Hummingbird604.com » sushi

Kiso Island (Mount Pleasant, 12th Avenue and Main St)

Raul — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 22:28:32 +0000

The truth be told, I am wondering if the owners of Kiso Island must be the owners of Kishu Island (which got burned at the corner of Broadway and Main). I say this because the name sounds familiar and similar, and the sushi also tastes similar. Good sushi, but not something to call home about. It’s of good enough quality and I would definitely stop here for the gyoza and some of the special sushi pieces, but for traditional, standard rolls, I am still a fan of MoMo Sushi. Kiso Island is decent sushi for where it is and what you need it for.

The avocado roll and the yam tempura roll were both good, I won’t deny it. But the spicy tuna roll was meh.

The gyozas were delicious, that I will concede. Overall, I’ll come to Kiso Island again, but mostly when I’m away from MoMo Sushi or Sushiyama or Hime Sushi (all in the vicinity of Main and Broadway). It’s inexpensive sushi, but it’s not the best in town.

Disclosure: I paid for my sushi dinner on my own dime.

Temaki Sushi (Kitsilano, Arbutus and Broadway)

Raul — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 21:22:52 +0000

There are few people in this town whom I trust blindly when it comes to their food choices. One of them is my very good friend Cassandra Anderton who writes Good Life Vancouver. Cassandra suggested that whenever I am tired and coming back from the university towards my house (on the 99 B Line) I should stop on Arbutus and Broadway (now that the 99 B Line stops right there) I should eat sushi from Temaki Sushi. Her recommendation was spot-on.

Our definition of Temaki Sushi is “Japanese food hand-made with passion and creativity”. We are simple people with a strong passion for good food. We believe good food means enjoying every bite. It is important to us that you taste the freshness and quality of each ingredient, the combination within each roll, the sauce and little details that goes with each dish. Opened since 2003, we consistently strive to create high-quality food at reasonable prices, within a casual and friendly atmosphere.

I found the prices of other items (not the rolls and the nigiri) a bit more expensive than other sushi places I know, but as far as rolls and nigiri, I am definitely delighted. The rice is well made, fresh, not cold, just the right temperature, the right amount of vinegar, and the spicy salmon roll was really interesting (my favourite is still MoMo Sushi)

Disclosure: I paid for my dinner on my own dime.

Sendai Sushi (Financial District, Downtown Vancouver)

Raul — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 14:00:43 +0000

Edible sushi at a not-so-expensive price point, that’s what Sendai Sushi is for me. For what I ate (a sushi combo for $8.75 with 3 pieces of nigiri sushi, a California roll and Miso soup), I can definitely pay about the same at Momo Sushi, or Spin Roll (both of which are about at the same distance from my office at The Network Hub).

If you are in a hurry to get some food while downtown, Sendai Sushi is good enough sushi to sustain you.

Sea Monstr Sushi (Gastown)

Raul — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 18:00:03 +0000

I love the fact that my friends almost always have the same adventurous approach to eating out. I hadn’t checked out Sea Monstr Sushi in Gastown, and I had wanted to try it for a long while. My good friends Ashleigh Smith and Chris Walts had just returned from a month in Peru, and thus we agreed to meet at Sea Monstr Sushi for a bite to eat. Not sure why, I wasn’t really too hungry, but I wanted to see them, so we met up there. Sea Monstr Sushi is a quaint little place, so don’t expect huge decorations or a very fancy, flashy restaurant location. But the sushi it serves is very good and the service is really excellent.

I ordered a Sushi Combo ($9.00) and 1 piece of salmon nigiri ($2.50). My combo brought along a few pieces of California roll, spicy tuna roll and some salmon roll bits. It also included a miso soup.

I loved in particular the spicy tuna sushi roll, fresh, tasty, spicy and just the right amount of rice. The miso soup was really flavourful and not very salty (a negative characteristic I have found in some restaurants’ sushi combos).

Disclosure: I paid for my dinner on my own dime.

