Another one of my favorite food obsessions currently is finding authentic Japanese style sushi… by that I mean proper Sushi not the mayo / chilli mayo infused chicken and standard tempura sushi rolls that us Indians so love to call sushi… There are more than few people I know who probably have never had a porper sushi ever in their lives but will claim to be Sushi connoisseurs… But I am quiet certain that will freak out the moment they ever taste sashimi or hear the word sashimi for that is something they will never have tried… One of my recent horrors was witnessing with being able to reach across and burn the taste buds off a so called “ ass kissing” food ‘expert’  eating sushi with Ketchup and chili sauce… Oh for fucks sake how much do they pay you for writing 5 star reviews day in and day out… So on one of my regular quests for good food I discovered a small little sushi joint all the way in Greater Noida ?? Well yes really ‘ Greater Noida’ a place where you are more likely to get robbed than have good sushi.. Located in the so called “NRI” city Centre (probably such places i.e. malls named NRI city Centre that forced those poor sods to leave the country in the first place)… So basically located in the middle of nowhere and with no clue what to expect I did manage to find this place yesterday night and with the trepidations of a 14 year old who is about to get laid for the first time I walked in to the this place… It was empty as I anticipated, since its a place that is surely catering to the large Asian expat crowd for business lunches and dinner… We were greeted by the rather sweet and well informed service staff who promptly had as seated without fuss… I have been at empty restaurants before and the service staff have fucked up the seating process in an empty room… sometimes I wonder if those who go to hotel schools are diametrically opposite of those go to IITs / MITs in mental abilities. Back to food after being seated we were brought a glass of iced green tea on the house which was a nice touch keeping the weather in mind… the menu’s were presented and they left in peace to decide… All queries about the food were promptly and correctly answered… so the 3 main dishes options ordered on the day were the Bento Box which I didn’t really have much interest in, a chicken Pad Thai noodles from their thai section for someone with us who isn’t really fond of sushi… and Buffet option A which is primarily a lot of food which I will tell you about later… The Pad Thai was fairly average nothing much to write home about… but one of my meal companions was hoping that it was slightly spicier… One thing I must comment that the portion was gargantuan… enough to feed a small platoon of hungry soldiers… The Bento Box was a chicken teriyaki one… came with miso soup, salad and thankfully not Kimchi ! as many pretend Japanese places will serve you Kimchi ( Kimchi is Korean for Christ’s sake!) with any and everything in the name of salad… Sticky rice which was real sticky rice not basmati rice… assorted tempura which in was too oily. So on to my absolutely gigantic fixed menu Buffet : Started off with a helping of really well prepared Chicken Teriyaki followed by miso soup it must be noted that there were 4 diners on my table and only of us had miso soup with our order… The staff was thoughtful enough to bring along 4 portions of miso soup with the other 2 being FOC… Up next was the Sushizza which is Japanese version of a pizza made with sushi… Kinda messed up if you think of it but it tastes great not the tomato cheesy kinds but decent none the less….

Up next a portion of really oily tempura that did come the proper tempura dipping sauce not Thai sweet chili or standard soya sauce that most places will serve you with Tempura… again a win in my book even if it was too oily at least it was an attempt to stick to the authentic… Up next 2 huge platters or sushi rolls which was exactly what I had ordered and small selection of sashimi as per my order… some of those were standard such as Tuna , Salmon Maki, California rolls etc. but also had some nice crispy rolls which one would not expect to find at a sushi place in India…

The notable mentions were the double crunch rolls, the Niksan, the Harmony, Mount Fuji and the spicy salmon rolls… Up next we had spicy chicken by which time I had too literally too much on my plate and asked them not to get me any more food… unbelievable but true, I gave up without completing all the courses but my servers not to be undone said well you can share your sushi with everyone on the table… well another unheard for India… most restaurants will rather let the food go waste in a buffet than let you share it with another even when it’s a fixed menu buffet… the spicy chicken was again a good touch… all in all I was left really satisfied and rather full at the end of the meal The food wasn’t out of this world of course not that I was expecting it to be… but for the price and for the location and the fact that it was in Delhi the experience was more than satisfying… eating out in Delhi is usually a disappointment but this one wasn’t… What made it even better was the fact it is a small expat run outlet in the middle of nowhere trying to make an honest effort which for me is one of the most important aspects of food… The lovely service staff fed us with care and did put a lot of effort to ensure that we were well looked after… it’s not always that all these elements come together properly this time they did… For me the food would be a 4.5/10 but the warmth and the service made this a 5.5/10 which is what I would normally give a 5 star outlet if it impressed me a lot…

I might have gone a bit soft on this one… but worry not am not losing my edge there are some places one must look at with a heart but only once in a while… consider this your lucky day Mio Sushi… Don’t let me or my readers down because retribution will be swift and brutal…