"Apart from being a very common male and female name in Japan, Makoto also means ‘sincerity’ or ‘truth’. The sushi and sashimi served at Sushi Bar Makoto are certainly a true taste of Japan, nestled away in Turnham Green. A girl I’m dating is a fan of the restaurant and she was excited for me to try their food. The sushi bar was closed to visitors because of Lockdown 2.0 so we ordered our food to be delivered to her place via Deliveroo one Saturday night in November. We chose the salmon combo, which consists of two pieces salmon nigiri, six pieces salmon roll, and three pieces salmon sashimi. We also had the spicy tuna inside-out roll (uramaki and a side of edamame beans. When researching this review, I was surprised to learn that salmon has only been used as an ingredient in sushi since the 1980s and was introduced by a Danish businessman (one of the only Western sushi variations that has been adopted in Japan . It’s hard to believe the Japanese didn’t include salmon before this because it is so delicious when served as an ingredient in sushi. For those unfamiliar with sushi, salmon nigiri comprises an oblong of vinegared rice with a slice of salmon draped over it. Salmon rolls are wheels of rice with salmon and spring onion stuffed in the centre, contained in an outer wrapper of nori (seaweed . The spicy tuna rolls look similar to the salmon rolls, however the rice is on the outside and the nori is wrapped around the tuna and vegetables in the centre. Lastly, salmon sashimi (which, strictly speaking, is not sushi is simply thickly cut pieces of raw salmon. It’s all very good. The fish in each of the dishes was really fresh and full of flavour. Fat grains of white rice are used and the vinegar used to hold the rice together gives it a lovely, slightly sour flavour, while also being satisfyingly sticky and starchy. I adore salmon so, for me, my favourites were the salmon nigiri and salmon sashimi. Our food came with several knobs of wasabi, which I enjoyed smearing on the salmon rolls and tuna rolls to give them some extra heat, and we got four sachets of soy sauce that I used to dunk my nigiri in. (If you’re like me and enjoy lots of soy sauce, I’d recommend having a bottle on standby because four sachets wasn’t really enough for two of us. We got a pretty generous portion of edamame and it’s always fun to bite the beans straight out of the pod to eat. The sushi was attractively presented in boxes with clear lids to show off the neatly prepared and colourful contents, and was even more beautiful eaten nyotaimori-style. Our food took about half an hour to arrive, was reasonably priced and was surprisingly filling. Chopsticks are provided if you’re feeling adventurous, or do like the Japanese do and simply eat it with your fingers. Sushi Bar Makoto is a hidden gem in west London and one you should truly try."
Chirashi
