The boyfriend has been living next to Thomson Plaza for forever, so it was slightly amusing to us when something actually popular like Sushiro Singapore opened up within our humble reaches, with insane queues outside the place every single day! Literally even at 3PM when we walk past the after grocery shopping at NTUC, we can still see a long queue snaking around behind the shop. (Update: Tried going by again around 2PM last Monday and there wasn't any queue! Guess the hype is slowing down. Or weekday after lunch).
So I can safely say that the reason for Sushiro's popularity is because their Bara-Chirashi Don is one of, if not, the cheapest in Singapore at $12.80++. The ingredients are slightly more varied than competitors such as Teppei with a generous helping of salmon, maguro, octopus and salmon roe on top in not overly large chunks. Looks yummy, doesn't it?
The catch is that the bowl is tiny. I don't eat a ton, so I actually found it OK sized since we ordered other appetisers, but it definitely was nowhere near enough for Justin (or most boys, I would say). But if you are paying $12.80 a bowl, it's quite value!
The reason why the queues are so long is because of the very limited capacity of the restaurant (12 people per seating). We counted how long it took from when we sat down to when we left, and it was about 45 minutes - which means you're in for a long wait if you don't make it for the first seating.
We managed to not have to queue at all for Sushiro because I walked down earlier in the day to Thomson Plaza and made a reservation in person. They have a number to call, but from what I've heard, no one really picks up, so your best bet is to queue before 5PM to start queueing for the first seating (which is at 5:45PM) or somehow come down in person a few hours before like I did, haha.
The Japanese-style Glazed Duck with Onsen Egg on Rice ($14.80++) is an off the menu item, but everyone was sharing it on instagram so we gave it a go! The duck was tender and the onsen egg was perfectly cooked. I think it's a nice balance to the bara-chirashi don in case you get tired of too much sashimi though it was equally small a bowl.
Justin makes me onsen eggs all the time at home with his sous vide machine and we get smoked duck from our wholesale supplier, so... maybe this wasn't as value or impressive to us on hindsight :'D But it was yummy!
We wanted order the awesome sounding "5 Kinds of Torched Mentai Sushi" set which was $9.80++ and had salmon, maguro, mejajiki, tamago and unagi, but as you can see, we ended up settling for the Salmon Sushi Nigiri Set (also $9.80++ but... salmon only, boo) because it was the only sushi set available despite us being the first ones seated for the evening! Highly average and not worth the order. The mentai mayo was more mayo than mentai in my opinion and the aburi wasn't grilled / flamed enough to get that shiok burnt taste, you know? Skip this!
To us, this was the most outstanding dish of the night. We initially ordered just one Chawanmushi to share, but we ended up ordering two more because it was ULTRA super smooth and silky, and just $2.80++??? They heat it upon order which the staff informed us will take 10-15 minutes, but in reality it actually took 5 minutes, which was way better. The ingredients aren't anything special, but the egg alone was outstanding enough. Recommend getting this as you definitely won't be full from the mains alone!
So in conclusion, I wouldn't mind eating here again - but only if I could walk right in and not have to queue. The bara-chirashi don is cheap, but once you add in everything else, our total bill ended up to be $49.80 for two of us, or $24.90 per person - so not as value as it initially seems. Given the chance, I would probably reorder just the Bara-Chirashi Don and Chawanmushi to really get the full "value" of the meal!
The restaurant business relies on how many seatings they can turnover in the few short hours that is lunch and dinner service. I've been waiting for the day the owners of Sushiro decide to expand their space as there is not one, but two potential and not-too-large empty stalls right next to their existing restaurant. I know having a queue looks and is good for business, but after a while, it becomes a turn-off and may actually lead to lost sales. There were many times I would not have minded eating there again... except for yes, the queue. Dinner cravings only really come to me an hour or so before actual eating time, so I don't always have the foresight to make a reservation earlier. And restaurants thrive on return business + volume, right?
So yep, definitely looking forward to the day where the queue becomes more manageable and Justin and I can actually enjoy the perks of living right next to Thomson Plaza and being able to eat cheap Bara-Chirashi Don on whim!
Sushiro Singapore
301 Upper Thomson Road
Thomson Plaza
#01-113F
Singapore 574408
Tel: +65 9450 1020
