Gohan Lauded for ‘New Fashion Sushi’
According to some food reviewers, Gohan Sushi at 405 Queen Street is one of the best sushi spots, not just in the state, but in the entire country.
The Instagram food reviewer @discovery_matt, who has over 150,000 followers, recently named the restaurant the best sushi spot in Connecticut. Last year, the restaurant review site Yelp ranked Gohan the 20th best restaurant of any cuisine in the entire country. Reviewers on Reddit, Facebook and Google also recommend trying a bite.
So what makes Gohan stand out?
Part of the answer is in the name: 'gohan' means rice in Japanese, specifically cooked rice. Owner Rachael Lin said it is the most important aspect of sushi.
“Rice is the soul of the whole sushi. Anybody can get the freshest fish, but if you don't cook the rice right, it could never be the same. And then customers realized that they like our rice a lot,” said Lin.
Lin and her husband Will Cheng opened Gohan Sushi at the end of the pandemic, in 2022. They had years of experience in the food business, with Lin coming from a family of restaurant owners and Cheng having trained as a sushi chef and professional knife sharpener. While Lin manages the business side of the restaurant, the kitchen falls under Cheng’s domain.
After years of working under other chefs, Cheng was inspired by his travels to start a restaurant of his own. He wanted to bring something new to the table, something customers may not be able to find elsewhere.
“I travel to most every single state on the East Coast. So I go to different states to see what other people do. After I see all this, I feel like maybe I can do my style. Instead of everybody having a rainbow roll, a dragon roll and stuff like that, I feel like I can have my style to show the customer the 'new fashion sushi',” said Cheng.
That approach to ‘new fashion sushi’ is what makes Cheng’s work distinctive. Besides the special care given to rice preparation, there are two other aspects that make Gohan's style stand out: everything is homemade and new items are frequently on the menu.
The fresh ingredients are what many reviewers and customers say keeps them coming back. All the sauces, including the soy sauce on every table, are made in-house.
“In Japan, traditionally, in each sushi restaurant, they will make their own sauce, or their own soy sauce for omakase. They have fish, and they have their sauce, and the message they want to send out to you. So we want to keep this kind of tradition. Extra process, extra time,” said Lin.
For the ingredients in the sushi and other dishes, the freshest fruits, vegetables and fish are used. Cheng and Lin strive to ensure every bite is perfect.
“For sweetness, we like to use mango. We always ripen it to be used. For avocados, we always get the premium grade to ripen to have that nice milky butterness,” said Lin.
The fresh ingredients are in constant rotation depending on the season, which means the menu at Gohan is fluid. Cheng and Lin say they enjoy trying cuisines of all backgrounds, and are inspired by the foods they enjoy to create new options.
The specials board often has new dishes to try with flavors that customers might not expect. On November 1, the 'triple crown' appetizer was available. It featured salmon, yogurt, guacamole and lime zest in a fried shell. It may not be a traditional sushi dish, but it was, in this writer’s opinion, delicious.
Cheng enjoys creating unexpected experiences like that. He works meticulously to mix and match every aspect of a dish to make it work for the palate.
“The way I create things, I consider the texture. So it will either be crunchy or creamy or maybe both in different layers. So that's the texture thing. Then the flavor things will be like sweet, salty, sour, spicy. I'm going to find the balance of those. Then comes the aroma, which is where you feel citrus-y flavor. I use lime zest; I use lemon zest a lot. So you're gonna feel the scent from the fresh ingredients. That's how I build up things. I consider every single layer and then put them together,” said Cheng.
All those fresh ingredients and new flavors are filling but light. That is on purpose, said Cheng and Lin. The couple noticed that many restaurants serve foods that make diners feel heavy, like fried foods. That is a less than enjoyable experience, said Lin, and they wanted Gohan to be different. Part of the Gohan approach is to leave the customers and reviewers alike feeling full but not sluggish.
The five-star reviews and returning regulars testify that Gohan is just what they need.
“A lot of things that we eat are overpowering for our body. After you eat, you feel tired, and then your body responds to you,” said Lin. “We need good protein. We need a good vitamin, like seeds, and then the good fat of an avocado. You use all those natural [ingredients], and then a little light rice in there, your carb. So every bite is designed for where your body moves.”
