We went for lunch at Gatten Sushi at ION Orchard today. Paid visit.
There was a long queue when we arrived, but dining time is limited to 60 minutes, so it moved rather quickly. You can also monitor the queue on the web while you hang around elsewhere, which helped.
First win over Sushiro for me: free green tea. Seriously, how much can green tea powder cost? It is such a nice touch.
The staff are mostly Japanese. Not sure if they are here temporarily to help only, and I hope the standard does not go down later on. The vibe is very much closer to what I am familiar with when dining in casual sushi outlets in Japan.
They do live fish cut right in front of you, and some menu items are straight from source. It is a bit pricier than the usual conveyor belt places, which you can already tell from the plate colours — they run from $2.50 to $9.80. White plates are for the touch-panel orders. The 60-minute dining time is flexible if nobody is waiting.
What we ate
The quality is pretty good. The seared salmon with green onion is yummy, and so are the assorted tuna plates — different cuts on one platter, from lean to fatty, plus a negitoro gunkan.
If you only have to try one thing, go for the overflowing sushi. It is a must order, like the ingredients from your kaiseidon piled high on a few rolls.
I recommend the omelette too. Piping hot when it arrives, with mentaiko on top.
We also had scallops and fried fish skin on the side. The scallops were thick and decent. The fish skin is one of those non-sushi sides that fill out the meal.
The menu is not very wide, in the sense that there is no gimmick. The key essentials are all there — tuna, salmon, prawns, shellfish and so on — and the side dishes are enough to satisfy. For each type of sushi, they do have different cuts and ways of prep.
My personal verdict
The damage was $65. Definitely more than what I usually spend at Genki or Sushiro.
Food: 4/5 — quality is pretty good. Seared salmon, tuna, overflowing sushi and the hot omelette carry it.
Ambience: 4/5 — closer to casual sushi in Japan than the usual Singapore conveyor belt feel.
Service: 4/5 — mostly Japanese staff, free green tea. Nice touch.
Will I return? Yes. It nicely plugs the gap between so-so sushi and the atas category.
Official Details
Located in: ION Orchard