Ryu Sushi (Main Street, Mount Pleasant)

Raul — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 15:00:58 +0000

I was really sad to see the Windjammer (a very old-fashioned, really cute English pub that offered apparently some really good fish and chips that I never got the chance to check out) disappear. But I’m glad that there’s an affordable (maybe not the most sophisticated) and tasty sushi restaurant near my house. I used to be a huge fan of Zipang Sushi but the last two times I have visited it’s been pretty awful.

The decor at Ryu Sushi is modest, clean and welcoming. I am pretty impressed with the size of the restaurant that they inherited. I’m not sure they’ll give their patio much action, but I am looking forward to checking it out soon. Ryu Sushi doesn’t boast any fanfare nor do they claim to be the best sushi in town. They offer affordable sustenance-like sushi at very decent price points and great customer service. The staff were incredibly warm and kind and welcoming. And I was just as pleased to have some grub to keep me on the go. We’ll have to see how they fare through time.

Ikura Sushi (Marpole, Granville and 70th)

Raul — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 18:00:07 +0000

I’m slightly wary of places in strip malls. For whatever reasons, I find places like those strange. But lately I have found out that my fear of strip malls may be unfounded. Ikura Sushi is one of those rare gems that I had not visited and that now I will go back. I took JT there for dinner before we went to Metro Theatre to check The 42nd Street. I ordered a combo A (spicy tuna roll, BC roll and California roll) and 2 pieces of salmon nigiri sushi.

Overall, I would definitely come back to Ikura Sushi. Inexpensive (dinner for 2 was $24 before taxes, and it was generous!) and tasty, fresh fish and very well done sushi rolls. Can’t complain.

JT ordered a bento box A (with California roll, some tempura, some chicken teriyaki). The size of my nigiri sushi were really a bit unreal (pretty big, for what I normally get – similar to Momo Sushi in fact, another of my favorites).

Yamato Sushi (Davie Street, Yaletown)

Raul — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 17:00:49 +0000

I went to Yamato Sushi with my good friend Cisco Grajales III a few months ago, and I realize now that I never posted a review. All three of the Davie Street sushi joints (between Seymour and Granville) are good, but this time we just stayed at Yamato Sushi. The sushi rolls were very fresh and the specialty roll (avocado) was delicious. Overall, I would probably come back to Yamato Sushi, although I’m not crazy about it. I would probably go first to Mo Mo Sushi!

Sushi Oyama (Burnaby, near Metrotown)

Raul — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 16:45:58 +0000

I’m the guy who likes pretty buildings and is fascinated by architecture. So what attracted me to Sushi Oyama was the actual pagoda-inspired-house-style restaurant (on Kingsway, pretty close to Metrotown). I told JT that I wanted to try it out at some point, and we ended up having dinner there recently. The truth be told, I did not expect the sushi to be this good, abundant, tasty and filling.

And inexpensive! I did not bring my digital camera so you’re kind of stuck with iPhone 3G quality photos (no, I don’t have an iPhone 4 so I don’t have nearly as good quality in my iPhone pictures as I would like to!) I ordered a sushi roll combo ($9.50) and a piece of spicy salmon nigiri ($1.50). And by the time I was done, I almost could not continue eating. The size of each sushi roll is amazingly large.

Even for a healthy appetite like mine, I found the diameter of the roll and amount of food inside the roll pretty substantial. Very flavourful, although some sushi connoisseurs might complain that I didn’t order the specialty rolls. I just did not have the space. Verdict: I love Sushi Oyama. I felt a bit “exposed” in the very-well-lit room but overall, it was a really nice experience.

Disclosure: I paid for my and my friend’s food.

Fumiyoshi Sushi (West Pender, Downtown Vancouver)

Raul — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 17:00:40 +0000

While it was edible, and filling, I did not find Fumiyoshi Sushi anything to write home for. I think I’m going to stick with my trusty Spin Roll or Momo Sushi, or if I’m feeling adventurous and heading to Yaletown, I’m sticking with Sushi Maro. Don’t get me wrong, Fumiyoshi Sushi is not a bad sushi place. Its menu is varied and I wasn’t hungry. But I think that there are other places with tastier sushi.

