As much as conveyor belt sushi can be both a gimmick and also a poor experience; that is usually reserved for places in North America. Sure, you can probably find a decent spot if you are in the know, but for all the ones I've been to locally, they have been "meh". That can happen in Japan too, but there is a much better chance in finding a good one rather than not. So we took the short walk from our hotel to Mawashizushi KATSU located in the Yokohama Sky Building. This place has pretty high ratings for its quality, affordability and great service. Naturally, there was a lineup when we arrived, but all you have to do is enter your details into the machine at the front, it spits out a ticket and it won't be long until you are seated. If you want to be right at the bar, make sure you choose that option.
Once seated. each seat has its own water, condiments and touch pad (to order items you don't see coming around on the conveyor belts). We were a bit hungry and wasted little time in grabbing some dishes. The trick here is that each plate colour represents different pricing. They will add up the amount of each dish and then you will be charged accordingly. Two of the items we had right away was the Salmon Toro and Unagi Nigiri. Nice amount of fish-to-rice ratio. Salmon was buttery soft while the unagi was also soft and sweet from the glaze
Since the place was so busy, the conveyor belt was looking rather bare and we snagged whatever we could get our hands on. That happened to be both the Aburi Toro Sadine and Plum Toro Sardine. We also had one without plum sauce as well. These were surprisingly buttery soft and not that fishy. The sear on top helped activate some of the fats creating a nice aroma. It also lightly crisped up the skin. There was some salt, hence this didn't need any soy. Also, the first set of sardine nigiri had some grated daikon and ponzu which added a nice tangy brightness. Even more tangy and sweet, the plum really had an impact. I actually enjoyed the plain one the most as I could actually taste the sardine with the fatty belly.
Another item we were able to retrieve from the conveyor belt was the Aburi Engawa. This was quite the treat and we actually got a few more of these. Essentially the seared dorsal fin meat on a halibut, this was super buttery with just a bit of rebound. A touch of lemon salt added the right amount of flavour and acidity. A must try! After that, we had some Tamagoyaki and it was decently layered and also relatively fluffy with balanced sweetness.
By now, we were getting a bit impatient with waiting for what we really wanted, so we went to the touch pad and ordered both the Hotate Nigiri and the Hotate Kobashira Gunkan. These arrive separately on a track adjacent to the conveyor belt. Both of these were good in their own right. With the larger scallop, we had more sweetness and a uniform texture. With the smaller scallops and wrapped in seaweed, we had differing textures and possibly just a bit less sweetness.
Sporting a beautiful colour, the Hamachi Nigiri was as good as it appeared. It was a nice portion of fish compared to the chewy sushi rice. Hence, it was impactful with a taste of the sea, sweetness and butteriness. Very simple but good. Next, we had the Negitoro which featured a boatload of buttery tuna belly with just a bit of green onion on top. As the picture shows, not all of it looked like the actual belly, so we had some alternating textures.
We ordered two cooked items as well including the Chicken Karaage and the Geso Karaage. We found the chicken karaage to be decent with a thin and crispy potato starch coating. It was lightly seasoned and had a hint of ginger. As for the squid tentacles, they were more aggressively coated and hence were super crunchy. Inside, the squid was still bouncy and moist. This was well-seasoned and with a squeeze of lemon, it was rather addictive.
Two really nice bites were available on the conveyor belt, going around and around. We finally bit and got the Torched Rosy Seabass and Torched Salmon Toro. These were two very different pieces of fish, but they had one major thing in common. They were both extremely buttery and soft. Due to the torching, the fats were activated being aromatic and flavourful. Not much needed to be added as the natural flavours were enough.
Normally, I wouldn't order a Shortrib Gunkan, but we ended up trying it anyways (partly because my son loves shortrib). It was not bad since the shortrib was tender (with a chew) while completely marinated. Through the touch pad we got the Salmon Sashimi as well. This was pretty much standard, but still quite good. The slices were of a good size and the texture was buttery with some bite. It was mildly sweet.
Finally, we got to dessert and we ended up with Vanilla and Chocolate Soft Serve as well as some Matcha Ice Cream. These were okay, not as creamy as I would've liked them to be, but they did the trick. At least they weren't that sweet. Overall, we really enjoyed our meal at Mawashizushi KATSU. Lots of selection and if you wanted something specific, you can just order it. Quality is great for the price. It only cost us $100.00CAD for the 4 of us and we actually ordered multiple dishes of the same item. Will be back next time we are in Japan!
The Good:
- Inexpensive
- Good quality with all things considered
- Efficient operation
The Bad:
- Most of the items you may want will be taken before it gets to you (but you can order it)
- Lineups are a thing here
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