Sometimes you don’t know you had a craving until you take that first bite.

Like bacon-wrapped hot dogs or lightly seared humpback whale.

I was making myself go for sushi mostly to cancel out all the diabetes-inducing foods I had consumed over the past weekend. Not because I was particularly in the mood for it.

I did some online research to find a sushi restaurant with three criteria: It was somewhat near my work, it wouldn’t cost me $80 per person and people weren’t running screaming from it (thanks, Yelp).

Since my 9-5 existance is near Sawtelle, I’m in no shortage for Asian restaurants. It’s heaven in street form. If you haven’t noticed, I could and almost do eat Asian food EVERY day.

Kaiten Sushi had one factor that both intrigued and terrified me….a conveyor belt.

For those of you who haven’t experienced this, chefs set out plates of the more popular sushi items and you grab as it glides past you.

Cheap, yes. Freshness? Yeah, who knows. It’s not like you’ve got twinkies delicately floating past you. It’s raw fish, people. I want that stuff going directly from sea to mouth.

However, when the chef was making the items we ordered directly from him, he’d send it to us via the belt. He’d usually make two plates, in case we wanted seconds later.

The good news is, the sushi was actually really good! For such cheap prices, we didn’t know what to expect. (Seared tuna = Chicken of the sea). It was a really pleasant experience.

The spicy tuna on crispy rice, always a hit.

The garlic seared halibut, mild and tasty.

The My Roll with jalapenos galore, SO good. We couldn’t believe we were shoving that many jalapenos in our mouth without any intense heat.

Each plate was color coded indicating a different price, so the waiter counted our plates at the end of the meal to determine the bill.

$21 each, not too shabby for sushi. Try saying those two words a few times in a row. Well don’t actually, cuz that’s dumb.

Luckily, we had hidden a few plates in my friends purse to reduce costs. Kidding. Well, I have to say that. I left the waiter my business card!

11301 Olympic Blvd
Ste 203
Los Angeles, CA 90064
(310) 914-5028
http://www.kaitensushidaichan.com/