Yahoo Lifestyle "It's The Best Thing I've Eaten": I Tried Sushi For The First Time Ever, So Here's My Review Of Each Bite
I'm Spencer, and I have a confession to make: up until a few days ago, I'd never eaten sushi before. It somehow took me over 33 years, so here's my honest review of each bite, from salmon, to eel, and everything in between.
I don't consider myself a picky eater, but I definitely was as a kid. That wasn't because of a texture issue – like, mushrooms are my favorite vegetable, and a lot of people notoriously hate them for their texture. For me, it was always the smell of fish that turned me off.
Tuna from a can and a Filet-O-Fish from McDonald's were childhood staples for me, but those were as adventurous as I'd get when it came to fish. I later fell in love with both shrimp and lobster, and nowadays I'm willing to try (almost) anything in life twice.
I ate at Makoto Ocean while traveling through the Mediterranean on Sun Princess. The chef who the restaurant partnered with, Makoto Okuwa, has over 20 years of experience and is a literal master of Edomae-style sushi, so I knew I was going to get some of the best and freshest sushi of my life. I also brought my friend, Alissa, along for the taste test because her favorite food is sushi. This way you can see both of our reviews to get a more well-rounded take. Here we go!
Spencer Althouse
I stopped by Makoto Ocean while on my eighth cruise. This is one of the specialty restaurants aboard Sun Princess, which is one of the tallest cruise ships in the entire world. They specialize in using the freshest and highest-quality ingredients, which meant I was in for a treat.
The restaurant had a regular a la carte menu, but I ordered their signature sushi course so I could get the full experience and taste a bunch of dishes. There were eight courses in total, with nine different selections of fish, and the entire meal cost $45 per person.
1.Yaki edamame (charred soybean)
Spencer Althouse
Spencer: You really can't go wrong with edamame. I love that this was covered in Japanese red pepper flakes, which gave it a little kick without being too overpowering. It's super flavorful, and I could eat 100 of them, so I'd rate it a 9/10.
Alissa: These were a good first bite to nibble on. I personally prefer when they're just steamed and coated with a little salt, but this is a classic for a reason. A solid 8/10 for me.
2.Miso soup (silken tofu, wakame, scallions)
Spencer Althouse
Spencer: This is the kind of soup that feels like a warm hug on a cold day. It was such a refreshing, savory starter that had a lot of flavor. The scallions were a great touch, and the broth was super rich. My only complaint is that the bowl wasn't big enough. Give me a gallon of this, and then I'll be happy. My rating is easily a 9.4/10.
Alissa: I loved this miso soup. It was warm and comforting and not too salty. You really can't go wrong with a staple like this. I give it a 9/10.
3.Bluefin toro tartare (cured egg yolk sauce, nori rice cracker)
Spencer Althouse
Spencer: Okay, now we're on to the fish courses! I think this entire meal was sort of a mind game for me. Like, eating raw fish kinda freaks me out a little, so I had to keep convincing myself that everything was totally fine and that millions of people eat sushi every day. This bluefin tartare was a great first step because the flavor was more mellow, and it wasn't a solid piece of fish. The peanut sauce on top was delicious, and the pickles were a great, refreshing bite too. In fact, I'm shocked I liked this as much as I did, and I'd definitely order it again. I'll give this an 8.7/10.
Alissa: Yeah, this is f*cking good. The tuna seems to be of very good quality, the sauce is great, and all the flavors work really well together. It's just a fun bite, and I want more. This is a 10/10.
4.Atlantic ora king salmon nigiri (two pieces)
Spencer Althouse
Spencer: I've never had salmon before. I can remember being a kid when my mom cooked salmon, and my brothers and I were so grossed out by the smell that we avoided the kitchen until it dissipated. But I've grown since then! This particular bite wasn't super fishy, and I think it helped that I could mask some of the flavor with ginger and wasabi. Altogether, it was a nice bite that was way better than I thought it'd be. I'll give this an 8.4/10.
Alissa: Delicious. Again, this is super high-quality fish, and you can tell. It's fresher than other salmon I've gotten in New York. Like, if this restaurant was in NYC then I'd take friends here when they visit, and I'd make sure they order this dish. The toasted sesame seeds on the salmon were also a great touch. Easily a 9.5/10.
5.Spanish bluefin tuna nigiri (two pieces)
Spencer Althouse
Spencer: I'm sorry, but this cut of fish looked like a tongue. The original flavor wasn't as fishy as I thought it'd be, but the aftertaste was a bit stronger than I expected. I think if you like sushi then you'll love this particular bite, but for me it was just a little too overpowering. I did eat the entire piece, but I gave the second one to Alissa (who happily accepted). I'll rate this one a 7.6/10.
Alissa: Between this dish and the salmon one, I like the salmon one a little more. But I'm also biased because salmon is my favorite fish. I grew up in Jersey, so we had access to the freshest fish because we were near the water, but now that we're on a ship in the middle of the ocean I guess we can't get more fresh than that. I'd rate this an 8.2/10.
6.Chu-toro temaki (bluefin medium fatty tuna hand roll)
Spencer Althouse
Spencer: As someone who personally doesn’t like the taste of seaweed, I was a little nervous about this one. I took one bite and tried to keep chewing, but I just couldn’t do it – it tasted too much like the ocean. I knew this was an expensive cut, and I didn’t want to insult anyone, but I had to secretly spit it into my napkin. I'm sorry!!!! I’ll give this a 3/10 because if you’re not a fish person then you probably won’t like it, but if you are then I think you’ll really enjoy it.
