The Graphic Foodie

Fusion food. Not a term everyone wants to hear with some really obscure dishes popping to most people's minds. Ramen Burger? Butter Chicken Risotto? Nah, not for me thanks (and yeah, actually things). But modern fusion food is everywhere, and in all guises, from little inspirational nods to full blown concept eating. (Senor Buddha in Brighton is a great example of it done well with their Spanish-Asian food.)

Tropical Sushi is a mash up of the traditional and not so traditional and I originally thought we had a hard case of concept dining on our hands here. However, Japanese-Latin hybrid food is not that at all. Immigration to South America around the 1800s was huge and thus the influence to food, with Brazil having the largest Japanese population outside Japan. There's even a word for it; Nikkei cuisine - cheers Google education.

Starting as a pop-up, and making quite a name for themselves, Tropical Sushi have been in their colourful permanent home for about 6 months now.

Things got off to a great start with a cocktail glass of the freshest cod ceviche; lime cured as expected but with plantain chips and crunchy Peruvian choclo corn in the mix. Flavours were so fresh, sweet, sour and the textures far more interesting than any ceviche dish you've had before.

Tuna Picante, is a popular dish for them, as it should be. This is a must-order here with the most melting tuna sashimi I think I've ever had and the perfect grade of heat running through it. An alternative would be the salmon tartare with avocado, also good, but the tuna, for quality alone, pipped it.

Served on a vivid ultramarine platter was a selection of sushi; a nicely charred eel nigiri, again some more exceptional salmon sashimi and a quirky, spicy avocado gunkan.

More unusual but absolutely delicious was the Tronchis Taco. This was everything; crisp, squidgy, savoury, sweet...all of the flavour, all of the texture, all at once. You've probably never had anything like it, I certainly haven't - a tempura nori taco with fried plantain, salmon, avocado, wakame and eel and spicy mayo sauce. Woah!

We then worked our way though a selection of the rolls. In a regular meal here you'd probably order two or three sets after a couple of the starters. However, we tried items across the menu, and everything we tried was hugely enjoyable, the sauces and presentation of the rolls are particularly unique to this place. Highlights were the Andrea Roll; king prawn tempura with creamy spring onions and fuji sauce, each bite a delicious crunch and the steamed prawn Pana Roll with avocado, coated with sweet yellow plantain and topped with torched eel.

They cater particularly well for vegetarian and vegan diets and apparently more will be added to their new menu coming shortly. The vegan Avila Roll missed out on nothing; avocado, tempura sweet potato, plantain and crunchy wakame was a great example of vegan sushi done well. Also, my dining friend was gluten free and they effortlessly navigated that requirement, altering the sauces without a hint of a fuss.

I noticed they do the de rigueur poke bowls for lunchtimes and the kid's meals look great too - I'd happily bring my two here for a feed.

We finished with mochi balls. I've had these gelatinous, squidgy rice balls before and they've been tasteless and gloopy. Although I'm never going to choose them over a sticky toffee pudding anytime soon, the flavours here were great. Filled with either chocolate and peanut butter or green tea, they were a perfect sweet note to end a really, really good meal.

Food is well sourced, local where possible and I believe most of the fish is from Newhaven Fish Sales who are ace. Service was lovely, food beautifully explained and the genuine enthusiasm for what they do contagious.

The whole visual of Tropical Sushi is wild electro. Acid limes, screaming orange and hot pink, unwieldy menu formats and the food is served on colourful electric edge perspex. It's quite full on and like me, you may have been a bit put off by it all, the aesthetic shouts far louder than the quality, history and craft of the food which is a real shame.

It's sunny, happy food but that should be the thing doing the talking. I know I'm particularly aesthetically sensitive but on asking, people have told me they have similar feelings. If you are one of these people, I urge you to by-pass that. Stick on some shades or embrace the miniature parrots on your table, this one is a must-visit.

Tropical Sushi
12 Western Rd

Hove

I dined as a guest of Tropical Sushi, words and thoughts, as always, my own.

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I'm probably a bit late to the party here. Bincho Yakitori opened in Brighton a year ago to nothing short of fanfare. Modelled on a Japanese izakaya, a casual bar with food, this restaurant has an unusual background, beginning in London's glossy OXO Tower, then transferring to a hip Soho location before settling in er, Brighton's Preston Street.

The ethos is also pretty low-key: "We won't waste your time or your money on unnecessary garnish". In the current restaurant landscape of borderline ridiculous flourishes and gratuitous presentation formats, I can totally get on board with these stripped back values.

But I didn't realise how much I have come to rely on nice details and environments for dining enjoyment. And if I'm honest, this is what has kept me from Bincho Yakitori. The exterior looks like a a cross between a pawn shop and martial arts studio and being on Brighton's "restaurant street" with all of its illuminated perspex and laminated picture menus isn't exactly a bonus. The interior sits somewhere between being achingly cool and a touch scruffy. It's very minimal, dark, with walls covered in blackboard paint and chalk scrawls. Pictures of ambiguous Japanese urban scenes printed on thin, high street canvases are dotted around the walls. The area at the front with the open kitchen is far more attractive than the back. I don't know, somehow it has a charm about it but that line is painfully thin.

But I couldn't ignore the feedback on the food, particularly from quite a lot of the local chefs. It seems this is where they like to eat and praise from chefs for another restaurant doesn't exactly come easy!

The menu is formed from a variety of small plates, mainly grilled skewers (Yakitori) and prices hover around £4 per dish.

