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I Think I Have Had My Dose... A beautifully redesigned space full of colors and wood. Writings and quotes decorate the walls and ceiling, grey chairs fill in the space... Welcome to Obi, a concept referred to as 'urban sushi' serving sushi and they serve burgers and fries... Yes, burgers.
Located in the food court up on the terrace, Obi has a fresh look that really makes you want to try it. As you walk in, a wall of colors welcomes you while black metal, light wood and grey decorate the other areas. Dozens of writings cover the wall and ceiling while below wooden tables, surrounded by grey sofas fill in the space. On white placemats sit black and white plates next to two bottles of soy sauce. The space is so beautiful that I couldn't but stop-by to see if my negative past experiences still hold true... I was hoping that all has changed for the best. Outside, an LCD television broadcasts the latest fashion trends while at the bar inside you’ll see piece after piece of sushi being rolled. A red neon sign reminds you to eat sushi every day.
The menu:
- Cold Appetizers
- Hot Appetizers
- Soups
- Salads
- Sashimi
- Sushi
- Temaki
- Gunkan
- Hosomaki
- Uramaki
- Obi Special Rolls
- Obi sets
- Noodles
- Hot Dishes
- Obi Boats
- Desserts
- Drinks, Wines and Beverages
Dinner starts with the distribution of menus and a paper displaying all the options. Tick it with a black pencil and hand it back to the waitress. Before we started eating, let me tell you about some unpleasant details. Ice in here is white, pure white, meaning it's filled with carbon dixoxide that absorbs gas from soft drinks in a glance. Not only that, but the drinks have a salty aftertaste. The soy sauce was too watery and tasted completely different from the Kikkoman we know. Now for the food... A complete disaster: I wish you could taste the pictures on your screen so you can understand what I mean.
- Crispy salmon salad: A light orange-colored salmon landed on the table, a mountain that looked like kids dough (pate a modeler). It was full of chewy bits and felt like low quality meat. Bite into it and make sure you close your mouth firmly so it doesn't slide out. Not only bad quality, but this salmon salad that was so dry, and so hard to chew, I couldn't eat more than one single bit. Another order of it after the manager insisted, smelled like rotten lemon.
- Temaki: A large temaki filled with 80% rice and a bit of salmon. A chewy wrap - to the extent that I looked around it to see if it had a sugar free label - filled with al dente, undercooked, crunchy rice.
- Crab salad with mango cubes: Not bad for a salad, but unfortunately served warm. Would you eat crab warm? As for the quantities... Hah! Ridiculously small: a bit of crab covering a load of cabbage. I liked the mango and avocado cubes, though.
- Now for the Rolls: Small in size, chewy rice with a bizarre sweetness in almost all of them... Anyway, nothing extraordinary to write home about. I ate three pieces and stopped, I didn't want to end up eating just for the sake of calories.
What a deception! I would love to understand what this concept is all about. Why would an "urban sushi" bar sell burgers and fries? Or write on the walls about coffee? Is it a cafe? Let's start with what their definition of 'urban sushi' is...? The plus:
- The decoration is breathtaking
The minuses:
- The restaurant door is left open... prepare yourself to sweat. The restaurant is hot.
- The ice used is unacceptable for a restaurant. You can check the photo.
- Looking at the rolling fridge, plates were left unattended there for more then 10 minutes. Food contamination was guaranteed! I just was praying they were not mine.
- The soy sauce was overly soggy, as if the Kikkoman bottles were refilled with something else.
- The ginger was not of the finest of qualities. A strong pink color with white lines in them that get stuck to your teeth.
- Service is too "urban" for a restaurant. One customer paid the bill himself at the counter, another personally delivered his order to the chefs... The waiters definitely need some finesse and smoothness in their work.
- An umbrella would protect you from the air conditioning unit’s steady drip.
- The fresh fish fridge is sweating proving the internal heat
I'd change:
- The black plates look dirty, not a good idea in a restaurant
- Get stronger air conditioning, or close the door
- Get ice from a professional factory, ice should be transparent and clear
- Salmon! Find a new source at once
- Master the time needed to cook rice
- If a sushi restaurant wants to serve burgers, that should not be displayed at the entrance. It personally made me prepare myself for the worth
Three times at Obi already and each time was worse than the other. We paid $100 for the above ($50/person) and left hungry. I think I've had enough.
