Review: Yo! Sushi’s New Menu

During the week Melanie May went along to the launch of Yo! Sushi’s new menu, check out her review here:

Full disclosure: I love sushi, so this write-up is going to be a little biased from the get go. This week, I went to Yo! Sushi to sample some (ok all, some even twice) of the new dishes added to their already extensive menu. I took up a strategic position at the counter and I looked at all the dishes on the menu marked ‘new’. I was determined to research these dishes thoroughly.

I lunched at the belt and took the first new dish. I matched it to the photo on the menu like some sort of sushi bingo. It was beef tsukune, skewered beef, cucumber and spring onion sausages with a teriyaki sauce – very tasty indeed, but then again I think teriyaki sauce makes everything taste good.

Next, the aroma of the chicken kara age was too delicious to ignore, so I tried these deep fried chicken bites that had been marinated in sake, soy, ginger and garlic and I dunked them in the creamy mayo based dip. They weren’t too greasy and the chicken was succulent. A great addition to the menu I thought, but not exactly very exciting.

By now though, I was after some sushi and as soon as I saw the inari (a sweet soy bean curd) and chive futomaki I grabbed the little bowl. I took up the delicate roll and without adding any extras; I bit it in two. I was surprised at how sweet it tasted and how delicate the flavour was but again I liked it and when I added salty soy and tangy picked ginger the flavours all merged and brought each other alive; a welcome new addition to the many vegetarian options already on the menu.

My favourite new dish was the popcorn shrimp tempura in a sweet creamy miso glaze. The batter was so light it melted on my tongue and the sweet, nearly sticky glaze balanced perfectly with the sweet delicate prawns. I wanted another plate as soon as I popped the last shrimp in my mouth, very moreish.

Now, I never have dessert when I go to sushi restaurants, as I just don’t like those Turkish delight-like rice cake balls, so my taste buds were delighted to see chocolate dorayaki on the menu, which are Japanese pancakes filled with chocolate ganache and served with raspberry sauce. I love the combination of chocolate and raspberry so the dish was already winning in my mind but the pancake triangles that I sank my teeth into were the perfect base – really light and fluffy like American style pancakes with just a hint of sweetness. I am delighted this dessert is now on the new Yo! Sushi menu. It finished me off perfectly and I left there stuffed and with my sweet tooth sated.

These new dishes and many others, as well as some new drink offerings are available now in Yo! Sushi Clarendon Street and Dundrum.