sushi – Page 4 – Elsie Hui

November 18, 2011January 10, 2012

Ajisai Japanese Cuisine

So, this one afternoon, we were in the Northwest – just out and about, until we realized that we haven’t had lunch yet. We wanted some sushi, and didn’t really feel like having the ones from T&T, so we stumbled upon Ajisai Sushi hidden in a commercial building, around a lot of residential housing. We actually needed our GPS to find the location, as it was off the main roads.

This place was really nice, clean, large, open and bright (from both lighting and windows) and what I love most about it is the open concept. The decorations was warm and elegant, and it’s truly a place for the local businesses to grab a quick sushi lunch.

Ajisai does offer great lunch menu – both for take out and eat in! We got to eat in and started off with a few goodies. We got our Plain Miso Soup which was as it’s called “plain” miso soup. It wasn’t anything spectacular about it – yet there was nothing wrong with it! I just like starting with miso soup and this did the trick!

Recently, I’ve started to enjoy trying Spicy Agedashi Tofu which basically is deep fried Tofu with spicy sauce – usually the sauce they use on spicy sushi/rolls. This one was deep fried really nicely – with a crispy outside, hot and soft tofu on the inside. I think the batter could have used a little seasoning though – that would enhance the dish to a million levels, even if it was just salt. I did dip my agedashi into my soy sauce, and it didn’t do the trick as it softened the deep fried crispiness.

My favourite starter of the day was definitely the Chicken Karaage which means deep fried marinated chicken, and this was also deep fried to perfection like the agedashi. The sauce tasted great, and I think it’s almost like a honey mayonnaise – or something to that nature. I would highly recommend the chicken karaage if you’re looking for a great starter!

Now, after our starters and appetizers, we ordered our lunch specials – which are great set lunch combos which come in a set of stuff. The first one we had was Assorted Sushi Tuna, Salmon, Ebi, Tamago, Snapper & California Maki. The sushi wasn’t bad, but there wasn’t anything special to it. At least it didn’t taste bad, even though I think the texture was a little off. Perhaps it was still a little frozen or something, but it definitely felt different when chewing on the fish. The ebi sushi was really nicely done, and was probably my favourite on the plate. I normally really like tamago (egg sushi), but I wasn’t really turned on by this one as it had a layer of gray in the egg. I didn’t eat this piece and I gave it to my husband to try. He said it tasted fine, but again, nothing special.

Following that, we also ordered the Sashimi Lunch which came with a selection of sashimi, a bowl of white rice, and a few pieces of honey glazed yams. The sashimi like the sushi, they tasted alright with an odd texture. The yams was probably my favourite part of this set lunch, and that’s pretty sad. But, the tuna and salmon wasn’t a far second – then the rest of the sashimi with the strange texture.

I really like the convenience of having a set lunch, and it would really come handy if I worked or lived around there. There are lots of options on the menu whether or not you choose to eat from the set lunch menus. I am not sure if they have set dinner menu as well, but the idea is wonderful and convenient. This restaurant seems to me like the majority of their business is weekday lunch take-away, which is nice! I may be back for a dinner to see the difference too – if I’m in the area! I guess there are a lot of other sushi places I’d try too, so I may not be returning as I can’t decided whether I enjoyed Ajisai or not.

Ajisai Japanese Cuisine

750 1110 Panatella Blvd. NW
Calgary, AB
(403) 457-3802

October 4, 2011March 17, 2019

Shogun Teppan-Yaki – Birmingham, England

Sushi from Shogun Teppan-Yaki has been a place where my sister has talked about for years as a place to take us! We finally went, and it was wonderful! Located in Birmingham in a huge mall called The Mailbox, it’s a wonderful Japanese restaurant with lots of options, from a sit down menu featuring noodles, sushi & sashimi, set meals, and much more, there is always something on the menu to satisfy any craving.

There is a sit down area with a rotating conveyer belt with sushi – and you just pick out what you want to eat, and is charged a flat rate. If you’re looking for entertainment, this is also the place to go as they offer teppanyaki for their customers.

We sat down and ate all the sushi we could with the flat fee. The sushi was really fresh and delicious – and we sat right by the window as the sushi first comes out of the kitchen. We tried a lot of dishes, from your standard sushi like salmon sushi, which was really fresh and tasty.

We had some tempura and this was crispy and not greasy. It was really nicely fried and the batter is excellent.

My favourite that I tried was the shrimp and mango sushi which is a sushi I haven’t tried since now. It’s sweet and savoury and I really enjoy this combo.

Shogun is an excellent place to visit if you’re in the area and craving for sushi – plus hungry! I would recommend Shogun whether you’re in for some entertainment, or just to fill up your belly. Even though I didn’t enjoy the teppanyaki myself, I did have a glimpse of a family enjoying it for lunch – and it sure looks like fun! 🙂

Shogun Teppan-Yaki

Shogun Sushi/Noodle Bar Ltd
27-29 Wharfside Street
The Mail Box
Birmingham
B1 1RD

September 13, 2011May 11, 2019

Marra’s Way Sushi Ltd – Canmore, Alberta

We were wanting sushi this one evening from Canmore, and even though this wasn’t the original location we were looking for, I’m happy we stopped to experienced Marra’s Way Sushi, located just off the main street in downtown Canmore.

