When we first moved here, the city’s bustling activity could get a little overwhelming. There was so much movement, so many lights and sounds… it was hard to take everything in at once. Everywhere we looked, we saw flashing lights, zooming bicycles and hustling feet. It seemed like everything and everyone was on a path somewhere: a fast track to another destination. Even in our mall, where we discovered this place, the food itself doesn’t sit still for long:
Sushi with some energy
The name is Yuanqi Sushi. In Chinese, “Yuanqi” means positive energy or morale, despite the mean dumpling’s face. There is definitely energy in this establishment and I’m not talking about the hostess who sat us with a half-interested grimace. I don’t mean the teenage waiter who was playing with a broom. The energy I refer to at Yuanqi is a conveyor belt that constantly transports fresh sushi straight from the chef’s knife right to our table side.
Each table setting has the average plate, bowl, spoon and chopstick set up. There’s also a small jar of pre-made wasabi, a jar of soy sauce and a green powder. I wasn’t sure whether the green powder was matcha tea or powdered wasabi so I dumped a spoonful in my little bowl of soy sauce. Since it was the most tame wasabi powder I had ever tried I concluded it was matcha tea. Green matcha tea is good for the body, right? So what if I added it to soy sauce instead of hot water?
Sushi parade
Growing up in a small town in western Pennsylvania, one of the biggest things to look forward to was a parade. Memorial Day, Fourth of July, whatever the reason, parades were exciting! Floats, horses, fire trucks, marching bands… parades have something for everyone. Sometimes you just have to wait a little while. And before I was old enough to be a part of them, I would line up on the street and wait for the best part of them, the candy!
The parade at Yuanqi was similar to the parades of my childhood in that there was something for everyone in line. Just wait for it! As the tiny plates cruised by, we saw some things we recognized, like California rolls, raw fillets of fish tenderly laid on sections of rice and wrapped in seaweed and bowls of seaweed salad. And we saw some new things, like the bean curd canoes full of corn and rolls of crab and durian. (And yes, I tried one of those, just to give durian another last-last chance for redemption. Still not a fan.)
Here comes dinner!
There are menus that explain what each dish contains. When you see a plate you like, you grab it, eat it, and pile up the empty plates. You can also order something directly from the kitchen if it hasn’t been properly conveyed to you on its own. When you’re finished, you flag down a member of the waitstaff and he or she tallies up your empty plates based on their color.
Since we ate off the conveyor, our waitress only visited us at the beginning of our meal to bring our drinks. The automated sushi parade did the rest of the work, and it was exciting to see what was coming next. I had a smile on my face the entire meal, both from the delicious food AND from the excitement of what was around the corner.
I guess I’ve never grown out of my fascination with parades and the food they provide.