Sakae Sushi, Singapore

It took a long time for me to decide if I should include reviews of mass market chains of restaurants such as Sakae Sushi, because the line between them and fast food chains such as McDonald's is not one that is easy to draw, and I don't want to end up writing about MacDonald's. I shall make a little discourse here since this reminds me of something that Michel Deza told me.

At the recent 2005 Shanghai Combinatorics Conference, Michel told Charlie Colbourn and myself that he hates McDonald's food but thinks McDonald's fill in a void in society. Well-to-do people have cafes such as Starbucks where they could hang out, have a coffee, and talk. But these places are not that accessible by poorer people, who would find spending US$3-5 on a cup of coffee to be too expensive. McDonald's allows these poorer people, including students and teenagers to have a coffee and talk. This is important because it enables communication and support in this strata of people. But here's MIchel's ending punchline: "But why do they have to be made to eat shit at the same time?"" Charlie Colbourn and I just rolled with laughter hearing that!

Now, back to Sakae Sushi. They have succeeded into bringing the expensive Japanese cuisine to mass market, but at some sacrifice, mainly that of personalization, variety, and some quality. I find the food not too bad and good value. It is certainly not top-notch Japanese food, and some may even say it is average, but I think the value makes up more than enough for the short comings.