We tried many types of sushi, from specialty sushi such as three sister, smoked salmon and spicy shrimp salad, all which were really good. I really liked the fact they used a local attraction to make the “three sisters sushi”, which really was quite tasty. I believe it was salmon, shrimp and tuna, which made a very good “sample sushi” plate. The smoked salmon was quite fresh, and I actually didn’t get a lot of smoked salmon flavour – maybe there was too much rice, or too little smoked salmon… or even the pretty pink wrap took flavour away. It was still really good, even if it was just a plain salmon roll, the quality of the fish was there.

Of course, our usual suspects as well surf clam, inari, and gyoza with Green Tea and Miso Soup to drink! The gyoza was actually quite disappointing for me, and it came deep fried without stating that on the menu. It was not only fried to a crisp, which is good, but the flavour of the pork filling was just tasteless, so it was a bad note to end with. Regardless, I think I will be back (just not for the gyoza’s), especially if I’m looking for a “fast food sushi”! Very fast, convenient, delicious and cost effective! Each plate of sushi was on a coloured plate, and with the colour, it had a price (Orange plate = $2.40, Blue Plate = $3.99, and White Plate = $5.99)

Marra’s Way Sushi Ltd.

637 10 St
Canmore, AB
(403) 609-0479

August 31, 2011March 17, 2019

Sushi Bar Zipang – Calgary, Alberta;

After just over a year of wanting to try Sushi Bar Zipang I finally went! It was great, the fish was fresh and reasonably priced.

The sashimi slices were really thick as well – which made it really good, and justified the price! The location is a little restaurant, and with constant customers – they’ve built a reputation for success here!

I would definitely go back given the opportunity! The restaurant had a dining area and a sushi bar area, and the overall ambiance was very quiet and casual. The service was alright, but the food was just excellent.

I love starting with Gyoza’s, and oddly enough, they don’t have any here! They have quite a large selection of appetizers, but they just didn’t have dumplings — unless of course, I just missed it.

We ordered from the sushi/sashimi sheet, and from there, we selected sushi such as hokki – surf clam,
smoked salmon and hotate – scallop. All of these were really good as well. We had no complaints at all during the entire time we were at Zipang.

We ordered spicy salmon roll which consisted of salmon, spicy sauce, lettuce and the spiciness was just right, you still get the salmon flavour without the spiciness to overwhelm the entire sushi. It was well balance and one of my favorites for the evening.

Then, we ordered an Alaska roll which was sushi wrapped with smoked salmon, avocado, cream cheese and this wasn’t as flavourful of an Alaska roll as some other places I’ve tried. It seemed to be lacking some flavour, but you definitely got the cream cheese taste. I think they may have put too much cream cheese in.

Just to have a wider selection of sashimi, we ordered their Special Assorted Sashimi and this assortment had salmon, tuna, octopus, and scallops. It was actually really good, and this plate came with 14 pieces of sashimi for $19.50, which is quite a good deal!

And, at the end, we ordered an order of Agedashi Tofu, and it wasn’t really a good deal at all. It was $5.00 for only 2 pieces of tofu, and we all know tofu isn’t expensive. It tasted good, but it wasn’t worth it in my opinion.

Overall, I will be back, I really enjoyed the atmosphere, the sushi, and the sashimi… and that’s all that matters in a Japanese restaurant when we’re out for sushi! 🙂

Sushi Bar Zipang

1010 1 Ave NE
Calgary, AB
(403) 262-1888

August 2, 2011March 11, 2019

Wasabi Japanese Restaurant Ltd

I’ve recently been introduced to Wasabi right on 16th Avenue, and it’s a great little location! The fish is fresh and good, and the prices aren’t bad either! We came for dinner, and the service was quick too!! But, you must make sure you’re receiving everything you’ve ordered, as they almost forgot to give us our salmon roe. At least they didn’t make a huge fuss about it, they just quickly made it for us. They didn’t apologize or anything, as I think in the back of their mind, we ate it and we’re trying to get more… regardless, there wasn’t any problems, and that’s the main part.

We weren’t too impressed with the rolls though… they looked almost the same as we ordered the Dynamite Roll and a Wasabi Special Roll. We actually asked them if we got them both, and she said yes! But, I guess that was our mistake as one of them had shrimp and the other one just seemed to be stuffed with avocado (Wasabi Special Roll)… The Dynamite roll has shrimp tempura and avocado, and the Wasabi Special roll was avocado, salmon, and cucumbers.

We started the evening with a nice bowl of Miso Soup which wasn’t bad! It wasn’t overly salty like some other places, it was just right! Then, we had our plate of BBQ Squid which was a tad over-cooked which made it a bit chewy but the flavour was so good, it was such a minor detail – we ate the whole thing up! (or maybe I did!)

Following that, came our plates of sushi!! Yay!! We ordered things like Hokkigai, which was not only my favourite, but it was one of the items for a dollar! It made it extra good! We also enjoyed rolls and sashimi – both Salmon and Tuna and they gave huge pieces of salmon and tuna!! They didn’t look as good as it tasted, and that’s always a pleasant surprise! 🙂

At the end of the day, we were all very satisfied and our bellies were really full!! The best thing about Wasabi right now, they have a $1 menu!! That’s right, there are special items that you can get for only $1!! As it’s all said and done, it’s a great little location for what it’s worth! I definitely will be back to enjoy more delicious sushi! By the end of the night, we were way to full to have any dessert or anything else for that matter! But, all is good!

Wasabi Japanese Restaurant Ltd

Central 16 Ave N
602 16 Ave NW
Calgary, AB
(403) 282-0092