SushiArt gets Michelin-lauded French chef to create an out-of-the-box menu
Don’t be deceived by their diminutive size. Modernday sushi rolls pack a veritable flavour punch, with some versions boasting no fewer than a dozen ingredients in one bite-sized package. From Hako Sushi’s seared salmon uramaki (with tempura prawns, avocado, cream cheese, salmon, toiko, grated ginger and spring onion) to Miyabi’s Hamachi tartare roll (with yellowtail, ponzu sauce, kizame wasabi, furikake, sesame, asparagus, spring onion, sriracha and truffle yuzu), Japanese restaurants are getting evermore creative with their offerings.
Now SushiArt has gone one step further, and is offering diners a sushi box curated by Michelin-lauded French chef Paul Pairet that is inspired by his travels as well as the idea of revisiting picnic classics. The box, which is priced at Dh175 for 20 pieces, will be on the menu in Abu Dhabi and Dubai until next October.
Despite a sushi roll’s ability to work with myriad fillings and flavours, Pairet’s creations are truly offbeat, I find. The Beijing roll, for instance, is the chef’s tribute to China (he has launched Mr & Mrs Bund, Ultraviolet and Cafe Polux in Shanghai, after all) and one of its most popular dishes: Peking duck. The SushiArt roll is made with lacquered duck, cucumber, hoisin sauce, peanut sauce,
rice vinegar, Thai chives, sesame and a surprisingly cohesive dash of peanut butter.
Elsewhere, the teriyaki tahini beef sushi-roast lives up to its claim of incorporating all five flavour profiles – sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami – in one bite, thanks to the combination of seared beef, Greek yoghurt, cumin, tahini, orange zest, teriyaki sauce, salty soy sauce and sesame.
While I’m not the biggest fan of chicken, the mayo chicken sushi-roast (“a French picnic classic in a finger-food version ... enjoy it on an orange oilcloth with checked napkins,” says the chef) has an interesting kick, thanks to the addition of guindilla pepper, garlic, Japanese mayo, olive oil and lime juice.
The two sushi classics – salmon and tuna – have also been given the Pairet spin. The Baltic sushi-mozz is inspired by afternoon tea at The Connaught, and comes with smoked salmon, mozzarella and cream cheese. The Tuna-tuna sushiwich, meanwhile, is made of tuna, tomato juice, lime juice, Japanese mayo, salty soy sauce and olive oil.
The avant-garde chef says his favourite creation is the ABLT spring, which has avocado, beef pastrami, lettuce, tomato and a slightly soggy bread crouton all mixed up with ABLT sauce, a combination of Dijon mustard, Japanese mayonnaise, lime juice and salty soy sauce.
Pairet has included not one but two anchovy creations, a bold move considering the love-it or loathe-it reaction the ingredient’s fishy flavour incites. The Catalan Sushi-Wich contains anchovies on piquillos contained on toasted sandwich bread, which makes this one of the most eccentric (in a good way) “sushi” I have tasted. The other specimen – the anchovy sushi-mozz – I did not find quite as palatable, as the umami hit from the double anchovy layer simply didn’t sit right with the sweetness of mozzarella.
Fortunately, you can end your meal on an unadulteratedly sweet note, thanks to the addition of the mango-dill and avocado-Nutella sushi rolls. The former contains mango, passion fruit curd, dill and sushi rice, while the other simply proves Nutella can be eaten with just about anything.