Jizo's Original Sushi

Jizo has, hands down, the best teriyaki chicken sushi that I've ever tasted! I was introduced to these delectable little suckers a few weeks ago when I went to Jizo for dinner with C. I didn't order them then, but caught a glimpse of them sitting pretty on a plate on the way to another obviously more 'in-the-know' patron. Even from a distance they looked irresistibly scrumptious. They must have made a significant impression on me because despite never having tasted a single piece, two weeks later I was inexplicably suffering terrible cravings for them. I satiated those cravings by having the teriyaki chicken sushi on Friday, and the teriyaki salmon sushi on Saturday! Muahahaha.

They call it "Jizo's Original Sushi' and you get a choice of teriyaki chicken, salmon, tuna or tofu. These sushi (what's the plural for sushi?) are the most aesthetically pleasing of the "cheaper" (<$15) sushi that I've had. Sorry folks, once again I fail to supplement my post with visual aids as I am still camera-less. I wanted to take a photo with the camera on my phone but was stopped by someone who insisted that I should photograph with a good camera or not at all. I was too hungry and crabby to argue.

They were still warm and melted in my mouth. What immediately struck me was that the teriyaki chicken pieces were juicy, tender and well sauced. They obviously cooked the chicken for the sushi to order - quite unlike the standard fare that you get at 'express' sushi places where the chicken would have been cooked early in the day and left sitting around to dry out. Also, unlike standard teriyaki chicken sushi rolls - which are usually made up of some chicken, carrots and cucumber rolled up in rice and a layer of seaweed - these were cute little domes of perfectly cooked vinegar rice, with a generous dab of creamy avocado-mayo 'dressing' cushioning the succulent teriyaki chicken topping. OMG. Smooth, warm, deliciously DIVINE! If you haven't already tried this, you must! [05092010 Edit: Pictures and a continuation have since been posted here]

The only complaint I had, which now after that torturous description doesn't seem to matter anymore, was that we got there at 'rush hour' and it seemed like forever before our food arrived. I didn't keep track of the time but I was starving so that might have impaired my sense of time just a tiny bit. Hey, you know what they say, "A hungry Tien is a crabby Tien".

Jizo Japanese Cafe & Bar

56 Princes Street

Dunedin