Tomi Sushi Novena - Possibly the Best Cheap Sushi in Singapore!

Getting a craving for sushi in Singapore (or in Malaysia) can put you in quite a quandary. Typically the cheap places (i.e. pretty much every single local kaiten-zushi chain) are crap, and the good places are expensive. The well-heeled among us might not need to think twice about shelling out $450 on omakase at Shinji by Kanesaka, but the rest of us normal folk need to scrape by on more reasonably-priced establishments.


So we're always on the lookout for not-too-expensive places with decent sushi, and for now Tomi Sushi seems to fit the bill perfectly! Tomi Sushi originates from the Niigata province in Japan, is staffed by Japanese itamae and uses only Koshihikari rice (the most expensive, and considered the best rice in Japan). Plus they give you two different kinds of shoyu!


Such credentials normally come with sky high prices, but we're pleasantly surprised that our Nigiri Sakura set comes in at just SGD 28 for eight pieces of nigiri sushi, tamagoyaki, chawanmushi, salad, fish-miso soup, fried chicken and some fruits. Throw in the complimentary green tea and you've got a solid amount of food for not too much money.


Quality and taste-wise, the food is generally solid and pretty delicious. We don't really care much for the normal maguro (tuna) - I'm not sure what happens in the process of flying the fish over from Japan, but most maguro we eat here tend to be a little dry and flaky, unlike the smooth texture of the ones we ate in Japan. We adore the melt-in-your-mouth chuu-toro (medium-fatty tuna belly) though, and like that the sushi has been lovingly hand-formed by human hands rather than a machine plopping down rice balls on a tray. Oh, and the chawanmushi is light and silky smooth, too.


At SGD 32.95 per person after service charge and taxes, we come away very satisfied, and do believe we've found our favorite decently-priced sushi restaurant in Singapore. If you've got any suggestions for good, cheap sushi in town do let us know in the comments; otherwise Tomi Sushi has two outlets - Velocity @ Novena Square and Parco @ Millenia Walk. Non halal.