A Most Laughable Lunch

Next station: Genki Sushi!

Annika and I ate lunch at this restaurant yesterday. It lied on the fourth floor at Orchard Central, but has three more locations in Singapore. We were placed at the next to last table in the first row from the entrance. A small plate above the table says Kitakami. We asked our waiter what it means and he explained that it is a train-station in Japan.

There were three tracks on the wall underneath the table's name-tag. A big menu displayed all the options available. Suddenly a train drove by and we burst out laughing. It carried three small plates and a few seconds later went by the other way empty. I followed it with my eyes when it returned through the wall to the kitchen. I brought down the tablet, placed in a holder next to the table number, and put it on the table. Each train had a maximum of four slots before an order had to be made. We started with green tea and Coke, Norwegian salmon nigiri and cream cheese premium shrimp. The drinks came with a waiter, but the two sushis came with the train. When it stopped at our table it made a pleasant ping to announce its arrival. Efficient instructions told us to take our plates and press one of the three buttons to return the train. It was so much fun! It felt good to take our own food and not be bothered by a stranger while eating. Also, it was so much fun when the train arrived!

We sent away four orders and had five trains delivering our food. We ordered way too much for two people but at least we were full when we were done! The quality was really good and everything (I ate) was delicious. It was difficult to know what was in the sushi, for example I ordered a dragon roll but noticed when it arrived that it contained eel. I do not eat eel. I thought dragon rolls were made with salmon. Annika told me that she had a similar experience at a sushi restaurant in Sweden. The owner had explained that a real dragon roll does not contain salmon, but eel. This was not clear in the menu but I feel like that was my fault of being uneducated in the original dragon roll etiquette.

 

We shared a small bottle of coke and were given a small bowl of green tea powder. I was confused as to how we would consume this tea without it being brewed, but the waiter explained once we asked. There was a tap under the train-tracks that poured burning hot water. Annika put two or three small spoons of the powder into the given mug and held it under the tap. I screwed and the tea brewed. Then we stirred with our sticks and drank with joy. It was good. I liked it! It did not have that watery taste or the intense smell that I dislike so much in teabag-tea. I wonder if I can buy this sort of tea somewhere, I would really like to have it at home. It is the first tea (but I have had it on several occasions on other Japanese restaurants) that I honestly like.

Genki Sushi gave us much joy. We laughed throughout the meal, were more than satisfied with the quality of the food and thought that the delivery of food by train was a wonderful idea. We paid by the cashier while asking ourselves when we could eat here again. Thank you so much Genki for a memorable experience.