Tag Archives: sashimi

Kamei Royale on West Hastings

Last summer, they had a grand opening at their new location on Hastings. We returned with a group of 15 people for the Christmas holidays. The lady there who I have seen for many years at the old location was still there and was serving us.

The restaurant now had a modern feel but with traditional Japanese decor. Their tatami rooms that they had all along the walls of the old place were no longer incorporated, instead had chic like bar seats, modern slick booths or tables with chairs.

I ordered a Chawanmushi $5.95 with prawn and vegetables in steamed egg custard. It was really fluffy and served in the traditional dishware, it always reminds me of Japan. It’s rare to find a good chawanmushi, let alone any restaurants serving them in the first place.

Yakitori $5.50 for two skewers of grilled chicken with traditional BBQ sauce. Really good. Would have liked more of the charcoal-y taste though.

I also had a Salmon Nigiri $3 and Tamago Nigiri $2.75. Now I don’t like huge pieces of nigiri, especially with a ton of rice to cheap out, but this was ridiculous. There were barely any rice underneath. I also got confused on the menu because the nigiri were under ‘Sushi’. Yes, sushi is the broad category. Everything with fish and rice together is sushi. Nigiri-sushi is the one with the fish on top and rice underneath. Maki-sushi is the classic rolls with the seaweed on the outside. Oshi-sushi is sushi the ingredients pressed usually into a box shaped mold. I’ve never seen it categorized like this anywhere else, so I was a bit perplexed. But maybe that’s just me.

Others ordered what looked to be some amazing dishes, and they seemed to enjoy it.

Tiger Mayo $11.95 Almond coated prawn deep friend served with homemade cajun mayonnaise sauce.

Sashimi Vancouver $25 (9 pieces) Sockeye Salmon, Yellowtail, Tuna Belly and Albacore Tuna.

Service was pretty good. The server allowed us to take one booth just for jackets and bags as it was winter time, and a lot of people had bulky things. The price is higher, but it’s always been high for Kamei Royale. Quality is always good though. I might have mentioned this in the previous post for the old location. If you have a guest from out of town and want to take them to a Japanese restaurant, this is the ‘safest’ place to go, meaning you will get consistent good service, food and atmosphere.

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Sushi S

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Six of us went to Sushi S for dinner on a Saturday evening. The restaurant was medium sized, but had lots of spaces between the tables to make it spacious. They had a huge projector screen in the middle playing some basketball games.

The menu is quite extensive, so it took a while for everyone to decide.

I liked seeing that they point out that they use smaller portions of rice. Yup, bigger isn’t necessary better. If you’re wanting to fill yourself up, then it might be desirable, but having too much rice will take the flavour from the neta (fish) away.

I ordered a Negitoro Roll $3.80, Ikura $2.20, Masago $1.30, Wild Salmon $2.20 and Tamago $1.10 nigiri. All were very fresh and good quality.

Sheepie ordered the Assorted Sashimi (16 pieces) $15.40 which includes 3 pieces of salmon, tuna, tako, hokigai and amaebi with one tai in a flower arrangement. The presentation was pretty and the fish were nice and fresh.

He also ordered the Spicy Scallop $4.40 roll to share. It wasn’t spicy at all. Personally, when it comes to spicy rolls, I prefer when the spicy sauce is mixed in with the content. I’m not a fan when the sauce is poured all over the rolls. The sauce becomes way to overpowering and masks everything else. However, the roll was still good.

The others ordered other dishes that were presented with articulation, and looked tasty.

Deluxe Assorted Sushi Combo $19.80 includes twelve pieces of the chef’s choice of nigiris and half-order of tuna and salmon roll.

Tuna Tataki Salad Sashimi (8 pieces) $13.20 has seared albacore tuna with black pepper and in ponzu sauce. I think this dish was way too expensive.

One friend ordered the Ankimo $4.00 which is monkfish liver that is rubbed with salt and rinsed with sake, then rolled into a cylinder and steamed. It was the first time I tried one, so it was interesting how smooth is was. Nicely presented.

Service was ok, although one did comment it was a bit slow. The food was fresh and points for presentation. Some dishes are a bit pricey. But overall a good experience and would return.

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Sushi Garden (2nd location)

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Sheepie had talked about the one right across Metrotown, but it always had a long lineup, and it seemed like a hole in the wall restaurant. I was excited to see a new one open up just east of the original location along Kingsway.

The place had plenty of free parking space on the side. The restaurant was open and spacious. Obviously, it was new and clean.

Tako Yaki $3.95 Really good. Hot, slightly crispy on the outside, and soft inside.

Negitoro roll $2.95 Decent roll for a pretty good price.

Sushi/Sashimi Combo $9.95 The fish were fresh and looked appetizing. Not sure where the chunky thick sashimi comes from. It seems most prominent here in North America where the restaurants are run by non-Japanese. There are different thickness and cutting techniques, but the hira-zukuri cut is the standard cut for most sashimi, such as for tuna, salmon, and kingfish. Typically they are 10 mm (3⁄8 in) thick – not 1 inch! Not sure if the ‘bigger is better’ mindset plays a roll (and thinner slices require more skill), but it’s one of the reasons why I don’t like sashimi in North America. It just becomes this big blob. Not to mention harder to eat, unless you’ve got a big bite. This isn’t Sushi Garden’s fault, but thought I’d bring up my pet peeve with the sashimi.

Roll Combo $5.95 We took this out after our meal for a potluck we were headed to. People seemed to enjoy the rolls.

The price is quite affordable, while not losing out on quality or quantity. The place quickly filled up with a line up.

The following month, we returned with a group of 15 people. We tried making reservations over the phone, but apparently, since they are so busy, they don’t take any. We got there about 10 minutes early, but the lineup was already about 20 people. Also, they informed us that groups of 10 or more would be charged 18% gratuity. Things didn’t work out, and we all went to Oyama Sushi nearby instead.

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