It is Friday night, and my usual partner in crime is back – partially for his photography skills and partially for his company, but mostly for the ridiculous commentary he writes for me to look back upon later. We’re late and hungry, as per usual. We quickly weave through the crowded Midtown streets until we find Kaiten Zushi Nomad, whose towering heavy doors might be topped only by our tremendous appetites.
We dash in, but have nothing to worry about – the staff still needs to clear up a table. The space is new and still under construction; I’m informed that the restaurant will eventually be split into two separate entities. One currently serves conveyor belt-style sushi, while the other will be made to order in front of patrons, who will sit at the counter. We are ostensibly here for the food, but I am not-so-secretly eying their three-tiered conveyor belt.
Beverages at Kaiten Zushi Nomad
Everything is ordered through a tablet, including drinks. We scan the limited selection of sake, beer, and wine before asking for recommendations. The first waiter we meet doesn’t drink alcohol (he still doesn’t hesitate to politely point out the crowd favorites). We end up with a bottle of their most popular sake, plus a glass of Takara plum wine.
The former is unremarkable, the latter is surprisingly deep and fruity, although very sweet. The second waiter points us in the direction of a different sake, which tastes more like cooked rice and I prefer it over the first one, although my dining companion begs to differ.
Maki Rolls
The tablet makes it too easy. If we want it, we got it. The tablet does, however, only allow for four items in the shopping cart at a time. I am ever confident in our stomach capacity, so we push onward and persevere in our quest for traditional maki rolls. We order the Fire roll, the Red Dragon roll, the Green Dragon roll, the tuna avocado roll, and a salmon skin roll.
I nibble on each one but am not terribly impressed. The tuna avocado is the worst by a large margin; the tuna looks rather oxidized and the entire plate looks drab with disappointment. The Green Dragon roll is my favorite of the bunch, with a lot of avocado and eel topping a filling that tastes suspiciously like a California roll.
It is fresh and provides a good mixture of flavor and texture. The kani kama tempura roll is also good, with the tempura still crispy in the middle and the entire dish nicely balanced with cucumber and avocado. My companion loves the Fire roll, remarks on its “fantastic spice” and notes that it is “perfect for anyone who enjoys heat and strong flavor.” I, however, eat one piece of the Fire roll, and steam is still coming out of my ears ten minutes later.
Temaki / Hand rolls
We try three hand rolls: the crab hand roll, the eel avocado hand roll, and a spicy scallop hand roll. My dining companion is not dazzled, but I actually appreciate the hand rolls more than the maki. They are messier, but the proportions seem better distributed than in the maki rolls, whose fillings I found to be a little stingy.
The crab hand roll is a kani salad wrapped in nori, not a bad thing, and is pleasantly light on the sauce. The poor spicy scallops are nowhere to be found amidst an ocean of spicy mayonnaise; my partner in crime sadly notes that the scallops “are trying their best but drowning.” The eel avocado temaki is also a bit saucy for my liking, but the eel is tasty – warm and slightly smoky, complemented perfectly by the generous slices of creamy avocado.
Everything else
The magical bottomless tablet offers many other items besides sushi rolls. There are several types of nigiri and gunkan. There are also ramen and udon dishes, served in small bowls that are brought via conveyor. There is even yakisoba! I am here for the seafood, but these are all promising options if you are craving something hot on a cold, rainy day.
I order agedashi tofu, softshell crab tempura, karaage (fried chicken), chicken gyoza, shrimp shumai, a spicy scallop gunkan, a salmon toro nigiri with ponzu sauce, and edamame. The gyoza is fresh out of the fryer, screaming hot, and despite being filled with more cabbage than chicken, is remarkably tasty.
The shrimp shumai is not particularly snappy, but is nonetheless filled with a respectable quantity of shrimp and maintains a nice crunch from the water chestnut. The spicy scallop gunkan is once again drowning in an endless abyss of spicy mayo. The edamame are plain but good, with a hint of salt to bring out the sweetness in each soybean. The karaage is a little soggy and under-salted for my liking, but my companion dumps a blizzard of spicy Japanese chili flakes on top and declares it delectable.
The Aburi Salmon Toro
The aburi salmon toro with ponzu is excellent; perfectly fatty fish that melts in your mouth with the well-seasoned sushi rice and ponzu sauce adding needed acidity and brightness. For perspective, my lovely dining companion merely says that the salmon toro is “squishy,” and leaves it at that.
The Agedashi Tofu and Softshell Crab
Amidst this seemingly unrelated hodgepodge are the two gems that I will later reorder: the agedashi tofu and the softshell crab. The former is lightly battered silken tofu, fried until crispy, topped with scallions, ginger, and pickled radish. It sits in a bed of dashi sauce and is quite delicious.
The tofu is soft and slippery, the crispy shell is hot and crackly, and the dashi, which would have perhaps benefited from a separate dish to avoid making the tofu soggy, is savory and is enhanced by the bite of the scallions. Even my dining companion, who normally holds no fondness for tofu, finds the dish surprisingly tasty, and laments the fact that I have eaten most of it.
The softshell crab is even better than the tofu. It is one crab, cut into quarters, each section deep fried with tempura batter to create something equal parts crunchy, crispy, and savory. The deep umami flavor is enhanced by the crab innards (sounds gross, but really – don’t knock it until you try it) and the soy based dipping sauce.
A generous spritz of lemon juice takes the crab to another level, enhancing the crab’s richness while simultaneously creating a more palatable and refreshing profile. My partner in crime calls it “juicy and very fragrant,” and once more, remarks that I have eaten most (or all) of it. I regret nothing.
Dessert
There are pictures advertising mochi doughnuts, but unfortunately, they aren’t available for us to try. There is one dessert, matcha ice cream, and it makes up for being the singular dessert by being pretty darn good matcha ice cream. The bowl is substantial, and the ice cream itself has a pleasantly deep, rich matcha flavor.
It is not overly sweet, but very creamy, with no lingering unpleasant bitterness and no unwelcome chalky consistency. My dining partner, who holds a deep affinity for matcha ice cream, kindly requests to have it slathered all over his body. (I, for one, respectfully decline.)
Final thoughts
My eating companion definitely resents the tablet somewhat by the end of the night, a result of me processing multiple food orders and forgetting to tell him, so we must quickly amass a (hopefully) accurate recollection. That aside, the tablet system is quick, painless, and efficient.
It is quite enjoyable seeing the dishes slide down the conveyor, and much more sanitary that they are made to order instead of floating along the belt for who knows how long. The three tiers are not just for show; we almost lose a dish because it gets sent along the topmost tier and neither of us sees it. Similarly, there is a burst of adrenaline whenever the food stops at your table – you must dash to grab your plate, or risk it being whisked away forever!
It is certainly a fun way to eat. Less human interaction (which just might be your cup of tea), with food that arrives promptly and in good condition. The wait staff is extremely friendly and helpful to the best of their ability. The food itself is generally good but unexceptional; there are a few stand-outs that are made extremely well. All in all, not a bad way to spend a Friday night. Are there better ways? Of course. But there are also far, far worse.
Three best bites
- Aburi salmon toro with ponzu – delightfully squishy, as all bellies should be.
- Agedashi tofu – crisp, soft, savory, squishy, and yes, there’s a trend here.
- Softshell crab tempura – filled with umami, perfectly crunchy exterior, elevated with fresh lemon and soy dipping sauce (and yes, the innards are squishy).
Bathroom corner
Apparently, the men’s restroom is blaring music, but the women’s restroom is quiet and unremarkable. Plenty of essentials, and doors that lock. What more could a girl ask for?
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