Probably it was a coincidence, but I found this gem of a sushi eatery near Aldgate East tube station called SUSHINOEN. I was at the College for a study day nearby, and thought of grabbing a bite to eat with a nephew of mine who is currently doing a fine arts residency in the East End.

SUSHINOEN opens at 6PM and following a telephone query a few days prior, I was told I could just walk in if it was just a party of two. The reviews on their Facebook page have been pretty encouraging so I was pretty looking forward to try out their sushi.

The restaurant is a quaint redbrick (old ?church/chapel) nestled at the corner of White Church Lane going into Whitechapel High Street, next to Whitechapel Park. We were greeted by a member of their waiting staff slap bang at 6 PM and we were ushered to our table.

I wanted to have hot food actually, so the sushi was to be the appetiser. To my delight, they served ōtoro (the best fatty tuna cut known to man) so I ordered a pair, together with pairs[1] of tai (sea bream), suzuki (sea bass), meguro (tuna), hotate (scallop) and tobiko (flying fish roe).

The presentation was simple, and loved their nigiri’s neta-to-shari ratio of more than 1[2]. As per usual, the ōtoro was the first to be tried. Again, it won’t be fair to compare with that breakfast, but this was good. I didn’t ask where they get their tuna from (or if it’s the more controversial blue fin type which is aplenty over yonder) but I was pleasantly surprised. I’d prolly given them a 5 out of 5 just for that. The white fleshed neta were simply just as melt-in-your-mouth sublime, too. After the meguro and tobiko, I was tempted to order more, but we had our hot food to arrive, and I was rushed for time as I had a train to catch. I actually wanted unagi, but they told us that this wasn’t included in the halal menu. There you go, you didn’t know they had a halal option, did ya?

I ordered the gyu teriyaki, which was a slice of beef steak in teriyaki sauce on a hot plate, resting on *shock horror* taugeh. No biggie, as long as it was not mixed thoroughly with the bean sprouts. Phew. The beef was tender, and was done medium. For this, I ordered a bowl of rice, and despite the diminutive appearance of the chawan, it was a lot of rice. Which I didn’t mind, of course.

My nephew had the chicken katsu kare raisu, which was what I actually wanted to order, until I realised the halal menu also included beef. It was a pity that we only managed to stay for just over an hour, as I would have loved to order seco… I mean, their dorayaki with ice cream or ice cream mochi (I so miss the yukimi daifuku I had in Kyōto last time).

The food was great. The restaurant had great ambience. The waiting staff was friendly, nice and attentive. 5 out of 5, even though I had a rushed experience. Looking forward to come again at the end of next month!

SUSHINOEN
2 White Church Lane
Whitechapel
London E1 7QR
020 3645 6734

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[1]They also do sashimi versions of these neta, in threes.
[2]I am making this up. A ratio of >1 means the neta is bigger than the sushi rice.