Umami's Farewell @ Sushi Yoshida

This blog entry is late but I'm thankful for the time to work on it today. Some colleagues & I were sent home early today, thanks to the company's Business Continuity Planning policy. The earthquakes in Sumatra, Indonesia hit @ 11.45 am and again @ 1.45 pm. The tremors caused our building to sway. The first time it happened, I could hardly believe it and felt dizzy. The second time it happened, the tremors were much stronger. We got worried & evacuated immediately.

The earthquake tremors made me think of Japan and thus, my current entry on Japanese food:

Having heard so much about Sushi Yoshida, I was very thrilled when my fellow bloggers arranged for Umami's farewell dinner to be held there in early January. Unfortunately, work turned out to be really messy that day and I was late for dinner. I arrived looking worn out and hassled. Thanks Sam aka Hinata Diaries for trying to cheer me up that evening. It was a most welcome reprieve to a long day.

Dinner commenced with a starter of rolled seaweed with a sweet stuffing...forgot what the name of this dish is but I reckon Ivan aka Food Recent Runes would know. :) I am not a huge fan of sweet food and so I didn't enjoy this dish.

Having had a harrowing day, I was craving carbs. Stress makes me extremely hungry and especially so for carbs. Mia aka Skinny Epicurean was really amazed that I was kicking off the meal with a bowl of hot ramen. I explained to her about my carb cravings. Boy, was it comforting to have a steaming hot bowl of ramen.

Not wanting to eat too much, I ordered a platter of Sushi Moriawase (assorted sushi). Having had such high expectations, I was a tad disappointed when the platter arrived looking a little haphazardly put together. It didn't help that I'm not a huge fan of Amaebi (prawn), Tamago (egg), Ika (squid) and Hotate (Scallop) but had neglected to tell the waitress about my special preferences in my hurry to get dinner going.

Don't get me wrong, I don't dislike prawns but its not one of my favourite foods as I love chicken and beef much better. I dislike Tamago because the egg omelette is very sweet. Mia explained to me that its tough to find good Tamago and this is one of the better ones. I tried it and still find it too sweet for my taste. Different strokes for different folks, I guess. I dislike Ika and Akagai because of their chewy texture but will eat them anyway if served.

I found the Unagi (Eel) to be pretty tasty. I enjoyed the Chu-Toro (medium fatty tuna) though it tasted a little flat that day. I guess we just got them on a bad day because Ivan & Mia found the Chu-Toro to be disappointing too. Nothing beats an O-Toro (fatty tuna belly) for smoothness and richness. I guess I should order that the next time I go to Sushi Yoshida. I enjoyed the Ikura (Salmon Roe) immensely so it was the highlight of the meal for me. I love how the globules of salmon roe burst in the mouth filling it with a deliciously savoury flavour.

Sushi Yoshida
10 Devonshire Road
Tel: 67355014