Sushi done Hyatt style

But this time, it was not that one special drink that makes it all okay, but rather the sushi. And not just any sushi, but the newly revamped Hyatt Regency Trinidad sushi experience. The hotel’s newly constructed sushi bar gives its customers the chance to enjoy custom sushi while overlooking the waterfront.

The bar was opened earlier this year in February but all of the elements were not fully in place.

According to Hyatt Regency’s Marketing Communications manager, Neemah Persad-Celestine, “This was not the sushi bar.

The sushi bar was on the other side,” she explained the bar’s new configuration to members of the media who were treated to the Hyatt’s new sushi experience on July 28, at Wrightson Road, Port of Spain. She said it was not really a sushi bar but a place where the hotel “made it happen.” “But sushi became so popular, that it continued and we never moved it from anywhere else. So recently, we finished our renovation and upgrade (of the hotel) ...but this is the brand new sushi bar dedicated to sushi.” Persad-Celestine said one of the new features of the revamped sushi bar is its opening hours.

The bar would usually open Monday to Saturday, from 5 pm to 10 pm. Now, the bar will open from 1 pm on Fridays, with an aim at making the 1 pm opening an everyday thing.

Persad-Celestine explained that the new construction gives patrons the chance to sit, be more comfortable and see things properly. “Before we did not have all of that.” The hotel’s recently appointed executive sous chef, Anthony Rattigan, who has 20 years working with the Hyatt chain and four months in TT , said the team tries to craft rolls unique to the Trinidadian palate. Over the world, he said, one would not find a lot of spicy rolls but that was something found in TT .

Rolls such as the dynamite roll were to appease the Trinidadian/ Caribbean taste. But if spicy is not your thing, the Hyatt staff tones it down just for you, adding to that intimate, one-on-one experience. The ingredients used are indigenous to TT and if you are allergic to something or have a particular preference, just tell your chef and they would create something just for you. Rattigan said the adjusted time was done to accommodate the large volume of people in the hotel and from surrounding offices who requested sushi for lunch.

Eliseo Caliguia, sous chef, heads the six-member team.

And it is a team that is always seeking to offer something new to its customers, changing the menu to add new and exciting items such as the Andre Caribbean roll and the newly added spicy udon noodle soup.

Listed as one of the hotel’s favourites, the Andre Caribbean roll was named after employee Andre James, who was the hotel’s employee of the year four years ago, and in 2015 won the Caribbean employee of the year award from the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association. Not only was a roll named after him but the hotel will soon name a suite after him in honour of his achievement. The menu is revamped every three to six months to keep things new and exciting. And when you’re finished with the sushi roll just suited for your palate, wash it down with one of the hotel’s signature drinks for that one-on-one sushi experience.