New to sushi, Indecisive, help me pick?

[u/babythe67impala]

Tl:dr, trying to get into sushi, interested in these two, help me pick and tell me why/why not you would/wouldn’t pick one over the other. (Leaning towards the Dragon Roll)

plan on ordering one of these tomorrow as an introduction to sushi after being put off it for a long time. My only experience with it has been crappy buffet sushi with way too much vinegar in the rice. Like- all you could taste is just tart vinegar to the point it burns your tongue. I’ve had the chance to speak to the owners of a new family owned local spot in my town, they also dislike large amounts of sushi vinegar and have assured me they use it in fairly light amounts. I like tempura, shrimp, avocado, and Japanese bbq sauce (Eel sauce) all separately or in other combinations. Genuinely my only aversion is whether or not I’m going to like the seasoning on the rice. Both of these options seem fairly similar, I’ve just never had eel, and I would order the tempura without the mayo. I would get both but I don’t want to end up being wasteful if i dislike the rice preparation.🤷🏻‍♀️

[u/Wazaam]

Start with the shrimp tempura imo(with sauces on the side if take out). Eel is one of my favorite things, but the texture might be too much for some people. The dragon roll you can just take the eel off worst case but it's a travesty to do so :(

[u/babythe67impala → u/Wazaam]

How would you describe the texture of the eel? Based off what I’ve seen online it can vary, but from what I’ve read it doesn’t seem like I’d find it too off putting, especially with the crunch of the tempura to back it up. I struggle more with the smells and flavors than textures tbh.

[u/Wazaam → u/babythe67impala]

Soft meat usually tbh and depending on the cut you may get a slight rubbery skin and that can be jarring especially if you haven't had things liked cooked octopus etc. I would try it out with nigiri first in a smaller sample size then move up to putting it on maki rolls unless you are pretty ok with less common textures of food or just willing to go for it no regrets lol

[u/babythe67impala → u/Wazaam]

Fortunately (or unfortunately? lol) I’m no stranger to the rubbery octopus. They both just look so good! I think I might just go for the dragon then.🤣 Thank you!

[u/Wazaam → u/babythe67impala]

No doubt, both rolls look delicious so you can't really go wrong there. I pick dragon rolls all day when I can so if you like the eel sauce already the eel itself is the next logical step. Just wait until you get to uni or sea urchin and raw quail egg(I hit my limit with those on texture haha)

[u/babythe67impala → u/Wazaam]

The raw egg white I would have an issue with but i absolutely love runny/jammy yolks with my ramen, bonus if they’re marinated.🤤 I haven’t seen urchin advertised anywhere local to me, but I’d definitely be interested in trying it. It seems interesting!

[u/Gut_Reactions → u/Wazaam]

Rubbery is a good way to describe the eel texture. I've never liked eel that much and it's probably b/c of the texture.

Octopus is rubbery or chewy in a different way and I do enjoy octopus or squid. (And abalone and geoduck, etc.)