[Guangzhou 2016] Part Eleven: Genki Sushi/ The Conveyor Belt Sushi That Restored My Faith

If you remember in my second post of the Guangzhou blog series, I went to a Chinese based conveyor belt sushi chain for lunch and had a terrible experience. I wanted to sit by the conveyor belt so bad just so I can enjoy picking moving plates of food. My wish finally came true at this wondrous chain called Genki Sushi.

Before leaving for China, I had searched up all the available Genki Sushi locations in Guangzhou accessible by public transit. The original concept of Genki Sushi originated from Japan in 1990. They have since expanded to Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore, Kuwait, the Phillipines, China, and the United States. Unfortunately they still have not yet opened one in New York where I would gladly visit if it had existed.

It was on one of those days where I visited the Guangzhou Book Center to buy my Rilakkuma and recipe books. I've gotten hungry at this point and pulled up Baidu Maps to see what's nearby. Victory Plaza was one of the names that appeared and was within walking distance. It is quite literally around the corner. You will see that it is one huge tower with huge glass windows. Looks fancy enough. Just simply on the outside, you see UNIQLO, Adidas, and Swatch. There is a small strip by the mall entrance occupied by a cafe.

When I entered the mall itself, I got on the escalator to browse each floor briefly before looking for food. It's a really nice mall to be in. The place is so clean and quiet. It's not loud and full of people like Jiangnan Sunday for instance. The visitors here are way different than the ones at an underground mall. The mall is connected to a bank so you see many white collar workers frequenting this area. During lunch hours, you are most likely sharing the space with office people.

To be honest, there are several restaurants I wanted to try on the floor, but since I knew there was a Genki Sushi there, I had to go there first. I knew if I didn't eat there at least once I would never stop thinking about it. I went there roughly 1:30pm so there's actually no one eating here. I'm pretty much the only customer in the store. There's less selections on the conveyor belt due to less traffic, but you can always ask to order something off the menu. It was so clean and comfortable sitting there by myself. A couple minutes later an office lady joined me one seat away and a party of four was seated in the booths.

Being the hungry glutton I was, I didn't even bother paying attention how much each dish cost. Like all conveyor belt sushi chains, the price of sushi is denoted by the color of the plate it is served on. As I ate and drank my hot green tea, I marveled at the dishes pass me by. Had I not been limited by the amount of cash I carried on me, I probably would have ate more. I ordered a set meal to settle down my hunger. They even had interesting combinations of sushi like their own Genki steak nigirizushi.

Since I was so happy with my initial experience , I went there a second time. I got even luckier this time because they had a promotion going on. With the promotion, a set meal is 48 RMB (7.14 USD). Even though I had told myself to simply go for the sushi, I ended up going for a set meal because the deal was too good. Looking back at it, the prices were really good because there was no way I could have paid the same price in the United States and be able to eat the same amount of food. My two trips had costed 141 RMB (20.98 USD) and 83 RMB (12.35 USD).

To go a little more in depth about the set meals. these hold the most value. In almost all the sets, you get the same miso soup, a side dish, and an appetizer. The appetizer was my favorite. It's cold silken tofu in a sesame miso sauce. There seems to be a hint of tang from either rice vinegar or ponzu. The side dish on the other hand contained small mushrooms braised in sweet soy sauce and was served cold with cherry tomatoes and red lettuce. The mushrooms had a nice smoky flavor. The kimchi pork has stir fried pork slices with kimchi over white rice and is topped with a poached egg. I don't know how they did it, but that poached was so delicate that I pierced it so easily with my chopstick. The creamy yoke just oozed right out. The chicken teriyaki is grilled and then simmered in sauce. It lays on a bed of fluffy egg and white rice.

When I walked out of Victory Mall, I looked around to get a good idea where I was. Across the street is another mall, but several times more bigger with hundreds of stores inside. There is a movie theater inside too. Since it was getting a bit late and I was getting tired from exploring, I only browsed through very briefly. If you are interested, it is called the Teemall Department Stores. I'll leave the address below. You will find that both of these locations can be accessed through the same underground malls. Just as long as you follow the right signs, it will lead you to the right place. The map below is a general idea of how I traveled.

Shopping is a never ending addiction because the urge to spend money rings true to many people. At the same time, these same people also have the same sentiment to get the most out of their dollar. In my next entry, I'll be visiting a special place that might just solve these problems.

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Places Visited

Victory Plaza 维多利广场
101 号，体育西路，天河北，天河区，广州市，广东省，中国，510620
101 Tiyu W Rd, TianHeBei, Tianhe Qu, Guangzhou Shi, Guangdong Sheng, China, 510620

Take the APM line to 体育中心南 and walk through the Express Train Commercial Plaza 天河直通车商业广场 using exit A 天河路.

Teemall Department Stores 天河城百货
208 Tianhe Rd, TianHe ZhongXin, Tianhe Qu, Guangzhou Shi, Guangdong Sheng, China, 510620
208 天河路，天河中心，天河区，广州市，广东省，中国，510620
Take Line 1 or line 3 to Tiyu Xi Road 体育西路 and use Exit D 天河体育中心（天河城~西门）or use Exit E 天河体育中心 to stroll through Tianhe Festival Walk 天河又一城.

Foods

Genki Sushi
★★★★★
Clean and hospital. Delicious food and very comfortable to stay in.