(Shanghai Star )
Updated: 2006-08-21 11:37

With a history of at least 1,000 years, sushi has now spread across the world to become the best known type of Japanese food, representing a distinctive culinary culture integrating tradition and modernity. It became readily accessible to consumers in Shanghai -- and even more widely popular than before -- after the advent of conveyor belt sushi outlets in the city. But despite the dozens of Japanese eateries recently opened in the local market, restaurants exclusively featuring first-rate sushi are still quite rare at present.

The Pudong Shangri-La's Nadaman sushi bar considers itself one of these few. The bar is located on the ground floor of the Shangri-La's new tower, decorated in a simply exquisite style, with a very high ceiling. A long bar table where two chefs make the sushi runs parallel to a row of dining tables and sofas in the dining hall. The room is not especially big -- with the capacity to host 35 diners at most.

However, the confined space combines with the bright wooden furniture to create a cozy ambience. During my most recent visit to the bar, I enjoyed both the sunshine pouring through the huge glass window and the beautifully presented Japanese delicacies on offer.

I chose a lunch set called "Fuji" (160 yuan, US$20), consisting of an appetizer, steamed egg curd, hot udon noodles and assorted sushi -- including Norimaki and Nigiri. Norimaki is sushi rice, seafood and vegetables rolled in dried seaweed sheets and Nigiri refers to oval shaped sushi topped with raw fish.

Nigiri is commonly regarded as the most representative type of Japanese sushi as it is a good combination of rice and fish. During the dinner, I sampled several different kinds of Nigiri, topped with salmon, tuna, salmon roe and other kinds of fillets, all with a very fresh taste. When you chew these delicacies, the tender fish and the vinegared rice mix well enough to engender an amazing flavour which immediately delights all your taste buds.

According to Koji Hayashi, chief sushi chef at the sushi bar, what distinguishes first rate sushi from more common varieties is -- first of all -- the freshness of the fish and then communication between chefs and diners.

"At a conveyor belt sushi outlet, chefs are usually busy making sushi and have no time to talk with diners. But the situation is different in a refined sushi bar," he said.

Good sushi also requires properly cooked rice. Koji said the rice used for making sushi should not be too sticky. "Rolling and folding" the rice also requires special techniques and skills.

"The chef should finish making a sushi in few seconds to ensure its freshness. During the preparation, they should leave a small hollow in the centre of the rice roll, to make it a bit softer to eat," he said.

Another dish worth recommendation is the steamed egg curd, which included gingko nuts, eel fillets and mushroom inside. In addition, the steamed egg was topped with a kind of ginger sauce that tasted especially delicious and appetizing, giving the dish its distinctiveness.

Nadaman sushi bar
Location: 1F, Shangri-La Hotel, No.33, Fuchenglu, Pudong
Tel: 021-68828888