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For just 3 days, Sushi Express is having its $1++/ plate promo at Waterway Point to celebrate the opening of its new outlet. We popped by today: it’s the second day of the promo. And if I have to sum up the experience in 1 sentence, it would be: Fresh ingredients, long wait, self-service but you have to pay service charge. I really don’t mind the long wait as long as the ingredients are fresh ‘cos good things are (usually) worth the wait, no? But to pay service charge in a self-serve restaurant? That’s plain weird. My very pleasant other half says “you pay for the greeting when you step into the shop?”. Erm… ok. Sumimasen!
There were about 20 people ahead of us in the queue when we came by before the store opened at 11am. They let us all in ahead of time probably ‘cos they figured more people would be arriving soon. And they were right. When we settled the bill at 11.23am, there were about 40 people queuing outside. Wow. Is Japanese food that popular in Punggol? Interesting how so many people seem to come out of the woodwork when there is a promotion at Waterway Point. (And btw, I think the mall is doing fantastically well. A new PrimaDeli outlet has even sprouted up in a place I didn’t think was a retail space as it was between a couple of pillars.)
Anyway, Sushi Express gave us a 30-minute time limit:
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A little stressful when you know the clock’s ticking but the conveyor belt is empty…
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When we DID get to eat some sushi (all of 12 plates shared between the 2 of us), we found the ingredients really fresh. The unagi was good. So were the maki. And I got to eat a couple of plates of salmon sashimi. So I’m good.
It was pretty obvious to us that they were trying to cram as many diners as possible into that small space. Towards the back of the restaurant, as many as 4 to 5 people didn’t have the condiments and chopsticks in front of them. You’d have to ask the people next to you to pass some over. And you’re seated almost elbow to elbow.
I’m guessing this outlet will do well, as compared to the previous Japanese restaurant that vacated this same space. I suspect the earlier one left because the space was too small for them to turn a decent profit. If you don’t have enough tables during peak mealtimes, and you don’t see many customers during off-peak hours, it’d be tough to sustain the business. But at Sushi Express, people eat fast and they leave rather quickly too. So… good strategy.
They gave us these stickers too, presumably for ezlink cards:
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So smart. Each time we use the cards, we’ll think about Sushi Express. Image may be NSFW.
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Sushi Express is located at #01-25 of Waterway Point (East Wing)
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