Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Sushi downgrade

Niwano'hana' sushi definitely gets a downgrade and I'm not sure it merits another visit.
Earlier visits to Hana sushi had made it one of my favorites for sushi in Richmond. I guess I should have written up on some of the positives earlier but procrastination appears to have its rewards. A recent visit after a gap of a few months had such negative results that those +ves are all history quite literally.
This once favored location is on the avoid list till I get intimation from some other poor soul that it might be safe to venture there again.
The sushi was not fresh at all, the rice was terribly packed and had an after taste. A yellowtail handroll had the texture of rubber. The tuna roll was gritty. The sashimi tasted like catch from another month and a rainbow roll that should have been oh so good was terrible not just to look at but taste. The only kind of "non-traditional" roll that we had was a jalapeno roll and that made my stomach queasy. It was telling that we actually ended up not eating half of our sushi - an experience that was definitely a first for me. More often than not, we're wondering what more to order after the first round. What a colossal waste. The check came to over $60 including tax and tip. Trust me, you are better off anywhere else. I've had grocery store sushi (and we're not talking Whole Foods here) that was of better quality .

To add to the incredulity (along the lines of Hana sushi- that used to be so good), our waitress was completely oblivious to any discomfort on our part. On being asked "um....are you guys having an off day" AND "...did you guys change suppliers"....she cheerfully replied "NO" and walked away. Realizing that subtlety was not her forte, we even ventured to suggest that the sushi was subpar when she came to collect the check. "hmmm" was the response. THATS IT !! And they werent even busy. How can you be so out of tune with your customers ?
On the plus side, she was cheerful in her "NO".

Meanwhile, Akida continues to rule the roost (I hope and pray :)). A recent trip to Moshi Moshi definitely showed some potential there.