Sakura Zen

I kid you not when I said that the first time my sister mention the name of the place to me, I thought she was taking me to a spa. But alas, it was a different kind of spa, where you instead filled your belly with Japanese food. And lets be honest, this is definitely Tawau's answer to Sushi King (yup, the franchise has not landed itself here.. yet!).

So I've only became a Japanese food fan quite recently (maybe sometime around 2010, where my partner tricked me into eating a sushi - and I fell in love with it instantly). And before the Sakura Zen came about, there's only 1 other Japanese food parlour here in Tawau (the Edo Ichi at Fajar Complex, which I've also learnt that it happens to be a branch of the former). The pretty looking establishment is situated at (yet again) Kubota Square, Tawau where it's directly above the Old Town White Coffee franchise. The decor is a lovely sakura (of course) inspired place and dare I say eludes 'tranquility' (me and my so-called sophisticated words). There has been several Japanese restaurants mushrooming in Tawau in the recent years but if I'm not mistaken, this is the only one that has a sushi conveyor belt ala Sushi King. But don't worry cause they'd also provide Japanese meal boxes and other delicious looking set meals. Me and my sister however opted for the sushis instead (partly because I can't get my eyes off of the colourful looking sushis on the conveyor belt - I know, I'm such a kid) as the prices was also very similar to those in Sushi King (see pic below). Taste wise, it's pretty good and you can taste the freshness as well (since they made their sushis on-the-counter daily). So again, all in all it's basically Sushi King's close cousin in Tawau. There's also a private room should you want to entertained family and friends privately.

But do take note of the opening hours though, since they're only opened at 11.00am - 2.30pm before closing to prepare for the next slot which is around 6.00pm - 10.00pm daily. And a little tip, do not come to the place if it's already 2.00pm, since they'll stop making new batches of sushis during that time. So you pretty much get the 'leftovers' of the conveyor belt if you come in around that time (and boy, the waiters are also very eager for you to finished up so they can closed for the afternoon).

** Current status - Still in operation (as of October 2013)