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Our writer tries out Hong Kong’s ‘killer sushi’, lives to tell the tale

Cara Clegg May 28, 2014
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For some of our Western readers, just the idea of raw fish might be enough to turn stomachs. Now imagine the kind of sushi that even Japanese folk can’t handle. We’ve previously introduced Hong Kong’s ‘Myosho sushi’ store, nicknamed ‘killer sushi’, on our Japanese site, but in the name of journalism we decided that a hands-on report was necessary. And so we sent our brave and strong-stomached writer out into the field.

Why is this place nicknamed ‘killer sushi’? That’s because of the extremely unique menu including the ‘adzuki warship’ of adzuki beans and mayonnaise, the ‘ice cream sushi’, and the ‘cola jelly sushi’, which have felled many brave challengers.

▼ The ‘adzuki warship’…check out all that mayonnaise…oh and slimy fermented soy beans.

▼ The cola jelly sushi doesn’t look toooo bad.

▼ And everyone likes ice cream no matter what form, right?

Despite its fearful reputation, the store is very popular with curious young people, probably thanks to the shocking combinations and flavors on offer.

▼ Follow our intrepid reporter through her journey with this video. You get to enjoy all the unidentifiable sushi without having to try it yourself!

The store is located right in front of the famous Dragon Centre, a nine-story shopping centre in the Sham Shui Po district of Hong Kong.

Since it’s all-you-can-eat you don’t need to pay any attention to the colour of the plates, which usually indicate the prince of a dish. Be careful though, since you have to pay a penalty for any leftover food! There’s a sign in the store letting you know that for each leftover plate you pay HK $10 (US $1.29). So when you’re faced with that unidentifiable sushi topping with the suspicious smell drifting from it, what do you do? It’s basically your money or your life! This place really is a battlefield!

At your seat you’ll find tea and wasabi already prepared for you.

But the wasabi is strangely watery… the first bad omen.

It’s all you can eat sushi! Until 5PM it costs just HK $53 (US $6.84) and after 5PM it’s HK $58 (US $7.48). Just like conveyor belt sushi in Japan, you can pick what you like off the conveyor belt as it comes around, or you can also place orders. There are 39 kinds of sushi in total – surely there must be something good hiding in there?! Our writer decided to try as many as she could handle…

Fried shishamo spelt nigiri

To me, these look the most terrifying of the whole lineup. But our writer was immediately drawn to them, and actually thought they tasted so good that she wishes Japanese sushi restaurants would start to offer them too as a new kind of special sushi! Well, whatever floats your boat. Unfortunately after this first success, the rest was all downhill.

Something similar to sea bream nigiri

This nigiri looked just like sushi should! She thought it was probably sea bream, but upon eating it found that it had a most mysterious taste of stones and mould. Is this actually fish at all…?

Before…

…During…

…and after.

A red gloopy but solid gunkanmaki (battleship roll sushi)

Battleship shaped sushi with some some kind of viscous topping. Upon eating, she would hazard a guess that it was squid in sweet chili sauce. Kind of sweet, but not terrible.

Raw prawn nigiri

Why oh why didn’t she go for the cooked prawns?!

Something similar to vinegared mackerel with something yellow on it nigiri

The yellow thing turned out to be herring roe. The fish seemed like mackerel in vinegar but… is mackerel supposed to be this spongy?

Spring rolls

Thinking that you can’t go wrong with deep-fried spring rolls, she ordered some from the side menu. But they weren’t crispy at all, and were more like something left out all day at a buffet or found in the fridge the morning after a drunken takeaway. In a way it was kind of a nostalgic taste…

Other than the dish-specific doubts, her main criticism was that the rice was large compared to the toppings, which meant that after only a few plates she was feeling full up. Could this be the store’s strategy?! And the vinegar in the sushi rice was very low-key.

Unfortunately (?) the legendary adzuki gunkanmaki didn’t make an appearance. Apparently the store no longer offers it, nor the cola jelly sushi. There is some fruit sushi, but they were already sold out for the day. Is it really that popular?!

Despite the dubious dishes, the store is clearly very popular, with a huge queue around lunch time. So if you want to go check it out, she recommends not doing so at peak times. And also, if you know you have a weak stomach, it’s definitely best to go with the sushi with cooked toppings!

Our writer’s overall verdict was that it was definitely an ‘experience’. It’s probably a good idea to go with a friend so you can dare each other to try things, or with your workmates as a team bonding exercise. Nothing strengthens a friendship like suffering through food poisoning together!

Store name: Meisho sushi (明将回転寿司)
Address: Hong Kong, 58 Yen Chow Street (深水埗欽洲街58号米蘭軒) In front of the Dragon Centre
Opening Hours: 10:30 to 23:30

Source: Megumi Sawai @ RocketNews24 JP
Photos: RocketNews24
[ Read in Japanese ]