Sushiholic Japanese Restaurant

Some Japanese restaurants scream Sushi California, Sushi Garden as well as Sushi Town, and I assumed Sushiholic is one of them. Meaning, large portions for a good price which some may enjoy while others do not. As for me, I think it is fine as long as the sashimi is properly prepared, because a heavy amount of rice is already expected when you walk in those type of restaurants. So, after finishing shopping Downtown, my friend and I were starving and the lunch at Nuba Cafe did not cut it. Plus, she has been wanting to try the restaurant for almost a year and since the both of us were craving for sushi, we made the trip down here. 

Walking up to Sushiholic, the door looked like a door to a front house. In addition, the layout of the restaurant looks similar to a house as well. The restaurant has a couple of rooms with tight seating arrangements as well as a sushi bar. When we walked in, the sushi chefs were cheerful and greeted us loudly, similar to the restaurants mentioned above.

DEEP FRIED SOFT SHELL CRAB WITH SAUCE ($6.95).

As requested, the soft shell crab has a very light batter and tastes moist. If anything, we would have preferred a crisp exterior… and ponzu instead of yakisoba sauce. Although to be fair, I rarely use the sauce.

APPETIZER TEMPURA, TWO PRAWN AND THREE VEGETABLES ($4.25).

Since we requested for a light batter on the soft shell crab, our waitress asked if we wanted a light batter on the tempura as well, and we went with yes. Again like the soft shell crab, the batter is light as requested but tastes oiler than usual. As for the vegetables, the slices taste moist and for the prawns, we would have preferred a larger size than medium sized ones stretched. However for the price, no complaints?

MISO SOUP ($1.00).

The price reflects the quality of the miso soup, it tastes bland and salty with not much ingredients.

SALMON AND TUNA SASHIMI ($9.95).

Starting with the salmon, the slices have a nice thickness and are not too big or small. However, the sushi chef who tweezed the fish bones one by one, missed one which poked my upper mouth. As for the tuna, the proper sashimi cut is not served which is fine considering the type of restaurant. However, the sashimi was still frozen. And although frozen sashimi is not bad since it only means that the tuna was not defrosted early enough, it is just at a nicer restaurant... usually a sushi chef will tell the waiter/waitress/server to let the customer know that they should let the sashimi sit for a few minutes (which did not happen).

SALMON ($1.50), TUNA ($1.30), HAMACHI ($2.50), TORO ($1.80), SABA ($1.50), AMAEBI ($2.70), TAMAGO ($1.30) AND UNI ($3.00).

Phew, none of the nigiri has too much rice! But, unfortunately the rice tastes dry, hard and tasteless. Perhaps the rice has been left uncovered for too long.

Continuing along, the salmon tastes alright with no complaints and same with the tuna, despite having the upper body portion which tastes less flavourful and is usually reserved for only rolls. Up next, the hamachi tastes fresh and is a proper cut (unlike Sushi Bella that charged $3.00!), and the toro tastes fatty.

Following, the saba is quite tasty with a light pickled taste. Further on, the amaebi is missing that usual nice light sweetness and although it does not matter… but, they are butterflied ugly. In addition, the restaurant does not deep fry the heads which is not an issue to me and only one is displayed for presentation purposes. Continuing along, Sushiholic actually makes their tamago! Although the tamago tastes watery as well as bland and is missing that usual sweetness… but hey, they are one of the few 10% of Japanese restaurants that actually makes their tamago. Last up is the uni and for the price the restaurant charges, fortunately they serve one whole slice rather than loose pieces.

TOTAL: $59.20 + TIP $6.80 = $66.00.

Overall, we tipped a bit under 12% because there was no service. As for the food, it is average at best and for the same quality, I rather visit the restaurants mentioned above for a slightly cheaper price and a larger portion.

POSITIVES

- Sashimi is at a good temperature 

- Nigiri is not heavy on the rice

NEGATIVES

- Miso soup is one of the worst

- Rice tastes too dry

- Seating arrangements are tight

- Hard to get service (I cannot imagine if we came when the restaurant was busy!)

LITTLE THINGS

- Trying the whole "not overeating and ordering less food" failed because I was still hungry and ended up going to Duotiang Fish Noodles Soup at the 1st Avenue Plaza after LOL

Food: 2.5/5

Service: 2.5/5