Rishi — Restaurant in Bordeaux

Don't trust the rating of this restaurant. I saw this restaurant on the street a few months ago and I saved it on the Google Map for later. Because the rate was good and there was really few dissatisfied comments.

But long story short, The restaurant ruined my precious Saturday lunch.

The onigiri that I ordered was cold and the ingredients looked old. The quality, above all, the temperature of the rice, and the sauce that is leaking out every time I had a bite here and there… They didn’t even seem to know the basic of cooking. You know, it doesn’t take that long to make one fresh and warm Onigiri (or such as Kimbab) if you prepared the ingredients. I know that because I’m the person who have eaten thousands of kimbabs and Onigiris in my life. Why I have to receive a cold Onigiri in the restaurant? Did it take too long to deliver from the kitchen to the hall? Or was it something you’ve already made over?

And the ingredients inside the onigiri or kimbab should not be that wet. The excessive sauce is leaking out and the dried laver is wet and massing up around when you’re eating. That’s humiliating that that means les Bordelais are so underestimating the japanese/asian food if they’re satisfied with these food. Actually, ordinary Japanese people make it better for their daily meal. In the same paragraph, the Ramen was also disappointing too. The quantity was small and the soup was just an instant powder.

I was really disappointed into the local visitors who gave them 5 stars. It’s funny and ridiculous that they sell these under-basic food but their business is going well with the high rating. I just wanted to have a satisfied meal. If it costs more but the food was very pleasant, I would’ve been willing to pay of course!

I was quite offended about the fact that I brought my friend to that restaurant and the fact that I had to PAY...

So first of all I must say that the service was very friendly. Unfortunately, the food was extremely poorly made. First of all, it took forever until our food was there and then only one dish came and my friend and I had to stare at his food for 10 minutes until my vegetarian ramen came. This tasted like a yumyum soup with some milk in it. As a garnish there was something in it that tasted like imitation fish or fish cake. There was no trace of vegetables.

The vegetarian bento of my friend was even worse. It basically consisted only of deep-fried vegetables. It tasted 0% like real tempura. The taste reminded of rancid fat, the parts were made warm by the waitress in the microwave. The rest was cold rice, a slice of radish and lettuce leaves.

We were somewhat dumbfounded and especially surprised by the positive reviews. Has no one ever been to Japan or eaten authentic Japanese food? I have no idea what we were expecting, but...

We spotted the plates people were eating on the sidewalk out of the corner of our eye, and turned around down the block and came back. We are very happy we did! Rishi, the owner came out and told us she was closing soon, but would be happy to serve us, so we ordered the main noodle dish with beef and the other main along with some dumplings. Definitely some of the best Japanese/Mandarin food we’ve had in a long time, and coming from San Francisco our standards are high. Rishi explained how she makes everything from scratch in house and asked us if we wanted to try some of her homemade chili paste. WOW! That was definitely the hottest spice I have yet to encounter anywhere in France! Yowzers! Five stars all around, a few tables outside are in a quiet alley just off the main drag so it’s pleasant, the inside looks modest, but comfortable, but the food knocks it out of the ballpark. Highly...