NCIS (德相美式加州壽司), which recently opened in Shida night market (師大夜市) in Taipei, serves American-style sushi with unusual but tasty combinations of ingredients.
Many of the restaurant’s sushi rolls are made with sauces created by NCIS owner Taiwanese-American Joseph Lu (呂宗諺), who grew up in California (NCIS stands for “northern California-inspired sushi). The flavors are often unexpected. For example, the salmonicious roll (NT$175), made with smoked salmon, cream cheese and topped with paper-thin slices of lemon, is served with a side of savory-sweet sauce that tastes like blueberries. The dark purple hue was a surprise, but the taste was an excellent complement to the richness of the fish and cream cheese.
The BMW (NT$180), Lu’s best-selling roll, is stuffed with deep fried shrimp, imitation crab, avocado and salmon sashimi and topped with a combination of three “secret” sauces created by Lu and crunchy tobiko, or flying fish roe. The sauces are rich and piquant, but none of them overwhelm the ingredients, including the freshly flash-fried shrimp.
Photo: Catherine Shu, Taipei Times
NCIS’ versions of classic American-style sushi, including the California and spicy tuna rolls, are also very good. The California roll (NT$98) features ample portions of avocado along with imitation crab mix and cucumber, while the spicy tuna in the tunalicious roll (NT$170) is fiery enough to clear your nostrils, but balanced with thin slices of cucumber. (A spicy tuna roll without cucumber is available for NT$140).
Many of NCIS’ creations put the emphasis on fresh seafood, including a hand roll made with the restaurant’s seared fish of the day that promises to “taste like steak, but from the sea.” The catch of the day on my last visit was marlin, which was lightly grilled with a bit of black pepper and rolled up with lettuce, sushi rice and seaweed. Fish steaks are also available; tuna tastes especially good when seared and served with Lu’s smooth, tangy mustard sauce.
Hand rolls ordered for takeout are snuggly wrapped in cellophane for convenient munching while you shop the night market. The California hand roll (NT$70) had heaps of imitation crab and avocado, and the scallop salad hand roll (NT$75) was just as substantial. The latter is available with grilled or raw scallops; the raw preparation tasted best with the salad’s slightly sweet dressing.
Photo: Catherine Shu, Taipei Times
NCIS caters to vegetarians with a selection of rolls stuffed with a combination of cucumber, asparagus, radish, avocado and bell peppers, among other ingredients. The four-season roll (daikon radish, carrots and green sprouts, NT$140) is wrapped in thinly sliced cucumber instead of seaweed. Lu also welcomes custom orders and will prepare rolls or sashimi platters with any combination of available seafood and ingredients.
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