lessons learned the hard way: no matcha ice cream mochi for me @ Tsuru Sushi, Bankside

I learned two very important lessons this weekend. I learned the hard way that one should never assume anything and that on a more minor scale, one should always seek information from others, because one (and this one in particular) is not always the cleverest bean in the pot.

And these lessons were learned through great sacrifice, the greatest of all in fact. Because I assumed something and also because I didn’t think to ask anyone else whether I was correct (because hells yes I am always correct *coughcough*) I was denied my favourite of all desserts – I missed out on matcha ice cream mochi at Tsuru Sushi last Friday evening… *GAH*

I’d heard some awesome things about Tsuru Sushi and had been looking forward to having dinner there. I tweeted and emailed all of Friday to anyone who cared about my impending visit and received with much glee enthusiastic responses from people who’d been. Dishes were suggested to me and to be honest I don’t remember any of them except that several people recommended I had the matcha ice cream mochi.

Well honey, you had me at matcha.

Tsuru Sushi have two trendily named branches – Bishopsgate (by Liverpool Street Station) and Bankside (in Southwark) – and because I’m a noob, I assumed that both branches were the same in that they would at least serve the same food. Mistake number one: assumptions.

I didn’t tell anyone which branch I was going to. I didn’t think it mattered. But apparently it did because I went to Bankside and y’all, Bankside does not serve matcha ice cream mochi. Mistake number two: lack of information sharing.

So it was all my fault, really. Why I didn’t tell the good people of the interwebz that I was planning on going to Bankside I don’t know. Because once I did mention it, everyone jumped, aghast at my choice of venue because everyone seemed to know there was no matcha ice cream mochi there except for me.

I died a little bit when I found out.

Anyway, after mourning myself, I contained my grief and managed to peruse the menu. There’s an abundance of deliciousness laid out across Tsuru’s one page menu and soon my yearning for matcha ice cream mochi was gone. But certainly not forgotten.

We ordered a platter of sashimi moriawase to start, followed by a handful of small dishes. The sashimi was much of a freshness, glistening and colourful for about half a second until I popped it into my food hole. Fresh, crisp, sweet, perfect. Can’t really describe it any other way.

We ordered five other small dishes, the best sounding one being seared scallops, tiger prawns and asparagus in garlic butter. Sounds good doesn’t it? Sadly it was our least favourite dish of the night, the scallops and prawns were terribly overcooked.

Everything else was excellent though – nasu dengaku and agedashi tofu are all time favourite dishes of mine, the chicken yakitori was tender and tasty and the chicken kara-age… well, it’s fried chicken. In any language I’m pretty sure fried chicken = {heart}.

As I neared the end of the savoury feast, my tummy started to yearn once again for the matcha ice cream mochi. Ah, the ache of forbidden love. Well ok not so much forbidden as I just went to the wrong damn branch. The hole in my heart was somewhat sealed with a serve of brownie with matcha ice cream, but y’know, it’s just not the same.

Despite this lack of perception on my part, Tsuru Sushi impressed me enough that I’m heading back Bishopsgate way in a couple of weeks and hotdamn they’d better put a serve of matcha ice cream mochi aside for me.

Hell hath no fury like catty without her matcha.

Tsuru Sushi
4 Canvey Street
Southwark, SE1 9AN
0207 928 2228
website