Sushi Tengoku, Kensington

Size does matter here

This is actually the sushi bar and not my bedroom

Sushi Tengoku is a place where I have frequented for a while now for a quick dinner after work. It’s just that each time I’m there, I never actually have my camera with me because I hate carrying it to the office. Like most people, I go here because of it’s massive sushi rolls. The downside of ‘quantity over quality’ is that some restaurants usually skimp on the good ingredients and bombard you with content which is meant to fill you up quicker (ie. rice). This is certainly not the case at Sushi Tengoku who have developed a reputation for massive sushi rolls at an affordable price and also as a well kept secret among the locals of Kingsford/Kensington/Maroubra (not a well kept secret anymore thanks to us food bloggers).

Sushi Tengoku has a rustic and ‘local’ feel about it. As you can see above, the ‘sushi bar’ looks more like my bedroom more than somewhere I can eat sushi while it is prepard in front of me. There is no sign of flash decor or cutlery, just some old fashioned good Japanese food. Green tea is serve yourself, where you have to make your way to the side of the restaurant to refill your pot of tea. While your there, help yourself to a few cups as well. Some people might even find the service a bit ‘rude’ if they are use to a waiter or waitress coming to their table to take their order. It doesn’t quite work that way in this place as you are required to write down your order on a piece of paper and hand it to the only waiter working. He’s wearing shorts and sneakers, so don’t expect matching restaurant outfits for all the workers. He is usually the one who takes the orders and organises seating whereas the chef himself usually comes out and brings you what you ordered. 

S&B Chili pepper

My favourite chili pepper. I had my first taste of this in Tokyo at the ramen store which we frequented. It’s not hot, but it adds enough kick to anything it touches. I use this for everything, from steak to noodles … even mi goreng. 

Hiyayakko (Chilled bean curd with bonito flakes) $5

” You know this is the non fried version right ” , explains the waiter. He must have had alot of people react in bewilderment when they thought this was some sort of agedashi tofu rendition. The Hiyayakko is something which I have had in Japan before, so I knew what it consisted of. It is simply a few pieces of chilled tofu with copious amounts of shaved bonito flakes dumped on top. The tofu is not seasoned or flavoured, it’s just plain old tofu. I like this dish because it’s ‘pure’ and has a cleansing taste to it, much like eating a chilled cucumber straight out of the fridge.

Salmon sashimi 8 pieces ($17)

The salmon cuts are quite large, but thin enough to be eaten in one shot. It’s not the freshest sashimi I have had, but it’s pretty damn good. The salmon is creamy and served at near room tempurature.  

Scampi sushi ($5)

This actually came with a piece of lemon but I took it off as I had a feeling it would have over powered the scampi. As a result, the lemon made the scampi slightly sweet but the taste was tolerable. This didn’t make me go bonkers like donkey kong, but the taste was on par with most other raw scampi I have had before.  

Left to right : Kaibashira (scallop $3) , Tuna ($3.50), Ikura (Salmon fish roe $5)

The sushi platter looked too big for the two of us so we opted for these three from the sushi ala carte section of the menu. From the left, three giant scallops were dolloped onto a thin layer of sushi rice. The scallop tasted extremely fresh and was the pick of the trio. The tuna was nice, but it seemed almost too big. If you can make out from the picture, the sushi rice stops about half way from where the shadow ends. It was as if the chef just chucked on the tuna and figured we’d like it more than having a substantial piece of tuna with a bit of rice. The salmon fish roe was very generous. Every time I tried to take a bite out of it it felt as if there was there was a hole in the bottom of a bag of marbles and all the marbles just kept falling out.

Soft shell crab roll - 8 pieces ($14)

We receive our sushi last and by now my stomach is slightly content. However, it’s one of my favourite dishes on the menu and I must soldier on. The roll is filled with deep fried soft soft crab, fish roe, vegetables and mayo. As you can see, they are quite generous with the filling. While it is not the most creatively flavoured sushi roll, it does the job well because of the still warm and crispy soft shell crab coupled with the creamyness of the avocado and mayo. It’s lacking a bit of kick today, either that or I am seeing sushi in a different light now because of what I had at Azuma.

Maki eel sushi - 8 pieces ($14)

The eel sushi roll is slightly more flavoursome than the soft shell crab version, mainly because of the sauce on the eel. It is filled with eel, egg, prawn and vegetables. The egg is sweet and adds a nice dimension to the firm texture of the eel. Once again, the sushi didn’t excite me like a stripper jumping out of a birthday cake but I did enjoy it. 

All up our bill came to a cool $66.50 for the two of us. It was a bit more expensive than usual, but we only took four bites of the sushi before having to ask for a takeway container to take the rest home. 

Sushi Tengoku

121 Anzac Parade 
Kensington NSW 2033
Phone (02) 9663 3388

Tip :

• Book in advance as I see alot of people turned away even at 6.30pm because they hadn’t booked (Friday night on this occasion)
• Bring CASH as they do not accept credit cards or eftpos.

5 Comments

1. Reemski

   December 23, 2008

   

   “This didn’t make me go bonkers like donkey kong…” Absolutely line of the week!

   Reemski’s last blog post..Erciyes Turkish Restaurant

   Reply
2. Arwen from Hoglet K

   December 23, 2008

   

   Wow, their counter looks even worse than my desk! The eel sushi sounds good.

   Arwen from Hoglet K’s last blog post..Lentil and fetta salad

   Reply
3. Lorraine E

   December 23, 2008

   

   Those rolls are so fat and filled! Everything looks good and I’ve heard that the size is legendary too. It does look like a uni student’s apartment

   Lorraine E’s last blog post..Chocolate Kkomz, Eastwood

   Reply
4. FFichiban

   December 24, 2008

   

   I really must come and try even if just for the sizes and is it possible to have too big a slice? hee hee

   FFichiban’s last blog post..Little Gordon & Coco Krispies

   Reply
5. Howard

   December 24, 2008

   

   Reemski : Thanks! I try my best.

   Arwen : The counter is shocking, fits about 2 people. But hey, it works!

   Lorraine : Yep, the rolls are big but atleast the filling exceeds the sushi rice. But because of this, it can get a tad moist though, because of the avo and mayo.

   FFichiban : Yes they are huge, takes about 3 bites to finish the sushi lol.

   Reply

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