A taste of Japan in The Netherlands

After a long, long time I was able to have more free time to pick up my desire to write about good food, fine restaurants and my overall experience. I have been travelling to various of countries since 2011 and i will try to start again with reviews from restaurants in my blog here.

Yesterday was such a day which gave me a reminder about writing about my love of good food, wherever I am. Yesterday I was at a tournament playing games and after a few hours I won my fare share of prizes. And of course like every hard working person, you get hungry. And a couple of times i had the idea to get some good sushi but it needs to be close to the venue. Eventually my craving for sushi led me to a restaurant in Rotterdam called Sushi Qube.

I went to Sushi Qube some years ago and I hoped the quality is still the same. Sushi Qube uses the All You Can Eat formula at a price of a bit more than 20 euro. (in the weekend is a bit more expensive) You can go crazy on the various sushi, noodle dishes and a fleet of side dishes. The waitress was welcoming and showed me to my table, I felt relaxed right away and the mood was set for hopefully a good dinner. The atmosphere is just right, nowhere spectular and also nowhere sober and old-fashion. Its a good atmosphere to enjoy good food and it has an almost living room kind of vibe.

After getting my first drink I decided to choose the first round of dishes. Every round has a maximum of 5 dishes in a total of 5 rounds. Trust me, the amount is just right. I choose 5 pieces of sushi varied from a spicy tuna Temaki or a maguro (tuna) nigiri sushi. Now I knew the sushi would be fresh as it is prepared the moment you order. Also the owner went to Japan for several years and studied the art of sushi making from a famous sushi chef. So i had the feeling I was in for a treat.... Alright, my first pieces were served really quickly, again the employees are great and efficient! First i went with the maguro nigiri sushi and as soon as I began eating it I tasted the freshness of the tuna, the creamy texture which made the tuna melt in my mouth. The rice was the right temperature and flavour was spot on! This moment lasted untill the fifth piece of sushi was finished.



The next round I ordered some more sushi and decided to go for some shrimp tempura aswell to help me go to the warmer dishes on round 3. Sushi Qube likes to put new sushi items on the menu and this time it was grilled salmon nigiri and a mango/aloe maki sushi and of course I had to try it out. The mango/aloe mix on top of sushi rice is awesome and gives a fresh kick which was needed on this warm summer day in Rotterdam. The grilled salmon was just right and you still taste the fatty salmon and it taste a little heavy with the sushi rice but this is how its ment to be so no problem there.



Ok now the 3th round for me and I ordered a duck dish with pineapple, unagi (eel) temaki sushi and a set of inside out roll of spicy tuna. Yeah, I am crazy for tuna since I first ate it in Japan.... Also I ordered shrimp in a spicy onion sauce. First up was the unage temaki which was good with all the vegitables but the eel was a bit too tough to make it a good bite. A small thing but important when it comes to eating any sushi. Overall was this temaki flavourful so still a good piece for the sushi lover. When I finished the duck/pineapple dish was ready and with my chopsticks i could get a piece of pineapple and slice of duck at the same time. My advice is to make the slices a bit smaller or thinner. Otherwise even the most experienced chopstick user has issues and the dish misses its goal as both ingredients cant be the hero of the dish.

The second last round I only ordered some crab sushi, springrolls and yaki udon noodles. The dishes are delicate and light so now I didnt feel full. The crab on the nigiri sushi was creamy, a bit salty but together with the sushi rice it became a great bite. The springrolls taste how you expect, crunchy and again fresh vegetables and even bits of tofu so a nice little treat on the side. The udon noodles were next on my eating journey here at Sushi Qube and they prepared it just right, crunchy but not too much it feels the noodles are burned. I can recommend the chef to use a bit less salt, These noodles was great and makes me feel I was at a street food market in Osaka ordering the one of many noodles-to-go dishes. Last round had arrived and to make sure I am not too full I ordered some noodle soup and, because I couldnt resist, two tuna sushi as a final compliment on a amazing dinner. And it was as the soup was light, the broth was clear and flavourful, the noodles were firm but not too chewy.

Well, I was satisfied and had a great dinner overall, the service is excellent, quick and know how to make you feel welcome. The dishes were perfect and you feel and taste the owner and the chefs know how to prepare sushi and the various other dishes they offer. Sushi Qube focus more on sushi and tempura while other AYCE restaurants offer more meat dishes. So many times I tasted the food and closed my eyes making my feel I was back in Japan again. Sushi Qube is probably the best sushi restaurant with an AYCE formula I have been so far! If you love japanese food, good variety of sushi, a sushi love perse, Sushi Qube is the only restaurant to go to. Parking Space is available and for free behind the restaurant. If you go by public transport its about 2 minutes from Central Station of Rotterdam.

Website: www.sushiqube.nl/
Price: Between 20-30 euro per serving