Fresh Chinese food and sushi
BITE YOUR TONGUE Where: 62 Astra Centre, Adelaide Tambo Drive, Durban North
Open: Daily 11am-9.30pm
Call: 031 563 4419
HUNGRY and not in the mood to get in front of the stove, I decided to drive out to Durban North to see what’s cooking. I stumbled across an intriguing Chinese restaurant and sushi bar, with an equally intriguing name – Bite Your Tongue.
It was busy on a Tuesday night. Part of it may have been the fact that there’s half price sushi on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. There was also a large party of Chinese ladies enjoying an elaborate barbecue at the table.
Plates offering a variety of raw ingredients are brought to the table and then you cook them yourself.
Each person has their own little burner topped with a bowl of spicy boiling stock in which you cook your food how you like it. There were platters of prawns, sliced beef, chicken, liver, potatoes, some sort of pork or sausage looking loaf, an array of different vegetables and even raw noodles – and something that looked like large eyeballs, which I later found out was tofu. It was a very sociable way to eat, and very Instagram friendly too.
The decor is nothing to write home about, some basic chairs and tables spilling out onto the verandah, with a sushi carousel inside. But when it’s busy, that doesn’t matter too much.
The table next door had a stack of about 15 empty colour-coded sushi plates on the table. So obviously the sushi is a hit. Maki, nigiri, California and hand rolls, sandwiches and sashimi all feature, along with some chef’s specials.
I opted for a tuna and avo sandwich (R52), which was good and freshly made, and the prawn and bean curd nigiri (R60), which was generous and enjoyable. The wasabi too was fresh, and had a good bite.
The main Chinese menu features all the expected Cantonese classics.
There’s chow mein, fried rice dishes, foo yong, spring rolls and soups, and all are very reasonably priced. On average it seems the veg dishes are R63, the meat dishes are R68 and the prawn dishes R75.
I went for a prawn foo yong, which was also freshly prepared and enjoyable, even if it was served in a more Western style, on a plate with a knife and fork. I would have preferred the dish to have included more onions and none of the green peppers.
Afterwards, I stopped in at Wicked Donuts next door. At 8.30pm, the place was buzzing and I discovered why. From 8pm to 9pm is happy hour, where all donuts are half price. The woman in front of me bought three big boxes, taking forever to decide between the dolce de leche supreme or the caramel surprise. I enjoyed the Nutella bites, which were stuffed full of the hazelnut spread, and the simple vanilla iced mini donuts. The guy behind me bought the rest of the stock, including the vegan range.
Food: 3½
Service: 3
Ambience: 2½