Yushili’s teriyaki chicken is great eye candy, but...
- Written by Frank Kisakye
With an avalanche of wooden furniture, traditional rustic lights and bamboo, one could easily mistake Yushili hotel and restaurant on John Babiiha avenue to be Japanese.
The aromatic aromas of freshly boiled rice and the name Yushili do not help matters; the decor and exterior may be Japanese-inspired but the cuisines are more Taiwanese-themed, the amazing waitresses and waiters will tell you. Being a hotel as well, they have a craft shop filled with many Ugandan artefacts and crafts at reasonably fair prices.
It may still seem strange to many foreign diners that Ugandan restaurants have menu booklets where they can only prepare or serve just about 40 to 50% of meals as indicated.
Yushili is one of those few who will confidently tell you whatever is on the menu is served and almost as exactly as it appears in the booklets.
As synonymous with Japanese foods, the vegetables and the rice are boiled and where oil is used, it is at minimal.
You will not fail to notice that their meals are lowly salted and nearly all of them are accompanied with boiled eggs and the cheese-like tofu (so Japanese).
Even at Shs 32,000 upwards per meal, don’t expect a heaped plate. They just serve you what perhaps is just enough for your healthy living.
The Teriyaki chicken looked good to the eyes but did not live up to my expectations. Not that it was bad; it was not excellent either. There were hardly any chicken flavours in the boneless chicken breast. It had a bland taste but still paired well with the boiled rice.
I am not a fan of mushrooms; so, I could not tell whether it was due to my natural dislike that I found the accompanying mushroom soup also underwhelming.
The vegetable salad, however, was perfectly simmered and well spiced that I wanted more.