I'm Only Here for the Food!

Nao Sushi
7060 Kingsway
Burnaby, BC

Whenever you hear “sushi” or Japanese food in Metro Vancouver, most people think of a handful of places near Downtown Vancouver, Kitsilano or the Mount Pleasant. And, in an odd way, some all-you-can-eat locations. Burnaby? With the exception of Sushi Garden, people will overlook Burnaby. This is despite in the Middlegate area of Burnaby there is a Japanese centre and where Hi Genki can be found. While I have been in Hi Genki (way before my days of food blogging), this post is about a nearby Japanese restaurant: Nao Sushi.

I have heard stories about this location, that used to be Sushi Town (a restaurant similar to Sushi Garden and now located in Coquitlam) and so on. However, what brought me here (aside from the fact I was running an errand nearby) was this post from shokutsu (of Foodosophy). While Japan is a small country, I don’t think we have seen the last of what they have to offer. So, with that in mind, I went there and asked for one cover.

I guess why take up a full table when you can sit on the bar, eh? Well, I was happy with that as I could check the interaction behind the sushi bar. But, I wasn’t there for the sushi – as mentioned in the link above, I was there for the kamameshi. And, similar to shokutsu experience, when I asked for it, I was given a warning it will take 20 minutes for it to prepare. Nope, that won’t be a problem so that is what I ordered…

I am not sure about most of you but… When I was growing up, whenever my mom prepared some broth/soup for the meal, we had it as part of the meal, not as something it was brought up first. I just wished this wasn’t brought up at the beginning, as I wanted to have it with the meal itself. I guess it couldn’t be helped. Anyway, I won’t comment much on this bowl of miso soup because it was “average”. Next?

After that wait – which felt it was more than mentioned 20 minutes, I got this plate. I admit I messed up here because I did not take note of the full name of the dish, other that I asked for the “seafood” version. The truth is I barely browsed through the menu, as I partially knew what I wanted.

Some salad. Not much to talk about, except I almost accidentally knocked it over when I was taking the pictures.

Three pieces of tuna, two of salmon and two pieces of surf clam. It was fresh but won’t add they were excellent. However, because I took my time to eat them, the lemon made some wonders to the surf clam. Ceviche anybody??? However, I found them slightly thicker than what I would expect in a Japanese run place. Then again, the fact I was there for early lunch might have had something to do.

And, finally, the reason I went to Nao Sushi: kamameshi. Me, being Chinese, the first thing that comes to my mind is rice cooked in clay pots. For the most part, I would say it is the same principle. Of course, the execution on some details makes it different in the end. For example, my mother never put vegetables in the pot itself. But, past that detail, the eating experience was mostly the same: soft grains of rice, with some stickiness to it. Unlike plain white rice, in no way it was bland as it partially soaked some of the “juices” from the ingredients used on top. Furthermore, the vegetables gave some texture contrast to the soft grains of rice. One thing I will admit I was borderline doing was to use some soy sauce (I can already hear Foodosopher cringe for me writing this down!) but, in the end, I ate it “as is”. Finally, the tsukemono, those yellow/purple pickled vegetables seen in some of the pictures gave another layer of texture (They were crunchy for the most part) and a slight hint of saltiness.

During the meal, several Japanese customers walked in to pick up their take out orders. (And speaking in Japanese, of course). I guess if they would order it from here, it is good for them as well. As for myself, while a complete 1:1 comparison can’t be made with my mom’s cooking (my bow didn’t develop a crusty bottom), still, it made me reminisce the ones my mom made. For that alone, I will come back.