Now then a sushi bar and bubble tea Emporium on Mullingar's Main Street is a welcome sight. I wish them well with fingers crossed.
The sushi was made fresh and all of it was really delicious. Fresh makes a great difference. I guess we waited longer for the food than we thought and longer than we liked.
We got two large seaweed topped rice gunkan nigiri (€4), and 8 pieces each of norimaki smoked salmon, avocado, masago and cheese roll (€9.30), and 8 pieces of vegetarian norimaki vegetarian avocado, salted turnip, and sesame seeds (€8.30). We got little pots of soy sauce, wasabi and pickled ginger.
My wife opted out of soup but I couldn't resist the Tom Yum hot, sour prawn soup (€4.5). It was perfect with lemon grass, chilli and lime leaves but I didn't expect the preserved lemon peel within.
We couldn't manage all the food so it's now refrigerated in our hotel. Our total bill was €26.5.
We parked on main street right outside the bawdy red, lanterned sushi place with a smiling waving cat but didn't see it until we alighted the car into freezing wind.
We were listening to the radio presenter say Sinead O' Connor had died of natural causes at 56. Far too young.
He played Nothing Compares 2 U. As I listened a line from an old Irish folk song that I have lived long enough to agree with struck me; 'and a troubled mind sure can know no rest' ain't that a truth?
It's 18 months since we last visited this area and we were on our way to the Bloomfield Park hotel for a few days.
So to end this tale I must admit Emporium might be a tad exaggerated as I suspect that the main bathroom in our home has more floor space than the dining area within the sushi bar. Speaking of bathrooms it hasn't one.
I think there's 6 tables and chairs and it's a narrow space. You will be serenaded over their sound system by young Japanese pop stars but I suspect it's more to entertain the charming young lady behind the counter, it made us smile, and it's well worth supporting. read more