2014
Trying to find a new go-to sushi place is quite an expedition. This time, it’s Sushi Rio. It offers excellent and varied sushi on its sushi train, and an interesting non-sushi train menu. It also serves the sushi on plates with gorgeous gold patterns. If something you want isn’t chugging along on the sushi train, they’ll make it to order. The sushi train surrounds their kitchen, so you usually get to watch them make your order!
Salmon nigiri and tuna nigiri is rather simple dishes, but one of my favourites. They’re not offered on the sushi train, so we order it and see the sushi chef slice up fresh salmon just for our two pieces.
I was too transfixed on the salmon, so I’m not too sure where they were making the tuna nigiri, even though they came out at the same time. Both were deliciously fresh.
Then there’s the typical white fish that I have trouble identifying. I’m gonna take a stab in the dark, and say it was king fish nigiri.
These were scallop nigiri – N didn’t believe me when I said they were scallops, and was determined to prove me wrong by trying the plate. Luckily, unlike me, she doesn’t mind the sliminess of scallops too much.
I like squid nigiri because raw squid has a good bite to it.
And then there’s cooked octopus nigiri, which had the most interesting dollop of green roe on it. Green isn’t usually a colour you associate with non-plant food, but surprisingly, it tasted like like orange roe – salty.
And then, N decided we should try raw octopus nigiri again. Last time we tried it, we were left with a mouthful of slime and a sour aftertaste. But I’m glad we tried it again – this octopus wasn’t unpleasant at all, which leads to me think that the octopus just wasn’t fresh the first time.
This is surf clam nigiri. We had no idea what surf clam was, but we saw it on the menu and decided to try it out anyway. It tasted a lot like fish, but with a lot more bite – so sort of like the taste of tuna, but with the texture of squid. This one was made to order, and it took them a while to bring it out.
To finish it off, we had two, non-sushi dishes. We ordered the croquette because I’ve had trouble finding ones that live up to my memories of the ones I ate in Japan. This dish was also made to order, so it came out very hot. Its taste was quite on par, but I’d have like the innards to be less gooey.
This is octopus in wasabi. Although the octopus didn’t have as much bite as I’m used to, it still hit the spot.
And then, the drinks! On the left is the Tropical Kiss, which consisted of mango, grapefruit, kiwifruit, pineapple. It was quite bitter from the grapefruit, and otherwise tasted like pinapple juice. We couldn’t really taste kiwifrui or mango. On the right is Monkey Magic, which consisted of lychee and kiwifruit. It had the most gorgeous pool of green at the bottom, which I assumed to be kiwifruit, but alas, we could only taste the lychee and not the kiwifruit.
2015
Restaurants in Japan very rarely sell more than one type of food. They usually specialise in one type, be it udon or ramen, soba, sushi, okonomiyaki or even takoyaki, and do it well (and also, to keep the prices down). You’d have difficulty finding one like many of the restaurants in Australia that feature all types of Japanese food on their menu. That’s understandable when they’re catering to a non-Japanese population. But one item on the menu almost always suffers: sushi. And in the city, sushi train is the easiest and cheapest way to get good quality sushi.
Sushi Rio in Westfield Sydney is another branch of sushi train restaurant by the same name on Sussex Street. All dishes, with the exception of sashimi, are $3.50. And returning customers receive a reusable card to redeem a free drink with every visit.
N and I are really here to satisfy our craving for quality sushi so we head straight for fish.
Salmon nigiri – the salmon is fresh and shiny. After this first plate, we see plates with varying levels of fat so we go back for another, and then another. They were super tasty!
Tuna nigiri – this plate never seems to make its way around the sushi train no matter where we eat, so we always order from the menu. Tuna has a meatier flavour to salmon, which might explain why it’s less popular than the salmon. And this was one was fresh and delicious!
Kingfish nigiri – this had a satisfyingly fresh bite to it. It’s another one that doesn’t have the meaty flavour of tuna that we see go around often on the sushi train.
Squid nigiri (raw) – N and I can never seem to remember that we don’t like eating raw squid. While fresh, it’s unfailingly slimy, which we don’t enjoy.
Squid nigiri (cooked) – After the sliminess of the raw squid, we remember that we like cooked squid. The squid is a bit tough, yet we still prefer it to slimy squid.
Prawn nigiri – This was a tasty cooked prawn. It was just as well that they didn’t serve raw prawn nigiri ‘cause we probably would’ve tried it only to be reminded that we don’t like raw prawns either!
Fresh eel nigiri –– Isn’t this a beauty? It’s another plate we ordered from the menu. It’s one nigiri, with a generous piece of eel that’s lightly seared and drizzled in sauce. It’s not as caramelised as the eel D and I ate in Japan and while I still prefer that type of eel preparation, this one was delicious in its own right. With this eel, you can properly appreciate the flavours of eel meat itself.
Crab croquette – N and I love our crab croquettes and these did not disappoint. It was made to order, so deliciously crispy on the outside with soft piping hot centres.
I quite enjoy the rice to topping ratio in the sushi at Sushio Rio. The food is fresh, the service is prompt, and it’s just an all round enjoyable experience.
Sushi Rio is located at B02/345 Sussex Street, Sydney NSW 2000 and Level 4 Westfield Sydney, 188 Pitt Street, Sydney NSW 2000.