Cape Town Sushi - News Update #1

Hi all ye Sushi-Lovers,

Its almost March 2008!!!! :-)

Where has the time gone since our site launch...
This is just a quick note to say that we have received many requests from our readers to include interesting Sushi and Japanese facts on our site, as well as our sister-site at the Cape Sushi Lounge.
Therefore to compliment our restaurant reviews, we have decided to publish more regular articles and blogs covering various aspects about Sushi, Japanese culture, etc.

We are currently working on our branding (logo, banner, mascot, etc.) and hope to have this done before the end of the quarter.

We trust you will continue to enjoy reading our reviews and spreading the gospel according to salmon :-)

Please do feel free to email us your comments and suggestions, feedback is much appreciated.

And remember not too much wasabi :-p

Grant

Sake House Restaurant and Sushi Bar (Old Stanhope Road, Claremont)

Address: 17 Old Stanhope Road, Claremont
Tel: 021-674 7600
Email: None
Web: None

Sake House, a somewhat hidden-away, upmarket and trendy restaurant, close to the heart of Claremont. The environment is relaxed and friendly, which does not deter from the distinct ambiance of sophistication offered by the staff. The venue is always tidy, and neatly presented. A smoking section is available towards the backend of the restaurant, separated by what looks like a large "fish-tank" glass screen.

During all of our visits, we hardly ever took much notice of the odd speckled "smog-hog" or elusive "(smoke)-pipe fish" in this "aquarium". This may be due to the fact that most people, regardless of smoking preference, want to enjoy good sushi in a clean environment, that isn’t stained by the overpowering odour of nicotine.

Sake House offers its patrons an expansive menu of seafood, and other fusion delights. There is certainly a large variety of dishes to choose from. The sushi selection not only comprises of your most common sushi cuisine, but "boldly goes where no Sushi-Chef has gone before". Here lies a galactic experience of flavours, aromas and textures. The menu selection is most certainly adventurous and promises to lavish your palette with unique and surprising combinations of very good sushi.

Regular patrons, may occasionally be treated to juicy complimentary mini-tuna frikkadels dressed in a sweet and sour sauce or other little treats, while waiting for their starters or mains. Sake House truly shows an appreciation for customer loyalty and friendliness. Lets hope they continue to honour that tradition.

I decided to stick to my usual favourite, the Rainbow Nation Platter, while my girlfriend enjoyed her a la carte' selection of salmon roses and caviar nigiri. We were very interested in a new addition to the sushi menu, namely Spider Rolls. Spider Rolls are an American style of sushi consisting of sushi rice wrapped around soft fried crab. When sushi first made its introduction to America, most locals were turned off by the idea of eating raw fish. This gave rise to "fried" sushi dishes such as the Spider Roll, Boston Roll, Philadelphia Roll, etc. Since then, many variations of these sushi dishes were made and some of them "crossed-over" from fried to raw. So be sure to ask the waiter what you are getting when ordering these specific sushi items.

In our opinion the Spider Rolls tasted great. It provided us with some variety to an already "raw" variety of sushi cuisine. The Spider Rolls, by design, were somewhat awkward to eat, considering the crab arms were sprouting-wickedly out of the neatly packed sushi rice, but this added to the experience and fun of enjoying a great meal. Critics and sushi connoisseurs may not be as open-minded about enjoying "fried" sushi, but hopefully our readers are keeping an open mind. Don’t get me wrong, "raw" sushi is still the best and honours the much-respected tradition and authenticity.

The accompanying condiments were more than enough. We had generous servings of wasabi, pickled ginger and strips of carrot and cucumber. A perfect presentation.

In terms of price, Sake House offers reasonably-priced, good quality sushi. Our bill, including drinks and a 10% tip amounted to R400. Not too bad especially considering the quality and visionary delights presented by the Sushi-Chefs, however we still felt that around R350 would have been a fair price. Sake House also offers a fair selection of wines, which appears to be the predominant thirst-quencher to compliment your meal. Not necessarily a bad thing, however, we would have liked to see a bit more variety in the cocktails department.

On the downside Sake House did not have the light-salt soy sauce that we always prefer. Their salmon roses are also a bit small compared to the exploding-mouthful-roses we have enjoyed at other establishments, such as Minato's and Balduccis Royal Sushi Bar.

While most of their sushi dishes are served on porcelain dishes, the Rainbow Nation Platter is presented in what looks like a cheap "compartmental" military-style serving dish. Not really my style, however after pondering it for a while, I realised that there is method in their "madness". By "dividing" the different types of sushi presented, you subconsciously differentiate the different flavours of each sushi serving. Maybe its just coincidence, but then again we're just crazy about sushi!

Parking at Sake House, could at times be an issue, especially during the day, as space is quite limited and there is no designated parking area for patrons. However, after hours there is more than enough parking available.

Overall, Sake House Restaurant and Sushi Bar provides its customers a very well orchestrated fusion of traditional sushi dishes with a modern, and arguably rebellious, adventurous twist of exciting and alluring flavours. They serve up brilliant, adventurous sushi bursting with unique flavours and taste. Definitely Claremont's best kept secret – 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