For over a year, fusion restaurants, a combination of Japanese and Western styles of cooking and making sushi, have been mushrooming all over Dubai. Restaurants such as Nobu and Zuma have been at the forefront of this new trend in dining, pulling in customers with their extravagant, and often expensive, dishes.

But, as this trend grew, the city’s less affluent foodies slowly caught on, and so the need for quality, and affordable, casual fusion dining was conceived. Step up passionate young Emirati, Sultan Qassim Sultan and his Manga Sushi restaurant.

Sultan, chief executive of Sultan Group Investment LLC and owner of Manga Sushi, on Jumeriah Beach Road, has invested Dh2.5 million to create his restaurant and give a taste of fusion dining to those who cannot afford the expensive hotel venues.

“I planned this restaurant for a year and I spent two years in Japan and 40 days in California researching authentic Japanese and Westernised styles of cooking and sushi.”

He has hired three Filipino chefs, who creatively prepare the sushi for customers, 80 per cent of who are local Arab ladies. “They are as good as chefs from Japan because they have all trained under seven Japanese chefs,” says Sultan.

Sultan, whose passion for everything Japanese started with his love of Japan’s manga cartoon characters, decided to design his restaurant in a futuristic style, as if customers were eating in a scene plucked straight from one of the colourful cartoons. To further emphasise his love for the Japanese animation style, Sultan has used the costume of cartoon character Haruhi Suzumiya as the uniform for the venue’s seven waitresses.

“I have put 500 of my 5,000 manga videos, toys and magazines in the restaurant and even painted a character or two on the walls.”

Manga animation has a uniquely Japanese style and look. Comics and movies in this style have gained cult status with cartoon fans all over the world.

The restaurant’s popularity has stretched beyond the UAE’s borders thanks to the Japanese families living in the UAE who often go there to eat. Their high praise has reached the Japanese media back home, with advertising agencies jetting to the restaurant to film documentaries and commercials.

But international fame aside, it is the food that is the most important thing on offer at Manga Sushi, and keeping the menu fresh and exciting is regular challenge for the staff.

“Every month, Sultan asks the chefs to propose a new menu. He will be the first to taste it, and will only recommend the dishes which satisfy his own tastebuds to be added to our regular selection of sushi,” says Rolando Ordonez, a 39-year-old sous chef. “Next month, as Ramadan starts, we will offer 15 more makis for our customers.”

Rolando reveales that Sultan’s favourite sushi is the dragon ball. “Dragon ball is made up of fresh Alaskan crab claw, avocado and spicy, creamy sauce wrapped with BBQ eel. It’s very good.” The restaurant, which has a staff of 31, mostly Filipinos, offers other styles of sushi which have become firm favourites with its Arab customers. These include the otaku, a shrimp tempura in asparagus with teriyaki, and spider roll, a soft shell crab, a best seller among the Arab ladies who flock to the restaurant.

Shaikha Bukhashim, 23, and her colleague Amira Almuathen, 24, drive everyday from their workplace in Dubai Media City to Jumeirah Beach Plaza to eat at Manga Sushi. “The sushi is very tasty. The food is light, and the restaurant is very cozy, beautiful and clean. The staff also perform a dance routine for customers four times a day,” Shaikha said.

Amira is also full of praise for Manga Sushi. She particularly likes the design and the healthy sushi and, of course, the special dance routine. “They even sing happy birthday in Japanese for those celebrating their big day here,” she added.

lily@khaleejtimes.com