Sushi Mart

Sushi Mart
1668 Robson Street
Vancouver, BC

To those who have never been in Vancouver, there is an inside joke that goes like this: There are as many sushi shops as there are Starbucks. When a new one opens, the question is rather what it can bring that others haven’t done previously. Some clinch to authenticity (though, unfortunately, it is not something most accept or willing to fork the $$$); others, the flare (either in the form of “ambiance” or some odd ingredients or even visual presentation). And, a big majority trying to offer the best bang for the buck, usually in the form of an all-you-can-eat. So, when Sushi Mart opened over a week already, my question was: what does it bring that others don’t?

Located just a block away from the ramen corner of Vancouver (Robson and Denman), nearby you have an all-you-can-eat, Momo Sushi (blogged previously, here and here), Robo Sushi, Daruma, Yoshi and others more if we venture to Denman. So, to a certain extent, I wasn’t sure what to expect when I walked in.

At first, my reaction was on the lines of “what, the…”. I mean, it is a bit of a departure of the other sushi shops: a single long table (with some decoration) for eat-in customers on one side and, on the other side, a cash machine and the prep area. But, in addition to the a la carte, they have also a section with already prepared to go sushi.

While I was there relatively early, unless they just put their take out offerings (as in 30 seconds before I arrived), it is needless to say there will be some compromise already. So, instead, I chose to order from their menu and settled for one of their “combos” (this, actually, could be in the fridge as well, just that it wasn’t available at that moment). After paying, they started preparing it. Five minutes later and a short walk back to my cube…

This is their “sushi combo H” which has “tuna, salmon, ebi tamago, unagi, kani, California 3p (sic)”. So, from the picture, clockwise, from 12 o’clock, we have the three pieces of California roll, unagi, tamago, tuna, ebi, salmon and kani (aka, crab). Needless, to say, the crab sushi stands out right away as it is not your usual krab. Still, the crab meat felt plain and tasteless. As for the rest of the pieces, they did quite a good job “thawing” the fish as none of the fish pieces felt, well, frozen. all of them had some issues but nothing major (tamago did not had a hint of “sweetness”, unagi not as “sweet”, et al). There is one issue that did bother me: they did not go easy with the wasabi, as I went through that wasabi rush a couple of times. Personal issue, though; I am sure others will “enjoy” it.

At this point, I will have to do a comparison: was it better than Momo, considering that I did a revisit? The answer would be both yes and no. Foodwise, it was better, just that it wasn’t by THAT much. However, I can’t deny the fact that Momo Sushi’s offerings are relatively cheap. In Sushi Mart’s case, this combo was just under $10. Now, this was among the most expensive items in the menu but, otherwise, for a quick fix, it might work. For a “serious” sit down meal, I think there are more interesting options in the area.

Tagged under: Japanese • Lunch • Sushi • Vancouver • West End