(REVISIT) Sushi Miya8i, Radio Dalam

Some people say, “It’s better to have only few but great ones, rather than having a lot but bad ones”. Maybe this saying can be applied for Sushi Miya8i chains. Why? Before I continue even further, let me explain about my whole culinary experiences with them.

My very first time dining in Sushi Miya8i was at their Radio Dalam branch (which I revisited this time and will be reviewed in this post now), and I remember very well about the good impression I had of this restaurant, which you can read here. I was very pleased and happy that I found such a great place to dine in and hang out, with such a reliable service, and of course, affordable price. So I visited that branch again and again, although I noticed the quality of the food and service gradually decreased every time I came back there. 

At some point, I stopped visiting that branch and moved to their other newer, fancier branch in Kemang area. It was even better because they have larger selection of food, and service was still quite good, although far from great. I visited that branch sometimes, and quite satisfied with what I paid for.

The next experience was in Bali, I tried their newer version of Sushi Miya8i, called Warong Miyabi, owned by (also) Indonesian celebrities like Adi Nugroho, Donita, Raffi Ahmad and Thomas Nawilis. Apparently, this new brand of Sushi Miya8i is a collaboration with Krisna (the largest souvenir chain in Bali), hence the different name (and also the owners are different with Sushi Miya8i). The first branch that I visited was the one in Tuban, Kuta; it was nice, spacious dining area, even better selection of food (Indonesian, Japanese, Western), and they even have shisha/hookah available for order! It was really a good place to just chill and hang out, although the food were considered below average for my taste, and even worse, the prices are quite expensive. 

My last experience was also in Bali, when I visited their other branch in Diponegoro street in Denpasar on the Christmas Eve last year. We went there for dinner, and it was such a horrible experience. The waiters/waitresses had no knowledge about what the restaurant serves, the food took so long to come, and we found a piece of plastic inside the food, it was just horrible. They even turned the lights off before 10pm (the supposed closing hour). In short, my last experience wasn’t good, at all.

Back to Sushi Miya8i.

My last time dining there in Radio Dalam branch was around November 2013, and I was so surprised to see the changes. I mean, the restaurant used to be only small place with few tables, but now it has grown so big and spacious with even more festive Japanese-themed decorations. It looks better now for sure, but it looks so empty and soul-less compared to the previous one. My experience that time wasn’t good or bad, I just think that the food were still standard in quality but the prices had gone so much more expensive than before. 

This time, I heard from mister that they are having promotion of All You Can Eat sushi for only IDR 49.000++, so we just grabbed the opportunity to try it. According to what they put in the banner, the promotion is just valid from 1 to 7pm in Kebayoran (Radio Dalam) and Kemanggisan branches; and the leftover will be charged IDR 10K/plate. Oh, don’t forget that it states 18 kind of sushi!

It was afternoon when we arrived, some tables were occupied, and as usual, there were many waiters and waitresses available (that’s what I liked about this restaurant, at least in the past!).

When we were making orders, the waiter (he is a very nice and polite guy, by the way) informed us that we can only order 9 types of sushi, but since it’s AYCE, we can order as much as we want. We were like, “Why ONLY 9?”, and he told us that the AYCE menu is separated into two days menu and will repeat again afterwards. I felt a bit surprised that time and was quite disappointed with the “hidden” tricky message behind the promotion, but decided to just order each type in small quantity first.

Then the waiter disappeared to the counter and started putting gloves. Seriously. I was like, what!!? I tried not to think that he would be THE ONE who made my order, but in fact, he did.

I am not exaggerating but I was truly shocked. Without any meaning to underestimate anyone, I wouldn’t even want to know the fact that the waiter is also the chef for my sushi! I mean, what the hell, really? 

So without expecting anything, there was no more surprise when the sushi were served on the table.

They were actually not bad, but if you happen to go there, just remember to put more mayo either the original or spicy ones. They will help adding more taste and make the sushi nicer. Honestly, it’s a shame to call these sushi because even the rice had no vinegar taste in it and broke down very easily unlike normal sushi rice. The fishes were sliced very thinly and didn’t look fresh to me. My advice is, if you just want to have some cheap sushi, go for it. But if you crave for real sushi, avoid it, trust me, all you get will only be a huge disappointment.

I also ordered a Shoyu Ramen for my 4-years-old nephew, and we didn’t understand why he kept saying that the noodle burned his lips and tongue, until I tried it myself. The ramen was tasty, way too tasty actually, with pepper-ish taste and some kind of chili oil substance which made my lips felt so oily when eating and left a nasty burn feeling afterwards. And FYI, I am very good with spicy food, and still hated that after taste.

This AYCE promotion is valid until January 26th, 2014.