Yama Sushi - Finally

We finally made it to Yama Sushi and after all the postponing and putting off we've had with this place in the end it turns out I was pretty excited about the whole thing. So I was pleased as punch when we got there the shutter were indeed up, inside was populated yet with enough space to seat two more slowly swelling backsides. I have had sushi many times before, I don’t think it was real sushi though, more like a western version of sushi, where everything is cooked, I’ve always enjoyed it. Steve on the other hand has put his foot down and decreed he doesn’t like it, it has no flavour (if there was anything I'd complain about it would be the unfamiliar texture).
This said he decided to follow my lead and order a bento box, containing a variety of tempura, chef’s sushi selection, steamed rice and a main of your choice served with miso soup. My choice was chicken teriyaki and Steve chose beef in Tokyo sauce. At this point I became overwhelmed by the menu and wanted to order practically everything, I also wanted the majority of the crockery too. So on top of that I ordered a couple of side dishes, salmon and bacon skewers and assorted tempura (why I ordered this I don’t know as this came with our bento boxes as well). We sipped our green tea while we waited and admired the surroundings; I pretty much love the Japanese aesthete and find the history fascinating. I’m currently reading a book about the history of Japan so maybe that inspired me to finally visit Yama Sushi and get thusly thrilled by it. First to arrive was the miso soup, I’ve always like this hearty broth, always been slightly disconcerted by the floating leaves and tofu. Then the side dishes arrived, the tempura with dipping sauce, this was great, I truly loved it, thin slices of sweet potato, courgettes and pepper with king prawns, coated in a light batter and fried, and it was delicious. This is not a descriptive word you’ll hear me say often referring to veg and I’m a keen avoider of most, but this seems to me the most excellent way to deal with it. Then came the Salmon and bacon skewers, described rather appropriately by Steve as fishy lollipops, these too were enjoyable. After the empty dishes had been cleared our bento boxes arrived, worryingly larger than the picture had made us believe. I laid in to yet more veg tempura, and tried my chicken teriyaki. The flavours were discreet but nice, the chicken however was not to my liking as it was full of gristle, the skin and accompanying fat was still on, I can’t stand the texture of this, which made it’s consumption even more tricky with my awkward handed chop sticking. I ate as much of it as I could as the flavours were fine. On the other side of the table Steve’s beef was delicious, yet again his order out did mine, this time both in flavour and substance, the Tokyo Sauce was so flavourful and deep and rich, the beef nice and chewy like larger fried strips. The sauce reminded me of a Jack Daniels sauce I once had, mmmm. The sushi selection was nigiri, a little bed of rice with fish or vegetable resting on top, mine was salmon, prawn and squid, Steve had tuna instead of salmon. I bit into the sake (salmon) nigiri and tried to break through the soft tissue with my wanting nashers, made even more difficult by the weak pincer that was holding onto the other end, I made a bit of a mess of it to be honest. The rice fell apart and I had to slurp up the rest of the salmon into my mouth as it was impossible to bite through. I’d learnt my lesson with my next piece, the squid, totally raw, I picked up the scored white piece and bit down hard, it came away fairly easily, as I chewed I was delighted by the mild fishy flavour, not by an oily coating my mouth received. I placed the rest of it down having decided not to continue and immediately picked it up again and devoured the lot without compunction. I stole the tuna nigiri off of Steve’s plate as he didn’t want any sushi, in the end he had a mouthful, has face afterwards (like that of a child eating broccoli) signalled his dislike. All in all it was pleasant. I wish I’d had the beef in Tokyo Sauce, the sushi was okay but I think I like the novelty of it rather than the food itself. Check out this awesome Bento Box Blog.