All of the above said, if I want variety, instead of going to the same 3 sushi places I go to, I will venture to Fumiyoshi Sushi. It’s good enough and it’s less than 2 blocks away from my office at The Network Hub.

Disclosure: I paid for my and my companion’s sushi

Spin Roll Sushi (Downtown Vancouver)

Raul — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 21:00:55 +0000

Some people ask me where I go for lunch whenever I need a quick bite to eat. If I want to stay really on the inexpensive side of things, I go to Spin Roll. They have the tastiest, most filling and least expensive sushi I have ever tried. And they’re literally 1 minute away from my office downtown at The Network Hub.

My favorite combo ($6.50) is the Sushi Roll combo, pictured above. I definitely love the California roll and their various vegetarian rolls. As far as inexpensive and tasty sushi that is close to my office, hard to beat Spin Roll.

Miko Sushi (Robson Street, West End)

Raul — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 02:46:04 +0000

I had never heard of Miko Sushi (on Robson Street, right besides Don Guacamole), but as it turns out, my good friend Rebecca Bollwitt (whom I took there to celebrate her birthday early) has been there, and she enjoyed the idea of having sushi.

You may (or may not) know this, but back in the day Rebecca and I used to do lunch almost every Friday in 2008 and part of 2009, so it was nice to go back to our tradition (and to celebrate her birthday a couple of days earlier, as she took me for brunch to Twisted Fork Bistro a few months ago for mine).

We just ordered a traditional sushi box for each one of us ($11) with 4 pieces of nigiri sushi, salad, a couple of small sushi rolls (California and salmon), tempura and a couple of skewers. Overall, really filling (Rebecca couldn’t even finish her own!) and very, very tasty sushi. If we were in a quest for best sushi, Miko Sushi would definitely be in the running (although I definitely love my Momo Sushi).

Disclosure: I paid for both Rebecca and my dinner on my own dime.

Kimono Sushi (Downtown Vancouver)

Raul — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 15:00:16 +0000

I have always struggled with dining options near Scotiabank Theatre. Given that I teach on the Point Grey campus of UBC, I never really have needed to eat food after a class on the UBC Robson Square campus. Thus I am often left pondering “where the hell are we going to eat?” when JT and I go to the movies near Scotiabank.

Well, both of us had had sushi before at Kimono Sushi, pressed for time the same way we were this time (JT picked me up at UBC, and the drive back into downtown took us a while). We realized that while there was an Earls restaurant near by and a couple of Italian pizzerias, we were literally going to be unable to eat food in 45 mins (e.g. sit down, order, have our food delivered, eat, pay the bill and get out). We were able to do so at Kimono Sushi. The food was good (although there’s plenty of other sushi restaurants that will deliver that good of a sushi platter), if not spectacular.

If you have to be at Scotiabank Cinemas (or have something to do downtown Vancouver near Robson and Hornby), I’d suggest Kimono Sushi. Not my first choice, but not a bad one.

Tsunami Sushi (Downtown Vancouver, Robson Street)

Raul — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 16:44:59 +0000

I had wanted to come to Tsunami Sushi for a while now, but truth be told, I had been way too busy to ever make it for dinner. But since it’s located close to where Minna goes to do yoga, one night we just decided to swing by and have some sushi. I didn’t know that the main tenet of tsunami is that you sit around the bar and you choose the food you want to eat (in conveniently priced small plates).

I am a fan of nigiri sushi, so I had a field day. I’m also a big fan of “just eat what your stomach wants you to eat” – I definitely would want to come back again, though I probably wouldn’t eat as much as I did last time. The sushi is good, the portions are generous and the prices aren’t all that bad.

