KUALA LUMPUR, Mar 31 — There’s something fascinating about kaitenzushi or conveyor belt sushi.
Maybe it’s the motion, round and round like a merry-go-round, where sushi plates beckon you to pick them like pretty girls in a beauty pageant.
While the concept is appealing, I’ve often found the selections to be less enticing, often veering to ho-hum sushi with toppings drenched in mayonnaise, making me ask where’s the fish?
The sceptic in me snubbed Sushiro when it opened in Suria KLCC, brushing it off as just another kaitenzushi.
Well, curiosity got this cat, as friends started talking about it on social media, proudly displaying their stacks of coloured plates like a badge of honour.
It takes some time to get into Sushiro, especially if you’re there during the weekend.
With three conveyor belts running, Sushiro is like a cave of treasures to be discovered — Picture by Lee Khang Yi
One needs to get a queue number from the machine in front of the entrance and wait for it to be called out.
For those not willing to wait with the crowd, there’s a handy app for you to virtually queue for a booth or counter seat.
The crowd is made up mainly of families and even a fair number of Japanese expatriates.
Dining during peak hours like lunch and dinner is limited to one hour.
One would need to juggle whether to order from the touch screen for freshly-made sushi or just select what’s rotating on the conveyor belt.
The sushi is kept fresh on plates with a microchip that allows it to only travel 350 metres before it’s retired like a Formula One race car with a bad choice of tires.
Bear in mind, one is also limited to how many items you can order at one time from the touch screen. It’s two menu items if you’re sitting at the counter and four menu items for diners seated at the booth.
It’s a good idea they let you space out the order, ensuring you eat items like the Shrimp Tempura Sushi still hot from the fryer. Don’t fret if you pick the same sushi from the conveyor belt, as the tempura is still crispy.
In Sushiro, it’s fish heaven for sushi addicts.
Come here for the wide selection of different types of tuna sushi including ‘maguro’, ‘chutoro’ and ‘ootoro’ — Picture by Lee Khang Yi
You don’t just see salmon (everyone’s darling) but there’s a variety of tuna including the highly sought after ootoro!
For the opening promotion, it was being offered for RM5.80 versus the usual RM15.80.
And judging from the teasers on social media, there will be another round of ootoro happening very soon. Be prepared to battle at Sushiro to eat all you can!
Tuna is represented with seven choices for nigiri like maguro, chutoro, ootoro and even bincho maguro with a pale hue and milder taste. There’s also katsuo or skipjack tuna.
Usually, other places just serve maguro, since it’s only salmon that people clamour for.
Don’t worry, there’s loads of salmon (11 types!) nigiri to satisfy those diehard fans. Salmon gets torched and dressed up with onions, ikura, cream cheese, basil cheese and grated radish.
Salmon in many forms are also available with Fresh Salmon Sushi (left) and Broiled Salmon Belly Sushi (right) — Pictures by Lee Khang Yi
There’s also kanpachi (great amberjack), tai (red snapper), hamachi (yellowtail), horse mackerel (aji), iwashi (sardine), engawa, grilled and vinegared mackerel.
With over 100 varieties of sushi, side dishes and a wide range of desserts, Sushiro is a place that requires multiple visits. .
Now another complaint I always had was the shari or rice used in other kaitenzushi, as it’s usually firmly pressed, creating a harder bite.
Here, a machine presses the rice, making sure it’s airy and fluffy, while they use their special recipe with secret ratios of rice vinegar and rice.
Most of the time, it works well but for some items that are too heavy, like the Crispy Fried Oyster Sushi and Japanese Sardine Tempura from the Deluxe Feast promotion, the rice tends to crumble under its weight.
While an omakase offers a refined atmosphere where one chats with the sushi chef, some popular places require advance booking, so Sushiro will be there to satisfy those sushi cravings in a jiffy.
Decadent Ikura Tsutsumi (left) for a special treat and Vinegared Sardine (right) — Pictures by Lee Khang Yi
Dining here is a lot of fun. Each meal became a little challenge to try something new.
It doesn’t just stop at the variety of fish but one can also play around with the seasonings. For soy sauce, there’s three to select from, the normal soy sauce, a halal version and sweet soy sauce.
Between the normal and halal soy sauce, the normal version has a punchier savoury flavour as the halal one is very light.
Just remember to dab only your fish or topping and not the rice with soy sauce.
