Hei Sushi @ Downtown East

It has been one of my life long dreams to experience eating sushi served on a conveyor belt. The idea of food being served to your table endlessly somehow seemed to excite me more ways than one! I finally understood what it felt like to be a kid in a toy shop, grabbing anything that was vehicular or that could talk back to you the moment you press a button.

(On a related side note, I did not have a deprived childhood! Just a childhood without visits to Toy’s R Us since Mak did not believe in toys but rather in pieces of cardboard with many red dots on it to teach us how to count. -_-‘ Well I did manage to get into Law didn’t I?)

Okay. I have to confess that it was only the novelty of food being served on the conveyor belt that excited me, NOT the sushi. I do not love sushi. I do not hate it either. However, this visit would probably last me for a year or two before I would even look at anything that is remotely resembles a sushi. Hence my decision to order something other than sushi. 😀

I wanted to order Ramen initially or something with Teriyaki in it. But in an effort to be more adventurous, I decided to order something that I assumed would not be available elsewhere – Salmon Tama Don Donburi! It basically consist of rice topped with cooked salmon fried in a special batter, and then fried together with egg. I especially loved the egg because they had added some seasoning which made it so much more savory and memorable! The fact that the salmon was cooked and fried in a batter made it even more delicious for me simply because it masked the natural fishy taste of salmon. Although I have not acquired a taste for salmon, I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed eating this dish.

This dish called Tori Chawanmushi was ordered by Huda, the one I shall refer to as The Sushi Veteran since she claimed that she has been eating sushi from such a young age! (I for one only started eating sushi when I was in secondary school? But that was like once in a blue moon!) According to The Sushi Veteran, this is basically a fermented egg dish, with an assortment of things being added to it. I thought it tasted vaguely like tofu, due to its light texture and smooth consistency. I thought it was okay, nothing spectacular. 😀

[Edited – According to my friend Sau Yee, this is a steamed egg dish rather than a fermented one! Thanks Saus!]

By now you must be wondering – Where are all the sushi? Give me my sushi! Well here they are, in no particular order of merit or preference (More like as and when they came along the conveyor belt. Why can’t I have delicious Malay food being served on a conveyor belt, like Hajjah Maimunah’s Ayam Bakar or like Sinar Pagi’s Ayam Bakar Sunda? BUT I digress..)

The Baby Octopus Ajitsuke Idako was grabbed (and I do mean grabbed!) by The Sushi Veteran from the conveyor belt. (I’m not exactly sure that this is the name of the dish since it was not listed in the menu, but the way in which the baby octopus was prepared is similar to a sushi in the menu). 

THEN she asked Kakak and I whether we would like to share the dish. Kakak was like “Er, they look alive!” I thought to myself, “Is that a whole octopus?!?!?” Although I preferred my food not to be too sweet, under a strict low sugar regime by health conscious Mak, I thought the sweetness of the sauce complemented the chewy texture of the baby octopus. It was actually quite good!

When I saw the Fried Maki on the conveyor belt, I was like “Hey WHAT IS THAT?“. This had caught my attention because a) This sushi was fried, something I thought never existed and b) It was a non-red plate dish, which meant that it only cost $1.88 rather than the red plates which are $6.88. A month being unemployed filled with endless shopping, eating, diving lessons and chalet bookings had taken a severe toll on my wallet. Hence my more fiscally prudent eating choices. Or so I thought. There were basically rice and pieces of crab inside. Again this was good, nothing spectacular.

The Sushi Veteran was eyeing the Dragon Roll on the menu ever since we came into the restaurant. Yes I know it looks eerily green right? I must say this is one of the more unconventional sushis I have ever seen, since instead of seaweed, the sushi is covered by strips of avocado! The Sushi Veteran thought that she has tasted better Dragon Rolls elsewhere. I thought besides the sweetness of the avocado, there’s nothing much to talk about.

Ever since I read the review on Putri Berendam on the delicious soft shell crabs being served here, I wanted to try it out as well! Due to my dire financial situation (I need my GST credits now!), a more cheaper version had to be ordered! Hence the Soft Shell Crabs Makimono. I think Putri summed it succinctly “Crispy, crunchy and yet the flesh is sweet and soft“. I wish I had more crabs (and more money). AHHHH!

This was our dessert, Tempura Ice Cream. Kakak and I were like WHAT? Tempura Ice Cream? Its basically Ice Cream covered with a layer of tempura batter which is fried to a crisp, topped out with strawberry sauce! I thought I was eating Ice Cream Roti, you know the ones you can get when the uncle on the motorbike comes to your neighborhood and announces his presence by ringing the bell? Then Ayah would immediately come running down to buy a few for his anak-anak. In the past once he comes back Abang, Kakak and I would immediately hound him for the Ice Cream. Now he would leave it in the fridge and once every few nights one would disappear. I wonder who is/are the Ice Cream Roti Stealer/Stealers? 😀

Similar to Fresh Bulggogi, the food not being served on the conveyor belt can be ordered through the computer screens as can be seen in the photo. I was telling Kakak that based on what I have read online, on average a meal here can cost up to $50 plus for two to three persons. I told her that we needed to restrain ourselves so that we would not spend that much. Even though we didn’t order much sushi, because of the Donburi Kakak and I ordered (Kakak had the Teriyaki Chicken Don Donburi), the bill came up to a whopping $69! A futile exercise of fiscal prudence. :C

On a more happier note, finally one of my life long dreams satisfied! Next on my list, traveling around the world. I wonder when THAT will happen. 😀

Hei Sushi (Singapore’s First Halal Sushi Belt Restaurant)

Downtown East

1 Pasir Ris Close #01-01/02

Tel: 6582 8467