"Miso hungry for these flipping tasty delights," says Ashwin Balu...
£16.80 isn’t half bad for an all-you-can-eat sushi dinner. Most buffets are similarly priced, but not everything is made to order. The first major highlight of my evening at Sushimania was the piping-hot tempura oysters accompanied by a light, tentsuyu dipping sauce. The sharpness of the rice vinegar cut through the richness of the deep-fried batter and delicately contoured the fishy prize in the middle.
Having a dainty celadon vessel full of hot sake to accompany helps too. Ding. Point, Sushimania.
Next up, the beef skewers aren’t to be missed. Two grilled gyu with a sweet and spicy seasoning arrived with an indulgent sticky chilli dressing. Paired with a Kirin Ichiban Japanese lager and a handsome amount of kimchi, it was certainly a high point of the meal.
Regardless of how delicious the tempura and skewers were, nothing quite hits the spot like sushi, so we stopped distracting ourselves with the variety on offer, and the main attraction arrived. With salmon and tuna rolls coming through, we were in Umami Town. Classic nori stuffed full of soft, perfectly tempered meshi rice, fish cucumber and avocado? Oishī!
Finally, for dessert, it was chocolate fondant with a matcha-cream filling and matcha ice cream. It really needs to be tasted to be understood. Green-tea cream and a decadent quasi-brownie doesn’t seem like an obvious pairing, but it really works. Especially when you mix the hot-fondant filling with the ice cream and experience the matcha flavours at opposite temperatures.
6a Chapel Bar, NG1 6JS. 0115 947 5033
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