Sushi, one of the most popular Japanese dishes outside Japan, has carefully retained its traditional flavor when traveling around the world. However, visitors coming to the newly opened Sushi Shop Restaurant on Dong Khoi St, Dist 1, HCMC might be surprised when tasting sushi mixed with flavors of the West.

The owner of the restaurant, Nguyen Phan Quan, who studied culinary arts in the Canadian cities of Montreal and Quebec for ten years, explained this Western flavor blending in the sushi dishes.

He said that he was studying how to enrich the flavors of sushi and realized that favorite Western flavors such as cheese, caviar and cucumber could be added to the dishes to create new flavors both traditional and modern.

The creative cooking of Sushi Shop has excited customers. Mai Kieu Lien, a diner at the restaurant said: "The sushi dishes I have eaten in other restaurants usually have one to two kinds of filling, but in this restaurant each of the sushi dishes has four to five kinds"

"Another difference between the traditional sushi dishes and those in the restaurant is that Sushi Shop use less raw food and more cooked food and the flavors of the sauces here are fuller and stronger," Lien remarked.

Sushi Shop has about 60 main dishes and 30 side dishes, of which most break the rules of presentation and flavors. Two of the strongly westernized dishes are Sushi California and Sushi Pizza.

While Sushi Pizza surprises with the skin of fried egg and a stuffing of crab, shrimp and fried rice, Sushi California excites diners with the fragrance of fried egg, the salty and sour taste of cucumber and the flavor of caviar and butter.

Though the sushi dishes in the restaurant are not traditionally flavored, Japanese diners and expatriates come here in large numbers. Many of them say that they like the dishes because they excite their palates with exotic tastes, while others are won over by the delicious sauces.

Sushi dishes are served with soya sauce. Quan affirmed that all the materials such as rice, soya beans, vinegar and fish are supplied by well-known Japanese food companies.

The restaurant is not decorated in Japanese style but rather offers an open air space, bringing to mind the feeling of walking in the countryside of Europe on a street with street lamps and balconies with flower baskets on both sides.

The Sushi Shop can be found by following a small alley with many handicraft shops and galleries. At the end of the alley, turn right and climb up the stairs to the first floor. There is a table at the end of the restaurant which is ideal for a view of the ancient HCMC Opera House, Caravelle Hotel and the activities on Dong Khoi Street.

The Sushi Shop Restaurant
Add: 159 Dong Khoi St, Dist1
Tel: (84-Cool 823 4910