Tag Archives: sushi

Sushiyama

I don’t go to ‘cheap’ sushi places anymore as my digestive system is sensitive. But I wanted to check this place out as I needed to be in the area, and needed to take the Sushi Lovers group here.

As you enter, the restaurant splits into two sections, with the sushi chefs in the middle. It was busy and lively, but we got a table right away.

Sheepie ordered the Box B $9.95, which looked pretty decent: some tempura, salad, deep fried gyoza, rolls, nigiris and miso soup.

He also ordered a Smoked Salmon Roll $3 and a Negi Natto roll!! $2.50. I was shocked as I knew Sheepie hated Natto. I loved natto, but had never had it in a sushi roll. When it came out, I wasn’t sure… I had it, and it was so gross. Yuck. I guess for Sheepie, it didn’t matter because he only knows disgusting natto. There was a time when I would eat natto for breakfast, about every 2 weeks. But I’m a bit picky when it comes to natto, and I now buy organic ones. I don’t know what it is with these ones, but they just tasted awful. Neither of us could finish it. It was a rare moment as we never leave any sushi behind.

I ordered the Sushi Pizza $8.75 which is a bit pricey compared to the Bento Box. I had chosen this dish because of good reviews on it. However, I was disappointed, and couldn’t even finish it.

The Negitoro Roll $3 was average.

Not sure why it’s got such a high rating. I wouldn’t go back if I didn’t need to.

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Alpha Sushi Bar

4 of us were meeting up for dinner in this Japanese run sushi restaurant. Master Sushi Chef Yuji has been serving assortment of sashimi and sushi rolls since the opening of Alpha in Yaletown in 2005.

The restaurant has a cozy, comfy feel to it. My friend and I arrived early, and were greated by a friendly staff. When the third person arrived, he wanted to change tables. The staff allowed us to change without any hesitation.

They served really good rice tea.

My friend got the Green Salad $6.50 with organic spring mix greens with our ginger soy dressing. A bit on the pricey end as there weren’t anything special about it, except that they were ‘organic’.

Good Japanese Pork Gyoza $6.75. Authentic!

Chicken Kara-Age $6.95

4 pieces of Japanese boneless fried chicken with their special soy vinegar sauce. Super crunchy on the outside, but juicy inside. Delicious!

Granville Roll $12.50 Mayo crab meat, chopped jalapeno, cucumber, tobiko wrapped in ABURI (torched) Yellowtail with jalapeno wasabi mayo sauce. The jalapeno wasabi in the sauce gave it a nice kick. Nicely bite-sized.

Regular Vancouver Roll was presented beautifully. The pieces were slightly too big. But good flavour and very fresh.

Overall, very good sushi. The service was good, but lacked good English at times. They forgot of was confused with my Vancouver Roll, either because Sheepie had also ordered one, or because there are 2 other Vancouver Rolls (Mango or Jalapeno). So I didn’t get my roll until I inquired about it near the end when everyone else was pretty much done. It’s a bit on the pricier end, but you do get good quality food.

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1/2 Roll

A friend of Sheepie recommended this restaurant to us, and since we need a restaurant to take our Sushi group to, we were always looking for a good sushi place.

The interior hadn’t changed much since they took over the old Japanese restaurant “Itadakimasu”. It was not bustling like then, but we did arrive at an odd time 2:25pm on a Sunday.

The menu has a lot of typos! Even their receipt. ‘Goyza’ instead of ‘Gyoza’. (sorry, as a designer and a copy editor, these things pop up at me)More typos! ‘Spciy’ instead of ‘Spicy’, and ‘Sacue’ instead of ‘Sauce’. Maybe they should put it through the spell-checker?

I like that they use non-plastic cups and plates (except for one dish). So thumbs up.

We ordered the Yakitori $3.95 with 2 chicken skewers. It had a bit too much sauce on it. But otherwise ok.

Negitoro Roll $3.50 was ok. You would think that having more tuna in your roll would be a good thing, but the balance was a bit off.

We ordered a combo “Any 3 Items” for $10.90. The gyoza (5 pieces) came on a plastic plate. Not sure if they ran out of ceramic dishes. Crispy and crunchy. Pretty tasty. It also included a miso soup and sunomono (or choice of green salad instead).

3 Salmon Nigiri and 6 pieces of Sockeye Salmon and Avocado Roll. The fish was vibrantly red-orange. The avocado had some brown bits, but otherwise, the fish was very fresh.

Service wasn’t friendly, but we got our food and bill promptly. This place may need a second assessment.

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