Sashimi on Rice and Everything Nice at Tsukiji Uni Donburi
Sushi restaurants in Sanlitun are nothing new, so newcomers had better bring something unique to the table, so to speak. That pressure to outperform is doubled when you set up shop right next door to an established sushi and sashimi joint. For Tsukiji Uni Donburi, their selling point is loaded sashimi rice bowls.
Its neighbor Qijing is already well-rated for its large plates of sashimi, sushi, and a few other less commonly seen Japanese seafood items. But all of that is dinner fare, and while it is open late, Tsukiji apparently hopes to lure in the lunch crowds with a menu that focuses on the popular Japanese lunch (and even breakfast) option of uni donburi – sea urchin roe on top of rice – or kaisendon – sashimi over rice.
Given the luxurious ingredients at play, these hulking bowls of urchin roe and raw fish, as you can imagine, do not make for the most affordable lunches. Bowls here start north of RMB 120, but they certainly don’t skimp on the goods by filling one side with veggies as some home recipes would recommend.
The menu allows you to go all-out with just a single topping per bowl – salmon, tuna, or urchin roe – or, if you're unsatisfied sticking to one, a seafood sampler with four different types of fish, a generous heaping of roe, and crowned with a prawn. The fish was excellent – fresh, tasty, and as we said, very generously portioned.
Some might prefer a simpler (and slightly less pricy at RMB 88) meals like eel on rice, but when you’re going out for seafood lunch, why not dive in? A side of tender wasabi octopus (RMB 28) will really clear the sinuses, while the tempura prawns are battered to perfection (RMB 58).
Complete with a small sake and cocktail bar, Tsukiji stands to impress your noontime dining partners whether it's with a full spread of beautifully prepared seafood or simply by virtue of the fact that you know where to find a good bowl of kaisendon.
Tsukiji Uni Donburi
3/F (next to Qijing Sushi), Bldg 2, Sanlitun Soho, Chaoyang District
築地海胆丼：朝阳区三里屯SOHO2号商场三层（鮨鲸旁边）
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Images: Joey Knotts
