How many types of sushi actually exist?

Most of us are familiar with sushi and sashimi, but what's the funny sounding "nigiri" that's on most restaurants' menus?
Well, nigiri is a specific type of sushi, for starters. Aesthetic-wise, it's pretty simple to look at - just a simple, oblong slice of raw fish placed atop a wad of rice. What you think of as "sushi" is actually maki sushi or mostly maki rolls, because after strips of fish and vegetables are placed in rice and rolled in nori seaweed to make a long cylinder shape, it's cut into the little round, or sometimes squarish, colourful pieces that makes for the quintessential sushi experience, at least outside Japan.
In fact, in its motherland, it's nigiri that is the most popular sushi, not maki rolls.
Nigiri is also, generally, served in pairs for each type of fish (we aren't complaining about that). In rare instances, you'll also spot a nigiri piece with a 'seatbelt' on it! That's what they call the strip of seaweed used to bind some fish toppings that might not stick to the rice so easily otherwise.
But for all this talk about nigiri, it wasn't the one we enjoyed the most at Downtown Toko restaurant's 'All you can eat sushi' night (Mondays, 7pm-10 pm); it was the almost creamy, dreamy sashimi. Their skilled sushi chefs had us raving over a platter of salmon, red snapper, tuna and yellow tail, perfectly straight sliced pieces that are so good that it's not cringe-inducing to use "melt in your mouth" to describe them.
The maki rolls did not lag far behind, with the baked black cod, spicy tuna rolls, the crowd favourite California rolls, and red and green 'dragons' with prawn, salmon, unagi fillings going a long way to satiate.
For the number of pieces plated and the lovely, garden-setting strung with fairy lights - an oasis amidst the bustle of Downtown (Vida Downtown, 04442 8383) - the price (Dh248 per person, minimum 2 guests) is so totally worth it. Plus, there's shisha, if you fancy an offbeat sushi + shisha pairing.
marypaulose@khaleejtimes.com