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First up in this month's theme is Sushi Deli, a quaint little shop immersed amongst a sea of eating places on Lt Bourke St. Fierce competition I must say but nonetheless a reasonable place to get your sushi. It's located on a slope, which isn't such a hindrance unless you happen to be clumsy with your sushi...haha...there was this one time when this guy dropped his sushi, and then it rolled all the way down...hahaha.. Anyway, most patrons come in for takeaway, likely because there sitting inside is a real squeeze. Practically half the shop is the kitchen, and almost a half of the remaining half is taken up by a huge array of Asian drinks. Overpriced Asian drinks that is.

With such a tight squeeze, we had no choice but to dine al fresco. Three aluminium tables, three chairs on each, carelessly arranged downslope. They are irritatingly scratchy against the pavement, and do little to pamper our overworked backs.

The menu consists of the staples of Jap cuisine, such as bento boxes and ramen with miso. We chose Lunch Box Special ($8.90), Meat Ramen ($7.50), Chicken Teriyaki Rice ($7.50), Unagidon ($8.90), Curry Rice ($7.50) and of course, an assortment of sushi (from $1.80). Most dishes come with mixed vegetables and come in one serving size.

Lunch Box Special, ironically, isn’t all that special as far as bento boxes go. Rice, Teriyaki chicken, three sushi, and vegetables. And did I mention the lack of authenticity? Broccoli and carrots were cooked to crunchy imperfection. The Japanese short grain rice – which looked longer than usual – questioned its authenticity. Alas, the only redemption point is that the chicken was tender enough, accompanied with ample sauce.

Meat Ramen - Soy Base
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Meat Ramen - Miso Base
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'Soy or miso base sir?' asks the waitress, her Jap nationality immediately obvious. We’ve tried both, but they tasted the same. Perhaps there is no difference, but why would they deceive us? Hmph. Feeling so violated now lah. Think we know nothing about ramen and udon and miso and soy, anyhow go and mix everything together…Anyways, either was salty and oily. The ramen looked of the instant variety, though it didn’t taste so, so that’s good. Enough ‘chew’ in the noodle to satisfy. Coming back to the vegetable issue, we cannot understand how broccoli and corn became part of Japanese cuisine. Did we miss a trend somewhere?

Unagi Don
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Teriyaki Chicken Rice
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Unagidon, or grilled eel on rice/noodle, is a favourite. But sadly it’s also the most expensive. Premium slice of eel, deboned and grilled in teriyaki sauce. Unagi has wonderful texture and softeness, so you don’t get any bits stuck between your teeth. (Don’t you hate it when that happens? You desperately try and get rid of it with your tongue, screwing your face into all sorts of expressions you never knew you had). On the other hand, Teriyaki chicken tends to be breast meat, so if you don’t eat it properly then you’ll get fibres of meat wedged between teeth. A most unpleasant feeling. Curry Rice felt ‘flat’ and ‘bland’, having no kick to it. Having been to Sushi Deli for a number of times, we’ve found the rice to be inconsistent. Sometimes it’s soggy, other times it’s hard or chewy… What happened to quality control man?! Aren’t Japs perfectionists?!

Curry Rice
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I have a confession to make. I can’t stand wasabi!!!(you can call me wimp for all I care) Hate it when it goes up your nose, into your eyes, and you cry over a piece of rolled-up rice. Here are Sushi Deli, most of the sushi are spread with this pungent herb paste so be forewarned. From memory, Chicken Teriyaki is the only one that doesn’t have it. Seaweed (nori) was found to be too hard for our liking.

(so sick of talking about chicken teriyaki. Almost every paragraph also got say…)

Overall, Sushi Deli is a substandard sushi outlet. There isn’t a great deal of variety there, given their cellular shop space. There is potential for vast improvement.

Lesson learnt: Bring toothpicks wherever you go.

11.5/20 budds

Written by: Keegan

Sushi Deli
395 Little Bourke St
Melbourne VIC 3000
Cnr Hardware Lane
Tel: 9670 6688