GuruGuru Sushi

In a bid to satiate our never-ending cravings for Japanese cuisine, my friends and I stumbled into this quaint beauty of an eatery located in Banani. We straightaway opted for their bento boxes, which were available in four categories— chicken bento, GuruGuru bento, seafood bento, and surf and turf bento, with the icing on the top being the buy-3-get-1-free offer going on at that time.

We kick started our meal with the ultra-lightness of the steaming Miso soup, which combined with the juiciness of the little pieces of tofu that were a part of it, came as a respite from the typical thick concoctions of chicken corn/tom yam soups that I usually have.

The Sunomono salad, which was basically strings of cucumber topped with what could be viewed as sesame seeds left a poor aftertaste, utterly failing to live up to its exotic name.

Now let me throw some light on the assortment of sushi. The spicy tuna, which appeared to be assembled with more than a generous portion of what tasted like fresh off the can tuna, seemed a bit too piquant for my taste. The salmon nigiri is not for the faint hearted, as the fish in all its rawness can put you off with even a tiny bite. The subtle burst of flavours, coupled with teriyaki sauce, made the California sushi and crabstick mokimono sushi, mouth-watering delights; four pieces of heaven reigning supreme over the entire bento box, which left me desiring for more. The GuruGuru special salmon sushi appealed greatly to our sushi obsessed palates.

The prawn tempura in all its glory of crispiness and tenderness, coupled with a dash of wasabi sauce, also lived up to the reputation of its sushi counterparts.

The same, however, cannot be said about the vegetable tempura, in which a thin slice of pumpkin coated in layers of batter failed to please our taste buds. The near about cooked to perfection that I experienced in the chicken teriyaki helped greatly to compensate for the blandness of the fried rice whose quality felt like those found in mediocre restaurants. Moreover, the beef and the fish teriyaki also worked wonders for the meal.

The top to bottom glass windows on two sides offered amazing views of the skyline, enhancing our dining experience, not to mention aptly reflecting the aspect of simple elegance transcending the decor of this place. They have an entire wall dedicated to a slew of paintings depicting streets of Japan, which I can assure will be great fodder for your Instagram feed.

A feature giving this place an edge over the rest is a rotating conveyor belt attached to an oval table which brings forth individually ordered plates of sushi. The surf and turf/seafood bento will set you back by Tk 1199, whereas the chicken bento was priced at Tk 800 all of which were exclusive of VAT and service charge.

I personally felt the prices rightfully justified the culmination of the quantities the bento box provided, which made your tummies full to the brim, the warm and the friendly service, plus the serene ambience, which is a rarity in restaurants these days.           

All in all, GuruGuru Sushi is the perfect place to spend quality time with your close ones, basking in the bliss of delectable food, beautiful environment and pure relaxation.

Photo: Collected