The Reel mall food court is one of those places that I absolutely never have felt the need to go eat at. It just didn't trip my food-loving instincts that I would find anything very compelling to eat there. Imagine my surprise when Dazhong Dianping directs me here for sushi on a Sunday afternoon. 

Now the fact that I'm searching for sushi on a Sunday afternoon definitely played a role in why I ended up here. It wasn't my first choice...heck it wasn't even my second or third choice. I ended up here because it was open at 3:45pm, and it seems 80% of the restaurants around me don't open for dinner until 5pm. That being said, I'm glad I ended up here. 

To keep things simple, we ordered the "Luxury Combo for Two" at A Sushi, which claims to be "European-style sushi". I was highly doubtful of this concept, and was gratified when absolutely nothing came out of the kitchen looking "European style". The set came with two miso soups, wasabi squid, seaweed salad, sashimi platter, 2 fois gras sushi, 2 caramel salmon sushi (I guess this is the European nod?) 2 roasted fluke with sea urchin, and the pièce de résistance: the “European Sushi Roll Combo” which came with 8 different rolls with various toppings. Two drinks were also included. This whole combo cost 258 CNY. 

To make it easy: almost everything was delicious. The fish so so fresh, no odor at all, not dried out at all (juicy and plump). The sashimi was sliced wayyy too thickly to be proper Japanese style, but you won't hear any complaints from me! The platter included salmon, tuna, surf clams, amberjack, and two huge prawns. I don't care much for raw prawns, but everything else on that plate was amazing. I especially want to call out the surf clams - these are often pulled out of a package at inexpensive sushi places in Shanghai, but these were full, juicy, and full of flavor. 

The side dishes and apps were all very satisfying and served their purpose very well, especially the miso soup which was satisfying without being too salty. The fois gras was excellent, a generous piece of fatty, unctuous, warm goose liver that was grilled nicely and not too overpowering. The caramel salmon sushi was surprisingly good as well - a little sweet but not overly so. The rice portion was a little too large to be tradiditional on that one, however. 

The only disappointing item was the flagship dish: the European Sushi Roll Combo. The whole thing was a beautiful feast for the eyes, but that was sadly its most appealing charactering. Although it's a great idea to serve 8 different beautiful rolls topped with marinated fish, caviar, beetroot, etc., serving 8 different items in one dish means it's impossible to make each roll to order. The menu noted that only 20 of this dish are available each day, which means the chef makes probably 10 of each of the 8 types of sushi in the dish in advance, cuts them into rolls, pre-portions them out, and adds the toppings when they are ordered. While they are waiting to be ordered, they are refrigerated, which is never a good idea for sushi rice, as it dries out very quickly. I am always sensitive to sushi rice served cold (instead of room temperature) as it indicates that it was not made to order, and that's what we got with this dish. It was undoubtedly beautiful, but the flavors were lacking and the rice was cold. 

All in all, A Sushi is a great choice for inexpensive sushi in a very expensive neighborhood. The food court in Reel gets super packed around meal times, so be prepared to wait if you're arriving during the lunch or dinner rush. Just go with the fresh, made-to-order options and avoid the eye-catching but unfortunately pre-made and refrigerated Euro Combo and you'll do just fine. 4 stars out of 5. 

Useful Not Useful