Omnomnomnivore Adventures: Standing Sushi Bar

Written by Stefanie Yeo


Japan may be known as the land of the rising sun, but us greedy foodies also commonly refer the country as the land of sushi, sashimi, soba, and all sorts of absolutely delicious food that will fill your belly and warm your heart. On my maiden voyage to Japan, I’m determined to try as many scrumptious treats as humanely possible!

One does not go to Japan and not eat sushi - and if you’re looking for affordable sushi, you’ve come to the right place. In the debut of our Omnomnomnivore Adventures, we tell you why the Standing Sushi Bar is one of your best bets.

Photo by: Bryan Chua

A franchise of restaurants available all over Tokyo, the Standing Sushi Bar has a unique concept, which makes it a great option for people who simply want to eat quality, affordable sushi. It has outlets in many places, including Shibuya, Shinjuku, Ikebukuro and Asakusa.

As the name implies, you eat the sushi while standing at the counter. You enter the restaurant, settle yourself at the nearest available spot, and place your orders with the chef. You actually get to feast your eyes on the sushi being handmade right in front of you, with the skillful sushi chefs wielding their blades, meticulously crafting your delicious meal.

Our sushi chef hard at work

Photo by: Bryan Chua

I ate at the Standing Sushi Bar outlet in Shinjuku, located at 1-12 Nishi-Shinjuku, last Sunday evening. I arrived at around 6.15pm, and while there was a queue outside the restaurant, I was standing at the counter within ten minutes. That’s the magic behind excluding stools at the bar – you just step in, eat up, and get going!

Getting your food is very simple. Just order what you want, and you can keep ordering until you're sated!

from left to right: yaki-salmon mayo, samon, and oo-toro

Photo by: Stefanie Yeo

I ordered three basic kinds of sushi: samon (salmon), yaki-salmon mayo (broiled salmon with mayonnaise), and the utterly sensational oo-toro (fatty tuna belly). The fish were so fresh and the rice was cooked to absolute perfection with a consistent, sticky texture. A note of caution though: if you fear wasabi, let the chef know before he begins preparing your food, as each piece of sushi has a thin layer of wasabi nestled atop the rice, under the raw fish.

Samon (salmon) sushi

Photo by: Stefanie Yeo

The salmon sushi had a very subtle flavour, a great way to start the meal- especially when eaten with soya sauce and washed down with hot green tea. The yaki-salmon-mayo, essentially broiled salmon sushi with mayonnaise, has a slightly charred taste, which complements the salmon and mayonnaise.

Watching the chef broil your sushi with a blowtorch is incredibly exciting, and popping the piece of sushi into your mouth immediately after can only be described as an explosion of flavours in your mouth.

This method of broiling the sushi is known as ‘Aburi’, which refers to grilling the topside of the fish, leaving the rest raw. ‘Aburi’ is only available for certain kinds of sushi, and it is definitely worth eating- the combination of partially cooked fish, rice, and creamy mayonnaise is absolutely to die for.

Yaki-salmon mayo sushi

Photo by: Stefanie Yeo

Our sushi chef broiling salmon

Photo by: Bryan Chua

My personal favourite was the oo-toro sushi. The tuna belly had enough fat to provide a delicious, flavourful taste. The combination of meat and fat exuded an exquisite taste – the tuna was silky, and my taste buds were screaming for joy when I ate the oo-toro sushi.

My personal favourite – oo-toro  (fatty tuna belly) sushi

Photo by: Stefanie Yeo

The food at the Standing Sushi Bar is delicious, and they have a wide variety of sushi, ranging from the simple tamago (egg) sushi to sushi topped with creamy sea urchin. They also sell hand-rolled sushi with a variety of fillings, from pickled vegetables to salmon roe.

Did I mention the Standing Sushi Bar is value for money?! Each menu item comes in pairs, and most of the sushi cost ¥150 for the two pieces. That works out to ¥75 for one piece of sushi – equivalent to SGD$0.90.

