If you are looking for where to go to eat Japanese cuisine and you want to experience something beyond sushi, there are some tips that you should know to choose the right place. Because there are several options to try dishes beyond nigiri and rolls, but the important thing is not to fall for one that is not of good quality sushi.
Therefore, here we give you 7 tips to recognize a good Japanese cuisine restaurant from one that is not.
- public . See if there are Japanese eating. They are the best measure that the establishment is good, since they are the ones who know their own cuisine best.
- Value for money . If you are looking to eat Japanese cuisine at popular prices, forget about looking for a good place. Because it does not exist. For this reason, be wary of places that are too cheap, because surely the fish is not of good quality, a fundamental point when eating Japanese cuisine.
- Extensive menu . Another detail that has to make you doubt. Good Japanese restaurants tend to hyperspecialize. Or they are dedicated to serving sushi, or ramen, or meat, to name three examples. Therefore, if the place you chose offers a bit of everything, it is not a good sign.
- Fusion . Nikkei cuisine is in fashion , which is the fusion of Peruvian cuisine with the contribution of Japanese immigrants who arrived in Peru. But that’s not Japanese cuisine. Although it can be delicious, if what you are looking for is true Japanese gastronomy, you have to look elsewhere. And nothing that says “fusion cuisine”.
- Presentation of the dishes . If you can take a look at how the preparations are plated, a good sushi restaurant places the nigiris diagonally, to respect the style of traditional establishments. Also pay attention to how the sticks are placed: they have to be horizontal, placed between the plate and the diner.
- Sushi . For it to be of very good quality, the rice has to be compact, just right (like al dente for pasta), but not raw, and melt in the mouth like ice cream. The makis have to be consistent and not fall apart. If you have to look from afar, pay attention to the quality of the seaweed with which the sushi pieces are assembled. If you see that diners stretch them between their teeth as if they were chewing gum, it means that the seaweed is of poor quality and has a silicone layer to make it last.
- Ramen . If the restaurant is good, the ramen they serve you has to be very steamy. Because true Japanese cuisine is served very cold, or very hot, while in the West it is customary to eat everything warmer.