Located on the corner of Altab Ali Park where the old church was, is East London’s new edition to temp halal conscious customers. A big sign stating “Halal Meat” was all I needed! I didn’t have much of an expectation, no one had mentioned or recommended the place to us yet.
As you enter you will be pleasantly surprised by the décor, the floor plan consists of 3 levels. A mezzanine floor seating area, ground floor and upper floor. Natural wood tables with clean and polished finishes everywhere. Our table faced the Sushi bar where behind the backdrop of Bonzi trees you can see the chef and his assistant meticulously prepping fresh Sushi dishes.
The menu looked interesting and exotic; there was eel and yellow tail sushi with Wasabi! For starters I opted for the Maguro Noyuke, Tuna and vegetable and chopped quail’s egg with spicy soy sauce. My wife went for the Koika Sichimi Age, baby squid with chilli pepper. The starters arrived ten minutes or so after, giving us time to admire the setting and watch the master Sushi chef at work.
The food smelt great and the presentation was not too bad. The waitress brought the essential chilli sauce over; at first bite the tuna dish was the one for me. My hopes on the main dishes where now rising, the dish consisted of chopped raw tuna with finely chopped avocado, pine nuts and quail eggs. A little chili sauce mix took the taste buds to another level. The Mrs knew we were on to a winner here. I tucked into her baby squids, lightly battered with salt and chilli. The last time we had good Japanese was when we were in Malaysia, if the mains didn’t fail me now this may end up on my top 10.
The restaurant manager came by top up our glasses of sparkling water. The customer service was excellent; every customer that left the restaurant would get a farewell from the head sushi chef across the floor. There was attention to detail that was very much appreciated. The manager asked how the food was, we enquired about their halal suppliers and how they were doing. She confirmed their certificate of halal meat and the split kitchen setup. They do serve alcohol and pork for those concerned, the manager went on to assure us of the care taken to prevent cross contamination.
I ordered the Gyu Teriyaki, Beef Teriyaki on an iron plate and the Mrs ordered the Gindara saikyoyaki, Marinated Black Cod with Miso. The mains arrived just as we finished the starters, perfect timing! The beef dish came on an iron plate sitting on bean sprouts with a side of rice. With my chops sticks I examined the meat, cooked to medium well and succulent. We stopped talking to each other and got busy with the amazing food we had discovered. The black cod was equally delicious; the crispy skin was a treat.
I could go on about Shushino En, a fantastic restaurant on our door steps. I can’t wait to try everything on the menu; we plan to come by for the lunch time special Bento box which is reasonably priced at £5.99.
A meal for two will set you back approximately £50, a little pricey but for the quality and the smile it will leave you after a belly full of their grub will most certainly be worth it.