Sushimania

I am just going to start this by saying I LOVE SUSHI, it never used to be something I was bothered about but now I have literally become obsessed, it is my favourite choice for food so I was very excited to hear that there was an all you can eat in Reading.

I’ve lived in Reading pretty much my whole life and had never heard of this place but it is towards the Hexagon and away from the main strip of restaurants which is probably why. 

The way the all you can eat works is - you are given a piece of paper with all the dishes on at your table, you circle which ones you want to eat (maximum 6 dishes at a time) and they bring it freshly prepared to your table, very easy!

We started off with the shrimp tempura and the chicken teriyaki, the tempura was light and crisp and came with a side of soy sauce. 

The chicken teriyaki (we ordered two because we’re greedy and it was all you can eat soo) was possibly my favourite, huge chunks of chicken came with a sticky sauce which generously covered it and left plenty of dipping sauce for our other choices.

Next we ordered four different types of sushi: California Roll, Prawn Katsu with avocado, chicken Katsu and duck with cucumber. The California roll contained crab, avocado, cucumber and mayo expertly wrapped into a Futomaki – a long roll of rice, my only critique was trying to fit the whole thing into my mouth in one go!

Next up the Prawn Katsu with Avocado, a clear favourite for both of us, this had the perfect balanced of fish with the creaminess of the avocado. Definitely worth getting a couple of portions!

The Duck and Cucumber was a little more unique, I am not a huge fan of salmon or tuna so I was quite excited that this menu had slightly different offerings. This was probably my least favourite dish as the plum sauce overpowered the duck and cucumber, so it was a little disappointing.

The Chicken Katsu came with avocado (notice a theme) and a generous splash of mayo, it was delicious. Crispy chicken in sushi form has to be one of my favourites.

After the sushi we decided to try the noodle dishes on the menu, I went for the Grilled Chicken Ramen in Soya Soup. It came with a dollop of noodles, chunks of chicken in a warm and tasty clear broth. The broth itself was full of flavour and I could easily have eaten a whole bowl of just that, but the noodles and chicken added a little more texture – a tasty dish overall.

Suzie ordered the Yaki Udon with beef, thick and chunky noodles with chicken and beansprouts covered in a sticky soy sauce. I’m not a huge noodle fan but this had a really rich taste and was the perfect main course if you’re not a huge sushi fan.

Overall I would definitely return to Sushimania when I fancy a sushi feast! 

Royal Citrus Mojito

Mojito’s are such a classic cocktail and they are actually my favourite one to create, so it is always harder thinking of fun variations that haven’t been attempted before. This one is quite sharp, so if you’re sweet toothed (like me) it might not be for you!

What you’ll need:

• Sugar
• Lime Juice
• Lime wedge
• Rum
• Lemon vodka
• Prosecco
• Ice
• Cocktail mixer
• Shot measure
• Jam Jars

How to create them:

1. Place 2 spoons of sugar into the glass and add the squeeze a lime wedge, stir.
2. Put 1 shot of lime juice, 1 shot of lemon vodka and 2 shots of rum into the cocktail mixer and shake.
3. Pour the mix into the glass and give everything a stir. Fill the jam jar to the top with cubed ice.
4. Pour the prosecco over the ice and enjoy!

Salted Caramel Dessert Cocktail

This cocktail is slightly more specialist as the main ingredient isn’t something which is available everywhere. I got mine from Hotel Chocolat but a similar salted caramel vodka would also work.

This recipe makes two cocktails.

What you’ll need:

• Salted Caramel Cocoa Vodka
• Vanilla Vodka
• White chocolate chunks
• Milk
• Cocktail mixer
• Shot measure
• Dessert glasses

How to create them:

1. Melt 30g of white chocolate chunks with a splash of milk in a microwave for 10-20 seconds.
2. Take the stem of the glass and gently dip the rim into the white chocolate mix until the whole rim is coated.
3. Add two shots of the salted caramel cocoa vodka and two shots of the vanilla vodka to the cocktail mixer. Pour in the rest of the melted white chocolate and shake vigorously.
4. Pour the mixture in the dessert glass and enjoy!

Haribo Fizz

Who doesn’t love Haribo Tangfastics? I’m a huge fan and thought what better way to enjoy them than in a boozy cocktail? Hence the Haribo fizz.

I went with the cherries but you can make this cocktail with any of the sweets in the mix, the trick is to make sure they have soaked in the vodka long enough to give it the Haribo flavour.

These are a great cocktail for when you’re looking for something fun and playful for a catch up or dinner party.

What you’ll need:

• Vodka
• Prosecco
• Haribo Tangfastics
• Sugar
• Gomme (sugar syrup)
• Blue curacao
• Cocktail mixer
• Shot measure
• Martini glasses

How to create them:

1. Pour half a bottle of vodka into a sealable container and add a packet of the Tangfastic cherries, give a stir and let sit for minimum 3 hours.
2. After the 3 hours are up, strain the vodka back into the container minus the cherries, and leave to one side until you’re ready to use. For 2 cocktails, you will only need four shots of vodka.
3. Pour the gomme onto a plate and gently dip the rim of the martini glass into the mixture. If you do not have gomme, you can use water it will just be harder to stick the sugar.
4. Pour sugar onto a plate and gently tap the edge of the martini glass into the rim of the sugar, swirl the glass around until the whole rim of the martini glass has a sugar coat.
5. Add the soaked cherries into the martini glass.
6. Place the vodka and 2 shots of blue curacao into the cocktail mixer and give it a good shake.
7. Pour into the haribo filled martini glasses and top with prosecco until full.
8. Enjoy!

Garden Gin

So my boyfriend Greg is the biggest fan of gin and is always challenging me to come up with new and quirky ideas. As he is a chef he gave me some garden herbs to see what I could create and voila the Garden Gin was born.

What you’ll need (makes 2):

• 2 sprigs of parsley
• 2 sprigs of Sage
• 2 sprigs of Rosemary
• 4 shots of gin (I like to use Hendricks or Bombay Sapphire)
• 2 small bottles of tonic water
• Ice
• Cocktail mixer
• Shot measure
• Jam Jars

How to create it:

1. Fill the jam jar with cubed or crushed ice and set to one side.
2. In the cocktail mixer add the gin, then rub the sprigs of herbs between your hands to release the essence of them. Add these into the cocktail mixer and give it all a good shake.
3. Once shaken take the herbs out of the cocktail mix and place to one side.
4. Pour the rest of the mixture into the jam jar and top up with tonic.
5. Add the sprigs into the glass as decoration.
6. Enjoy!

Chocolate and Banana shake with a twist

This one takes me back to my childhood (minus the alcohol!) Chocolate and banana milkshakes have always been a favourite for my sister and I when we were on holiday, so I thought it would be fun to recreate them with a boozy twist!

This recipe makes two cocktails.

What you’ll need:

• Banana Liqueur
• 60g Chocolate Chunks
• Milk
• Biscuits
• Cocktail mixer
• Shot measure
• Martini glasses

How to create them:

• Melt 60g of chocolate chunks with a splash of milk in a microwave for 10-20 seconds.
• Take the stem of the glass and gently dip the rim into the chocolate mix until the whole rim is coated. Take a spoonful of the chocolate mixture and gently swirl around the glass to coat it in a layer of chocolate.
• Add four shots of banana liqueur to the cocktail mixer. Pour in the rest of the melted chocolate in and shake vigorously.
• Pour the mixture in the martini glasses and crumble the biscuit on top.
• Enjoy!