Warm Sushi, Anyone?

Would facing the road contribute to the unreasonably warm interior temperature?

If you've eaten at the Paradigm Mall Sakae Sushi recently, you may have encountered something I did: an overly warm environment that resulted in some rather distastefully warm sushi on the kaiten. Warm sushi is a cardinal sin for me. No matter how nice your establishment looks, quality control must be woefully lax if sushi on the kaiten is limp despite being in a supposedly cool environment.

Are the warm lights to blame?

  Some items I can turn a blind eye to, if they are warm. Although I don't particularly like warm edamame, they don't lose too much flavour or texture if they are left at room temperature instead of being chilled (although, in extreme cases, a layer of slime begins to coat the inner shell of the soy bean).

Edamame, RM3.99.

However, overly warm conditions play havoc with fried dishes, like the tempura-covered, salmon rice ball, which had the consistency of a leftover banana ball (cekedok). It did not help matters that they were topped with mayonnaise which soaked into the batter, which was supposed to be light and crunchy. And there were FOUR of them to get through! Ugh. What a waste of calories for RM5.99.

Fried salmon sushi. Fail.

The food temperature raised some concern about food safety too. If you're going to have stuff with eggs going round the belt, and if they are subject to warm temperatures, there is an increased risk of funny tummy.

Looking a bit flaccid...

The final two straws were the deep-dried shrimp and salmon wrapped sushi. The former would have been so delicious, with its sweet and spicy flavour, but it was severely let down by it sogginess. The latter was frighteningly warm in the mouth; the heat released all the fishiness that salmon can be associated with, because of the high Omega oil content. I have to say I gagged.

The shrimp were soggy.

The humidity released the fatty oils in the salmon. It was like chewing cod liver oil capsules.

After these failures, I decided to play it safe and order off the menu. The miso soup, RM1.90 was unremarkably passable. The Sakae Salad, RM13.90, made my meal. It was a lovely combination of items, ranging from fresh salad, fried salmon belly (actually still crisp!), crabstick, salmon sashimi, sweet bean curd skin and sweet egg strips. The flavour combination, the textural elements in the mouth, and how they felt when mixed, all made this something I'd order again.

Meal saver! Sakae Salad.

Overly salted jellyfish.

Unfortunately the vinegared jellyfish was too salty for us, though to its credit, it was still chilled and crisp. The cuttlefish with plum was also very salty, making me think that they are meant to be eating with sushi. Still, I liked the tangy sourness of this dish and would have it in cold ramen.

Cuttlefish and plum.

The salmon sashimi took ages to come, at least 20 minutes after the order was made, but at least the RM10.90 portion was freshly sliced and cool.

Salmon sashimi.

The absolute last thing to arrive was the daughter's kid's meal. It was a high note to end the meal with such cuteness. Sure, the stuff that goes into it is basic sushi components, but who doesn't love the whimsy of a little bear made out of inari, with nori eyes and Kewpie mayo muzzle, all tucked into an egg blankie? Awww.

The bill for the meal for three adult and one child was RM130.10, courtesy of my mum-in-law.



Sakae SushiParadigm Mall
CF13
1 Jalan SS7/26
Kelana Jaya 47301
Petaling Jaya
Selangor