This article was requested by my little son Berry who felt that a page about his favorite sushi train (Conveyor belt sushi or rotation sushi, or kaiten-zushi in Japanese) was long overdue.
These days there are so many sushi trains to choose from and the number seems to only be growing as they are popping up everywhere left right and center. Every street corner has one, and every mall has a good four or five!
Let’s be clear. If you want quality and/or exotic sushi/sashimi, or indeed if you are looking for somewhere upmarket to take somebody for a romantic dinner, sushi trains are obviously not the place to go.
But if you don’t have much time or you’re on a smaller budget, they can be very satisfactory and you can actually acquire some pretty fresh and tasty sushi if you order intelligently.
A word of warning though – as you will see, they don’t always work out as cheap as you might expect! You might think sushi trains are all the same so it doesn’t matter which one you choose.
This is partly true but there are still a few factors you will need to take into consideration which can make one significantly better than another. Our favorite sushi train at the moment is definitely Sushi Mentai.
Why?
Well, all 3 of us have our own reasons.
Berry’s reason: I’ll start with Berry because this blog is for him, after all. Berry loves item SP15(Hana Tobiko) – Salmon with shrimp roe. You can find it on the menu here.
The Sushi Mentai menu is divided into three sections.
RM 1.80 yellow plates that go round on the train, RM 2.80 red plates that also go round on the train, and “a la carte” dishes which are prepared especially for you and do not appear on the train.
Note that if the train item you are looking for isn’t available on the train at the time you are there, you can simply request that they make you one (or as many as you want).
This is actually quite a neat trick that we sometimes like to use even when your item is on the train,
as you will often get it a bit fresher, and, well, it feels nice to have something made for you for the same price!
Note that Berry’s c17 is a red item, so it is priced at US$ 0.7 (RM 2.80 ++ , basically RM 3 including the taxes).
Next we come to Bryn’s reason why he prefers Sushi Mentai over the other sushi trains, and his reason is very simple just like Berry’s. He loves the salmon belly, which for somehow seems to be both cut thicker AND priced lower than at competing restaurants.
The salmon belly ranges from pretty thick to ridiculously thick-cut, possibly depending on the chef who has prepared it, but more likely (we think), depending simply on which bit of belly he happens to have in front of him at the time.
In other words the thickness appears to vary quite a lot, but at the very least it should be thicker than what you would get at most other establishments. Check it out!
Fresh and thick. And only RM 11.80 (US$3)! This is Bryn’s favorite item by far, so much so that he rarely bothers with anything from the actual train itself.
In fact, Bryn complains that the train items are a “rip-off”, and admittedly there might be some truth to this.
It is after all SO tempting to grab whatever happens to be chugging past your table just as you happen to glance over, and indeed we think this fact is right at the heart of why sushi trains have been taking off in Malaysia over the last decade or so.
There is something about the constant round-and-round nature of the trains that people simply can’t resist and invariably end up spending a lot more than they bargained for.
Yes, each plate is only RM1.80 – RM2.80 but the portions are small and unless you want to leave dissatisfied, the plates add up very fast!
Check out our plate tower! Crazy! ??
The bill on this day came to almost RM 190(US$45) after the taxes!
As for myself, I recommend Sushi Mentai first and foremost because I think it offers the best value for money among all the competing sushi restaurants.
The reason for this is likely, at least in part, due to the fact that Sushi Mentais are never located inside shopping malls, but instead in the high street.
Obviously this drives down their overhead costs and apparently allows them to offer just about the same quality at quite a significant discount.
Also, I too have a few favorite items which make me go back again and again, namely: Salmon Mentai Dragon Maki!
This is a crispy shrimp maki with a slice of salmon sashimi on the top of each piece; it’s nothing earth-shattering, as you can find similar makis all over the place BUT not at this price RM 12.80(US$3).
Way cheaper than just about anywhere else, and the same quality. What is there possibly not to like. In fact the same goes for pretty much all the makis at Sushi Mentai – they’re all good, and cheap. Sanma Shioyaki (grilled mackerel) and Shishamo (grilled shishamo fish) Again, just as good as at the expensive restaurants, but at a fraction of the price. It’s very good value!
Salmon Head Shioyaki (grilled salmon head) Another a la carte item, every time we’ve had this at Sushi Mentai the salmon has always been fresh and juicy and cooked just right. Edamame beans and Wakame (seaweed) from the sushi train
These are 2 of my favorite items from the train itself. Both are from the “yellow” plates and therefore priced at only RM 1.80. Careful though, the edamame in particular are seriously addictive and we have been known to get through a dozen or so plates of this between us! Pickled ginger
The ginger jar comes around on the train and is free of charge. That’s good news for me – you wouldn’t believe how much of this I can get through in one sitting.
Finally, I love the fact that water is free at Sushi Mentai. These days this appears to be quite rare, and I do appreciate it.
In my country Korea it is impossible to find a restaurant where water is not provided! I wish this were more common in Malaysia.
Of course, if you prefer, you can opt for green tea (you can specify hot or cold) instead, for only rm 1 extra.
One more thing I would like to add. If you are interested in trying Sushi Mentai for the first time, I do strongly recommend that you come for lunch if at all possible, rather than dinner.
Or at least before about 5pm, after which time it can get really really crowded.
This inevitably means longer waiting times, less choice, arguably the food is less fresh… basically no advantage of coming in the evening unless you really can’t make it at any other time.
All in all, very highly recommended, unless you are loaded and money is no object for you.
Even then, the sashimi is fresh and there are a few items, like the salmon belly, that are just as good as anywhere else in any case, so you can’t really go wrong. Enjoy!
Sushi Mentai, Dataran Sunway, Kota Damansara
Address: No.16-1 Jalan PJU 5/7 Dataran Sunway, Kota Damansara, 47810 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
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