The most expensive sushi, namely my delightful oo-toro sushi and the sea urchin sushi, cost about ¥350 per piece- about SGD $4.20. Overall, I spent about ¥1000 on my sushi- talk about affordability!

The staff at the Standing Sushi Bar is also very friendly, and their service is top-notch. Immediately after a customer leaves, they would immediately wipe down the section of the counter to prepare it for the next.

The sushi chef who handled my meal was a very jovial man, pleasant and quite obviously proud of his job. The smiles on the faces of the staff as they interacted with their patrons made me feel warm on the inside, and I’m fairly certain it was not the work of the wasabi.

On the whole, I had a wonderful experience at the Standing Sushi Bar, and it is one of the few ‘cold food’ places that I will return to time and again. The combination of good, affordable food, great service and convenient locations earns the Standing Sushi Bar a five-star rating from this happy Omnomnomnivore!

An English Education in Japan: Waseda University

Written by Stefanie Yeo

A statue of Waseda University’s founder, Mr Shigenobu Okuma.

Photo by Bryan Chua

Arriving at Waseda University on Tuesday morning, we were greeted by a lovely vision – cherry blossoms blooming. After our harrowing experience on the train during the peak hour ride, which included getting lost, separated, and squashed like sardines, the lovely sakura flowers were a welcome sight.

Cherry blossoms blooming in Waseda.

Photo by Bryan Chua

Waseda was our first stop on the third day of our great adventure in Tokyo. Personally, I feel that the town of Waseda is similar to Oxford and Cambridge, in the sense that the entire town is the University.

Waseda has several campuses located within the town, much like how the universities of Oxford and Cambridge have various small colleges within their universities. When I visited Oxford and Cambridge in 2011, I felt that they were serene and scholarly – similar to that of Waseda, with university towns teeming with convenience stores, bookshops and food of all sorts available at every corner.

Our first stop at Waseda University’s main campus was the Okuma Auditorium. The Okuma Auditorium was built to commemorate the institution’s founder, Mr Shigenobu Okuma, who was the 8^th and 17^th Prime Minister of Japan. We learnt that Waseda University was founded in retaliation, so to speak, of the elitist upper-class mentality that was held by other universities during the Meiji era.

We also found out that unlike Meiji University, which has its famous Akamon (“Red Gate”), Waseda University has no such gate. This is to symbolize the fact that Waseda University is open to everyone, regardless of social status or family background.

 FMS Tokyo Trip 2014 at Okuma Auditorium with FMS alumni Lee Xian Jie and Jeremy Boo.

Photo by Craig McTurk

After visiting the auditorium, we attended a presentation conducted by Waseda University on their English-language Degree Programmes. Despite being a Japanese university, Waseda offers undergraduate degree programs in English. One does not necessarily need to be able to communicate in Japanese to enrol in these courses – language is not a barrier to receiving an education at Waseda University.

That was something I personally found very interesting. Honestly, I would never have expected a Japanese University to have degree programmes conducted entirely in English, so this particular bit of information was intriguing.

Studying in Japan was also something that never crossed my mind, seeing as the number of Japanese words and phrases I know can be counted using the fingers on one hand. The fact that such a programme exists shows that Waseda University is truly opening its doors to students from all over the world, and diversifying its student population. This is great, as students will gain fresh perspectives from interacting with others from all over the globe.

After learning more about the English-language degree programmes, Waseda University is now on my list of potential universities. Even if I do not enrol in Waseda, I would not mind spending a semester, or maybe even a year, in Waseda University as part of an exchange programme.  

In my opinion, Waseda is making a step in the right direction by offering the English-language degree programme for foreign students - our world is becoming an increasingly interconnected and globalized one, and this is an example of how universities are adapting to our ever-changing world. 

I’ll be sharing more on the English-language degree programmes at Waseda University, particularly the School of Political Science and Economics’ EDESSA, at a later date. What does EDESSA stand for? Stay tuned to find out!