Taste And Tell MNL‘s sushi bake is touted to be the best sushi bake in the metro. At the price they’re charging (PHP 1500 for a large kani aburi sushi bake vs the typical ~PHP 700-800 charged by competitors), I didn’t think I’d ever get to taste it to provide my honest review. Thankfully, they joined BakeSaleForBetterPH, which is an online fundraiser that encourages donations through a virtual bake sale. Instead of paying the baker, you donate directly to the cause of your choice! Now, donating the money is a lot more palatable for me, because it helps me justify my spend (PHP 1500 went to help out a good cause, and didn’t just go straight into my tummy hehe).

Definitely check out BakeSaleForBetterPH if you’ve got a chance – they have a whole slew of partner bakers every month + a variety of causes for you to support. For this month, the cause of my choice was  Tip sa Dyip’s Para! sa Edukasyon, which aims to help Katipunan jeepney drivers’ children by providing them gadgets, school supplies, WiFi, and other learning tools as school starts. As we know, jeepney drivers are one of the most affected by the pandemic, in large part because the continued on/off lockdown and lack of clear guidance from the government has really prevented them from plying their trade and earning enough to even cover their basic needs. It’s a sad state of affairs indeed when the government cannot protect and support the most vulnerable communities/constituents. If the government can’t/won’t step up, then it’s up to us. You can learn more about this initiative here.

Anyway, short advocacy rant aside, let’s jump straight into the review shall we?

VERDICT: IT’S GOOD BUT NOT NECESSARILY VALUE FOR MONEY

Packaging

The sushi bake was beautifully packaged. I’ve purchased sushi bakes from local businesses #SupportLocalBusinesses, and this had the best packaging yet. The food itself was carefully cling-wrapped, and placed into this pretty turquoise box with the Taste and Tell logo emblazoned proudly across. Definitely A+ for presentation!

Along with the sushi bake itself, the largi Kani Aburi tray also came with 5 seaweed packs (each pack contained 8pcs of seaweed). This is super sakto, because we’re a family of 5 – so each of us got 1 seaweed pack to devour.

Baking Instructions

Again, unlike their competitors, no questions need to be asked here.

The instructions are straightforward and takes into account both options:

1. If microwave: Cover the sushi bake, then microwave for 30-40 seconds until warm.
2. If oven: Pre-heat the oven at 160 deg C, and place the kani aburi sushi bake into the oven for 10 minutes until warm

I chose the oven option, and the 10 minutes of waiting time just about killed me!!! I was SO excited to try.

Taste

It’s good – what else is there to say? Just kidding. I really like the umami sauce with a slight kick (definitely spicier compared to other variants I’ve tasted). I also appreciated the generous toppings (equal distribution of sauce and rice) – and I could clearly taste the kani, mango, and salmon roe. Plus, the seaweed adds that additional salty layer to this creamy bake, which was a delightful experience!

What I didn’t like was the rice – it was tougher than what I’m accustomed to, and similar in taste and texture to days-old rice. I know kimchi rice and the like uses leftover rice – is it the same for sushi bake? Well, personally, I like my rice fresh. That’s a personal preference though, so you may feel differently.

Value for Money

Overall, I liked it! But would I purchase it again? Probably not. Unless they join a donation drive again, or they lower their prices, my wallet simply can’t justify the purchase price of their sushi bake. Admittedly, it tastes great and I’m sure they used premium ingredients hence the price.

Oh well. Overall, happy I finally got to try this much raved about product. I will say, it has also inspired me to remake my sushi bake again. I tried to make my own a few weeks back – it was delicious and super cheap to make – here’s my easy sushi bake recipe. Having said that, I really liked the spicy kick of Taste and Tell’s kani aburi sushi bake, so will try to incorporate that in my next sushi bake experiment!