89 Inn

The store looked quite run-down from the outside, so I didn't have very high expectations for the food. The decor inside was a bit better, but looked more like a Hong Kong style cafe than a Japanese restaurant. I found out why when I opened the menu to find typical Hong Kong style cafe fare in addition to Japanese food. For variety's sake, we ordered bento box A ($13.95) with teriyaki chicken and rice, salmon/tuna/octopus sashimi, California roll, tuna roll and assorted tempura. The sashimi were very mushy and the tuna fell apart as I bit into it. I tried a bit of the rice and was disappointed that it was not the aromatic and slightly sticky Japanese variety, but a mushy and flaky low-quality rice. The tempura were decent but a bit too oily.

Next we had the rainbow roll ($7.95) which turned out to be a regular California roll with an assortment of toppings including salmon, tuna, tamago, ebi, tobiko and avocado. The ingredients looked like they had been thrown together carelessly along with a garnish of a limpy dead-looking leaf. The roll didn't taste bad, but I would rate it as below average.

We had 2 other rolls: the QE Park roll ($6.95) and the dragon roll ($7.95). The QE Park was a tuna and cucumber roll topped with avocado, egg crepe and seaweed. The strangest part was that there were droplets of Maggi seasoning sauce on the roll, resulting in a very unauthentic and odd flavour. The dragon roll was comparatively better with prawn and yam tempura and unagi topping. Although it was the best roll of the night, I would only rate it as average.

I feel that this place has little to offer in terms of food presentation and quality. Prices are very reasonable, but I would not be willing to spend any money on such mediocre food. Even at the same price point, there are many other options with much better quality.