An Attractive Sushi Lounge With Average Food

Every time I've gone shopping at the Fashion Valley mall, I come across the Blue Smoke Sushi Lounge. I was intrigued by the name of the establishment, so I always wanted to eat here. However, I never followed through until now.

The interior of the restaurant gives off a modern and chic vibe. The large windows lining the wall between the sushi bar and the entrance allows enough light into the restaurant to give it a more vibrant and dynamic appearance. The lack of customers during the noon didn't really contribute much to the environment, however.

As for the food, all of it seemed reasonably priced. There was no item that was pretentiously expensive, which I was extremely thankful for. I ordered a "Blue Smoke Combo" comprised of steamed white rice, salad, chicken karaage, and nigiri sushi. I was given two pieces of akami tuna ("akami" refers to lean tuna with low-fat content), two pieces of salmon, and one piece of "white fish" (or albacore tuna).

What I noticed from eating the sushi was how thick the cuts of fish were. Now I've never had a truly decent piece of nigiri before, but I felt that the cuts were much thicker than what I'm used to. Is this how thickness of the cuts for nigiri were supposed to be? That I wasn't sure of. I feel that I will only know for sure once I visit a premier sushi bar. Anyways, the akami tuna did not have too much flavor as this type of tuna nigiri had very little fat. Akami tuna has a very delicate and subtle taste to it. Although I can appreciate how akami tuna gives the true flavor essence of tuna, I much prefer the taste of otoro (fatty tuna). The salmon nigiri was my favorite piece with the most fat content, however nothing really stood out from the salmon nigiri. It relatively average in terms of flavor at best. Finally, the white fish tuna, like the akami tuna, also did not have much flavor. However, this seemed to have less flavor and a less desirable taste to it when compared to the akami tuna. Another thing to note for all the nigiri pieces was the rice. The rice broke apart very easily when I tried to pick up the pieces with my chopsticks, and to all the sushi experts out there: yes, I should have used my hands. Even so, the rice shouldn't break apart so easily. I was a bit disappointed by how poorly consolidated the rice was. Overall, I'd say the sushi ranged from a bit above mediocre to average.

As for the chicken karaage, the chicken was cooked well and had a decently moist texture. The batter on the chicken was very light, so the external texture of the karaage was not as crispy as I had hoped for. The best part of the karaage was the sauce that came with it. The sauce seemed to be a Thai-style sweet and sour chili sauce. I was a little disconcerted by the sauce, but as I continued to taste the chicken with the sauce I began to appreciate it more and more. The sauce made the chicken karaage a pleasant tasting experience for me. I would suggest also serving mayo with the karaage to complement the Thai sauce.

In conclusion, I think that the Blue Smoke Sushi Lounge disappointed me with their sushi as nothing really stood out in terms of flavor. However, I did enjoy their chicken karaage. I feel that this sushi lounge definitely has potential to be a hot spot for the locals, especially with the attractive interior. However, the sushi quality needs to be improved quite a bit if the proprietor of Blue Smoke Sushi Lounge wants to attract more people to dine at said restaurant.