So long & thanks for all the fish

Sushi home-delivered in Delhi? Yes, but it's not fast food.

"My boy has had a flat," said the apologetic voice on the line. "I'm sending another one to help him." The upshot? My sizeable sushi order from brand-new outlet Sushi King in Gurgaon was going to be delayed by another half hour.

It was already 3.15 in the afternoon, and the order had been placed at 10 past one. This wasn't to have been lunch, but a snack for hungry co-workers in our office near ITO in central Delhi. I had already fielded two calls from the sushi people, once (at half past one) to check whether I was indeed the person who had placed a

Rs 2,000 order, and once again (at a quarter to three) to say that the order was on its way and would reach soon. This was my third. Never have I been so assiduously courted. The sushi finally arrived at four. Gurgaon to ITO is a long way, much further than any other outlet undertakes to deliver its food. Yet Sushi King says it has special gear to keep the sushi cool. Now all they need is tubeless tyres.

I had ordered the 40-piece Takara assorted platter, which had crab, prawn, salmon and tuna sushi, with accoutrements including wasabi, soy sauce and bowls of miso soup. There was also the excitingly named Geisha platter (16 pieces) for our beleaguered vegetarians, which featured shiitake mushrooms.

Bring officewallahs food "" any food "" and watch partitions collapse before the herd. Soon we were all gathered about soiling our chief's table with soy sauce and flecks of rice, while the more civilised amongst us sorted out chopsticks and dish lids to mix the sauces in. The sushi came in plastic trays with transparent lids, and the miso soup in plastic bowls. Altogether "" efficient, but not terribly attractive.

The sushi, however, was nicely presented, not battered by the trip, cool and quite tasty. Our resident foodie pointed out, however, that the California rolls were unusually short of tobiko, the fish roe with which that kind of sushi is supposed to be coated. And the miso didn't find many takers "" one said it was bland, another said it was too "Indianised". Perhaps it just wasn't as handy as sushi for pick-and-go.

As long as you place your order well ahead of time, and remember that no sushi is as good as fresh sushi, Sushi King is fine.

Score: 7/10 for decent sushi, delivered politely but late, in dull packaging.

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