Miyako Sushi (Downtown Vancouver)

Raul — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 22:52:08 +0000

I had been looking for a sushi spot in the downtown core (the financial district, more than anything) for a long while. I do know more or less where to get sushi around The Network Hub (where I have my office). The other day I had to meet up with JT for lunch downtown within the financial district, and we only had 45 minutes so I risked it and suggested Miyako Sushi.

Honestly, I had never even tried the sushi here. But since I walk around downtown Vancouver quite a lot, I often pass by places that look interesting (there goes my economic geography lecture on location theory – foot traffic is quite important for restaurants!). So, JT and I went here for lunch. The bento boxes were priced in the range of $10, which is normal for a bento box these days.

Miyako Sushi has free wifi and it’s actually quite cozy and nicely decorated. I would totally come back if I ever had to have meetings around that side of town, close to Burrard and Pender. The sushi was good, the miso soup was good, it was definitely authentic, and of all the sushi places I’ve reviewed, it’s one of the nicest.

Sushi Bang (Broadway and Cambie)

Raul — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 18:00:36 +0000

I’ve been a frequent customer of the inexpensive $5.99 and $6.99 sushi combos that Sushi Bang has. It’s not the most amazing sushi in the world, but it’s good. And more importantly, it’s not very expensive. Sushi Bang is good sustenance sushi, quick and good for a “I don’t have the time to go find another sushi place, this is good sushi, I need to take the Canada Line for my next appointment” kind of lunch.

Hime Sushi

Raul — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 20:37:10 +0000

The gentrification of my area (Mount Pleasant) has concerned me for a while now (admittedly, the Kingsway and Fraser area and from 16th and Fraser to King Edward is getting nicer and highly touted to become “the new Main“). So, when I saw that a new sushi place had opened right next door to Rhizome Cafe, I was a bit worried. I didn’t want “yet another sushi place” in an area that is even a tad crowded with restaurants – for example, Jiro and Sushiyama are both within two blocks distance).

I will admit that I walked into Hime Sushi a bit hesitant (admittedly, it was 9 pm and all I wanted was a couple of rolls). Unfortunately, I think they might have recognized me from my profile photo on UrbanSpoon, which is a bit unfortunate, because I would have wanted to eat there knowing that the excellent service I received was the same level of service that they provide everyone. I ordered a California combo ($ 8.00) and that was that, and I’ll say, Hime Sushi’s rolls are on par with some of the best sushi I’ve had (perhaps to the level of Zipang Sushi on Main and 20th).

I’ll have to come back and let you know if the service is as good when they’re busy as it is when they’re empty (they close at 10pm).

Suga Sushi (UBC Village)

Raul — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 19:30:36 +0000

I had been working hard and staying late at UBC to finish preparing lectures and writing a paper, and I decided I needed a walk, so I asked my good friend Erica Hargreave if she’d like to join me for a walk around the UBC Point Grey campus (which is quite beautiful). Obviously, at some point during our walk we felt hungry so we wandered towards the UBC Village.

I will confess that I totally expected this place to be kind of sketchy (not sure why) but I am SO glad it wasn’t. The sushi was reasonable and not too expensive (between $8.50 and $10.00 for a bento box).

I noticed that Suga Sushi’s bento box included gomae, which is unusual from what I have seen at other sushi places (and by heck, it looks like I’m on a sushi bender). I am not much of a bento box fan, but I love rolls and nigiri sushi. The flavors of Suga Sushi’s rolls were pretty good and the fish and veggies were fresh. It’s student fare, from what I can see, and I can’t complain! Good food, good value and great company (thanks Erica for joining me)

Sushiyama (Mount Pleasant)

Raul — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 06:54:00 +0000

JT and I had tried to have sushi at Sushiyama not once, not twice but seriously, probably a dozen times. But we always caught them closed, not sure why. Maybe we weren’t destined to try the delicious sushi that Sushiyama produces. Luckily, this Friday we were able to pick up take-out (we both chose a California Combo, for $ 7.95 – that includes miso soup). The sushi is definitely better than the one I had at Nikkyu (which, admittedly, is substantially closer to my house, but not as good). It’s also substantially better than the sushi at most Kishu’s (including the recently burned down Kishu Mountain).

