Prepare to let go of all your preconceptions of Japanese sushi…

… because a limited-edition picnic box creation, child of a collaboration between Sushi Art and world-renowned Michelin-star Chef, Paul Pairet, will blow your taste buds into outer space!

Here’s what it means:

Sushi Art in Masdar City Centre, Abu Dhabi, is part of an international chain of avantgarde sushi restaurants, specializing in creative artistic interpretations of Japanese sushi, sashimi, and maki.

They are colorful, even provocative, and already pushing the fusion boundaries of what can be still be considered “sushi” – and then Chef Pairet came along and knocked it out of this universe!

And instead of presenting these new flavors as a sit-in option…

…the decadent limited-edition box for Sushi aficionados is proposed as a picnic box.

And so we took it on a picnic!

Granted that we didn’t want to keep the fresh sushi bouncing around in the back of a 4×4 for hours, though the bag we picked up did contain frozen ice packs, and we arrived at our enchanted forest destination with the sushi all cool and fresh.

We were very curious!

You see, Chef Paul Pairet is not only a Michelin-star Chef – he has launched restaurants within the World’s 50 Best Restaurants, winning Chefs’ Choice Award in 2016, and he was included in The 100 Chefs by Le Chef magazine!

Also, he was awarded Restaurateur of the Year 2018 by Les Grandes Tables Du Monde; and he was considered among the 50 most influential French people in the world in 2019 by Vanity Fair France!

So with this type of culinary reputation, what to expect from sushi creations that proudly carry his name?

Well, the bag contains several parts… but I’ll let you enjoy the un-boxing, and suffice to say it holds all that may be required to enjoy a lovely sushi-based picnic (but no drinks, so prepare for them separately).

But let’s focus on the good stuff!

20 very elegant sushi pieces greet you, and there seems to be enough for all tastes and preferences.

We prepared all the thoughtfully-provided little soya sauce bottles, wasabi containers, and pickled ginger, but later realized we didn’t need any of them…

Accompanying the sushi box was a vibrant presentation of edamame – soya bean pods – and a little dessert box, but otherwise the picnic selection is based on both raw and cooked meats: duck, beef, chicken, anchovy, tuna, and salmon.

And at the first bite, we immediately knew we would not be needing soya sauce!!!

The good Chef has magically matched sushi rice with marvelous combinations of ingredients, expertly prepared, exalting them with fascinating and mysterious sauces, and totally re-defining what a niblet of sushi can taste like.

Truly astounding, it’s like eating sushi from another planet.

So, you are not only tasting flavors that go beyond your expectations of sushi, but at the same time you are picnicking outdoors, and that environment also affects your dining experience… the result is an incredible gourmet journey, one that you will remember for time to come, and indeed may be repeated several times until this limited edition runs out.

Let me see if I can explain… let’s take one from the row with sliced cucumbers on top…

Looks like a regular inside-out maki roll, no?

(inside-out because the seaweed layer is inside the rice; called uramaki)

Well, that’s what your eyes tell you, but once it passes your lips and your taste buds take over the sensory input, your perception is turned upside-down as well as inside-out!

That little beauty is in fact a Beijing Roll made of Peking duck, hoi sin sauce, peanut butter, chives, cucumber, crunchy peanut, vinagered rice, and sesame.

Can you imagine the flavors swirling around your palate?

Now you know why dipping into extra soya and wasabi is not required!

And onwards!

Anchovy Sushi-Mozz – the natural saltiness of two anchovy fillets, one preserved in olive oil and the other in brine; backed by the sweetness of piquillos (red pepper), a tweak of fresh parsley, on a bed of superbly fresh creamy mozzarella instead of rice!

Below, the awkwardly named Ablt Spring – avocado, beef pastrami, lettuce, tomato, crouton of bread, dijon mustard, Japanese mayonnaise, lime juice, served with a special ABLT sauce. No rice required.

And onwards further!

Each piece is a masterpiece, and you will sample them with your eyes closed and finish with a smile on your face – incredible the difference a Michelin Star can make!

Overall, the picnic box by Paul Pairet, expertly packed for you at any Sushi Art outlet in UAE, is an eye-opener of what can be created if there were no limits to imagination other than deliciousness.

A decadent box of new-age sushi that must be tried by every sushi lover!

Preferably in an outdoor setting picnicking in nature.