Sushit Tei

Too much of a good thing may indeed be bad for you.

Yes you can quote me on that.

Constant exposure to good food desensitizes one to the pleasures of food and sharpens your Alton Ego alter ego.

The skin of your duck confit doesn't quite crisp at the right edges... The torch marks on your creme brulee aren't symmetrical... And why did the ah pek give you an odd look when you asked for your bak chor mee to be cooked "al dente"?

Things that used to get you as excitable as a carnivore in churrascaria now only warrant a cursory nod of approval because you expected it to happen. Your tastebuds, spoilt-rotten and in of a nanny, becomes wholly accustomed to nothing that doesn't look or sound like the Chef has been slaving over the stove.

Too much of a good thing in reality takes the fun out of dining and that's why you need a reality check every now and then. Something that serves pretty much like a wake-up call, telling you to snap out of "Money Grows On Tree" mentality, reminding you to not take what you have now for granted.

Before I was introduced to the world of eponymous Japanese restaurants, I -pause- love Sushi Tei (gaw-, I could really cringe about this). Our Saturday night visits were something I looked forward to on a weekly basis. Naturally like most first loves, the feelings faded as sashimi slices thinned out and we moved on never looking back.

A recent trip however reminded me of why some things should in fact be left in the past. See the nigiri above, make a guess to what the fish is:



a) kanpachi
b) sake
c) tai
d) otoro
e) hamachi

Drumroll please.

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The answer is d) otoro.

I must be honest- I ordered it out of curiosity to see what the conveyor belt chain would deliver and they definitely lived up to my expectations. My sub-zero low expectations. There wasn't even a hint of creaminess often alluded to otoros, it was just dry, grainy, like piece of old tuna. It was undeniably the sorriest piece of otoro I've ever had in my life- if it were even otoro in the first place, which I seriously doubt so. If I were the tuna, I would be majorly peeved that I had died for such an unworthy cause. Watching the plebian plates stroll past, ushering in endless plates of unconsumables made me feel slightly sickened.

Don't even get me started on the dry mold of rice.