Hello. You are reading mmm-yoso!!!, the food blog. The usual blogger here is Kirk. Sometimes ed (from Yuma) writes about what he ate. Sometimes it's Cathy writing. Then occasionally Vicky and a few others also write about their meals. Today, Cathy's writing about a meal she and The Mister enjoyed.
So, the other day, The Mister didn't have to go to work and we fueled up the car and drove North. We had seen this place in Pasadena for years...at the Corner of Colorado and Arroyo, a pretty central intersection in the Old Town area. We decided to pay the meter and have lunch.
Floating sushi. That's what it's about. Walk in, sit down ask for some tea and watch the boats go whizzing by.
You can see the boats are chained together. They are constantly moving. There is space for up to four plates on a boat and you just grab and stack plates. The plates are priced by design which is noted on the menu/placemat.
We grabbed the fried shrimp ($3.58) when we saw them being brought out from the kitchen and placed on the boats. Light, crispy and the shrimp with flavor. Note the placemat and prices with corresponding plate designs.
The mini lobster wrap with soybean paper was only $3.58 and that filler is real crab, not rice. To the right, the fried squid were $3.08 (see, it's on a plate with a different design). The squid pieces (rings and tentacles as well as one *really* fresh whole shrimp and one breaded and fried green bean) were very tender and lightly breaded. Again, you have to grab the fried stuff as soon as you see it or it gets cold on the trip around.
The dumplings ($2.58) were chilled. They tasted good, were filled with mostly crab.
The oysters ($3.58) were fresh and chilled and quite plump.
The cucumber salad ($3.08) was refreshing. Crispy and with good flavored tomatoes. Topped with a light rice vinegar.
At the end, I stacked the trays by design, to make it easier for our waitress to tally the bill. (Hot tea was free). (The far left plate was for a $1.98 California roll, 3 pieces. Those were fresh and with real crab) It was fun and different for us. You could ask for anything on the menu to be brought out, or for specific cuts of sushi or rolls to be made. We'll do that next time.
A Float Sushi Japanese Restaurant 87 East Colorado Boulevard Pasadena 91105 (626)792-9779
There are tons of boat or conveyer belt places up in San Francisco/San Jose, there's one in Milpitas that is actually very good. I've never seen one in San Diego.
Posted by: Thirtyeyes | Wednesday, 13 January 2010 at 07:25 PM
Supposedly there is a boat sushi place in Pacific Beach... I don't know if it's still there but a couple of friends of mine would frequent it a bit. I'll have to find out the name.
I've always wanted to try a boat sushi restaurant
Posted by: Rosa | Wednesday, 13 January 2010 at 09:04 PM
The place in Pacific Beach is called Kabuki Sushi. It used to be really cheap, but my last visit there I noticed they raised the prices. It gets pretty crowded, so be prepared to wait.
Posted by: J | Wednesday, 13 January 2010 at 10:57 PM
conveyor belt sushi, love it!
Posted by: kat | Wednesday, 13 January 2010 at 11:35 PM
I wish there some conveyor belt sushi in Tx I definitely miss the fun atmosphere of this type of restaurant. There is quite a few in OC.
Posted by: bill | Thursday, 14 January 2010 at 05:56 AM
When I lived in Monterey, there was a boat sushi place, but it was all you could eat, so almost every item was mostly rice.
The stuff in the pics here looks so much better.
Posted by: ed (from Yuma) | Thursday, 14 January 2010 at 07:23 AM
Hi thirtyeyes. I had never looked for a conveyor belt type place out here, but based on the other cooments, there is one. http://www.pacificbeachkabukisushi.com/ The prices look similar. I've never been, but do remember my caveat about fried items and watch the kitchen...
Hi Rosa. I like your blog. Thanks for the comment. The research has shown me a couple more places I can drop by.
Thanks,J, for the answer.
It was new for us, kat. Fun too.
They have to have something similar in Texas, bill...I think.
Hi ed. Yes, the quality was very good. I suppose because of the fast/high turnover.
Posted by: Cathy | Thursday, 14 January 2010 at 09:33 AM
I haven't had conveyor belt sushi since forever. I might have to try Kabuki Sushi.
Posted by: Carol | Thursday, 14 January 2010 at 09:35 AM
I walk by this joint ALL THE TIME! Thanks for swinging by, Cathy. I was wondering what was going on in there! Boats. Lots of boats.
Posted by: Gastronomer | Thursday, 14 January 2010 at 11:51 AM
Thanks for the lead and the warning. It's been a couple of years but I was a sushi boat expert back when I lived in Japantown in San Jose. I would time my visit to when the restaurant would start floating some of the fried stuff. The place in Milpitas would do shrimp heads, yum. I even recognize the patterns on the plates, many, many boat places use those same plates.
Posted by: Thirtyeyes | Thursday, 14 January 2010 at 10:01 PM
Hi Carol- it looks like a nice place. If it has televisions, I'd stay away on Sunday...
Gastronomer-I just started reading your blog and love it. It's fun to just walk in somewhere, although we put it off for three years because we aren't always in Pasadena.
Ah, you are a sushi boat expert, whereas I am a sushi boat virgin, TE. I'm glad to have brought back some of your old habits-or memories at least... :)
Posted by: Cathy | Friday, 15 January 2010 at 07:54 AM
Thanks! I like your blog too and it has helped me find a few places to eat at when I'm in SD. :)
Posted by: Rosa | Friday, 15 January 2010 at 11:14 AM
Really, just ask or google on that Site Search box (top left). We have a few listed and don't mince words in our descriptions.
Posted by: Cathy | Friday, 15 January 2010 at 05:23 PM