One of my goals this year under the category of ‘new things to try’ was sushi. I finally accomplished this goal when I had a late lunch with my beloved cousin at Ocean Basket. In this blog post, I’ll tell you about my first sushi experience there.
Ocean Basket is a seafood restaurant located in Westgate Mall along 18 Mwanzi Road in Westlands. Once you enter the building and turn left, it’s the second opening (I think!). I didn’t take a picture of this; I think I was way too excited to be there haha. However, this is what it looks like.
Before I share my experience, here are a few facts about sushi according to Eatbento.com
Facts About Sushi
- Sushi originated from Southeast Asia. Nazerushi, which is fermented fish wrapped in sour rice emerged from the Mekong River before it reached China, then Japan.
- Sushi is an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids, which is great for heart health. Iodine from the Seaweed wrap boosts thyroid health and the Vitamin A maintains healthy skin.
- You can either use chopsticks or your hands to eat sushi. Chopsticks are great and fun too but your hands will suffice.
- In 8th-century Japan, sushi was considered so valuable that it was used as a form of currency.
- The pickled ginger and wasabi (more on these later) served with your sushi are palate cleansers and are not to be eaten with your sushi.
My Ocean Basket Experience
The Ambiance
First off, let’s briefly talk about the ambiance and decor.
The white tables and chairs reminded me of the white sandy beaches in Diani. The restaurant has both an interior and exterior area to sit at, so you can choose either according to your preference.
The interior is well-lit with dainty light bulbs hanging from the ceiling. The exterior, where we chose to sit, had a cool breeze and we enjoyed the warm late afternoon sun. I honestly felt as though I was back in Diani Beach as I was earlier this year.
The Food & Drinks
Once you sit at your table, you will have a waiter/waitress immediately approach you with the menu, ready to serve you. I will also mention that the staff was quick, professional and kind.
Now, back to the food. First, you will get a basket of freshly baked bread (so fancy!), butter, and a selection of three spreads you can put on the bread as your appetizer. The white sauce on the bottom left, which was so delicious with the bread, is garlic sauce, the one next to it is crushed garlic in olive oil, and the green one above is green chili.
For food, I had the Sweet Prawn Futomaki and Crunchy Athena. My cousin had Prawn Maki and Salmon California Rolls. We also had a plate or rather a pan of crunchy fish bites with fries and mussels. Each sushi meal comes with a side of soy sauce and chopsticks.
For the drink, we shared the 1 Litre Strawberry Mojito.
Sweet Prawn Futomaki
My favorite was the Sweet Prawn Futomaki. It was delicious. The freshness of the avocado and raw fish combined with the thick textured rice felt and tasted amazing in my mouth. I am so glad that my first sushi experience was this delightful and delicious.
I would rate this a 10/10, audaciously!
Crunchy Athena
I don’t remember much about this one. It was thick due to the rice, and crunchy due to the breadcrumbs at the top, and the raw fish flavor beautifully came through, enhanced by the soy sauce.
I would rate this 6/10.
Prawn Maki
Since it was my first sushi experience, my cousin was kind enough to let me have a taste of what she was having. Starting with the Prawn Maki. This one is quite thick, made with rice, and raw prawn. I would rate the sweet prawn futomaki better than this because of the avocado that balances the strong fish flavor with its freshness. This was nice, but a bit too fishy for me.
I would rate this 5/10.
Salmon California Rolls
Another item I sampled as part of my first sushi experience was the Salmon California rolls. These are made with rice, avocado, cucumber, seaweed, and raw smoked salmon on top. Considering there’s raw fish right on top of this one, the cucumber and avocado balanced out the flavor and it tasted quite nice.
As I write this, I realize that I love fresh flavors :).
For this, I’d rate it 7.5/10.
Crunchy Fish Bites and Fries
For my first sushi experience, we also had crunchy fish bites and fries. The crunchy fish bites were crunchy, flavourful, and yummy. The chips were also delicious.
If the thought of raw fish in your mouth scares you, then you could go for this meal.
I would give this one a 10/10.
Mussels
For my first sushi experience, this is probably the most unforgettable one, and not on a positive note, unfortunately. However, my opinion is based on personal taste and has nothing to do with the quality of the food.
The mussels came with crunchy fish bites and fries, and we had three mussels in total.
I’ll be frank, I did not like this one at all. The accompanying sauce was delicious, but the mussel itself was not, at least for me.
2/10 for this one. The two is because the sauce was delicious.
Wasabi & Pickled Ginger
At the bottom right of my plate, there is a green paste and something pink on top. The green paste is wasabi and the pink thing is pickled ginger. These accompaniments are known as palate cleansers. Your palate is the sense of taste or your preference for certain tastes. For you to ensure that you get to fully taste each sushi item, you need to cleanse your palate.
Practically, if I want to taste the Sweet Prawn Futomaki and Salmon California roll, I will have a bite of the Sweet Prawn Futomaki, have a little bit of wasabi or pickled ginger, and then have the Salmon California roll. This way, the flavors of the two items won’t interfere with each other in your mouth because your palate has been cleansed.
Warning, the Wasabi is verryyyy spicy, so just have a tiny bit. Trust me, I’ve learned hehe.
In conclusion, my first sushi experience at Ocean Basket was phenomenal. The thought of raw fish in my mouth was once scary and foreign, but I would gladly try this again. Sushi is delicious, filling, and healthy! I recommend you take the leap and try.
I would also give flowers to the restaurant itself. The decor and ambiance are well-thought-out, the location is convenient and easy to find, and I truly appreciate them bringing seafood cuisine to the heart of Nairobi. I don’t have to travel all the way to the coast to enjoy delicacies from the sea, so that’s something to appreciate.
I would also mention that the prices are pretty decent, considering the quality of food and service you’ll get. For example, my meal was under the sea and reef combination for 850ksh only.
Please find the link to the lunchbox menu here and head on over to my YouTube Shorts to watch the mini vlog of our experience.
Please remember to like and share this post on your socials. I am still working on creating an email subscriber list so that you can be notified anytime I post and receive my monthly newsletter full of goodies. But for now, please like, share, and leave a comment if sushi is something you’d like to try and if my post has inspired you to do so ;).
Till next time,
Xoxo,
Miss Kambe.
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