Sushi Robo
1709 Robson St
Vancouver, BC V6G
The first time I had Japanese food was in Panama in a chain called Sushi Itto. Without any reference point or somebody to guide me, I ordered some dishes and hope for the best. Out of the dishes I ordered, I remember a roll (might have been California Roll, can’t say for certain) and some sashimi – most probably snapper. The meal was really bad, as it was bland and the sashimi was not sliced properly. Not knowing better, I just ate my dinner without making any fuss. The odd thing was that the memorable part of the dinner was the dessert: fried ice cream… In other words, I had a really bad start with Japanese food. It wasn’t until a couple of years later that I found there was a better Japanese restaurant in town (run by second generation Japanese) and had I gone to this other one instead, my experience would have been completely different. Oh, well…
When I moved here, I was surprised at the amount of Japanese restaurant here. Well, I shouldn’t have, considering Metro Vancouver is a multi-cultural city. Still, the bad memory of that dinner lingered and was not really interested in trying it. Until one day, that is, I decided to give it a second chance. The question of course was where. I could have had gone to any but I was feeling slightly intimidated. In the end, my first sushi experience in Vancouver was from a small shop called Sushi Robo…
This place is nothing spectacular, you just go in, pick what you feel like, pay and eat. As simple as that. That one time changed my mind about Japanese food. While it did not wowed me, it was way better than my experience in Sushi Itto. Suddenly, there was, indeed, something for me to discover… Now, you might wonder, what’s with that name? If I remember correctly, the name was because of how the sushi was made; supposedly, they had a machine, a robot. However, if you are a Spanish-speaking person like me, you can’t help but have a confused look at such name. See, “robo” in Spanish is “theft” or “robbery”… Anyway, I dropped by today as I was in a hurry for lunch and did not want to go to far. Here is what I grabbed.
Salmon avocado roll – $3.25
Negitoro – $2.25 (?)
While my first experience with Sushi Robo changed my mind, this one was simply… bad, akin to my first experience with sushi. The salmon avocado roll was bland, as I couldn’t taste anything at all (except when I chew on the sesame seed but it was not salmon or avocado…); on the other hand, the negitoro had way too much wasabi, which overpowered my tastebuds. So what happened? It seems that, after my first experience, the shop was sold and it is under dfferent management. If that’s the case, too bad. That only means next time I have one place less to consider. Too bad Fujiya (Downtown) is way too many blocks away…
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Good post, highlighting how important first impressions are in life, especially when it comes to trying a cuisine that is unfamiliar to you. I think I’ve benefited from both good first impressions, as well as negative ones. Still many more countries’ food to try out…
Hi shokutsu,
Again, thanks for your comments. Yes, indeed, so many cuisine, so little time. There is one more thing I have learned: a single dish does not define the cuisine. It is possible you might have had a bad experience with some particular dishes but that does not mean a single dish is representative of the cuisine as a whole. Willingness to try is the key. Who knows, you might like other things! ^_^
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