While I am not one to try the fancy rolls unless the place is very well renowned for them, like the case of Zipang or Ebisu (both Robson and Richmond), so I’m usually trying the basic combos. For the California combo, I had more than enough food. It included miso soup (very light) and 4 pieces of nigiri sushi.

I am not too keen on any nigiri that is not the traditional salmon, tuna or shellfish, so the fourth piece was kind of weird for me. Also, I’m trying to eat more vegetarian rather than fish-based, so while I love nigiri, I am more concerned with eating fish that aren’t endangered (‘sustainable sushi’ places in Vancouver).

Overall, I really enjoyed eating sushi to take out from Sushiyama, but I could totally see how I would have to wait in line to get a table. It’s a very popular place!

Momo Sushi (Gastown)

Raul — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 23:51:01 +0000

I have had an office at The Network Hub for over 2 years. During that time I have hosted several blogger outreach events, including a couple for The Community Against Preventable Injuries (@Preventable). For those of you who have attended those events (and several that The Network Hub itself has organized), here’s the answer to the delicious sushi you’ve enjoyed: Momo Sushi in Gastown

The fact that Momo Sushi is located less than 2 blocks away from our offices at West Hastings and Richards makes our lives oh-so-much-easier because we can just call and order a couple of platters and we will have enough food to feed a little army. Today my good friend Minna Van (one of the cofounders of The Network Hub) invited me out for lunch and I wanted sushi, so we went to Momo Sushi.

I do not think people realize just how big those rolls are and how filling they are, but let me tell you, the roll combos at Momo Sushi are big enough that after lunch, you may fall into a sushi coma. Really tasty, the fish is very fresh (if you eat fish, or you can also do all vegetarian rolls). For me, it was much more than I could handle, and right now I am fighting to stay awake.

I just hope I can make it through the Social Media Club Vancouver executive board meeting still awake! And Momo Sushi isn’t expensive, I think you can have a decent lunch for less than $9.00. Overall, my kudos to Momo Sushi for consistently good sushi.

Jiro Japanese Restaurant (Broadway and Kingsway)

Raul — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 15:17:38 +0000

Jiro Japanese Restaurant
315 Broadway
(near Kingsway and Broadway)

There’s one thing I’ll never understand: how can some restaurants be closed later than 3pm, for lunch? It’s not like we don’t eat late lunches! This weekend, my good friend Airdrie and I were looking for a restaurant to have late lunch (an Izakaya, preferably), and the ones we were looking to visit were closed until 5pm. Since we were hungy we settled for finding whatever sushi place we could find.

I had heard good things about Jiro, but had never been. The location kind of looks dicey, but as soon as we walked in the restaurant, we found a half-full place at 3pm. Which means, it must be good. Jiro offers all-you-can-eat sushi for $14.95 but neither Air nor I could really eat that much so we decided to just grab a few rolls and some nigiri sushi and sashimi. The fish was fresh, and I particularly liked the salmon nigiri.

It’s not an expensive place for lunch, I don’t think. And more importantly, it is open all day (since April of 2006, apparently, or so it said near the door). I had a really good time and the food was very good, so I’ll have to come back to Jiro at some point. Good bonus? It’s near where I live, just a few blocks off.

Hakone Sushi (Tinseltown)

Raul — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:46:19 +0000

Before we had a beer at Pivo, Lorraine and I ended up at Hakone Sushi. Neither of us had ever checked out this cute little sushi place, and we wanted to see what the food was like. I am quite glad we did because this is a place where you can find good, nutritious, tasty sushi without breaking the piggybank. We both ordered a sushi box and a miso soup, and we were full (at around $ 9.50 each)

I will definitely come back to Hakone Sushi, as it is relatively close to my office and to the Stadium/Chinatown Skytrain station. I also would recommend it, but it’s a tiny place so I would recommend that you come by at times when the place won’t be too packed. It’s literally right across from Tinseltown/International Village.

