Haiku

No, I am not going to try to write a Haiku for you (although my 6th grade Haiku writing skills aren't too shabby) Today, I went out to lunch with some colleagues to a "trendy" sushi restaurant called Haiku. As I prepare to go to Japan in December, I have been going through a Japanese food kick, to try to find good Japanese food in Shanghai to try to have something to compare to the real stuff in Japan. Actually, even though proximity wise, we are much closer to Japan then in the US, the Japanese food is not that great here, so I have really yet to find a place that I tell people that they need to try when they are in town. This place serves both the legit sushi and sashimi that are for the die hard Japanese food people, and they also serve American style sushi rolls (you know, the kind with cream cheese and all the stuff inside of it). I had read and heard a lot of good comments on it and to be honest, the place didn't disappoint. It will probably run between $15-$20USD per person (luckily I didn't have to flip the bill on this one), but if you want some good quality seafood in your sushi, then you will have to pay that kind of price here in Shanghai. It was by far the best sushi I have had in Shanghai, but not the best I have had in my life (that goes to a little place in old town Alexandria, VA). The rolls were right on tap with those that you can get in the US, and the raw fish on the legit sushi tasted fresh and was well prepared (or as prepared as raw fish can get). Actually, I think I am becoming less of a rolls type of guy because there is usually so much stuff on them that they mask the flavor of the fish (yes I realize that is the point of them in the US as many places don't have the best quality fish, so they just mask the quality of the fish by adding a bunch of stuff like avocado, cream cheese and sauces). Anyway, this place is a good start on my adventure to find Japanese food in Shanghai to compare against the real stuff in a couple of months.