Armed with a group of friends, this is an ideal way to sample a decent bulk of the menu. Everything, and I mean everything, was good with quite a few exceptional plates. Even the grisly and gruesome, the skewers of chicken skins and hearts, were genuinely enjoyable. I know eating gross cuts has become somewhat of a sport amongst true gourmands, but I have a line but here I was willing to cross it. Those skins and hearts were somehow transformed into tasty and tender, prepared and handled expertly so textures pleased rather than offended.

Amongst the crowd pleasers were the pork belly yakitori, the most acceptable of the fatty cuts. They were rendered beautifully, moist and melting. These got a second order as did the plates of crisp Japanese fried chicken and sweet, sticky Korean chicken wings.

Chicken balls (that is, balls made from chicken meat) were made more interesting with a dipping egg yolk. I didn't get a look in on the two rounds of lamb chops or the salmon and squid, but they looked the part and were devoured in no time.

Although you can easily go crazy on the protein, do give the vegetable dishes a look. The soft, sweet potato halves were gorgeous, brushed with a miso butter. A seaweed salad with salmon sashimi was generous and interesting and sweetcorn loves grills so this is a must order here.

The sake flight was recommended to me and I say try it too. I have limited knowledge in this area so was fun to try three varieties. You are given an entry level sake, drinkable and pleasant, a cloudy unfiltered variety which was my favourite - milky, full of flavour. Finally was the premium sake, whose name translates as "beautiful girl from the south". This highest grade sake was super clean, refined and delicate. Sake sure has a new fan in me.

Service was welcoming and as friendly as it gets, yet well informed to guide you knowledgeably through the menu.

I didn't expect to like Bincho Yakitori much. On paper, it's not really my bag but I'll confidently say it's one of the best restaurants in Brighton, even after one visit (don't worry, I'll be going back again and again). The quality, care and craft of the food is as good as it gets so who the hell cares about presentation or how well weighted the cutlery is. It's both interesting and different for Brighton (as well as seriously well priced) which when you consider the diverse dining scene we have now, makes it really rather hot little ticket.

binchoyakitori.com
63 Preston St, Brighton BN1 2HE

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I'll hold my hands up and admit my knowledge of Japanese food is limited. Probably not as limited as those thinking it's acceptable to serve pasta with a duck in Hoisin sauce and front loading it with an order of garlic bread for that authentic Italian experience. (Clue: It's frigging not.) I also do not generally like the wipe down, generic environment of a chain restaurant.

So here we are in the Anglo-Japanese chain restaurant YO! Sushi. The Brighton branch has actually had a bit of a make-over and is all shiny new and sparkly.

As open to variety as we are in this city, Japanese restaurants in Brighton are actually quite limited. Emperor of them all, Moshimo, is a gorgeous environment and I always enjoy a visit and then we have the ramshackle but popular E-Kagen, Fatboy Slim owned Oki-Nami which rarely sets pulses racing, you'll find Sushi Garden down the laminated menu street for tourists and there's Pompoko where you can worryingly order a 30 course meal and get change out from 50p (sort of). There are a few smaller sushi and ramen places starting to pop up but again, I'm not the best informed of this cuisine. (By all means, leave me tip-offs in the comments.)

But one think I am sure about is that a conveyor belt sushi restaurant has my inner child and greediness squealing with glee. A constant stream of food passing under your nose as you dine? They should be in every restaurant I say. As is standard, cold sushi and dishes are taken off the belt but there are plenty of hot dishes made to order.

So, needless to say I tried a few things. Highlights were the beef and garlic teriyaki. The coating was crunchy and glazed in a sticky sweet sauce which I could have happily ordered again straight after. The spicy pepper squid, which surprisingly had been marinated for 24 hours on-site, was crisp and tender, but let down by the coating which was slightly floury.

Fresh and vibrant was the salmon and yuzu salsa tataki dish, with slices of salmon sat in a ponzu dressing topped with a tomato and cucumber salsa.

Most dishes average around the £3-4 mark but there are a few more luxurious items like the seared tuna sashimi with caviar (£6). Being marinated in sake and soy, I would have expected a more dynamic flavour from the tuna, but it won a few points back for prettiness.

The sushi rolls were enjoyable enough. The YO! Sushi signature roll I suppose is a must order. Fresh salmon, avocado, mayo and orange smelt roe. The fried salmon skin and chicken katsu rolls also left little to complain about.

All in all, I enjoyed my meal. I wouldn't go in expecting the finest Japanese fare any more that I would the highest authenticity from Pizza Express. You can only expect so much from a restaurant that has a key to icons in the menu and an A-frame outside.

This is clearly crowd pleasing, safe food which I suppose is why the chain restaurant is so popular. Whilst I ate, I notice a wide demographic of diner from the working lunchbreaker, daters to families. And I would say this is a great place to bring the kids where they can freely experiment with their palettes in an engaging, interactive format. The families in the booths behind and in front were having a blast and I think my three year old, who is pretty gung-ho with food, would love it despite the high probability of leaving me with eye watering bill and a metre high tower of plates.

I would like to see a better drinks menu with freshly squeezed juices rather than Frobishers and that hideous tooth-tingling Zeo drink. They could also do with a few more beers, but apparently this is in the pipeline.

Staff are young and fun and add to the buzz of the place.

YO! Sushi

6 Jubilee Street, Brighton BN1 1GE

I was invited to review YO! Sushi. Opinions, as always, are my own.

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