RESTAURANT REVIEW: CHO GAO ABU DHABI

RATING

*****

So, here’s the thing: learning the art of sushi making has been on my to-do list for years! And I mean, YEARS. In fact, this may seem totally random, but ever since I watched that one episode on Sex and the City where Samantha prepares a crazy amount of sushi to surprise her boyfriend, and he never shows up - gasp! - I decided I wanted to learn how to make sushi myself. It never happened, though. Until now.

I was really excited when I received an invite to attend an exclusive sushi masterclass at Cho Gao, Crowne Plaza Abu Dhabi. I thought, yes! That’s it, no excuses. I will learn how to make sushi like a pro, and can finally check it off my list.

I was not disappointed. It was a wonderful experience from start to finish. Walking into the restaurant, we had a private area reserved for the masterclass, and were given our own personalized aprons with our names on them, which I thought was a beautiful gesture from the team. We were then introduced to Chef Areewan and her assistants, who explained to us what we were going to do before giving us a demonstration, which I must say, made it look easier than it actually turned out to be! 

Then it was our turn. We made the delicious Mamenori Roll, which I learned was a type of soybean paper used instead of the usual and more common seaweed sheet. The roll consisted of rice, shrimp tempura, crab stick, avocado and cucumber slices, drizzled with a teriyaki and Japanese mayonnaise caramelized sauce. Assembling the rice and the ingredients was straightforward, but the tricky part was learning how to roll the sushi using the bamboo mat. Even trickier, was cutting the sushi into equal rolls, but fortunately, with the help and guidance of the Chef and her assistants, I was able to get the hang of it pretty quickly. I must admit, I was quite impressed with myself and the end result.

But now that I know how to make sushi, I’m probably going to be expected to make it quite frequently at home! Might need to go buy me a sushi making kit, just in case. 

Luckily for you guys, the Mamenori roll is part of the Tokyo Street Festival at Cho Gao, held from 10 to 16 December. If you’re in town this weekend, then you still have time to check out this particular sushi roll and many more and try it out for yourselves.

Cho Gao Abu Dhabi won the Time Out Abu Dhabi 2017 Award for Best Asian Restaurant, so you really don’t want to miss out!