Sushi @ Genkai Maru Sushi , Chuo Ward, Fukuoka.

 

Hello readers! Sorry for the sudden hiatus. Unfortunately due to the rising cases and the new state of emergency, going out for eating has been a bit  of a pain. I even hardly go out these days, save for the supermarket to get some food. Well, alas all is well in the end as cases are now going down again. Still, do practice safe social distancing people and wash your hands. 

A peak inside, don't mind the screens. 

PSA aside, lets start off the month with something special. Sushi makes an appearance again. It has been a pretty long while since I had one that is not a supermarket platter, so I was looking forward to this. Although I am more than willing to try something high end, I thought maybe I should give the tramline sushi a go once more. They tend to be much cheaper, and hopefully, this can give some readers the option to have it without busting their wallet. Some regions have their specialty chains, and in Fukuoka its Genkai Maru (玄海丸) . It is a regional sushi chain and has several branches throughout the prefecture. It serves reasonably affordable sushi and is a real hit with the locals. So, might as well give it a go. 

The main screen of your Ipad

If it is your first time coming to a tramline sushi place, do not worry. Most place nowadays have a tablet affixed to the diner's table, where the menu can be changed from Japanese to English. If all else fails, there are pictures after all. Do note that high end places probably will not do that, although they usually have English speaking staff. Not always though. 

Not squidward

For my first few choices, I ordered my usual selection, which consists of the squid nigiri and the sweet shrimp. They are my favourites and most places will have this, so to me this is a good place to start. The squid is pretty fresh although slightly bland. Some places do swab some homemade glaze or wasabi inside it. Still, it has nothing bad against it. A standard classic. 

Oh yes!

The sweet shrimp was a great treat though. It was fresh, supple and just great to have. The shrimp had a soft and lingering aftertaste. I enjoyed it and is a good set up to the next plate, which was a triple specialty selection. In that triple specialty selection was red tuna, bass and a tiger prawn. Again, nothing fancy. But it was fresh and does the job. A little boring but nothing bad to be honest. 

Gotta hand it to them on the size. 

However, as I started to get adventurous now, I decided to get something a little bizarre, which was the mango and salmon roll. Definitely not conventional. But the flavours were pretty striking. Did I mention that there was cream cheese as well? It was a bit unique, but I sort of like it in some weird way. It definitely had a huge impact with regards to flavour. 

Fruity

The finale was an American classic, which was the California roll. I had not had one on a long time, so it was something of a throwback surprise for me. And for you elitists out there, you can just get off your high horses alright? It is a good dish. I particularly like the combination if the prawns and avocado. And the outer layer of fish roe gave it a contrast in texture and flavour. 

Its been a while

Overall, Genkai Maru is not too bad. The establishment has decent sushi at a reasonable price and it has some flashier items, which may not be present in more traditional places. That being said, the rice was a little off when it comes to the seasoning. It may be my own personal taste, but I feel that the vinegar used for the rice was a little too sharp for my taste and not starchy enough to hold everything together. Well, it is just my personal preference, like some people prefer brown vinegar over white vinegar for their fish and chips. 

More colours than a rainbow.

It is definitely one of my cheaper sushi experience, whereby a plate can range from 98 yen to 560 yen, depending on your selection. And like all tramline joints, plates are colour coded for easy identification. I have had better sushi before, but granted they have a greater barrier of entry, price wise and language wise. So when it comes to cost performance, you got to give credit to Genkai Maru. Fancy a go? They are located in various parts of Fukuoka and rest of Kyushu. However, if you are interested in visiting the shop I went to, then the address is as follows:

3 Chome-16-21 Tenjin, Chuo Ward, Fukuoka, 810-0001

Irrashiae!