I love my family to bits. Not only did they agree to go back to Tsukiji Market for another round of sushi breakfast, they queued in the freaking cold weather for 2 hours with me! Waking up so early and wasting 2 hours of their vacation time tweedling their thumbs doing nothing. And they are not even foodies, haha. I’m such a lucky girl 😀
Here’s the legendary queue outside Sushi Dai bright and early in the morning at 6.50am. And that’s not all..
Cuz there’s so many people, the queue was extended to the side of the building! While there’s virtually no queue outside Sushi Daiwa and Sushi Bun (I went to kaypoh and checked, hee). Unbelievable~
While waiting, a Japanese lady came out to take our orders. 2 omakase and 2 jyou, please. The omakase costs ¥3,900 (approximately S$61) and comes with 11 pieces of nigiri sushi, sushi rolls and tamago; jyou is the standard meal with 7 pieces of nigiri sushi, sushi rolls and tamago for ¥2,500 (approximately S$39).
Time check: 9 am. Finally, we are in!!! Woohoo~
Like Daiwa and Bun, the restaurant is extremely small and squeezy. But it’s ok, we are there for the food, not for the ambience or setting. Let the meal show begin!
Otoro, the most valued sushi ingredient.
Ika (squid).
I can’t match the names of the fish to all the photos cuz there’s just too many and all I wanted to do is eat. But I do remember that we had some delicious sea bass, yellowtail, flounder, sardine etc etc.
So fresh and bloody!
Weird looking shellfish.
Fabulously creamy uni (sea urchin).
Aji (horse mackerel).
The reddest maguro (tuna) I’ve ever seen.
Baby shrimp. So sweet!
Big and fatty tuna rolls.
My favourite anago (sea eel)!
One more anago ❤
Thick and fluffy tamago, best when served warm!
For the last piece, we were handed a list of sushi and told to choose one (only for omakase). It was a very tough decision!! Anago? Otoro? In the end, we had the buttery uni (after much analysis, haha) before finally putting down the chopsticks 😦
Happy and full, with our super friendly chef!
So, what’s the verdict? Is Sushi Dai worth the 2 hours’ wait??
Hmm, I’ll have to say no, sadly. Don’t get me wrong, I had a wonderful meal there and the chef is the friendliest out of the 3 sushi restaurants I went. This was also the least rushed meal and photography is allowed, yay!
But in terms of quality, it’s comparable to Daiwa and Bun. So if you just want good sushi and delayed gratification is not your thing, I’m sure other sushi restaurants at Tsukiji can satisfy as well 🙂
I think out of the 3 places you mentioned, Sushi Dai is probably the most worth it. I would go back to it again but the thought of that long queue just makes me want to try the others. Too much time wasted queuing that I can spend exploring Tsukiji.
Exactly! If not for the long queue, I’d make Dai my regular sushi place.. If only they are not so popular haha.
The most important is, you know how lucky you are to have such supportive family~
Like how you share your foodie experience! Although I can’t really remember what names belongs to who in the end =)
just out of curiosity, is that all a complete meal? can we just order sashimi there? and the ala carte menu?
I will be coming there. aahh and I cant waiitt!!!. drooling the whole day
Hi anteos!
Like I mentioned, there’s set menus (omakase or jyou) available. There is also an ala carte menu and each sushi is priced between ¥300 to ¥700. Not sure whether you can order sashimi since this is a sushi restaurant. You can try your luck though, since the service is really great!
Oh ya, why not go for the omakase? You can share it with your partner if it’s too much. And the quality is the best! Trust me, you won’t regret it.
Have a delicious trip in Tokyo!! 🙂
I would waint hours in line to try out this restaurant. The sushi looks great!
Would you recommend going for Dai Sushi for a first-time-to-Japan sushi-lover who only has 4 days available to spend in Tokyo? I’m OK with queue’ing 2hours, but just can’t help feeling that those 2 hours could be better spent seeing other sights in the city.
Hi there! Yup, I’d definitely vote for going. It’s a fab experience; moreover, I read that Tsukiji market may be closing/relocating soon so why not give it a try before it’s gone? : ) And going there won’t even make a dent in your travel itinerary. If I’m you, I’ll head there at about 6+ in the morning, queue, makan and then go do the usual sightseeing. Great breakfast for the day ahead and no one goes sightseeing at 6am anyway so you won’t be missing anything. In fact, you put those 2 hours to better use than sleeping it away : ) Just my 2 cents worth. Happy holidays in Tokyo! I love that place.