After a busy midterm week, there’s nothing better than a refreshing break. And, as far as I know, there’s nothing more refreshing than Japanese food.
Sen Zushi is a pretty authentic and marvellous Japanese restaurant, located at 340 Fort Street. My visit started with a friendly welcome from the restaurant hostess and waitress. Then, the menu presented a wide variety of options: I got some takoyaki as an appetizer, a teriyaki salmon with a karaage roll for the main dish, and, for a sweet ending, taiyaki with vanilla ice cream.
The takoyaki, a ball-shaped snack filled with octopus, was the perfect start. It had a surprisingly sweet and sour flavour. Along with some bonito flakes, the takoyaki presented a subtle but necessary smoked flavour, making the experience close to umami. After such a spectacular entrance came the teriyaki salmon and kara-age roll. The teriyaki salmon was like a symphony between the strong salmon flavour held by the mild flavour of rice and the crisp sound of fresh lettuce. The karaage roll had a balanced mix of sweet and spicy. The benignant rice, despite its effort, could not overcome the solid and honourable fried chicken flavour, which, reinforced with its loyal partner, the sesame seeds, left behind a refreshing cucumber breeze.
It’s fair to give an honourable mention to the hot, recently made, green tea that helped to hold a harmonic experience. The flavours were so perfectly balanced that they were comparable to fish swimming in a calm flow.
I’m usually known for eating too fast, but here I was forced to respect the pace and rhythm of the flavours. For the grand finale, I couldn’t help but go after the sweet and crispy taiyaki. The taiyaki, a small cake filled with sweet red bean paste, was presented with a lovely fish shape similar to the fish tai. This curious dessert is commonly accompanied by vanilla, sesame, or green tea ice cream. The vanilla ice cream was the perfect option for me on this occasion.
The food, the friendly service, and the unique, authentic Japanese atmosphere make Sen Zushi a fully unmissable experience (and one that would be perfect for a first date).
I’d be delighted to go back.