Mr Munchies Sushi

I don’t eat sushi very often but after years of not wanting a bar of the stuff I’ve discovered an appreciation for it. Done right, done fresh, it’s actually pretty wonderful. I think it was when I tried it with the minimal seaweed on the inside as opposed to completely wrapped on the outside that I discovered that I did enjoy it. Visits to places like Aisuru Sushi definitely opened my eyes to the yumminess that could come from deliciously fresh sushi in a range of interesting and tantalising flavour combinations.  

So on a recent Saturday my sister and I found ourselves on Beaufort Street at around 11am (after what had been an incredibly lovely morning at Museo) and we braved the relentless rain and wandered from Museo all the way down to Beaufort St Merchant in search of a place that had switched from their breakfast menu to lunch. It was surprisingly difficult to find and it was only when we were nearly back at Museo that my sister recalled that Mr Munchies Sushi was down a nearby arcade. It was actually an arcade all of 200 metres from Museo so we could well have avoided a lot of the rain but hey it was an adventure and it was soon forgotten when we approached Mr Munchies door, saw it was open and found ourselves a warm, dry seat inside.

Friendly staff brought us menus and water and we took a moment to just sit back and take in the cute little establishment we had wandered into. It was very bright and colourful, from the staff uniforms in their bold orange to the splash of colour on the walls. It lightened my mood after having traipsed for so long in the rain. Our next challenge was deciding what to order. At Mr Munchies you have the choice of ordering off the menu or you can completely structure what you’d like in your sushi and it will be made into either a sushi roll or sushi salad in front of you. Doesn’t get much fresher than that!

Given this was our first visit we decided it would be easier to stick with a few menu items and on finding out that a small serve was 4 pieces and a large was 8 we ordered 3 different small serves –

• Chicken Lover Roll, Grilled teriyaki chicken, avocado, tamogoyaki topped with mayonnaise, spring onion and chopped karaage served with sliced lemon ($9.90)
• Crunchy Spider Roll, Deep fried soft shell crab, iceberg lettuce, cucumber topped with white season sauce and shallots ($10)
• 2 Ways Duck Roll, Duck confit, grilled capsicum, steamed prawn, hoisin sauce, garlic chips, roasted duck breast ($11)

And along with that we also ordered some Edamame ($6) and Hot Green Tea (Refillable) $2.50.

While we were sat there a steady stream of people arrived, most opted for take way orders, which were prepared in a flash. Our generous bowl of Edamame were soon delivered to our table. Edamame or edamame bean is a preparation of immature soybeans in the pod, found in the cuisine of China, Japan and Hawaii. The pods are boiled or steamed and served with salt. Red hot and with a decent sprinkle of salt, they were very good. There is just something addictive about them. Dare I say once you pop, you can’t stop 😉

So we worked on putting a dent in the seemingly endless bowl and also took cautious sips of our hot green tea. Loved the cups they used!

First to arrive was the Chicken Lover Roll. It looked so lovely and fresh with the decorative swirl of wasabi and decent stack of pickled ginger. I actually really like that ginger so I enjoy a high ginger to sushi ratio. We topped up the little dishes we had been given with soy sauce and as dexterously as I could clicked away with my chop sticks and dunked a slice of sushi into the soy. Yum!! Tasty teriyaki chook, chunky avocado with a nice crunch from the grilled spring onions. As introductions go Mr Munchies was making a very good one! Fresh is where it’s at!

We were just finishing our second piece each of the chicken roll when both the 2 Ways Duck Roll and Crunchy Spider Roll arrived. Again, they both presented very well. Especially the duck with the decorative red strands on top, along with the artistic drizzle of hoisin sauce. I eagerly munched into the duck roll and it was a total winner. The plump prawn and confit duck was a really delicious combination and it all married together nicely with the sweet roasted capsicum and the hoisin sauce. Thoroughly enjoyed it. As tempted as I was to go straight on to my second allocated piece of duck sushi I knew that I had gone pretty hard with the Edamame and was filling up so turned my attention to the spider crab.

The crispy soft shell crab was still warm and well paired with the refreshing crunch of the iceberg lettuce. I occasionally find soft shell crab to have a strong seafood taste but not in this dish. It was all very nice. But I knew on finishing this piece that I had maxed out on the sushi front and that we’d be needing a take away container. I would have happily just stacked the sushi into a dish myself but our plates were whisked away and the leftovers boxed up for us, complete with a packet of soy and more wasabi. Thoughtful.

So glad to have finally made it to Mr Munchies! It’s relatively close to home for me so the next time I’m in a sushi kind of mood I know where I’ll be heading. The staff are incredibly friendly and they definitely know a thing or two about sushi. Flavours are fresh and fun and best of all if you have a favourite, chances are you’ll be able to have it made to order. Gotta be happy with that J