New Restaurant: Junko Sushi at the Pearl
Remember the Midori sushi at the Pearl? It has gone under and there is a new Japanese Restaurant there called, "Junko Sushi."
I just visited there yesterday. I have gone to Midori before and expected it to be different, but it was exactly the same. The menu, pricing, portion of food etc. The only thing different was the chopstick sleeve that had "Junko sushi" written on it.
I asked for the manager and here is the conversation we had there which surprised me greatly.
"Is Midori sushi and Junko sushi the same owner?"
-yes
"Do you still import fish from Japan?"
-yes, once every month
"Why did you change the name of the establishment?"
-Because of complication with the baladiya.
"What kind of complications?"
-Food regulations
I didn't ask for the details.
After hearing this problem with "food regulations," something struck my mind immediately. I know that baladiya in Qatar checks every restaurants to be safe to dine. Can it be that this restaurant was serving expired food and/or mishandling the food which can make people sick? I became really skeptical about this. Sorry but I am afraid to dine here any longer. I wonder why the manager directly told me about the complications with the baladiya through food regulations. If I were to be the manager at any establishment I would simply decline to answer any sensitive questions or change the topic.
Have anyone else here asked the manager for the reasoning of changing the name of the restaurant?
How would you feel if a manager of a restaurant directly tells you that the place you are dining had issues with food regulations?
Isn't "junk" in the name of the resto itself?...:)
Rightly said.. One month old fish for Sushi? The whole speciality behind sushi and sashimi, and in turn what makes it safe for consumption, is that the fish must be as fresh as it gets. The idea of using even a few days old fish in sushi can be extremely poisonous. God help anyone who happens to dine in this resto and I do hope baladiya gets em again!
Guys guys guys!
You need to understand something.
In Qatar, sushi is NOT HEALTHY! - not one restaurant TREATS the fish prior to serving. Fish has to be treated by making it go in very low temperatures for short durations to kill the parasites and tape warms which are especially present in salmon. NOT one place in Doha does this and as baladiya is definitely not well informed about that mater anyway! To them in here, it is all about serving fish fresh!... Fresh without treating could KILL YOU!
Also WTF! once a month? are you freaking kidding me??? so if I am not lucky enough and happen to order my sashimi on the day before that one month period... what am I gonna have 29 days old sashimi?!
How are you able to keep fish for 1 month and still call it fresh? I want their Japanese made super-duper mega freezer in my house!
Average pricing is around 300-400qar per person to eat sushi at this location.
anybody know the average price per person?
-Paulkimchi,
I agree with you completely. Just because different name of the restaurant does not mean that the owner's mindset is going to change. If Baladiya had problem with Midori sushi before, I am pretty sure Junko sushi will have the same problem. I went there 2 times when it was still Midori. I personally did not like it. If you want sushi, goto La Cigale hotel. they got great sushi there!