I have been craving for sushi for a while now. I even began dreaming about it, and it was a good dream too - it was one of those dreams in which one's senses gets so heightened everything comes alive - I could smell the mild characteristics of the raw fish, the pungent tones of soy sauce and the menacing intrusion of wasabi.
These manifestations of another realm has its effects - I have been keeping my eye out for that acceptable and affordable sushi joint in London, surveying raw fish pieces and their prices whenever I can. I've even lowered my standards to being open to any sushi at all, as long as it's afforable. To my dismay, I find London's not like Vancouver or Singapore with their in-your-face sushi abundance.
London does not have the restaurants that thrive solely on affordable all-you-can-eat sushi deals like Vancouver, nor does it have affordable authentic Japanese word-of-mouth-restaurants like Guu of Vancouver. It has few takeaway sushi establishments and those are usually not worth the money. Needless to say, it cannot compare to Singapore's $1.20 (approximately 40pence) per plate conveyor-belt culture. Sure, these places in Vancouver and Singapore may not serve up the freshest marinelife in the world, but it sure helps cure a craving. Besides, having tasted so many mediocre products, I don't think I will have a problem distinguishing an exceptional one when it surfaces. But London's lack of affordable mediocre sushi is appalling, especially when sushi is such a lucrative commodity to peddle! Why isn't the sushi culture taking off as quickly as the decline of bluefin tuna? Doesn't the endangerment of a species draw people more to them?
Sushi-making ingredients are widely available today in Londontown - we made Japanese food for dinner tonight, and all the ingredients were available at the local supermarket. The total bill for the ingredients came up to no more than £6 for the rice, vinegar, seaweed sheets (nori), wasabi and bamboo sheet, plus an extra £2.50 for the fresh salmon which we bought off our local fishmonger. For two people, we did pretty decently. Although our intention was only to have sushi, we had more than enough to make salmon & egg donburi for the both of us, and some to keep for making onigiri tomorrow.
Now if an establishment would start investing in the Japanese food business, I imagine they would not only be able to get the ingredients at cost price, but also be able to sell at a good profit margin while offering it at relatively cheap prices, at the same time be able to offer a good variety of healthy yet delicious products to, say, London's takeaway lunchcrowd ... that is if they don't butcher this concept and go for steeper profits by using extremely low-quality ingredients and manpower (have you seen the amazing and cheap selection at Japan's konbinis (convenient stores)?? That's an example to follow!). Why aren't companies or entrepreneurs giving Japanese food more attention? I'm not asking for blown-up franchises, I'm simply asking for that Japanese food option to be more available so I can have sushi for lunch.
The situation in London is distressing as we hardly have these options. This does also limit our option of sticking to a healthier food consumer lifestyle (tasteless bread with uncategorize-able fillings definitely not counted). Although I am alright with spending some quality time with my stovetop, most aren't, or do not have the luxury of time to. Others are unfamiliar to the concept because they have been so used to purchase-eating that cooking is not a necessity anymore. So you see, there are people out there who want this more than I do, I'll even venture to say that they need it - some healthy choices in the food consumer market. For me, I simply want the option of instant gratification from time to time.
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2 comments:
darling, i tried a good many times to find a decent sushi restaurant, and had the exact same cravings for raw fish, after i came to this city of almost no sea food... and i did find some nice sushi restaurants. but the problem is those are quite demanding moneywise---- for a lunch menu, though, about 30 to 40 pounds can do. interested? let's have a lunch out at sushi restaurant~!
Of course i'm interested. Unfortunately, this might have to wait until I have a larger amount of disposable income... :(
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