When I think of traditional Japanese cuisine,
I think of minimalism.
They very much operate a less is more sort of vibe,
but there is a sushi food truck in Altrincham
serving up food which apparently is so good,
you're not gonna wanna use words like less or minimal.
You're gonna wanna use words like, more, and loads.
This is Unagi.
So before we do anything, just talk me through
what's about to go on here.
This is salmon, whole salmon,
we get delivered fresh every day.
We break this down, get ready for sushi.
You're just gonna cut that head right off.
The lovely crunch of the neck bone.
You have to put as much care in as you can,
respect the ingredient, respect the fish especially.
So how long have you been doing sushi?
I've been doing sushi on and off about 12 years.
Wow.
I started pretty young.
It does take a long time to become a sushi master, doesn't it?
It does, yes.
Well, I wouldn't consider myself as a master yet,
but learning every day.
I've heard sushi chefs say this and I've not quite believed it,
but the fish isn't the main ingredient of sushi
No, it's not.
The star of the dish is the rice.
Yeah. Well, it's Umami.
Umami means the balance
of the fish, the rice, and everything that goes into it.
A lot of people get the assumption that when you say sushi,
it's raw fish.
Yeah.
And that's not the case.
It's actually not.
Sushi literally means vinegared rice.
Vinegared rice?
Yes.
Every platter that we do in here,
we would treat it with the utmost care.
Well, it's like an art form, isn't it?
I want your jaw to drop like, wow.
We want that wow factor.
So we treat every platter that comes out of this kitchen
with that kind of mentality.
Now the pickled ginger comes with every single sushi
that I have ever had.
And I just lay it on top of the fish
and get it inside me, very nice.
I've been told that's wrong.
It is. Ginger serves as a palate cleanser.
So let's say I gave you a salmon nigiri now.
Yeah.
And then the next one will be tuna.
So you eat that in between.
So you can enjoy, you know,
100% of what the fish is supposed to taste like.
So this has been great watching you prep,
but I wanna eat something.
Can we do that? Can we eat?
Yeah, definitely.
What would you recommend?
I'd definitely recommend the Mushu special.
That is our best seller.
Wow. What's in that?
It's a crispy prawn inside, avocado, cucumber,
and seared salmon with teriyaki on top
finished with black tobiko, which is flying fish eggs.
Flying fish eggs?
- Yeah. - Wow.
So I think it's only fair that the first one
I go in for is the Mushu, which is this one?
That one, yeah.
So what you saying? All in one, popping it in?
Pop it in, yeah.
Never cut it in half.
And if you are gonna dip in a soy sauce,
you have to dip the fish side.
Ah. Fish side first?
Yeah. Fish side, never the rice.
Mmm, that's unbelievable. And what's this?
This is our Aladdin Yuzu Sake.
I'm a big fan of booze.
Oh, that's like pop.
You could just drink that and drink that
Yeah, very easy to drink.
A bit too easy to drink.
Okay. So, lovely sake.
What's the next one I should be trying.
This is a Chunagi.
Unagi special.
Talk me through this.
Talk me through what I'm eating.
So that's crispy prawn inside...
Oh, just look at those layers.
with spicy tuna.
Have a look at that.
Crispy prawn, spicy tuna,
topped with tuna nigiri.
Okay. Now what we saying?
Does this need a bit of soy?
Nah I wouldn't go with the soy.
- Just bang it in? - Yeah.
What's giving that texture? What's that crunch?
That's the crispy prawn.
What's that crispy taste?
The crispy prawn. I love it.
But you know what I need to do?
This is how much of a professional I am now.
I need a little palate cleanser.
That's it, yeah.
So you just take a bit of ginger.
Yeah.
It's an absolute revelation this. I had no idea.
So how long have you guys actually been here for?
So just over a year, yeah.
We just celebrated our first anniversary.
Happy Birthday Unagi!
We've talked about the sushi and the fish,
but we've not talked about the fact
that you do a lot of hot food here too.
We do a wide range of hot foods actually.
And this is one of the best sellers.
This is your Bang Bang Wings.
Bang Bang Wings, yes.
I've heard a lot of good things about these Bang Bang wings.
Bangin'
Oh, look at that.
Oh, lads...
Keep the shots going. Cheers.
- Cheers. - Cheers.
Alright, well, listen, I've enjoyed just being here.
Worth pointing out that although we're in Altrincham
and there's gonna be somewhere in Wilmslow,
and you've got a kitchen in Salford Quays,
and there's somewhere in Didsbury.
But Deliveroo is everywhere in Manchester now.
We're delivering across Manchester, yeah.
Or call us.
Just look down straight into that camera
and just go, call me.