New Straits Times, 30 June 2010

SIDNEY KAN goes out for Japanese and finds colours and flavours just right for his mood at Sushi Tei

"IRASHAIMASE!" The warm greeting made, we were politely ushered to our table.

We had a sudden craving for Japanese and Sushi Tei was my little nephew's choice — he fancied sashimi. The restaurant is spacious and wooden light brown panels form the backdrop. I found it very relaxing.

You can order from the menu or pick from the offerings on the conveyor belt. We chose to order ours.

We started with the gorgeous Tako Wasabi — raw bite-sized, sliced octopus laced with wasabi. It really appealed to my palate. Truly fresh and smooth, its soft and tender texture was followed by a gorgeous warm after-taste.

Ika Chidori, a finely sliced squid with a mixture of seaweed, was fresh and textured but differed from Tako because of the hints of saltiness. Needless to say, they were both great to start off with.

Sashimi Shiretoko (freshly flown in tuna belly, yellow tail, sea bream, sea urchin, salmon and butterfish) was difficult to resist, and very quickly became our favourite. Every cut was done perfectly thick with luxurious flavour. My favourite was the tuna belly and I had it with sea fresh sweet sea urchin and wasabi soya sauce.

At Sushi Tei, the day’s special is listed on a blackboard. At that time, part of the special that we picked was Kaki no Kani Mayo Yaki, or grilled fresh oysters with homemade mayonnaise sauce. Not only did the oysters look absolutely gorgeous topped with piped orange mayonnaise and a dash of bright orange tobiko (flying fish roe) but they had a unique silky texture and terrific flavour.

Aburi Maguro Black Pepper with special sauce is a classic — tuna sprinkled with black pepper and lightly pan-seared on the outside, retaining some rawness. Served with alfalfa sprouts and tobiko it was simply marvelous.

Believe me, one slice is not enough!

Ika Sugatayaki Teriyaki or grilled squid with teriyaki sauce was fabulous. The lovely sweet sauce penetrated the squid and perfected the flavour.

The imported unagi was delicious grilled and not hard at all! Soft and rich, just the way it should be. Sushi Tei Maki grilled with creamy cheese sauce may sound unappealing but a bite of it will send a tingle to your palate. It was lovely, soft and flavourful.

The Rainbow Roll was attractive with its vivid colours from the layers of the sushi roll — slices of yellow tail, tuna, salmon, prawn, squid, eel, avocado and orange tobiko.

The Sunrise Roll differed in that it was a bright sparkling orange rolled with sushi rice, cucumber, salmon, mango, aonori (seaweed), amaebi (sweet shrimp) , sweet sauce and mayonnaise, topped with white sesame.

My praise, however, was for the Dragon Roll, the simpler of the three. It was a basic sushi roll with king prawn on slices of avocado. For me, it was my perfect sushi roll and it tasted great.

The simple noodle soup, Chicken Katsu Ramen, was finely prepared. The chicken cutlet golden-fried and crisp but moist inside. The ramen was good too. The Kaisen Tan Tan Premium Ramen was absolutely tasty, especially the seafood broth.

The ramen is imported from Japan and it is truly different in taste and texture. The noodle was topped with yosenabe prawns, baby hotates and ika geso kushi. I sipped the broth clean off the bowl.

The sweet note that ended our meal was Nama Matcha ice-cream. Although petite, it is one of the best green tea ice-creams I have ever had. It came in a few bullet-sized dollops, coated with high-grade green tea powder. It was the perfect indulgence.

To sample, we were given tiny scoops of imported Japanese ice-creams such as black sesame and yuzu. These were creamy, soft in texture and not too sweet.

In other words, they were just perfect. Such delights. Just like the rest of Sushi Tei’s fare.

SUSHI TEI
Ground Floor, Tropicana Mall, Jalan SS20/27, Petaling Jaya
Tel: 03-7728 9299