Until yesterday my only experience of sushi was from the little chilled packs that are available from the chiller sections in supermarkets, but that changed with a visit to Yoshi in Canterbury. From the exterior it looks like a typical oriental restaurant, only situated on a ring road, and not welcoming at all, but I had heard they served sushi and I had to go to see if this was true.
Sushi conveyor belt
Upon walking through the door all my preconceptions were gone and I was truly looking forward to lunch and having something different from the usual sandwich. There is a choice of seating either at tables or on stools at the sushi conveyor belt, and for the whole experience it had to be a place at the conveyor for me.
There is a menu as well as the sushi belt, so if really sushi isn’t your thing then you needn’t go hungry, but everything is made there on the premises with an open kitchen and preparation area so you can see the chefs doing their jobs and you know it’s all to a good standard.
After a short while of looking at the plates going by and trying to guess what the items were, we soon realised that there was a very simple numbering and colour system going on with all the dishes having a different coloured rim to divide them into pricing sections, and then on the plastic cover a number was written which you could compare to the menus surrounding the base of the conveyor. Simple and within minutes we were sampling some very very nice sushi. Each place came with chopsticks, soy sauce, wasabi, ginger, chili oil, and chili pepper, so you could have your sushi however you wanted.
I also had the Pork Ramen (a noodle soup), and to be honest that would’ve filled me up, but have that along with a couple of dishes of sushi and it leads to a very satisfied and contented diner.
The soup was £6.95 and each of the sushi dishes were around £1.50 – £3 each (or 5 for £10) so although it was more that I would normally spend on lunch I would definitely come here again for some authentic cuisine and for dining out it’s actually pretty cheap. Of course the fact that I was treated to lunch made this even better!
If you are in Canterbury and love sushi, or want to try it for the first time then head to Yoshi, 3 Upper Bridge Street, Canterbury CT1 2NA ().
Update 15/4/2011: Yoshi is now closed
Sushis are always expensive in Europe… any Japanese restaurant usually is. It’s a bit cheaper in Canada and we have Sushi Express (or Sushi Go or the like) restaurants everywhere.
I like it
At least, this is something I can’t really make at home so I don’t feel bad spending a bit for something unique.
I like vietnamese soups better though.
Yummy sushi! It looks like a fun place, and if I’m ever out that way I’ll have to give it a go.
The store where my husband works has a sushi section. A Japanese man and his daughter make it fresh there to order. He always gives Randy and I twice as much for the same price, lucky us.
I think I’ll give Randy a call and have him bring some home for dinner…