Ki Sushi
31 8th Street
New Westminster, BC
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a post on Rikka Japanese Restaurant where, despite I had a good meal, I wondered why the restaurant was empty. One of my theories was the restaurant across the street, Ki Sushi. Needless to say, I knew I had to pay a visit.
I arrived one night around 8:00 p.m. While it was not packed full, it was far from empty. Compared to Rikka, it is obvious the owners of Ki Sushi had a larger decoration budget. But, then again, I was only there for the food!
Not really noticeable from this picture but there is a small fountain in the middle of the restaurant.
For the food, I wanted to make a direct comparison to what I had in Rikka and, although there were similar dishes, such comparison was not possible. So, instead, I went with what caught my attention the most, a combo called “Zest Combo” ($20). According to their menu, it is composed by:
Miso soup
Ebi sunomono. I had the option for edamame – baby soybean in pods – but chose this instead.
Assorted tempura. There were 1 piece of eggplant, zucchini, button mushroom and 2 shrimp.
Rolls, sushi and sashimi.
Now, a close up of this plate:
Salmon, tuna and ebi (shrimp).
Their rainbow roll (left) and dragon roll (right).
Salmon, tuna and hokkigai (surf clam) sashimi.
Tai (red snapper) sashimi.
Finally, the dessert (and bill along with it):
Mango ice cream. It seems they ran out of lychee, as that was an options for the table next to mine. Just OK.
Now, some comments on the food. First, the miso. OK, I will skip this one, as there is nothing outstanding. The second part, the sunomono, well, it is a bit difficult to say because I seldom, if ever, order this. Having said that, I found it quite acidic, while the noodles retained some bite, an interesting way to start the meal. The tempura was quite good, as it did not feel greasy at all. The button mushroom was a nice change to the usual “suspects” in a tempura dish. As for the rolls, sushi and sashimi…
I have a mixed feeling. First, I am not fan of krab (used in California roll and, hence, in the rainbow roll). Sure, I will eat it, just that I would rather have something else. The dragon roll was too sweet for my liking – this is due to the sauce used in it. The pieces of sushi was quite decent, though they held back on the wasabi a little bit. As for the sashimi, well, it suffers the sin a lot of places here in Vancouver commit: too big slices. The tuna, while not melt in your mouth, at least it was decent enough. The other pieces were better: I particularly enjoyed the surf clam.
Overall, it was quite an interesting dinner. Food was better than expected, despite my crazy comments about the rolls, sushi and sashimi – the center piece of the meal. And, assuming my thoughts are true – that of people thinking Japanese food equates to sushi – that would explain why Rikka is not packed full…
To close this post, there is a caveat emptor for this post. In the menu, this combo does NOT come with 3 pieces of tuna, salmon and tai sashimi; instead, it should come with 2. Whether this was by mistake or because they noticed I was taking pictures I can’t say for certain. But I thought to mention this in the case it was not a mistake but an attempt to skew my dining experience compared to that of a regular diner.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
LOL thanks to your post, people are now going to be buying very nice cameras and taking them everywhere to get more sushi
I’ve not had the sunomono before, what is it? A starter? Wow you reckon they gave you better stuff because of the camera? I guess that’s quite a good thing really, better than rude waiters.
Presentation looks good. Great work on letting us see a little comparison of competing shops. I’m with you one the sunomono, I don’t think I have ever had this without it being part of a combo/platter, as I’m usually there to fill up on sashimi.
I’ve often wondered if in the west, sushi joints played to the sweet side. A new place opened here in Edmonton, and although I haven’t been I did pick up a menu. There focus seems to be maki, with elaborate concoctions that would, in my opinion, draw too much away from the fish. Who knows.
Pearl, well… Should I include a “your mileage may vary” disclaimer? ^_^
Monchichi, technically sunomono would be similar to ceviche; that is, marinating thinly sliced vegetables or seafood. In this case, some rice noodles and shrimp.
Raidar, if a sushi joint focuses mostly in rolls, I would turn around and walk away. My reasoning is that the skillset required to make sushi vs. maki are completely different. In the case of rolls, you can “hide” imperfections (or hide “something else) and most people won’t care. However, sushi is more visible, hence, if there is something “odd”, it is quite likely you will notice right away. Now, that does not mean makis can’t be made artful/colourful – the picture above of the rainbow and dragon would be good examples. But, then again, that’s me… ^_^;;;
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