Try this hack of transforming pickled ginger into a brush for the soy sauce, allowing you to control the amount needed.
As Sushiro is studied extensively by its fans, there are numerous hacks found on social media.
For some items, swap that soy sauce with wasabi for a sprinkle of salt. There’s salt packets in a bowl on the conveyor belt, so grab a packet and start emulating Salt Bae’s sprinkling technique.
Shrimp Tempura Sushi (left) is crunchy and sweet with the prawn while the Tuna with Green Onion Gunkan (right) tastes sweeter with a sprinkle of salt — Pictures by Lee Khang Yi
It works well with the Shrimp Tempura Sushi, giving it a slightly crunchier texture.
Even tuna tastes different with salt. For the Tuna with Green Onion Gunkan, the chopped tuna takes on a sweeter taste. On Ootoro, it adds a light savouriness undercutting the fattiness well, while soy sauce gives the fatty tuna a deeper savoury flavour.
Some hacks ask for salt to be used with white fish but I didn’t find much difference. However with Engawa, the sprinkle of salt seemed to make the shiso leaf more pungent.
Another hack that didn’t work was mixing matcha powder (used for the beverage) with salt, to create a matcha salt. It probably didn’t work as there’s not much bitterness with the powder form.
Each month, there are specials to entice you there. Currently, it’s the Deluxe Feast that runs till April 27.
It gives you a chance to try Cod Milt Gunkan with the creamy shirako. It’s more of a texture with flavour from the kani orange jelly cut into tiny pieces. Similarly, the Monkfish Liver Gunkan uses that same topping.
The Aburi Red Shrimp with Butter Soy Sauce is a classic pairing that works perfectly with the rich buttery, smoky savouriness.
This month’s promotion presents Cod Milt Gunkan (left) with a creamy bite punched up with the ‘kani’ jelly while the Aburi Red Shrimp with Butter Soy Sauce (right) is an addictive bite — Pictures by Lee Khang Yi
Not every sushi works and the Boiled Snow Crab Kani Miso combo, gives you a fishy flavour from the kani miso.
Prices range from RM5.80, RM7.80, RM10.80 to RM15.80, with different colour coded plates.
In comparison with kaitenzushi places located in a shopping mall, like Genki Sushi and Jiro Sushi, Sushiro’s price per plate doesn’t include the six per cent service tax.
Similarly Sushi King’s prices exclude the service tax. However, in their menu, they calculate the service tax and show how much each piece will cost with the added tax.
As a benchmark, Sushiro’s fresh salmon sushi is priced at RM5.80 and it’s RM6.15 with the 6 per cent service tax.
The same salmon sushi is RM3.98 in Jiro Sushi, RM4.90 in Genki Sushi and RM6.96 in Sushi King. Note that Jiro Sushi and Genki Sushi label it as salmon belly.
With each visit, one can start narrowing down favourites, depending on your mood or even how much time you have to dine there.
Be careful with your selections as going overboard here can result in a hefty bill.
Frozen desserts can also be selected like the Rare Cheesecake (left) or the Catalana Ice Brulee for a cold dessert — Picture by Lee Khang Yi
With RM5.80, my picks include the Red Shrimp Sushi which is a winner with its sweet flavour accented with a dab of soy sauce. The Shrimp Tempura Sushi is crunchy with its light batter and sometimes even served hot, when you order from the touch screen.
Maguro Sushi and Tuna with Green Onion Gunkan are also my top picks for tuna at this price range.
Shrimp and Avocado Sushi with a shrimp, sliver of avocado, onions and mayonnaise combination tastes quite similar to a maki minus the seaweed, if you’re looking for a budget choice.
Don’t miss out on the Chawanmushi (RM8). It’s silky smooth with a piece of scallop, chicken, prawn and a thin slice of fish cake. There’s also a deluxe version for the promotion with a snow crab leg for RM10.80.
For dessert, there’s a line up of frozen desserts to look out for, but go for the Catalana Ice Brulee (RM10.80) for a creamy, cold treat with a caramelised sugar topping.
Sushiro,
Lot LC-C06, Concourse Level,
Suria KLCC, Kuala Lumpur.
Open daily: 10am to 10pm.
Tel:03-30074011.
Website: @sushiro.com.my
Instagram: @sushiromalaysia
Facebook: @SushiroMalaysia
* This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.
* Follow us on Instagram @eatdrinkmm for more food gems.
