Sashimi, anyone?

It's difficult to remember life before the discovery of "the sushi buffet". It's helped us mark birthdays and milestones, helped us get through tough weeks and given us an excuse, time and again, to consume large amounts of raw fish. The discovery of the the branch in Camden Town was a fairly recent one (with us always having frequented the one on Frith Street before) but we've not looked back since. Tucked away in a little corner, I would never have found it on my own.

Hi Sushi
Canal front
Camden Lock
London NW1
020 7482 7088

The occasion this time (not that we ever really need one): Sook Fun turning 22.

A year and a half of sushi buffet outings have taught us much about strategy - we've come a long, long way from our days of ordering everything on the list only to be tortured by the incredible amount cucumber rolls that are left for us to finish at the end of the night. It's the classic economic theory of diminishing marginal utility. Nowadays, we only order our favourites (I suppose a year and a half does help when it comes to deciding on your favourites), in particular, the tuna, salmon and clam sashimi and those delicious salmon skin rolls. There a few things that taste quite like fresh sashimi and the thing I love about this outlet is how the fish never disappoints.

Along with the bottomless sushi, one is allowed to order 7 hot dishes. The Camden Town branch has a significantly more interesting selection to choose from. Our favourites include the miso soup, prawn tempura, chicken terriyaki, the tofu, squid rings and the mushrooms (which unfortunately they had run out of this time).

I was particularly impressed by the chicken on this particular trip and quite taken by the wasabi prawns as well.

Edamame, those addictive, addictive things are also a must-have. I'm always surprised at how much (and how quickly) they go down.

Adding to the fact that the food is of a much better quality than in the Frith Street outlet, what really seals the deal for this place is the wonderful ambience that it has. Quite unlike the Chinatown hustle and bustle that the Frith Street one has, this outlet is all about flowing water displays, pretty candles and a calm atmosphere. A gorgeous setting, good food, the all-you-can-eat concept and a reasonable price - you can probably see why it's our go-to for celebrations of any sort.

The perfect end to the meal, from Pattiserie Valerie.