Visiting Sushiro in Laos, but not that Sushiro…probably

Something’s a little fishy here…

Our reporter Ikuna Kamezawa has been traveling around Southeast Asia for a while now, and as a result, she’s been getting more and more homesick for some Japanese food. Currently in Laos, however, her options are limited, so she searched Google Maps on her phone and, much to her surprise, the name of revolving sushi chain “Sushiro” appeared.

Earlier this month she had visited a Sushiro location in Hong Kong and was blown away by their take on the quintessential Japanese restaurant chain. According to the map, this place was about an hour’s drive from her location in the capital city of Vientiane where roaming taxis aren’t really a thing. So instead, she rented a scooter and beelined it there.

The restaurant was located in an open suburban area but even still Ikuna almost missed the sign as she drove past it.

▼ Can you spot the Sushiro?

It didn’t really look anything like a Sushiro back home, but there was no mistaking the name prominently displayed in front. That being said, the sign also made it clear that this was not a revolving sushi restaurant, rather it was an “izakaya fusion” restaurant.

The interior had a sort-of-Sushiro vibe and was quite spacious, seating about 40 people. It kind of looked a lot swankier than your average Sushiro though.

Ikuna took a seat and picked up a menu when a shock like a Hitchcock zoom-in hit her. At the top were some delicious-looking and gorgeously arranged sashimi platters, but…

▼ Ikuna: “1,000,000 kip?! (8,000 yen [US$60])”

Realizing she had made a terrible mistake, Ikuna quickly checked her wallet and found only 2,000 yen ($15) worth of Laotian kip. At a Sushiro back home, that would have been more than enough to get a hearty meal, but here a single piece of sushi cost about 224 yen.

▼ And that’s not even for a plate of two pieces

Even worse, none of her credit cards were accepted here and there were also no ATMs around. She suddenly felt like a hobo who had wandered into a fancy restaurant and tried to act like she had lots of money. If only she had a monocle…

First, she suavely ordered a drink and bowl of miso soup, chiseling about 367 yen off her money.

Luckily, the soup was very good. In fact, it was one of the best bowls of miso soup Ikuna’s ever had outside of Japan.

▼ Next, her Sushi Mori Set arrived…

Costing about 1,430 yen, it ate up all the cash she had left and only consisted of six pieces. Still, the presentation was quite nice. The seafood portion of the sushi was also quite fresh and nice-tasting, such as this vibrant looking piece of salmon.

However, the rice was lacking. The taste of the vinegar was almost non-existent and the texture was inconsistently wet and squishy in some places but sticky and firm in others.

The best of the bunch was the piece pictured below. She wasn’t quite sure what it was though…possibly the meat of the fin muscle known as “engawa” in Japanese.

After finishing her meal, Ikuna checked out the second floor. It looked even fancier and had a bar. This place seemed pretty good for events.

In the end, Ikuna deduced this probably wasn’t an official Sushiro location and just a place with the same name. It seemed very slick and well-funded, but the company that runs Sushiro probably never would have signed off on that rice, even it if did appeal to local tastes.

Either way, although it had its flaws, the sushi should still be good enough to satisfy those accustomed to sushi in Japan, revolving or otherwise. Just remember to bring enough cash!

Photos ©SoraNews24
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