Obi: Sushi and Soba. I’m Obi-sessed.

Incredible sushi and noodle dishes made with super fresh fish and filling your mouth and brain with umami. 

View of the street from a window seat

Hiyashi is a type of Japanese chilled soup that is eaten with Chinese-style noodles and toppings, usually in the summer.

Chilled Soba (Chilled soba noodles, chilled hiyashi dip with spring onion, ginger & sesame) ~ BEFORE ~

I’m not sure if I was supposed to put all my noodles into the hiyashi dip or if it is meant to be used as a dip, which would make sense. Either way, I LOVED this dish. It comes with all the elements separate.

Chilled Soba (Chilled soba noodles, chilled hiyashi dip with spring onion, ginger & sesame) ~ AFTER ~

The cold soba noodles had that distinctive bite and nutty flavour and when added to the hiyashi dip slipped down my throat with refreshing and satisfying ease. The chilled hiyashi dip was salty and slightly sweet with a hint of smokiness. And the freshly grated ginger spring onion gave that savoury onion flavour and spicy ginger kick plus the sesame and spring onion added a different texture to the dish. I really liked this, it was light, refreshing, tasty and healthy. 

Shogun Roll (Salmon, spring onion, sriracha, shichimi spice and avocado. Topped with seared salmon, japanese mayonnaise and caviar)

Some of the best sushi in Cape Town. It was served with proper fresh wasabi and the pickled ginger was natural (in flavour and colour) and fiery. Not filled with colourants and slimy with a hint of ginger. The centre of the roll was spicy chopped salmon with sriracha and shichimi spice (a japanese spicy mixture made up of seven different spices) as well as avocado and spring onion. Thank goodness for the creamy avo as it sure was spicy but oh so delicious. Topped with very lightly seared salmon (I usually don't enjoy cooked fish in sushi but this was lovely) and the perfect amount of japanese mayo and caviar. The rice to fish/filling/topping ratio was utter perfection. It made my mouth tingle (and water) big time. 

Udon: (udon noodles, dashijiru broth, inari tofu, spring onion) ~ friend tried this ~

My dining companion had this dish and I thought I would place an image of it on this post. I did not try this dish, but I think my friend really liked it! Dashi Jiru is a Japanese broth (Dashi being a group of japanese broths) and is, at its most basic, completely vegan. Inari tofu is basically fried tofu that has many little pockets of air within it. Udon noodles are thick and made of wheat flour. They are of Japanese origin and often used in soups. 

It just feels so authentic and I love the fact that it is smack bang in the city center among high(ish) rise buildings because it adds to the feel of pretending to be in an asian city. It's clean and basic and the sushi is like the best and just writing this makes me want another bowl of soba. 

Menu items ordered: Chilled Soba R100 ; Shogun Roll 8piece R155 ; Udon R90

Shop 2, 14 Long St, Cape Town City Centre, Cape Town, 8000 https://obirestaurant.co.za/