Cape Town Food

If you like sushi, you'll know its an expensive addiction; sometimes when I'm sitting at a sushi bar I feel more like a drug addict in an opium den than a paying customer at a restaurant. The very fact people want to be close to the preparation of the food (i.e. to minimise the time from creation to mouth) says something of the addictive nature of this food.

So when an offer for a sushi buffet or all you can eat offer is discovered, its not hard to get a group of sushi lovers to come over and enjoy it with you.

John Dory's in Canal Walk has a great sushi bar, which is reasonably priced, does take-aways and numerous specials. One of these specials is on Wednesday nights where for R129 you can get all the sushi you could want, and as much Graca as you might like.

Perfect you say! And it is, its reasonable, but you'll quickly find that you won't be able to have that much sushi, not because its not good (its excellent, more in the Californian style [read: mayo] than some of the more traditional sushi restaurants such as Qing, which has been previously commented on), but because you physically can't have that much sushi (damn RICE!)

That said, the sushi is excellent. The platters that come through include four fashion sandwiches, two pieces of fish maki, four california rolls, two salmon roses, and two rainbow rolls. They don't skimp on what they normally prepare; this is the real deal, no different from any other night.

The service is excellent, the Graca flows (which at R16 a the bottle store isn't unbelievable that they serve it up like water), and a great evening is easily had by all.

SO to summarise, just remember to not eat before coming through, otherwise one plate will fill you up, and then its probably cheaper buying off the menu. Other than that, the best advice is to take it really slow with your friends, and you'll have an amazing time at the John Dory's all you can eat sushi special.

Note: JD's also does half price sushi on weekday lunch times, and Sunday evenings. The staff is very friendly, and you'll no doubt find yourself, family and friends becoming regulars!

There non-sushi food is great too b.t.w.

Labels: canal walk, fish, specials, sushi

Generally I don't like restaurants in malls. There is something unsatisfying about them, that said there are some really good resaturants outside of the big chain restaurants that dominate the malls.

One such place is Qing Sushi, next to the Primi Lounge at Canal Walk's La Piazza Italiano-Style food court (Can you say... VEGAS!). It's simple, small, VERY clean, the waiters are friendly (although last night we had one who seemed terrified of speaking to myself, Sian and PK) , the food is decently priced and the menu is vast.

For such a small restaurant, the variety of food is breath taking. There is the usual sort of sushi menu, and then a collection of Chef specials that last several pages; these range from innovative fish sushi, to a variety of vegetarian specials (good for Sian: recommended is Sushi on the Green).

The chef is very creative, with things like pancake handrolls, sushi rice balls, and literally pages of stuff you'd never see anywhere else, Qing sushi has an insane variety. They also have Thai curries, chinese food, japanese traditional food (udon noodles), tepanyaki and a range of other food. Their dessert menu is also pretty creative (deep fried frozen coconut milk?)

I had the assorted sushi platter, as well as some Inari Tofu Nigiri (if you've never had sweet Inari, I really recommend it to anyone; it is AMAZING sushi, when you can find it), Sian had some veg sushi rice balls (massive, very good value for money if you are feeling hungry) as well as Sushi on the Green. PK had the seafood soup, some scallop sushi rice balls, some veg spring rolls and some calamari california rolls (his came to less than R100 to give you a sense of value).

We enjoyed a bottle of Simonsvlei Chardonnay 2007, which was lightly wooded, quite enjoyable really.

To finish off we shared some of a R20 dessert, namely the previously mentioned deep fried frozen coconut milk balls, which really have to be tasted to be believed. It was served with a cream soda ice-cream (yes it exists), and a strawberry bubble gum ice cream.

All in all Qing Sushi is very good, the tastes are amazing, the variety stunning, and you are sure to experience some dishes you simply won't find anywhere else; if you are stuck in Canal Walk and you are looking for somewhere quick and enjoyable to eat, pop in and see what is on offer. I'm sure you won't be dissapointed.

One thing... Qing Sushi's sushi is more "classic" than "californian". What do I mean by this? Well for one thing the sashimi, the best test of the quality of the ingredients, melts like butter in the mouth and is EXCELLENT quality. But unlike many discount sushi restaurants, Qing don't use a lot of mayonaise to cover up the rest of ingredients. If you are new to sushi, this is a GOOD thing b.t.w., but may be different from some of the sushi bars you might have become accustomed to at the chain fish restaurants (CTFM, John Dory's, etc.). See if you can taste the difference.

Labels: canal walk, experience, qing, sushi