forget about our usual serving of delicate salmon roses, and to top it all off, we had some tempura prawns. The tempura prawns was an experimental order, as we had churning memories of our last order of tempura prawns from Willoughby and Co in the V&A Waterfront.



For a Friday evening, the stadium appeared a bit desolate, but this was only on the level where we were seated. This is arguably a good thing as patrons do not always enjoy the hustle and bustle of people walking around, while enjoying their meal. What was constant and clearly audible was the occasional hollow echoes of hard-rock maple wood pins crashing, preceded by the infamous rolling, countdown-sound of the bowling balls. This certainly was not annoying, and I imagine if I were still in my teens (with my Nike velcro-takkies, ruffled Pepe denim jacket and Ewing roundhouse-kicks pants), that the bowling alley and Hong would be my weekend territorial spot for fun and eats. Parking at the Stadium is also quite cheap compared to parking at Cavendish Shopping Centre, just on the opposite side of the main road to the Stadium.

Our order arrived in good time. The sushi was of good quality and the serving sizes were fair. The serving plates were not the most elegant, but then again we weren’t looking for porcelain crowns, but rather generous boosts of fresh protein and omega. The salmon roses in terms of its portion size was really generous when compared to some of the roses we have seen from the competition. Healthy portions of salmon wrapped around each portion of sushi rice. Had the salmon cuts been slightly bigger, Balducci's Royal Sushi Bar may have had a challenger in that department. The rainbow rolls were also quite good. However, when it comes to rainbow rolls, personally, I prefer no cucumber in the centre. Having the tasty soft rice, soft avocado and delicate soft sushi fish flavours combine and meld in your mouth is indescribably yummy. The last thing you need is to have to chew through a piece of crispy cucumber slices. I don’t think the cucumber slices work well in certain sushi rolls.
In terms of condiments, we quickly ran out of pickled ginger. There was not enough ginger to accompany each serving of sushi. As always, and I'm sure everyone will agree, there will always be plenty of wasabi. The lack of the light-soy sauce left a bit of a smudge on the evening.
The tempura prawns was probably the best we have tasted in a while. We usually do not order anything other than sushi, but the opportunity provided our palette with some alternative flavouring. We have to mention, that the queen-sized tempura prawns were very good - light and crispy with just enough batter, so as not to hide that succulent taste of fresh prawns. The accompanying broth of dipping sauce was really tasty and also very, very light. A dish perfectly done.

In terms of pricing, Hong steers well clear of the foul line. Our total bill came to a very reasonable R194, including drinks and excluding a tip. It was somewhat surprising to be able to enjoy a hearty good quality sushi dinner for two for under R200. And when we say good quality sushi, we mean good quality sushi, at expected sushi portion sizes that are really satisfying. In this category, thoughts of 1890 House Sushi and Grill in Observatory and Noodlebosch in Long Street, cbd spring to mind. With Valentines Day approaching, Hong have taken the initiative to offer its patrons some great specials for this period. We have alternative arrangements for Valentine's Day, but perhaps our readers can forward us some comments on Hong's specials, such as the Lovers platter or the Buffet specials. We look forward to hearing more about these specials.

Hong Seafood Restaurant and Bar provides great sushi and Japanese dishes at excellent value for money while still maintaining high standards in simplistic quality and taste. They further compliment their cuisine by stocking a fair selection of wines and alcohol. Hong is certainly bowling in the fast lane to become the next kingpin of good quality sushi - Grant

Tong-Lok (Voortrekker Road, Parow)

Address: Parow, Don Centre, Voortrekker Road
Tel: 021-9304791
Email: tak@mweb.co.za
Web: www.tonglok.co.za

I have long since been skeptical of the Tong-Lok franchise, however we decided to treat our taste buds on what they had to offer. Tong-Lok is considered a household name as far as take-away sushi goes. The Goodwood venue was not the best, nor was it the cleanest that I have seen, even considering that it is really a take-away restaurant. A very dirty and poorly maintained back-end kitchen could be seen through the serving windows. The venue was tacky and is in serious need of cleaning and maintenance to the decor. Personally the red on yellow theme doesn't really do it for me.