What is your favorite sushi place in Vancouver?

Raul — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 07:25:07 +0000

Simple, quick and easy to re-tweet and comment on – please tell me – where can I find the best sushi in town? Brownie points if the seafood offered at said restaurant is Ocean Wise-approved.

Ninkazu Japanese Restaurant (Richmond)

Raul — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:15:03 +0000

I had promised my dearest friends C, B and L that I would never reveal the secret about the ‘all-you-can-eat’ deliciousness of Ninkazu (located in Richmond, BC) but after finding them on UrbanSpoon I can’t really go on without telling the truth. Yes, Ninkazu is great. I recognize that part of the great experience was the fact that I had a wonderful time with my friends, but I’d also argue that the food was excellent. I particularly like their sushi rolls (California and salmon), their Dragon rolls and their nigiri. I don’t really hang out in Richmond anymore that much (because I really have been very busy and haven’t made the time to spend with C, B and L). But if I go soon, my next stop will be Ninkazu, for sure. Reasonable prices as compared to any other sushi place in the Lower Mainland.

Kishu Island (Main St., Mount Pleasant)

Raul — Fri, 01 May 2009 15:00:23 +0000

Both Lorraine and I love sushi. I happen to be both a lover of sushi AND a lover of all things Main Street. Since we were hanging out around the area, we decided to try Kishu Island for dinner recently. The funny thing is, I love the Kishu Mountain so I figured, Kishu Island would be just as good. Actually the first time I went I had a horrible experience, but given that I’ve now gone twice and haven’t had such a horrible experience the second time around, I figured it was about the appropriate time to give them a review.

We ordered a traditional box each one (about $9.00 per person) and it was more than enough food for each one of us. Their boxes are traditional bento boxes and therefore were pretty much sushi for sustenance. I wouldn’t say this is gourmet sushi, but it was good enough. The company was excellent, and I managed to bump into a former student of mine, whom I really like. Overall, I still prefer my Kishu Mountain to this one.

Restaurant review: Sushi Boy (Cambie and Broadway)

Raul — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 21:02:25 +0000

Technically located at the corner of Broadway and Yukon, this sushi eatery could very well be considered only an eatery and not a full-fledged restaurant. But that’s minutiae. I really loved their sushi. I have to say that most of the eateries I’ve been having sushi at, it’s pretty much the same sushi. I mean, I don’t find any substantial variation. From Kishu Island to Kishu Mountain to Toshi’s to Ninkkyu, I can’t see much variation. However, the Sushi Boy is a local favorite of those who live/work around the Broadway and Cambie area.

Do you have any particular sushi restaurant you enjoy?

Restaurant review – Kishu Japanese House – (Downtown)

Raul — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 18:17:04 +0000

Dr. Mark Latham from VoterMedia.org and I had been trying to schedule a meeting sometime to talk about politics, the web, the VoterMedia project and scholarly stuff for a long time, but it didn’t happen until recently when we went for lunch to Kishu Japanese House on Seymour Street, in the downtown core.

I’ve previously reviewed other Kishu restaurants, and I think this particular one is the “Mother Ship”. We both ordered boxes (since we were going there for a quick lunch), mostly in the range of $6.95 – $8.95. I’m always a fan of California rolls and miso soup, and to me, these tasted pretty generic. While I have to admit that I sincerely prefer Kishu Mountain to this one, I can’t complain. The sushi that we got at Kishu (Japanese) is pretty much like a vast majority of sushi joints – sustenance. Not gourmet sushi, but not bad sushi either. It’s good for the value.

Since it is so close to my downtown office, I suspect that I will be visiting Kishu (Japanese) in the future. It’s also very strategically located near the Granville Skytrain station. Overall, good food, within the confines of a downtown, quick lunch joint.

The company was, by far, the best part of this lunch. I had been looking forward to having lunch with Mark and talking academic shop. A large part of my PhD training was in political science, and having taught public policy, I am always interested in talking municipal politics. I also think that the project that Mark has undertaken is very worthy and I look forward to the next phase.

