Wooshi: Sushi set free
With the long hot season rolling in, one needs lighter, easier, and healthy dishes to keep feeling cool. After all, who wants to spend time in a steamy kitchen or lingering over a rich meal when the temperature soars? And that applies to most of the year when you live in a tropical country like ours.
Sushi and poke bowls are among the most perfect of foods when the days are sweltering. Light because they’re rice-based, easy to eat and digest, they make you think of days by the beach even when you are city-bound. Plus, they’re actually rather easy to prepare.
But easy as it is to throw together cooked Japanese rice with the vinegar, sugar and salt which makes up sushi rice, who wants to actually be cooking rice on a hot day? More than that, come up with a myriad of possible ingredients to fill your makis or top your rice bowl?
This is where the wonderful convenience of Wooshi comes in. It’s a concept from the group SaladStop! that provides many whimsical, prepared salad options and also allows you to make up your own combination from dozens of prepared ingredients. Even proficient home cooks won’t find it easy to match the varied offerings of a professional salad bar.
Like SaladStop!, Wooshi has fun, pun-intended combinations that you can choose from. The Maki Rolls include choices like Big Bang Tofu, which has grilled tofu, tempura enoki, toasted almonds, and creamy basil pesto. The Cali Crunch roll is filled with crabsticks, crunchy ebiko, avocado, and wasabi mayo. Tuna Turner features yuzu shoya tuna, chili crab sauce, and peanuts. Ebi-Thing has shrimp tempura, crunchy ebiko, Japanese ginger, and a yuzu teriyaki sauce.
Imagine coming up with all those components yourself, when you could instead just step into Wooshi at SaladStop! and decide which one you want. Whether on busy working days or leisurely summer strolls, they are easy meals on the go.
The same applies to the rice bowls, with tongue-in-cheek options that include Seoul Mate featuring bulgogi beef and yuzu teriyaki, Ebi Ever After with shrimp tempura and ramen-style egg, or Torinik-ooh! The last item is topped with baked chicken, charred corn, tamago, and a black garlic vinaigrette.
As with SaladStop!, you can also customize your maki or rice bowl from prepared greens, veggies, proteins and vegan options. That means you can play with all sorts of combinations. You could make your meal heftier with the addition of chicken karaage or end with a sweet like fried banana mochi. Refreshing iced teas are locally made by the brand Good Poison and come in the variants Lemon Lychee, Calamansi Peach, and Dalandan Pear.
The colorful mural on Wooshi’s wall by young artist Jill Artech adds to the playfulness of the space, which is sure to attract the Gen Z clientele that Wooshi is aiming for. Jill captures the youthful vibe of the brand and the vibrant energy of Manila with its sunsets, traffic, and people.
Adrien Desbaillets, who co-founded SaladStop! in Singapore with his father, flew into town for the launch of the first Wooshi branch. “It feels like a homecoming. Twelve years ago, we were on this site, building the first SaladStop!” he explains at the location in Central Square Mall, BGC.
It was the first international location outside Singapore, which would later include Heybo, another healthy lifestyle food choice. “We have a long-term relationship with our partners in the Philippines, based on trust and combined efforts,” says Adrien.
“Introducing Wooshi in the Philippines reflects how we continue to respond to today’s evolving food preferences,” says Anton Huang, president of SSI Group, Inc. “Filipinos are looking for meals that are flavor-forward, flexible, and easy to fit into their daily routines. Wooshi meets those expectations with a concept that is approachable, customizable, and designed for how people eat today.”
“Wooshi is more flexible with its format, it can go into small places like kiosks,” Adrien adds. It’s a brand built for the quirkier Gen Z crowd, with lower price points making it easier for young people to indulge.
Adrien grew up eating quite healthy because his mom, who is mainly vegetarian, made it a point to cook healthy at home. They saw a need for healthier food in Singapore, which has amazing food but not necessarily the healthiest.
“The three brands—SaladStop!, Heybo and Wooshi—are different in their own ways, but they have the same DNA. For us it’s about making healthier communities,” says Adrien. With their offerings, they want to be able to help people maintain a long-term sustainable lifestyle. With their fun and varied approach to Japanese comfort food, bold flavors and vibrant ingredients, Wooshi will certainly help Filipinos achieve just that.