Alissa: Turo is one of my favorites. I love it. This one was super fresh and ranks among some of the best I’ve ever had. I especially love it in a hand roll because you get a crunchy bite, but this was very heavy on the seaweed. I just wish there was more filling inside to even that out, so I had to dock it a point. My rating is a 9/10.
Side note: Here I am going through all seven stages of grief while trying the fatty tuna roll, which was just too fishy for me:
This next course came with four different kinds of fish:
7.Dutch yellowtail
Spencer: This looked like raw chicken to me. It wasn't my favorite bite, but I definitely still enjoyed it. I didn't find it to be too fishy, and I think the ginger and soy sauce complimented the fish really well. Would I order this on my own? Probably not. But I’d happily eat it again if it was on my plate. I'll give it an 8/10.
Alissa: Dutch yellowtail is a close cousin of hamachi, which is the least fishy fish in my opinion, so it’s usually an easy bite for first-timers. This was much fresher than any other yellowtail I’ve had, and it paired really well with the wasabi. Also, I just have to note that we got real wasabi, which is so rare. Like, almost all wasabi in sushi restaurants is fake and doesn't actually include wasabi. This deserves a 9.1/10 in my book.
8.Canadian scallop
Spencer: I tried my first-ever cooked scallop the other night, and I wasn’t a big fan, so I wasn't too excited about trying a raw one here. Again, this looked like a cut of raw chicken breast. I took a bite of it and immediately gagged. This was a no from me. I had to take a massive bite of ginger to help mask the flavor, so I'll give this a 2/10. If you love scallops then you’ll probably love this, but it was just too fishy for me.
Alissa: I like scallops, and I liked this. It's a little salty and tender and rich, and it tasted especially good with the soy sauce. I'm rating this an 8/10.
9.Seared Spanish bluefin fatty tuna
Spencer: I appreciated that it was seared, but overall it was just too fishy for me. I couldn't get the taste of seaweed out of my mouth, but I was able to swallow everything. I wish my tastebuds could handle this, and it's at no fault to the chef or restaurant, but based on my unrefined palette I have to rate this a 4/10.
Alissa: I wasn't the biggest fan of this one. It was too fatty and oily for my liking, which you can sort of see in the picture. I'm sure a lot of other people would love it though. I'll give it a 5/10.
10.Japanese BBQ freshwater eel
Spencer: Hell. Yes. This was easily my favorite bite of the entire night. I'm not sure if I liked it the most because it was cooked, but pleaseeeee give me a full plate of these. The sauce it was coated in was so good too. I also loved the toasted sesame seeds on top. There was a tiny aftertaste that was a little fishy, but I'd absolutely order this for myself again. This baby gets a 9.6/10.
Alissa: As far as eel goes, this was a nice piece. This was actually my first time trying it, but I realized I'm not a fan. The eel has too many textures for me, but the sauce on top was great. For those reasons, I'll give it a 6.4/10.
11.Snow crab temaki (Korean snow crab hand roll)
Spencer Althouse
Spencer: This was my first time trying crab. Again, I don't care for the taste of seaweed, but I do love shrimp and lobster, so I tried the filling on its own because I didn't want the seaweed flavor to be too overpowering and ruin my review. Overall, this was a bit too fishy for me, but I didn't totally hate it. I think the taste of crab could grow on me, so I'll try it again in the future. I'll give this a 6.3/10.
Alissa: My only complaint about this dish is that, again, I wish it had more filling. The crab is really good, but it tasted more like a seaweed bite to me because I wanted more filling. There's also the perfect amount of mayo in this crab salad, so it isn't too overpowering or saucy. I even told Spencer that I was secretly hoping he'd hate it so I could eat his leftovers (and I did), so I'll give this an 8.6/10.
12.Mochi ice cream (chocolate with honey crumb)
Spencer: We opted for chocolate mochi because we already had their miso caramel flavor on the ship (and it was delicious). I've only had mochi a few times before, so I don’t have much to compare it to, but I love desserts and anything chocolate. This was a nice, fun, and refreshing bite. Ultimately, I think I’d personally stick with the chocolate gelato on board, but this was still a reallllly solid option, so I'll rate it an 8.2/10.
Alissa: My favorite mochi flavor is green tea, but this chocolate one was really good. You can tell they actually made it themselves instead of buying it frozen, which is rare. I'd give it a solid 8/10. If you're a big chocolate fan then you'll love this.
Spencer: I feel a bit guilty that part of this experience was wasted on me since I'm not the biggest fan of fish. Like, I feel bad that I wasn't able to appreciate the food as much as most people would. Still, I had such a fun time trying all of these new dishes, and I’m genuinely proud of myself for giving each one a chance (and I’ll be thinking about that eel for a long time). Overall, I don’t know if raw fish is for me, but I’d love to experiment more with it and with cooked seafood. In fact, since this sushi dinner, I've tried sea bass, langoustine tartare, and my very first oyster...and I liked them all! If you're a fan of fish then you'll probably love all the sushi that this dinner had to offer, so in that sense I'll rate the experience a 9/10. I'll also work on refining my palette before returning for round two.
Alissa: For me, the quality of food in this meal was just so impressive, so I'd easily rate it a 9.5/10. I loved the real wasabi too. Omakase is always so fun to me because it lets you try so many different courses and flavors of each fish, and this one was especially fresh. I'd actually say this was my favorite meal on board the entire ship. So, so, so good.
Unfortunately, I must confess that I gave Alissa all the leftover sushi that was too fishy for me. So here I am before scarfing down some chicken fingers, French fries, and a quesadilla after dinner because I'm a child. Bye!!!!!
