I am one of those annoying people that often think that you need to be the archetype person to prepare food from that particular country. Starting with a safe example in this day and age, I have found (based on my South Eastern heritage) that people that cook Chinese food who are not from that locale seem to get something wrong. Not that people from that specific places actually get it right of course! There is often the oft stated assumption that if alot of natives are in that particular restaurant it must be good. Yet, perhaps it is for another reason!
This is how I found myself in a Japanese restaurant which seemed to have heavy Nepalese influence. At least from the decor (in particular photos). Not that they were bad but just unexpected.
Chicken karage, chicken karage served with sweet chilli sauce. A somewhat small portion but quite juicy and delicious. Lacked much substance though as these minuscule little balls could have all come from the same chicken leg. It could have been worse though, as it could have been substandard in taste. Would have been nice to have more though.
Pumpkin Korokke – Pumpkin korokke with cream (mayonnaise?) sauce. Delightful and not something that I would have expected here in the UK. The pleasant umami taste with an interesting sweet and sour taste went rather well. Creamy, crunchy and fulsome. A delight.
Dragon roll, grilled eel and cucumber topped with avocado, crunchy onion, eel sauce. Definitely not something you would see in a traditional Japanese restaurants, the crunchy onion would probably have led to some Japanese chefs to contemplated ripping out their beards. It was tasty though.
Spider roll, soft shell crab and asparagus roll topped with avocado, tobiko, eel sauce and crunchy onion. In perhaps an even more foul crime against traditional Japanese food, is cooked crab in a sushi roll topped (again!) with crunchy onion. What were these people thinking? Were they intentionally trying to cause offence? In actual taste though, it was quite good if you suspend thoughts of authenticity. That horrible word that seems to justify people being whoever they want, i.e. ego at its extreme. Although in this case, I’m happy it isn’t authentic!
Tuna poke bowl, diced tuna with sushi rice, avocado, cucumber, mixed salad and carrot. The final dish to finish this all off was a tuna poke bowl as I had to try and see what their raw fish was like. It was, pretty decent. Not earth shattering but something I would order again.
Although Ama sushi makes little pretence about being a bona fide Japanese restaurant, it still manages to achieve something rather satisfying. Best of all, it isn’t going to break the bank either.
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A quiet eating 8/10.
Dinner (2 course equivalent) was about GBP20 per person excluding drinks and service.
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Ama Sushi
49A Dartmouth Road, Forest Hill
London SE23 3HN
Forest Hill, Â Lewisham, London, UK
