Genki Sushi is a pioneer of conveyor belt sushi and is also one of the largest sushi restaurant chains in Japan.
I had dined at Genki Sushi a couple of times back in the mid-to-late 2000s when it had outlets at Marina Square and Forum The Shopping Mall. It didn’t leave a lasting impression on me as the food was run-of-the-mill which wasn’t surprising as it was typical of most sushi restaurant chains in Singapore anyway.
At first I thought Genki Sushi was gone for good when they mysteriously disappeared from the F&B scene (too much competition perhaps?) but they made a comeback a few years ago. Now, they have 4 outlets in Singapore. (scroll to the bottom for locations)
J and I were at Bugis+ when we stumbled upon a Genki Sushi outlet at Level 1. While standing outside the open-concept restaurant, we started nosing around and saw these cute little bullet trains delivering food to patrons’ tables. So we made an impromptu decision to have an early dinner here before the peak dinner crowd came in.
Ordering and food service were all automated. There was an iPad on every table from which we could order our food. The full menu was just right in front of us as we sat down.
We wanted Ocha (S$1.50 per pax) so we helped ourselves to the green tea powder on our table and made our own green tea as there was a hot water dispenser. I did not add a lot of powder in mine but I still didn’t like it much because it somewhat irritated my throat and that sensation wasn’t very pleasant. Would prefer tea leaves or bags instead.
One interesting thing that I noted was that every table was labelled with a different train station name. We were seated at table 15 which was the Hachinohe station.
Our food didn’t take too long to come. It was kinda fun just watching the train coming our way and we would just wonder if those food on top were ours or our neighbours’.
Once we collected our food from the train, we just pressed the yellow button on top to send the train back to the kitchen.
The Fried Salmon Skin (S$3.80) came with a wedge of lemon and a packet of Kewpie mayonnaise on the side. I really liked their salmon skin because they were very crispy and crunchy on the outside and yet they still gave a nice bite without oozing any oil because there were firm salmon flesh beneath the skin.
The Steamed Egg Custard (S$2.30) was way too salty. Couldn’t taste much of the egg flavour as the saltiness had already overwhelmed everything else. Texture could also be more wobbly and light.
The Vegetable Kakiage (S$2.80) mainly consisted of onions so it was like eating onion rings strips. It was served dry with no sauce and it was a bit bland. Portion was big but this was greasy and soggy.
Cute looking plates in cheery colours, lol.
From the top left in clockwise order, we had the Seared Salmon with Pollock Roe, Smoked Duck, Salmon Belly and Chicken Sausage.
The Seared Salmon with Pollock Roe (S$2.80) had a lovely smoky flavour and a melt-in-the-mouth texture. Creamy and delicious. We had to order a second helping.
The Smoked Duck (S$2.30) was ordinary – just like those out of a packet.
The Salmon Belly (S$2.30) was a soft, tender cut.
The Chicken Sausage (S$1.80) was pretty tasty. Well, it wouldn’t go wrong with mayo, would it?
The Dragon Roll (S$3.80) was filled with unagi (eel) in the middle and layered with avocado slices on the top. Not a spectacular combo but not too bad either if you like avocado.
The Haru Maki Soft Shell Crab (S$4.20) was my favourite among all. Rice paper rolls with salmon sashimi and fried soft shell crab that were dipped in this sweet and savoury sauce (tasted like hoisin sauce). We had to order another 2 plates of this. I liked that it was carb-free so it wouldn’t fill me up easily.
Overall, the miniature bullet train did add a fun factor to our dining experience. Although the food was fresh and decent, it didn’t wow us. But this is just one of those restaurants that I don’t mind coming back for a no-frills meal if I’m in the vicinity and nothing else catches my fancy.
Payment wasn’t automated. We still had to go to the cashier personally, tell them our table number and make payment, lol. Who knows, they might invent some high-tech payment system in the time to come. ๐
Locations
201 Victoria Street
#01-13 Bugis+ S188067
181 Orchard Rd
#04-30 Orchard Central S238896
133 New Bridge Road
#02-33 Chinatown Point S059413
83 Punggol Central
#02-23 Waterway Point S828761
Operating hours: 11.30am – 10.00pm daily
Website: http://www.genkisushi.com.sg/
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pg/GenkiSushiSg
I like to pop by Genki once in a while. Chill place with good service. I like the one at Orchard Central. They even have automated dish collection! So cool!!
Cool! I shall check out its Orchard Central branch one of these days. Thanks for sharing! ๐
My favorite place for Sushi.