Taipei residents hankering for traditional Japanese sushi (raw or cooked fish served up on a mound of seasoned rice) have an abundance of restaurants to choose from. Uncommon, however, are fusion-style sushi restaurants popularized in California during the 1970s that build on the traditional formula by adding fruit, fresh vegetables and sauces to the lonely sushi and wrapping the combination in nori, or dried seaweed.
New York Sushi is one of the first genuine sushi restaurants in Taipei that applies the California sushi roll ethos. Jackson Chen (陳柏睿) opened the restaurant in an alley behind Sogo Department store eight months ago. Trained as a sushi chef at a restaurant called Chiu’s Sushi in Baltimore, Chen returned to Taiwan and brought with him a head full of recipes and a mission to provide fusion cuisine at affordable prices. He’s succeeded on both counts.
New York Sushi’s interior is rectangular with tables running along both walls three quarters of the way to the back, where an L-shaped sushi bar with 12 chairs is located.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF NEW YORK SUSHI
I visited on a Tuesday afternoon earlier this week after hearing positive reviews from friends. New York Sushi offers four business lunch specials ranging from NT$119 to NT$189, each served with a garden salad and miso soup. I ordered the sushi roll lunch special (NT$159), which comes with a choice of two rolls from a selection of seven, of which I chose the Alaska salmon and shrimp. The cup of miso soup with seaweed and soft tofu was savory and rich, but the uninspiring iceberg-lettuce salad suffered from a far too generous smothering of dressing. Worse still, it was the Thousand Island variety.
My disappointment, however, was quickly alleviated with the arrival of the eight-piece salmon, which were rolled with avocado and cucumber, and the six-piece shrimp, which came wrapped in thin slices of cooked egg. Both were enclosed in seasoned rice topped with sesame seeds. The sushi was fresh, tasty and, like all of Chen’s creations, arrived beautifully arranged on a thick ceramic dish with a hillock of pickled pink ginger and a generous portion of wasabi.
New York Sushi’s listing of rolls — there are more than 40 varieties — is daunting, and making decisions can be difficult. But Chen can explain the menu to the finest detail in both English and Chinese. As I’d never tasted deep-fried spring rolls (I’m a traditionalist when it comes to sushi), he recommended the creatively titled Godzilla (NT$240). The roll’s mild yellowtail tuna, velvety avocado and zingy sauce came wrapped in rice and encased in tempura batter. The crispy exterior blended nicely with the rice, fish and small dollop of hot sauce.
Also on the menu: udon noodles (NT$120 to NT$150), a six-piece vegetarian combo (NT$240), grilled snacks (NT$120 to NT$160) — all items I will certainly try when I visit and revisit New York Sushi in the future.
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