12.2.2019

SpaceTime: Tsing Tao, Turku, 12:30 lunch
Atmosphere: Lively but not too busy. Bright and open dining space with oriental details, green plants, big windows, oriental-looking counter, buffet table
Food: Chinese food and sushi buffet
Price: 9.70€

Thoughts: I entered Tsing Tao, lured by a promise of sushi. This place certainly draws in a crowd, being about half-full, despite a large-ish dining space.

I started with the sushi. The buffet table offers a wide variety to choose from, with traditional and more exotic fillings (such as the sausage-avocado one pictured below). The fish toppings were quite thin. The rice was not especially yummy. The soy sauce was served in a tiny bowl barely big enough to house a dipping. The salad was fresh and very typical.

Next, I sampled each of the several meaty sauces. I must say, these I enjoyed much more than the sushi. The meat was very succulent and seasoned nicely. The deep-fried chicken balls were crispy but not hard or dry. Some of the sauces were a bit spicy, but nothing to scare away a mild-food lover like myself.

If I was looking to consume (and enjoy) Chinese buffet food, I would definitely consider this place again. For sushi, I would rather go to Kawaii for a buffet, or Kauppahalli or Hanko Sushi for a more quality sushi experience. All in all, not bad!

30.1.2019

SpaceTime: Hanko Sushi, downtown Turku, 12pm lunch
Atmosphere: Stylish, modern, spot lights, big windows, peaceful piano music playing on speakers, black and white color theme
Food: Lunch offer sushi platter (medium), miso soup
Price: 13.50€

Thoughts: Hanko Sushi is a chain of restaurants around Finland, offering a variety of sushi as well as other Japanese foods. 

The interior of the restaurant in Hansakortteli offers around 25 customer seats and has a stylish modern design of black and white. My only gripe with the decor, are the lamps hanging over each table at rougly eye-level. They have this wireframe-style shader combined with a round bulb, that will create an irksome dazzle around your periphery as you're eating.

The platters they offer for lunch vary in size, from a small selection for under 10 euros, to a bigger one at over 16. The presentation of the food is not art, but it's certainly pleasant.

I thought the sushi and the miso soup were yummy. The ingredients seemed fresh and the rice was correctly cooked. I opted for the medium size platter (pictured below). It's not an awfully lot of food, so if you're looking to munch away until you almost burst, this may not be the establishment for you. Beyond that, definitely one of the better places to grab sushi in the city center.

28.1.2019

SpaceTime: Dragon Palace, Puutori, Turku, 1pm lunch
Atmosphere: Somewhat stylish, oriental, dim light, candles on tables, smooth jazz from speaker, constant Chinese chit-chat from the counter
Food: Sushi + chinese food buffet
Price: 9.90€

Thoughts: Dragon Palace seems like your typical Chinese joint. The style of decoration is consistent with my imagined stereotype, with dark wood, gold, decorated chairs, smiling Buddha statues, ceiling mirrors, fake marble etc.

The lunch offering is a sushi and Chinese food buffet, soup, coffee. Half of the offering is sushi and the other half has typical buffet foods such as deep-fried chicken balls, sweet-and-sour sauce, spring rolls, rice and a few sauces with chicken or beef with vegetables.

The food was tasty enough, although nothing I haven't seen in other buffets. The selection of foods was also quite small, and there was no salad buffet to speak of. Some of the choices for the sushi ingredients were also unusual, such as deep-fried onion ring halves, but generally traditional. The sushi was not the prettiest I have seen, but at least the rice was not raw.

I have trouble recommending this place, not because there's something wrong, but because there are several other restaurants offering a bit more for a similar price.

13.12.2018

Location: Sushi Panda, downtown Turku
Atmosphere: Modern black and white interior, large windows on busy street level, downtempo music
Food: Miso soup with salmon, sushi collection
Price: 10€

Thoughts: Miso soup was standard. Sushi was edible and looked delicious. Sushi rice was a bit raw which took away from the otherwise nice experience

10.12.2018

SpaceTime: Kawaii Sushi, downtown Turku, 1pm lunch

Atmosphere: Large dining hall, mostly empty, sushi buffet table near the back

Food: Sushi buffet

Price: 11,50€ 

Thoughts: The offerings are nice, you can eat your fill, price is reasonable.