Location Review4635 Kingsway
Burnaby, British Columbia
Located across from the large shopping complex that is Metrotown, is a strip plaza where today's restaurant review is located. Sushi Garden has two locations in the Greater Vancouver area, and is the restaurant that I've come back to each time I visit B.C. In a nutshell, it's really just too good to pass up!
Optical illusion
Let me clear up any misconceptions this deceiving picture may bring about. You may be thinking "Mary, this restaurant looks pretty empty, must not be very good". Well my friends, it didn't take 2 seconds after I snapped this picture, that people started flooding in. Sushi Garden was open for business in the books at 11am that day, but to our surprise we were able to be seated at 10:50am when we arrived. Felt pretty good to be the first customers in the restaurant!
Sushi Garden
While we were looking at the menus, my cousin native to Vancouver gave me a fun fact of the day. He mentioned that some Japanese places notorious for having outrageously large portions usually specialize in take-out. I'm not sure if this place is considered a take out joint, but I don't think there was a time where this counter wasn't filled with styrofoam boxes. Perhaps an indication of what's to come!
Sushi Bar Counter
Lots and lots of take out orders!
Miso Soup
The Miso Soup came with the Love Boat that we ordered (see below), but you can definitely order it off the menu. I like that it comes with pieces of seaweed and tofu curds!
Vegetable Sunomono ($2.95)
Not too sour and a perfect pickled crunch, it was appetizing and a great way to start the meal.
Love Boat ($25.95)-Assorted Sashimi, 8 pcs Nigiri Sushi, California roll, Salmon Roll, Tuna Roll
To start we ordered a Love Boat meant for two, for four people. The portions are pretty generous, probably enough to feed two people to an uncomfortably full state. The platter has a good variety, and allows you to sample the fish and determine which is more preferred. We really enjoyed the salmon, and so we ended up ordering it a la cart after.
Love Boat Sushi
Left:Alaska Roll ($3.95)
Right: Spicy Chopped Scallop ($3.75)
So first thing's first, please draw your attention to the prices. Can you say CHEAP? In Toronto, it's almost like some unwritten rule that anything covered with a layer of salmon on top is automatically a $3 premium. So the Alaska Roll for under $4 was just mind blowing for me. Not to mention it was DELISH! The Spicy Chopped Scallop didn't fail to impress either. I like that instead of being all ground up into a paste, the roll had chunky pieces of scallop tossed in a mildly hot siracha mayo. YUM.
Alaska Roll ($3.95) -Avacado, Tobiko, Salmon
To be honest by this point in the meal I was pretty full. And we still had that a la cart order of sashimi coming! Lucky for me, "Let no food be wasted" is pretty much my life philosophy. ;P
Toro Sashimi ($4.98) Salmon Sashimi ($3.97)
It's tough to gauge for size in a photo, so instead of putting my ugly hand as a reference point and ruin the picture, I used a chopstick. If you are too lazy to do the visual comparisons, let me just tell you, the portions are HUGE! The pieces are thick cut, and quite a mouthful to consume. I'm not complaining though, I would gladly have my face stuffed with melt-in-your-mouth-fatty Toro Tuna any day! =D
Toro Sashimi ($4.98)
My overall gratification levels of this Sushi Garden experience beats out some of the more expensive places I dined at during my stay in Vancouver.Goes to show that shelling over that extra pretty penny doesn't always equate to higher utility! Fresh fish, satisfying portions, and prices that don't put a huge dent in your wallet. Sushi lovers rejoice! :)
