Hi there
Recently I went to watch movie at The Cathay, and I have accomplished my mission of trying out Maki San at Cathay basement, finally got to try out and see how good it is. 🙂
I like the minimalist funky cute japanese decor, over there only a few tables, nothing fancy, but colorful decor, which brighten up your experience.
I have read a few times on their reviews and they so called pride themselves of letting you concoct your own maki which is rolled sushi with their wide varieties of ingredients.
Actually I wouldn’t call it a sushi bar but rather perhaps a sushi cafe? Probably because of the design of their signboard. 🙂
You will know that they have put in a lot of effort in their design, from the decoration of the maki box to the design of the outlet.
So here’s the low down of what you will need to do when you visit them. Just head over to the counter and filled up either “Sushi” or “Salad” form, it is kind of like a survey form as a matter of fact. Quite wordy and you might get a little confused at the initial stage but will definitely get the hang of it soon after. 🙂
At the counter, it is more like subway “sush maki” style, haha.. why I said that is all the ingredients are put in front of you at the counter, and all you need to do is just let the chef do their work base on your concocted list. 🙂
You will be asked if you want japanese rice or brown rice, okay, I wasn’t feeling exactly healthy that week, so I opt for japanese rice rather than brown, but I don’t think brown rice will taste bad, and it probably will have a nice texture too. But for the moment, Japanese rice is order of the day.
You will be given a no. after you have ordered and will only need to wait till you are being called to pick it up, however, you can also take some time to see how the chef do it, I find it fun as it keep reminding me of subway but japanese style haha…
Their ingredients are really quite extensive and it can be a little mind boggling if it is your first time, however you can always go for their “pre-set” flavours which you can just order and go.
I ordered mine with miso soup as well and I was very happy to be greeted by the colorful sushi box when my order is ready. We ordered 1 large maki and 1 small maki and also 1 salad.
It was a little strange about the salad as they have already ran out of salad greens, so we have replaced it with penne pasta. Nevertheless the dish is still very appetizing, salmon is fresh and it is great to be a meal on its own.
There are various dressing to choose from (you can see at below menu), and after you mixed everything up, you will start to enjoy your concoction more as you eat more of it.
Now back to our sushi, it is like building a sushi from scratch, from the rice to the ingredients.
Their ingredients is a combination of Essential + Specials + Sprinkles + House Sauce (you can check out menu below), and in there, you can pack your favourite into a fabulous tight sushi roll.
I have chosen egg, avocado, salmon, fried enoki, cucumber and fish roe. Actually it is more like a hybrid california roll, but I hav always like to have something crispy inside my maki (that’s why I love soft shell crab handroll). so to be able to add fried enoki mushroom to one of my favourite california maki is something that I have always wanted to try. 🙂
My friend ordered teriyaki chicken, and the teriyaki chicken sauce was excellent, very appetizing indeed! Tastewise, the rice was chewy and with the fresh ingredients I have it a two thumbs up, but if I really have to be very particular on it, I would say that I wish their seaweed can be a little more crispy, mine isn’t bad, but it will be great if it is a little crispy.
You can see the color of the avocado, just how fresh is the ingredients, looks good right? 🙂
Miso soup which I tag along with the order for $1.50 extra but nothing to shout about, but I suppose these days miso soup taste about the same everywhere.
On average our dinner is about $30 for 3 pax, which is still a good price, given the quality and the speed of the preparation of the meal.
SUSHI
Wrap – Traditional Nori (Seaweed) / Healthy Soy with Sesame (extra $1)
Rice – Japanese White rice / Healthy Brown rice
ESSENTIALS (Little San Choose 3 / Mega Sn Choose 5) *Extra Essential @$1.50 per portion)
- Grilled Zucchini / Grilled eggplant / Roasted mixed peppers / Roasted tomato / Roasted mushroom / Japanese cucumber / Japanese pickled / Cucumber / Tamagoyaki (Japanese Omelette) / Asparagus / Onion / Sweet Corn / Carrot / Olives / Jalapenos / Avocado / Parmesan Cheese / Sliced cheddar cheese / Boiled egg / Anchovies / Shredded Chicken / Steamed Ebi (Prawn) / Tuna Mayo /Kani stick (crab stick) /Silken Tofu / Dried cranberries / Tobiko (Flying Fish Roe) / Tempura Onion / Tempura Enoki Mushroom
SPECIALS (Mega san Choose 1) *xtra special @$2.50 per portion
- Teriyaki Chicken / Smoked Duck / Roast Beef / Grilled Unagi (Eel) / Salmon Sashimi / Smoked Salmon / Tempura Ebi (Prawn) / Tempura soft shell crab
SPRINKLES (Little / Mega san choose 1) * Extra sprinkle @1 per portion)
- Chicken floss / Roasted cashew nut bits / Roasted sesame seeds / Roasted almond flakes / spring onion / turkey bacon bits / sunflower seeds / pine nuts / raisins / nori (seaweed) / tempura crunch / Bonito (Japanese fish flakes)
HOUSE SAUCES
- Extra virgin olive oil / ponzu (japanese mixed citrus) / Yuzu honey vinaigrette / yuzu sesame / honey mustard / balsamic vinaigrette / sweet thai chilli / garlic aioli / teriyaki / sesame / BBQ / caesar / Spicy mayo / oriental (garlic) / smoky cheddar cheese / wasabi mayo / japanese curry / japanese mayo
SIGNATURE SUSHI
- Calfornia Dreaming $8.90
- Roast N Roll $8.90
- Keep on Shrimping $9.90
SNACKS
- Tempura calamari
- Tempura enoki mushroom
- Tempura soft shell crab
- Tempura Ebi (Prawn)
- * Dip : Japanese mayo / smoky cheddar cheese / house paprika seasoning
DRINKS
- Iced Lemon Tea / Iced Green Tea / Hot Green Tea / Canned Drinks / Bottled Water – $1.50
- Vitamin Water $2.50
SOUP
- Miso (with silken tofu & fresh kelp) $1.50 (with sushi main order) / $2.50 (a la carte)
SALAD
- Little San $7.90 – 1 Base + 4 Essentials + 1 Sprinkle + 1 House Dressing
- Big San $9.90 – 1 Base + 4 Essentials + 2 Additionals + 1 Sprinkle + 1 House Dressing
- Mega san $11.90 – 1 Base + 4 Essentials + 1 Special + 1 Sprinkle + 1 House Dressing
All in all, I really do like this small like maki sushi place, it reminds me of those sushi outlets, that is so tiny you can barely fit 2 people in the store, but they sell handrolls, which is just about palm size, that was kind of my staple when I was studying in NZ, and this just fits the bill of my cravings when I think of that And come on, what other places let you unleash your creativity in sushi making besides your home? Oh yes, that’s one and only Maki san. 🙂
RESTAURANT REVIEWS : MAKI SAN CUSTOMIZED SUSHI ON THE GO – I LOVE MAKI SAN
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Cheers,
Dawn