Conveyer-belt Sushi, but Elevated

As soon as the media reported that Japanese seafood imports into China would be restricted, I rushed to Gatten Sushi.

Their take on a conventional conveyer-belt sushi restaurant allowed the expansion of the chain brand into 300 different locations(with 270 in Japan and 30 spread across the U.S., Korea, and China). Gatten Sushi combined a luxurious sushi dining experience, with a menu for customers requesting individualized orders, and conveyer-belt sushi.

Gatten Sushi also has a very unique and interesting pricing system. When grabbing sushi off the conveyer belt, the different colors and styles of the plates indicates the price of the item. However, don't be fooled as some of the cheaper plates and sushis are the true gems.

These are the 8 classifications. The middle of the range plates, such as the silver and gold plates, are usually highly demanded cuts like salmon roe or scraped tuna. The seafoods and cuts on cheaper green and blue plates are probably more for adventurous customers.

est 170rmb

The sushi platter is great as a sharing plate for a family of 3 or 4 to start off the meal. It has most of the popular sushi including salmon and roe, gunkan maki, eel, tuna, and egg custard.

21rmb

The char on the fish released a rich, mouth-coating amount of natural fat, which was simply amazing with the slight chew that the fish maintained.

21rmb

The steak tare tare sushi wasn't to my personal taste. The beef was dry and unseasoned, which made it feel like it had been sliced and left to refrigerate for too long.

18rmb - mackerel sushi

21rmb - lightly seared tuna with leeks and spring onions

21rmb.

The tuna gunkan maki is a good indicator of the skill of the sushi restaurant. Since tuna gunkan makis are made from scraping what's leftover from the tuna's bones after making the standard nigiris, it shows a restaurant's ability to use all ingredients sustainably. The one at Gatten sushi is my personal favorite menu item.

sashimi platter with chutoro(medium fat) tuna, fresh shrimp, clams, salmon, and amberjack fish.

Silken tofu with dried bonito flakes on top, seaweed with flying fish roe, and edamame beans are all offered as chilled appetizers.

est 40rmb(with savory egg pudding and clam broth)

With the overload of fishiness and brininess from the meal, you have to have something to wash it all down. The clam broth with egg souffle was my choice. Clam broth was phenomenal, with the undertones of miso and an earthy clam aroma.

More about my analysis of the restaurant's plate-pricing system:

A conveyer belt is probably useful in encouraging impulse orders, as grabbing a sushi off the conveyer belt is so convenient and quick. Then, why remind customers of the price with the color of the plate? Wouldn't that discourage customers to grab an expensive plate of sushi off the conveyer belt?

Well firstly, the price increment between two adjacent-level plates are very small. Even between the lowest tier and the third lowest tier plate, the price difference is only about 10rmb. Customers will start to believe that the price differences the plate colors present are negligible, which means they may not even notice it when they unconsciously grab the highest tier sushi from the conveyer belt. (BUT...... this might just be a scrooge's over-analyzation of a restaurant's fun tradition)

Restaurant location of the Gatten sushi mentioned within this blog: 96 Plaza, Shanghai