Restaurant review – Zipang Sushi (Main Street – Mount Pleasant)

Raul — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 18:10:49 +0000

I know that I had promised a professor who is a really good friend of mine that I wouldn’t review Zipang Sushi to ensure that the place didn’t get even more crowded (lately, I’ve been lucky to find out that people have started to flock to the places I’ve recommended for dinner or brunch, when I come for a return visit, and I am slightly afraid this will be the case with Zipang – but at the same time, it’s crowded already, so I guess I am just going to add a bit more crowding to the system, hehe)

Some people may argue that this is technically Riley Park/Little Mountain. We arrived at 5.20pm on a Saturday evening and the place was packed already. We had a garden fruit sushi roll and a California roll (we weren’t all that hungry, but it was more than plenty for the both of us). The rolls are very flavorful and as somebody mentioned, real works of art (I would’ve taken photos, but I was out and about shopping with my very good friend AF, so I didn’t have a camera with me).

Specialty rolls are slightly more expensive ($6.75-8.75) but very much worth it. The rest of the rolls are priced reasonably (like the majority of Vancouver sushi restaurants, around $3.00). Admittedly, the service can be quite slow (and if you’re hungry, that’s not a good idea) but the sushi is simply amazing.

I would definitely come back, but (a) I’ll make sure I’m hungrier so I can try more types of sushi (b) will bring a camera with me and (c) will arrive exactly at 5:00pm to ensure I’m not waiting forever! Closes on Mondays, just so that you know.

Restaurant review – Britannia Sushi

Raul — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 04:13:47 +0000

There are perks to hanging around The Drive (otherwise known as Commercial Drive). One of them is that you can get any kind of food almost within any price range. I roamed south of Broadway trying to find this sushi joint — “I swear I saw a place with sushi for $ 4.50, I swear!” I said to myself.

Then I saw Britannia Sushi. I remembered vaguely that this was the place I was looking for, so I entered even though the price was just slightly higher ($ 5.50 for sushi special, which is either the lunch box with chicken, rice and a sushi roll, tempura and a bit of salad, or the sushi combo with california, tempura and tuna rolls).

I had the lunch box even though in hindsight I should have had the sushi roll special (18 pieces and miso soup for $ 5.50). Let’s be honest, this is not going to be THE best sushi, but it’s inexpensive. Unfortunately, as my friend ML said, the sushi DOES stay with you. I feel like I’m about to slip into a food coma.

For what it is, I’d say Britannia Sushi gives you kind of value for your money. Just don’t expect gourmet sushi. It’s sustenance, as one of my good friends would say. And the great thing is – it’s close by to anything on The Drive, so you can finish your food and walk around. I wish the sushi was a bit lighter on my stomach, but then again, maybe I should have ordered only sushi rolls.

Restaurant review – Kirin Sushi (New Westminster)

Raul — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 19:30:05 +0000

I rarely venture as far east as Burnaby simply because I don’t have a car, and when I do go that far, it’s usually in the North Shore (Deep Cove). So this weekend I just wanted to get away from the bustling energy and atmosphere from the downtown core. I had already been to the Greek Festival in Kitsilano, and then watched “Get Smart” at Silvercity Metropolis (in Burnaby).

Without even giving it a second thought, after the movie, I decided to get as far away from Vancouver as I possibly could so JT and I went to New Westminster to walk along the pier of Westminster Quay. I rarely go in this direction as my life is somewhat Downtown-Vancouver-East-Vancouver-centric. But since I was already closer to New West than I was to DT… anyway, we ended visiting three municipalities of Metro Vancouver within the same day.

Kirin Sushi must be a rather popular sushi joint for the New West crowd. Located pretty much at the foot of New Westminster Skytrain station, this place is really good for really inexpensive sushi. We didn’t even spend like $30 and we had dinner for two and we couldn’t finish it. I would come back for sushi if I went that way.