Sushi rolls
When i went to vancouver last year, i had the best sushi rolls i've ever tasted. Things like dynamite sushi were so appealing to the eye and so incredibly yummy. I heard that in Japan, sushi rolls are not that common.. they more prefer the sushi with raw fish on a bed of rice and they can be incredibly expensive.
Any luck i can try good sushi rolls in japan... although the restaurants in vancouver were opened by japanese people, i have a feeling those rolls are fusion style.
Also, I had my sushi rolls made from soy paper instead of seaweed as I can't really tolerate the iodine in the seaweed, is soy paper common in japan? Could i ask for this to be substitued?
I'll be visiting osaka/tokyo so any receommendations that would be fab!
Tsujiki fish market I've read has good sushi but I can't speak japanese so may be a problem with ordering.
giraffez
May 11, 2008 04:53AM
Hey giraffez,
Your best bet might be some Sushi restaurants in Roppongi that cater to tourists. I'll leave the addresses up to anyone that knows of any over there (I don't). You can also contact your concierge at your hotel ahead of time, and ask them to book you a reservation at a local Sushi restaurant that focuses on Rolls; let them do the leg work.
One thing to remember is that Sushi *didn't* start out with "Dynamite Rolls" and Cream Cheese, Hot Sauce mixtures and concoctions with fish; that style you enjoy is definitely Fusion Sushi (to answer your question), popular outside of Japan. Although it may seem boring or plain, you haven't had great Sushi until you've tried the traditional, authentic Sushi in Japan. It's the equivalent of thinking Lemon-Honey-Sugar Chicken (and stuff from PF Chang's Panda Express) is "Chinese food" (which it isn't).
The freshness of the Fish, the amazing Knifework, and rare strains of Japanese Rice, fresh-ground Wasabi (from the real root!), and the Sushi skills of the itamae at places of Sushi Mizutani, Sukibayashi Jirou, etc., the amazing taste of the fresh seafood from the Sea of Japan really sets it apart from any experience I've had in North America. You should try it once (even at a simple, local shop) if you never have.
Have fun on your trip!
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See my response in this thread- http://www.chowhound.com/topics/512998 . There's a place called Rainbow Roll in Azabu-juban that does American style rolls. I've never been. I've heard from someone who has and they said "It sucks".
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Rainbow is the most popular, as far as I know, of western style sushi (the rolls you're referring to) although a new place opened recently in Ebisu somewhere but I can't remember the name.
On your trip here, I would definitely not go searching for 'dynamite rolls'. You can get better 'american sushi' back in the states/vancouver/etc...
I've never seen the soy paper before, here or back home, so I can't comment but being that seaweed isn't used that often in nigiri sushi anyway, I doubt most places stock it.
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I don't think Rainbow roll sucks, I happen to love their maguro salad and I've had some pretty inventive flavors there. Many Japanese and western friends enjoy this place as well, and some of my colleagues too. The menu isn't limited to rolls or sashimi, they have a varitety of hot and cold apps as well and the tskune is pretty yummy there. For the original poster though, I wouldn't reccommend rainbow roll for someone coming here on vacation. You can get fusion style rolls at any major city in the world but while you are in Tokyo enjoy sushi in its pure state.
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Probably you do not need to speak Japanese to order at the sushi shops of Tsujiki market to taste some really fresh and good quality sushi in Tokyo without costing you a fortune, but I am pretty sure they are not familiar with soy paper sushi.
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