“The soft and succulent cubes of meat in sweet teriyaki sauce rested on a bed of white rice, the sauce drizzled over the rice gave it a subtle sweetness…” Shir Kidan informs Givatiam residents that they no longer need Tel Aviv – not when Nori Sushi is just around the corner.
What does a couple that wants to work together do? And what if one half of the couple loves sushi and his dream for longer than he can remember has been to open a sushi restaurant? And what if his wife just happens to have experience in restaurant management? Well, they open a restaurant together of course. In the beginning, the idea was actually to open a spot for deliveries only – but dreams are one thing – and bureaucracy is another thing altogether. So, the idea changed from deliveries to a restaurant that also delivers – and to tell you the truth, this little warm and lovely spot also has the potential to be a great bar too.
My friend and I decided to spend an evening at Nori Sushi in Givataim. As soon as we were seated a small plate of pickled salad was placed on our table for munching. The pickled cucumbers, radishes, lemons, red pepper and carrots all had a sour-salty taste. The strong taste got the flavour receptors in our mouths going, reading them for the meal about to come. Oh, and the pickles are also really tasty.
As an appetizer, my vegetarian friend ordered the excellent mushroom yakitori, fried mushrooms with a crispy coating served on two small skewers together with cherry tomatoes and very thin and crisp slices of sweet potato fries and Thai sweet chili sauce on the side. My friend was so pleased she could have ended the meal right then and there. Sometimes one perfect dish is enough to make the meal a dizzying success, and everything meant to come afterwards, no matter how good it is, will only spoil it. The dish looked so good that I couldn’t resist stealing a bite and then another until I had to force myself to stop. With the sweet potato chips I was a little less diplomatic. I had ordered the salmon and tuna tataki – seared medallions of salmon and tuna on a bed of wakame seaweed. The first thing I noticed was that, though seared, the medallions were cold…but in an exceedingly appealing way. The delicate saltiness placed the finishing touch on their chilliness and the cold and tasty dish perfectly suited the warm evening.
The sliced sirloin I ordered for a main dish even appealed to my vegetarian friend and she stared to collect all the vegetables that hadn’t touched the meat. The soft and succulent cubes of meat in sweet teriyaki sauce rested on a bed of white rice, the sauce drizzled over the rice gave it a subtle sweetness. My friend ordered the large sushi combination, thinking that she’d have to share it with me anyway. Though she tried to convince me that my sirloin was certainly big enough I insisted on ensuring the quality of the sweet potato tempura, tamago, campio and scallion roll. Lucky for me the salmon, avocado, campio and sweet potato tempura roll was left just for me – thank god for vegetarians.
For dessert, restaurant owner Alon surprised us with a special egg roll. A sweet egg roll filled with soft cooked and oh-so-sweet banana. We dug into the crisp egg roll crust and happily enjoyed the banana filling.
It seems to me, Givataim residents, that when the sushi mood strikes, a trip to Tel Aviv is no longer required!
Nori Sushi
30 Rambam, Givataim
Tel: 03-7315721
