Tempura Shrimp Roll

As promised, this week I tried Sushi! Last week I tasted Nigiri Sushi, which was supposed to be a good transition into regular sushi. However, in comparing both types of sushi, I think I tried them in reverse order. Maybe it’s because I sort of knew what to expect this time around, but I thought the Nigiri Sushi was a lot scarier than the regular one!

Yesterday I went to “Maki Yaki”, a Japanese restaurant off of Garner Street (next to DP Dough) and ordered the Tempura Shrimp Roll. Just as it sounds, this sushi contained shrimp as its main ingredient. (It also had cucumbers but I ordered it without them – I’m not quite that daring yet!) Aside from the shrimp, this sushi also contained avocado, although you couldn’t taste it, and then the typical seaweed and rice wrap.

Just like the Nigiri Sushi, these ten pieces of sushi came with ginger, soy sauce, and wasabi as a topping. And, just like last week, I wasn’t too thrilled with the ginger or wasabi, but the soy sauce was good! After tasting the wasabi and ginger, I mostly stuck to plain sushi or sushi dipped in soy sauce.

This sushi also came with two types of mystery sauce: some sort of spicy mustard and a variation of soy sauce. Not only did the sauces make the sushi look a little more gourmet for a low-key restaurant, but they also added a nice touch to the taste.

I was a little nervous about eating seaweed, but it didn’t really taste like much; it was just kind of chewy. I got the most flavor from the shrimp, rice, and soy sauce when I used it. My only complaint was that because the seaweed was so chewy, you couldn’t really bite the sushi in half, you had to just eat the whole roll at once. And it was a big roll!

I would definitely recommend the Tempura Shrimp Roll from Maki Yaki for anyone who is a little hesitant about trying sushi. It was great!