Nishiki Sushi - Campsie, NSW

How is it that $35 buys you so much happiness? That's what I was wondering the whole time I was having dinner at Nishiki. There is nothing that gives me more elation than to know that I have the option to gorge on as many of my favorite morsels as I can and not have to pay exorbitant amounts of money. Does happiness equal sushi? In my case, it certainly does.

Recently, the family has been seeing ads in the Chinese papers informing us that new sushi buffet has opened in Campsie. We were feeling particularly in the mood for sushi so we decided to drive out and try it out for dinner. Being located on the main road means that parking is a bit of an issue so don't hesitate to duck into one of the side streets, it really isn't that much of a walk.

Strategically speaking, you should always try and position yourself as close to the chef as possible. Unfortunately for us, being that those spaces were already occupied, we chose to sit at the seats closest to the door as we were particularly famished. In truth, this really wasn't much of a detriment (in fact, kinda became a benefit) because you have the option of ordering as many items as you'd like from the staff. Being so close to the front counter meant that we were always quick to be attended to.

I'll be very honest, we didn't expect very much from Nishiki...mostly because we've been scorned by so many sushi buffets on offer however, in my case, I was rather pleasantly surprised when I found the quality of the sushi to be better-than-decent. The neta (sliced fish) tasted relatively fresh and the rice really wasn't that bad. I also quite enjoyed the selection they had on offer as it did focus more on the nigiri than the rolls. I do have to say that I was slightly disappointed with the kingfish belly. I found the fish to be a bit on the thicker side and the skin wasn't cut as thinly as I'd have liked it to be which made it slightly harder to chew. 

Aside from various pieces of nigiri and maki available, they also provided small slips of paper which allowed you to order hot food by the piece. Being that my absolute favorite fried oysters were on offer, I'm really surprised I didn't go crazy with my ordering. If you're not a big fan of sushi, I guess you could stick to the fried foods (they also had self-service miso soup on offer) but I'd suggest only ordering a bunch of the stuff you really wanted. The karaage was missing it's starchy crunch but all else was great. The fried oysters came out piping hot and every bite yielded a perfectly crunchy exterior and briny, creamy interior.

As you must have gathered, I had actually walked into Nishiki a skeptic but I definitely came out a convinced and satisfied man. I got my month's worth of sushi in one sitting (mum and the sister needed to join plates to catch up to my pile) and I didn't feel nearly as full or as pressured than when I went for the annual sushi challenge at another unnamed sushi purveyor (one of my proudest moments, 24/25 plates). Nishiki is definitely worth the return, if not for the decently delectable sushi, than for the value for money you get out of the experience.