Genki Sushi Singapore: Shinkansen Shenanigans

What's better than Japanese food? Gimmicky Japanese food!

I'm an unabashed sucker for gimmicks. When I see something cool or novel, I get so excited and obsessed about it to the point that I 1) can't stop yammering on about it, or 2) buy it. There was once I saw a cute pillow that was made to look like a volcanic rock. I talked and talked about it until my father told me irritably to shut up.

Recently, another gimmick caught my attention: the shinkansen trains that deliver your food to your table at Genki Sushi.

They look like the speedy shinkansen bullet trains Japan is famous for, and they do indeed move really fast. That they manage to reach their destination without food flying all over the place is a testament to the smoothness of the track. What an engineering marvel!

For the uninitiated, Genki is a small chain of casual Japanese restaurants. It specialises in sushi and sashimi of course, but it has tempura, udon, soba, rice bowls, and assorted hors d'oeuvres too.

Enticed by the prospect of seeing the trains in action, I flashed the cash and brought my parents to Genki Sushi at Waterway Point last Friday.

Besides trains, Genki uses iPads to drive more nails into the coffins of waiters. That's right, you place your order electronically, not to a human being.

Tutorial: Browse the various categories of food by tapping the icons at the top of the screen. Within each category, swipe to turn the pages. To order, simply tap on the item you want. Each tap will send one serving of that item onto the train at the bottom of the screen. Each train can hold up to four servings regardless of item (e.g., it can hold 4 plates of salmon sashimi, or 1 plate of salmon sashimi + 1 cup of chawanmushi + 1 bowl of miso soup + 1 plate of tuna sushi). When you are done, or if the train is full, tap the green tick symbol and confirm the order. The train at the bottom of the screen will become empty and you are free to order some more food. You can also pass the iPad around as it is not attached to anything.

In fact, you only talk to the staff when you arrive and they seat you, and when you leave and they collect money from you.

Waiters' other job, serving food, is done by this neat system.

There are three tracks stacked up. Your orders can come on any of them. Sometimes you will see trains whiz by on their way to other tables, and when the restaurant gets busy, there will be trains running to and fro on all three tracks at once! The backdrop simulates a verdant countryside with quaint farmsteads and rolling hills, not unlike the actual view you get as a passenger on a Japanese railway. By the way, piping hot water comes out from the tap at the end of the table, so please do not use it to wash your hands! It is meant for making your own green tea. There is tea powder in the drawer under the table, and an empty mug will be delivered to you by a human being when you order tea using the iPad. Drinks are brought to you by humans because the trains might slosh the liquid everywhere and make a huge mess.

Each table is considered a "station", named after a place in Japan.

We sat at Sendai station.

Unseen workers in the kitchen will prepare your food, load it onto a train, and send it on its way. The train will zoom along one of the tracks, and stop neatly at your station bearing its yummy cargo.

"Please mind the platform gap."

After you unload the train, press the blinking yellow button to send the train back to the kitchen!

Each button corresponds to one of the three train tracks. Simply press the blinking one once you have transferred all the food to your table, and the train will go back to the kitchen.

Here's what the whole process looks like.

Now, I can almost hear you screaming: "Stop it with the autistic love affair with the trains! Talk about the food, dammit! You didn't go to a restaurant to just look at the tech, right? Surely you ate something."

Well, actually I did go to the restaurant to watch the trains. But okay, I did eat something and I'll oblige you by turning this into a traditional food review now.

The food was good! My personal favourite was the salmon belly sashimi. A fattier cut than regular salmon sashimi, the belly came in huge slices which were thick and firm, with the decadent aroma of fish oil.

The ratio of white fats to pink flesh is higher in salmon belly sashimi compared to regular salmon sashimi, resulting in a richer taste.

Other highlights were the melt-in-your-mouth tender tuna sashimi and the delightfully crispy prawn tempura.

Price-wise, Genki is pretty reasonable. A family of three, we racked up a total bill of just under $100 inclusive of drinks.

Genki is a fun hangout destination for young families with children, because which child doesn't like trains? So expect to have a rather noisy and bothersome ambience. If you can't stand the high-pitched screams, go dine at an omakase restaurant instead.

I had a great experience at Genki. It's one of those places where you can spend a few hours just relaxing, because the portions are quite small and you can nibble on them slowly, sampling a wide variety of dishes along the way without feeling too bloated or burning a hole in your pocket.

And the trains will make sure you never get bored.

Artistic shot along the track.