There's a distinct lack of Sushi places down at the old historic Port Adelaide, but in reality there isn't a lot of other things either. The revitalization project is rapidly changing that, and niche cafes/restaurants are popping up with their own distinct traits and they are finally breathing fresh life into the once dead and heavily criticized suburb.
So when I saw that Nijihong Sushi was opening in the Port Mall shopping centre, I sighed a breath of relief, because although I adore Sushi-Train at St. Clair, realistically you're paying way too much per plate for 3 small pieces of fish on rice. I thought that I would finally have a place where I could go to grab a few rolls after some quick groceries before heading home, because I frequent the centre. Oh, was I wrong..
My brother and I decided to try their menu, and even before we had received our food, we were worried. The brother noticed that the staff were speaking Chinese, which if you don't know, is the first Red-Flag of ANY sushi restaurant. We've been to many, many Sushi places that speak Chinese and have picked up on the more-than-often lack-luster quality that comes with it.
We sat down after paying and stating that we would eat-in, but not before they shoved the rolls we ordered into a plastic container, uncut, after we specifically asked them to slice them into portions. We asked a second time, and they obliged, before mangling them into weird shapes. As we carried them to the table ourselves, we realized that there were no plates, no wasabi, no napkins, not even soy sauce within reach. They actually made us PAY 10cents per each packet of wasabi, even after paying $39 for what we ordered on pay-wave.
So we ate a few pieces of the rolls, which were atrociously sliced (see pic), but some of them were warm and contained salmon, so we pushed them to the side in fear of food poisoning. Next came the pan-fried dumplings, which further confirmed the Chinese ownership. We know dumplings, especially after several trips to China ourselves. Lastly came the Chicken Udon Ramen, which came in an enormous bowl, but was bland and just felt like it wasn't cooked with love.
I wouldn't recommend this place unless you desperately need food that somewhat 'resembles' sushi. It may be good to grab a quick roll and shove it in your face on your way home from picking up the essentials, but buyer beware, don't order off the menu. Unless you enjoy deeply disappointing food. read more