I always find it a bit weird when a predominantly Chinese restaurant serves sushi on their menu. Politics and authenticity aside, we ordered prawn and salmon california rolls, together with salmon and tuna nigiri. Much to our disappointment, we were told that they were low on sushi rice, and we would have to wait 30 minutes in order for them to prepare more rice. Yes folks, like you, my initial thoughts were, how would they prepare sushi rice, which normally takes 1.5 hours in 30 minutes?...Our response was for them to do the best that they can do with what they had available. I wish that they would have taken us up on our offer. I was further disappointed to see that the rice was stored in an empty ice-cream bowl in the fridge. It made me wonder how old or how long this rice had been stored.

Regardless, we ignored that fact that a lethargic-looking sushi chef prepared our order. He at least was well dressed in the appropriate attire, keeping to tradition, and his fairly skilled and experienced hand was well noted. And at least he washed his hands and used clean utensils and kitchenware. At this point, we were still fairly optimistic as what would be produced.

In terms of pricing, Tong-Lok is value for money. In other words, if you looking for average sushi at a good price, then their menu would always be found on your refrigerator door or close to the telephone. However, this is not a place where you will find premium quality, artistic perfection and cultural authenticity.

Our order arrived in 25 minutes. A bit late in my opinion. However we paid our respects to the chef (always good etiquette I believe, regardless of any issues).
When we arrived home to savor on the raw delights, we were found ourselves wanting. No, I don't mean wanting more, but rather a wanting of disappointment. The sushi rice was undercooked and cold. The salmon and tuna were "sweating" and quite limp. A sign that it had been standing out for too long. The only item that met a reasonable standard was the prawn california roll.
The portions of pickled ginger, avocado, prawn, salmon and tuna were small in proportion to the sushi rice it was served with, giving us a distinct impression that the franchise was skimming in order to increase profits. The soy sauce supplied was very, very salty. I personally prefer the light sauce.

Overall, I was left very disappointed in what this well known local restaurant had to offer in terms of sushi. They definitely do provide you with a value for money sushi meal, but at a great cost to quality. Therefore do not expect any customer satisfaction from this establishment. I would not recommend the Goodwood Tong-Lok to any of our sushi-lovers out there.

Lastly, the Goodwood franchise can learn a lot from its "big brother", Tong-Lok in Long Street with whom I am somewhat impressed with. Look out for my review on the Tong-Lok Long Street restaurant - Grant

Upcoming Cape Town Sushi reviews...

Tong-Lok (Kloof Street, Cape Town)
Kubo's (Riebeeck Street, Cape Town)
Beluga Restaurant (Prestwich Street, Greenpoint)
Tank Restaurant and Sushi Bar (Waterkant Street, Greenpoint)
Surfside Restaurant (Beach Road, Strand)
Asu-Ma's Sushi Bar & Asian Restaurant (Main Road, Houtbay)
Balducci's Royal Sushi Bar and Cafe (V&A Waterfront)
Benkei Japanese Restaurant (Main Road, Greenpoint)
Blowfish Restaurant (Marine Drive, Bloubergstrand)
Cape Town Fish Market (Camps Bay)
Cape Town Fish Market Sushi Bar (V&A Waterfront)
Cape Town Fish Market Sushi Bar (Century City, Canal Walk)
Sake House Restaurant and Sushi Bar (Claremont)
Jimmy's Killer Prawns (Kloof Street, Cape Town)
Jimmy's Killer Prawns (Bloubergstrand)
JB's Sushi Bar (Claremont, Cavendish Centre)
Wasabi (Constania, Constantia Village Shopping Centre)
Mainland China (Main Road, Claremont)
Tuscany Beach Restaurant (Victoria Road, Camps Bay)
Thirty7 (Arabella Sheraton, Cape Town)
Wakame Restaurant (Beach Road, Mouille Point, Cape Town)
Wafu Restaurant (Beach Road, Mouille Point, Cape Town)
Paranga (Victoria Road, Camps Bay)
The Square Restaurant at The Vineyard Hotel & SPA (Clinton Road, Newlands)