Venue: Ambiance Mall, Vasant Kunj
Date: 08-03-2015

Japanese cuisine world over is known for its subtle taste, fresh ingredients and simplicity. Though not as famous as its other Asian competitor Chinese food, restaurants serving Japanese food are picking up in Delhi and have their niche patrons.

We decided to explore Japanese cuisine beyond sushi and went to Sakae Sushi for a Sunday lunch. This is located on the third floor of Vasant Kunj’s Ambiance Mall.

The decor is simple, minimalistic and not overtly Japanese. Sushi on a conveyor belt is a new fad in India. Sakae Sushi also had small trays of sushi rotating around on a conveyor belt. Personally we don’t like this concept. It feels like some robots/machines are churning run-of-the-mill food. But it’s definitely an attraction for many people. We were not there for sushi, so we were not bothered.

We ordered an Apple Mint Mojito and Italian Smooch (ginger ale with cola and lemon wedges) from the beverages menu along with Chicken Pepper Spring Onion and Japanese Burger Barbeque from starters. The chicken was delicious, though it looked and tasted quite like Chinese food. The Barbeque Burger looked like an American burger from outside, but was very different when we tasted it. The bread was very light and stuffing was pleasantly mild in taste.

With all the egg and veggies Japenese Barbeque Burger looked gorgeous and felt less sinful than bulky American style burgers. Two of us finished it in no time.

From the main course menu, we ordered Burnt Fried Garlic Rice along with Steamed Fish. We loved the way the fish was served – just how we visualize Japanese food. It was super tender, moist and garnished with herbs.

Steamed Fish was a perfect accompaniment with Burnt Garlic Rice – Subarashii (“Excellent” in Japanese) we must say!!!

The portion sizes were reasonable and filled us just enough to avoid ordering anything more. Quite pleased and satiated with this experience we have decided to try their sushis on our next visit.