Hi there,
Do you want some cheap & great eats? How about $1.50 sushi, per plate, all plates, even come with 2 pieces per plate! yup, no gimmicks 🙂 Taiwan sushi chain Sushi Express is the right place to go for some sushi outings. 🙂
Been there twice within the week, because it is really that good! 🙂
Located at Citylink Mall, this sushi chain has quietly reached our Singapore shore. You will always find a queue over there, because good food news go a mile, and great food news does goes a thousand miles! 🙂
Okay, here is the low down of Sushi Express, basically it is the conveyor belt sushi at its finest. Cheap, Quick & Delicious. Believe it or not, I went back there the second time within the week, just to make sure that it is still that good as what my friend told me, and sure thing, this is for real. 🙂
Wasabi, wet towels are all Free, you don’t get those restaurant self made wasabi which god knows how long that bowl of thing has been on the conveyor belt , all wasabi packets are in individual packets, like those you get from sushi counter in supermarkets. 🙂
What you need to do is to make sure you can finish your dining within 50 mins, actually for both times I was there, they didn’t ask us to go even after 50 mins, because not all the tables were occupied, so I really like that, they are not pretentious nor have andy cold hard rules like you really have to leave even if the restaurant is empty.
As I have bad experience with using some online dining vouchers, some restaurant that I goes to, really forbid diners to go as long as the timing wasn’t right, Even when the restaurant is pretty empty, it really makes me wonder, will the customer really want to go back if you treat them like this? so I must give kudos to sushi express 🙂
Okay, these are the sushi which we picked in the “first minute” we were seated, everyone were already eyeing the conveyor belt, and it is really fun, because it seems the conveyor belt runs a little faster than others we have seen. 🙂
Over here, green tea is free (yes, not the $1.50 per head or per packet that you get charged in other restaurants!), but of course the green tea quality might not be as good as others you will get to try, actually it taste a little run down, but I didn’t really mind that much, as  it goes well with the sushi. And what’s more, its free flow, if you need additional kick, just pop in double bags.
Wasabi and ginger will be self service, one thing which is quite strange is that for the ginger, it is also placed on the conveyor belt, so it kinds of test your skills to see if you can really reach and get it on time, we got a good laugh thou, wondering if it is to restrict people from overloading uneaten ginger slices. 😛
But to have it place on the conveyor belt, I personally feel is better, because that will mean the ginger will be consumed faster and the turn over is quicker too.
Sushi variety is not as much as other regular sushi restaurnt, but still abundant, you will still have difficulty or can I say impossible to finish all the sushi varieties there. There are also other side dishes, like clams, mussels, scallops, octopus with seaweed, shisamo (pregnant fish) stew.
The one that I was most impress is that I get to eat Ikura sushi and Uni sushi (sea urchin) here too! The first time I tried the sea urchin, I was extremely impress and couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw it, the second time I tried, it was okay, but for the Ikura sushi, both times, it tasted really fresh, and the ikura salmon eggs was so fresh and poping happily in my mouth. Yum!!!
Other sushi varieties include Salmon belly (yes its belly!), Tuna, Salmon Sashimi, Tuna Sashimi, Scallop Sashimi, Sweet Shrimp, Amaebi Sashimi, Sea Eel, Surf Clam, Scallop, Sea Urchin, Lobster Salad, Salmon Roe, Flying Fish Roe, Crab Flavoured Stick, Mackerel Sea Bream, Beancurd Skin, many many more and my favourite Grilled Salmon Belly, best choice of all, smoky flavor with some japanese mayo, salmon flavor at its best really.
They also serve piping hot miso soup at $1.50 too, I ordered one and was very surprise by how much ingredients they have put inside, every miso soup has lots of tofu, seaweed and also salmon meat, no wonder I tasted the soup some what different from the normal ones I tried, it was the salmon flavoured, however because of this, the soup will also get a bit oily from the salmon fatty goodness, but my son still drink it all up, so it must be good.
Our experience with Sushi Express was pretty good, especially how my son thoroughly enjoyed helping me put “the sushi hats” on the conveyor belt, it is just a sign that remind you to put all the sushi cover back onto the belt, with a small plate shining along the belt, every kids will find it amusing and wanted to place “the hats” on it. 🙂
My son who is still too young to eat sashimi enjoyed his eel fish sushi, egg sushi and beancurd so there is no problem to bring the little ones there, especially with the hot salmon soup, the kids can have a satisfying meal too. 🙂
As for dessert wise, it is also pick it yourself on the conveyor style. There are only a few variety, which is
- Blueberry cheese cake – okay, the bottom crust is a little too moist for my likings
- Mochi – Green tea or soya bean flavoured, I didn’t like it because the mochi tasted too rubbery and the fillings is custard cream which is really not something I can think of with mochi
- Mango pudding – best dessert among all, more like jelly but good enough to end the meal with a sweet note.
- Grape jelly – didn’t try it, but the serving looks huge
All the sashimi were fresh, the thing that I find which was rather different, was that their sushi was slightly smaller than other sushi places. I would say 3 pieces of Sushi Express sushi is equalvalent to 2 pieces you can find in Sakae or Sushi Tei, but for nigiri ones, the size is just as big.
The only thing that will make it perfect is if they can introduce some noodles in it, like a very small portion of cold or hot soba, that will be perfect.
First time I went there, we polished off 46 plates of sushi, and only cost us $81, while the second time was a modest 21 plates, which cost us $37. I was quite amazed, I think if I have eaten at other sushi places, it will easily set me back around double the amount. But if you are someone who prefers to order from the menu, then this might not be the place for you, as you can only get what they serve on the conveyor belt and if you are eyeing for a specific sushi, you will really need to wait for the sushi chef to whip out some more.
I heard from my friends that their variety was not as much as other sushi shops, which can be true, however, I will say that they compensated very well with the quality and the budget, and because of the cost, it seems like they have much more variety of sushi which you don’t normally find in other restaurant, kind of like thinking outside the box and even for simple ones like crab stick, they will add or decorate it to looks it so much nicer, like drizzle with japanese mayo over it.
They also sell their tea bag for suprise suprise, $1.50+ for 15 pcs/box. That just work out about 10cents each. Cheaper than Daiso haha..
All in all, I am not sure if it was because of my low expectation that prompted me to give a high score of this restaurant, (hey, come on, who will expect you can get such good sushi at only $1.50++!?) but having gone back twice in a week, I must say this is really one sushi place that you should not miss out.
Photos tell a thousand words, and judging on the plates we polished off. I am sure this has just became a new hangout for me and my family when we want some quality sushi at exceptional good price. This is what I call no frills Cheap & Great Eats! 🙂
Happy Dining!
RESTAURANT REVIEWS : SUSHI EXPRESS AT CITYLINK MALL
Locations : 1 Raffles Link, #B1-23, Citylink Mall S039393
Tel : 62389811
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Cheers,
Dawn