Umi Kaiten-Zushi, Haymarket Chinatown

So it's no secret. Fried chicken is my weakness. Southern fried chicken, Korean fried chicken, Japanese karaage... if it's deep fried poultry then I want a piece of it. Maybe three.

What makes good fried chicken? Surely crunchy batter is a must. The kind that makes a splintering noise like you've eating a handful of potato crisps. An armour of crunch protecting a core of juicy tender chicken. And seasoning. Whether it's in the marinade or the batter, you need that hit of salt as the glory of deep fried chicken skin hits your tastebuds.


Sushi train

And yet who would expect to find good karaage at a sushi restaurant? It's lunchtime at Umi Kaiten-Zushi - you know it, the one with super long fish tank opposite the Capitol Theatre - and the brightly lit dining room is packed with hungry patrons. Getting on the chairs is quite the ceremony, with staff having to physically push your high stool into place at the snaking sushi train.


Sushi lunch set specials

It's easy to miss the sushi lunch set menu, but it's there behind the soy sauce bottle, shoved into a perspex stand. There are eleven dishes to choose from, accompanied with your choice of two plates from the sushi train and either udon soup, soba soup or rice, miso and salad.


Unagi eel and tamago egg sushi $5.50

Flag down a passing staff member and while you're waiting for your mains, it's free rein at the sushi train, a mind-boggling assortment of seafood happily trundling past for your eating pleasure.


Raw ebi prawn nigiri sushi $4.50

The unagi eel is buttery soft, glazed with a sticky soy and mirin marinade, but I always end up veering towards the raw seafood, like raw ebi prawns that are fragrantly sweet. Staring at the blue veins is always mesmerising too.


Hotate scallop nigiri sushi $4.50

Giant hotate, or raw scallops are butterflied over pillows of rice, their melting delicacy best savoured slowly.


Teriyaki chicken sushi lunch set $14 
- includes any two plates from sushi train (surcharge for silver) and udon/soba/rice

The teriyaki chicken set is a large thigh fillet generously doused with sauce, helped by a side serving of shredded red and white raw cabbage.


Udon noodles

The side of udon noodles comes in a large bowl, garnished with two slices of fish cake and a sprinkle of seaweed and tempura crumbs.


Karaage chicken sushi lunch set $14 
- includes any two plates from sushi train (surcharge for silver) and udon/soba/rice

And then there's the karaage. It only takes one earth-shattering bite for my dining companion to whirl around and say "was that you?!"

This is possibly the crunchiest karaage I've ever had, and not at the expense of moist chicken. It's not overly oily, and perhaps there's almost an even ratio of batter to chicken, but in my books this isn't necessarily a bad thing, especially when there's tentsuyu dipping sauce on the side, a mix of dashi, mirin and soy.


Soba

I had the soba noodles, a huddle of green tea noodles in a clear broth that helps clear the palate between mouthfuls of deep fried chicken gluttony.


Sushi chefs at Umi Kaiten-Zushi

If you can't make it to Umi Kaiten-Zushi for lunch, Monday and Tuesday nights are perfect for those on a budget, when all sushi plates are $3.50. It's a sea of pink plates, with a couple of blue $4.50 plates for those with cash to burn.

 

Sushi train at Umi Kaiten-Zushi


Rolling salmon and avocado around sushi rice

Sitting near the prep station gives you a birds eye view of all the sushi action, as the chefs work quietly and efficiently.


Seared scallops with black tobiko flying fish roe $3.50

We work our way through a smorgasboard of offerings, steadily stacking our empty plates into a teetering tower throughout the night.


Raw scallops with salmon roe and green tobiko flying fish roe $4.50

There are scallops served raw or seared, and an abundance of tobiko flying fish roe are like champagne bubbles of brine.


Salmon and black tobiko flying fish roe $3.50


Surf clam $3.50

Surf clam is always a little chewy but it's such a pretty morsel, the white flesh graduating to a deep corally-red colour.


Spider roll soft shell crab and avocado $3.50

It's easy to see how the spider roll got its name. The tangle of soft shell crab legs looks a little menacing from afar, but a dab of wasabi will show that crab who's boss!


FIRE

I have this exact blowtorch but I always forget to use it to make aburi sushi at home. The lick of flames on fresh raw seafood gives a smoky char that can only make things better.


Aburi salmon inside out roll with raw salmon, avocado and cream cheese $3.50

The fattiness of salmon always stands up well against a naked flame, the oil glistening on the surface and the flesh melting in the mouth.


Natto fermented soy bean hand roll $3.50

If you've yet to experience the joy of natto, or fermented soy beans, then a hand roll is one of your best introductions. Rice and seaweed provide some distraction from the funky fermentation that is natto, a slimy mass that is as precious to Japanese as Vegemite is to Australians. Outsiders rarely get it, but those that persist will become fervent fans.


Teriyaki chicken with lotus root chips $3.50

You can order specific sushi dishes off the a la carte menu too. The main attraction for the teriyaki chicken roll was the promise of lotus root chips that sandwiches it. It's like eating a crazy sushi hamburger but it's more a win for novelty than anything else.


Raw scampi sushi $4.50

It's the raw seafood that's really the star though. Raw scampi is one of life's treasures, sweeter than prawn and softer than a newborn's cheek.


Raw squid with salmon and salmon roe $4.50

And raw squid has a silky smoothness that provides tactile satisfaction. The scoring of the squid makes this easy to chew. Popping the salmon roe one by one so the brine bursts on the tongue never grows old either.


Fish tank and sushi train

The backdrop of the giant fish tank is both calming and entertaining, especially when you start to recognise and track individual fish throughout the duration of your meal. There's a huge assortment of fish in the tank and sure it's a little weird eating sashimi as you watch its distant cousin swimming past but hey, that's when you tuck into the karaage, right?


Hello fish




View Larger Map

Umi Kaiten-Zushi
Shop 1, Lower Ground Floor, Sydney Central
477 Pitt Street, Haymarket Chinatown, Sydney
(corner Hay Street, opposite Harry's Pies cart at the Capitol Theatre)
Tel: +61 (02) 9281 2006
Opening hours:
Monday to Friday 11.30am-2.30pm and 5.30pm-10pm
Saturday and Sunday 12pm-3pm and 5.30pm-10pm

The $3.50 sushi special applies on Monday and Tuesday nights and everyday 2.30pm-5.30pm (correct as at July 7, 2012 - call the restaurant direct to double check the latest).


Related Grab Your Fork posts:
Japanese - Busshari, Potts Point
Japanese - Iiza, Newtown

Japanese - Roll Plus, Haymarket
Japanese - Sushi Samurai, Pyrmont

Japanese - Sushi Tengoku, Kensington
Japanese - Toriciya, Cammeray