I Tried Sushi for the First Time So You Don't Have To 🍣

Kakiage Maki (left) and Haiku House Special Sushi Roll (right) served with soy sauce, pickled ginger, and om root at Haiku House.

Introduction

Sushi is probably one of the most famous Japanese dishes in the world. I've seen it everywhere—on YouTube, in movies, on food delivery apps, and across social media. People seem to either absolutely love it or become obsessed with it.

If you've never tried sushi before, it's a traditional Japanese dish. It's typically made with seasoned vinegared rice combined with ingredients like vegetables, seafood, egg, or meat, often wrapped in a sheet of seaweed called nori. Despite what many people think, sushi doesn't always contain raw fish, and there are plenty of vegetarian varieties too.

As someone who is always looking for new foods to try, sushi had been on my list for a long time. I'm the kind of foodie who enjoys experimenting. Whenever I discover a cuisine I've never tasted before, I immediately become curious about what it tastes like. After all, you only get one life, so why not experience as many different flavours as possible?  I also believe that good food equals a good mood—a great meal can make your day, while a disappointing one can ruin it too.

There were several reasons I finally decided to order sushi.

First, I was fascinated by how it looked. The neat little rolls, the colourful fillings, the seaweed wrapped around the rice, and the precision with which everything was prepared—it looked more like edible art than food. Every picture made it look warm, fresh, and incredibly delicious.

Second, many of my YouTube subscribers had mentioned sushi as one of their favourite foods. Seeing so many people praise it made me wonder whether I was missing out on something amazing.

I had opened sushi on Swiggy several times before, but every time I saw the price, I quietly closed the app again. Spending ₹600–700 on something I wasn't even sure I'd enjoy felt like a risky decision.

Then one day, I came across another online discussion where people were talking about trying sushi for the first time and how much they loved it.

That was enough—I finally decided to ignore the price and place the order.

📍 Where I Ordered It

I ordered from Haiku through Swiggy.

Instead of buying just one sushi roll, I ordered two different vegetarian varieties. My thinking was simple: if I ordered only one and happened to dislike it, I'd always wonder whether the other variety would have tasted better.

I didn't want my opinion of sushi to depend on a single roll. I'd rather spend more once, satisfy my curiosity properly, and avoid all the "what ifs" afterwards.

My order

🍣 Haiku House Special Sushi Roll (8 pieces) — approximately ₹700

🍣 Kakiage Maki (8 pieces) — approximately ₹650

Ordering both together also gave me a slightly better discount.

💰 Price

Sushi is expensive.

I already knew that before ordering, but it still hurt a little when I placed the order.

For nearly ₹1,300, my expectations became naturally very high.

📦 Packaging & First Impressions

The order arrived in excellent condition.

Everything was packed neatly, and honestly, it looked almost identical to the photos shown on Swiggy.

Inside the package, I found:

• chopsticks
• soy sauce
• pickled ginger (the pink slices)
• wasabi

At first, I wasn't sure what the pink slices were.

Since I'm a pure vegetarian, I actually became worried that they might contain meat.

After searching online, I discovered they were pickled ginger, which is commonly served alongside sushi—even vegetarian sushi.

The green piece turned out to be wasabi, another traditional accompaniment served with sushi. I wasn't familiar with it at the time, so I had no idea what it was.

I also read that people usually dip the sushi into soy sauce and add a tiny amount of wasabi.

Even after learning all that, I still couldn't bring myself to eat either of them. They were completely unfamiliar to me, and thanks to my own ignorance, I kept thinking they might somehow contain meat. Looking back, I now know they were perfectly normal accompaniments, but at the time I simply avoided them.

🥢 Using Chopsticks

The package also included chopsticks.

I've tried using chopsticks before, but it had been a long time.

Unfortunately...

I was just as bad as I remembered.

I still gave it my best shot, although several sushi pieces almost escaped before reaching my mouth.

🍣 Taste

This is where my excitement came crashing down.

I dipped the first sushi roll into the soy sauce and took my first bite.

Honestly...

I didn't like it.

Not even a little.

The rice felt soft and fluffy, almost like cold boiled rice pressed together into a roll. I kept waiting for some exciting flavour to appear, but it never really did.

Thinking maybe I'd simply picked the wrong variety, I moved on to the second roll.

Unfortunately, it was almost the same experience.

I tried both with soy sauce and without it, hoping something would change.

It didn't.

🤔 Maybe Sushi Just Isn't for Me

One thing I've learned while trying different foods is that not every popular dish is guaranteed to suit everyone's taste.

Ironically, I had recently tried Japanese ramen for the first time and absolutely loved it.

That experience made me excited to explore more Japanese food.

Sushi, however, turned out to be the complete opposite.

That doesn't mean it's bad.

Millions of people love sushi.

It simply wasn't something my taste buds enjoyed.

💭 My Friend Was Right...

Before ordering, one of my friends had actually warned me.

He said,

"It basically tastes like rice."

I ignored him.

Mostly because I wanted to experience it myself.

And honestly...

I don't regret trying it.

If I had skipped it, I would probably still be wondering what sushi actually tastes like.

Now I know.

Curiosity satisfied.

👍 What I Liked

• Beautiful presentation
• Fresh ingredients
• Excellent packaging
• Arrived exactly as shown in the pictures
• Fun experience using chopsticks

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👎 What I Didn't Like

• Very bland for my taste
• The rice dominated every bite
• Extremely expensive
• Neither sushi roll impressed me
• Not something I'd order again

💰 Value for Money

This was probably the most painful part.

Coincidentally, I had received almost the exact same amount as bank interest that day.

Unfortunately...

I spent all of it on sushi.

That made the disappointment hurt even more. 😵‍💫

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💭 Would I Buy It Again?

Probably not.

I'm genuinely happy I finally experienced sushi because it had been on my bucket list for years.

But considering both the taste and the price, I don't think it's worth buying again—for me.

I'd much rather spend the same amount trying another cuisine or exploring a completely different dish.

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⭐ Final Rating

Category	Rating
Appearance	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Taste	⭐⭐☆☆☆
Texture	⭐⭐☆☆☆
Packaging	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Value for Money	⭐☆☆☆☆
Overall	⭐⭐☆☆☆ (2/5)

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📌 At a Glance

📍 Ordered from: Haiku (via Swiggy)

💰 Price Paid: ~₹1,300 (2 sushi rolls)

🍣 Would I buy it again? ❌ No

👍 Would I recommend trying it once? ✅ Yes — simply for the experience

⭐ Overall Rating: ⭐⭐☆☆☆ (2/5)

💬 Have You Tried Sushi?

Have you ever tried sushi?

Did you love it straight away, or was your first experience just as disappointing as mine?

If you're a sushi fan, I'd genuinely love to know what you enjoy about it. And if you think I simply ordered the wrong type, let me know which sushi I should try next—I might be willing to give it one more chance.

What did you think about my experience? Let me know in the comments!

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📖 More Honest Reviews

If you enjoyed this review, you might also like my experience trying rambutan for the first time. I share honest first impressions, not sponsored opinions, so you know exactly what I thought before spending your own money.

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Not everything becomes a favourite—but every experience is worth trying at least once. See you in the next review! 👋