#13 walking up the sushi towerland ! + [AD]

vancouver has a high standard of living. thus, i feel that we should learn to cook more frequently at home so as to save money. no doubt, eating out is very convenient and sometimes, it is a luxurious way of living but as a student, we must know the basics. i may look like i dine out a HELL lot but no, i do cook especially during school days.

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so since i’ve been consuming a HELL lot of sushis this week, i’ll be giving reviews of most japanese restaurants (not all) i’ve been to.

in alphabetical order

ajisai sushi bar
[NOT all-you-can-eat]
2081 West 42nd Ave
Vancouver, BC V6M2B4
(604) 266-1428

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cindy brought gigi and i to ajisai sushi bar last sunday. it was filled to the brim so we had to wait for 10 minutes before we got our seats. cindy claims that this is always the case when she goes there. ” must be popular heh ? “, i thought. the elder waitress was very understanding to us when we were a little mixed up with our orders. can’t say the same for the irritable younger waitress though.

we ordered a HELL lot sashimis, sushis and sushi nigiris  but the food took another 15 to 20 minutes to come. it was my first time trying SABA sushi nigiri & ugnagi PRESSED sushi.  i have to admit that trying new food, having new experience and trying new things in general is AMAZING ! we should get out of our comfort zone sometimes & order new food instead of having the same sushi for ages. the salmon sashimi was not that fresh though and the rice breaks easily. cindy states that the rice is usually very sticky and she swears by it ! but oh well, i’ll give this sushi bar another chance in time to come ^^

my overall ratings are as follows:

ambiance: 6.5/10 (too little seats but it also portrays exclusiveness)
service: 5.5/10 (only giving credit to the elder waitress)
food (taste & appearance): 7/10 (deduction: the sashimi wasn’t fresh & the other sushi with cheese tasted like detergent)
value: 5.5/10 (the CAN$80 with tips & tax for 3 people – 3 sushi rolls, 13 sushi nigiris, 1 roll of pressed sushi and 1 set of sashimi )

total: 6.13/10★

in conclusion, i feel that the settings is just like the top sushi place – toshi sushi but the quality defers alot ! this restaurant is better than many usual all-you-can-eat sushi places though so yes, i’ll give it another try sometime soon !

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fish on rice
[ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT
LUNCH: CAN$11.95 w/o tax & tips
DINNER: CAN$20.95 w/o tax & tips
HAPPY HOUR: CAN$13.95]
201-4361 Kingsway
Burnaby, BC V5H 1Z9
(604) 439-8882

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of course in many sushi buffets, we’re able to get sushi in high quantity but definitely not high in quality because the sushis are massively produced. however, i reckon that fish on rice is a decent sushi buffet.

what also sets fish on rice from other sushi buffets (like sui sha ya, tomokazu japanese restaurant and kawawa japanese restaurant) is we are able to get beverages other than hot tea and water.

the oysters in fish on rice are very fresh as compared to the ones in sui sha ya (very sandy and unclean). what i also like about fish on rice is variety of deep fried dishes such as deep fried chicken skin. the sushi, as i stated earlier, is standard. the rice, however is very frail, which evidently shows that the sushi is not of high quality. another negative factor of fish on rice is the huge portions of dons and udons requested during the buffet. i don’t know about other people but in my opinion, i would like to try practically everything in a buffet. so i would say for the portions of congee/don/udon in a sushi buffet, sui sha ya is better.

my overall ratings are as follows:

ambiance: 6.5/10 (the norm)
service: 9.5/10 (attentive waiter that served us immediately and frequently with a smile)
food (taste & appearance): 6/10 (standardized)
value: 7.5/10 (inexpensive sushi buffet that includes a variety of non-sushi related food)

total: 7.38/10★

in conclusion, this is a restaurant to fill your tummy to the brim on lazy days !

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kawawa japanese restaurant
[ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT
LUNCH: CAN$10.95 w/o tax & tips
DINNER: CAN$19.95 w/o tax & tips
HAPPY HOUR: CAN$13.95]
4700 Kingsway, #E15
Burnaby, BC V5H4M1
(604) 435-8577

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my bf wanted to bring me to a restaurant that caters to people who craves for  sushi buffets. he forgot the restaurant name and thought that it was closed down and that kawawa japanese restaurant took over it. so, we decided to give it a try since we were hungry. the restaurant is really huge as it has it’s partner ramen restaurantbeside it. i love how comfortable the seats of the restaurant are.

i am speechless regarding the quality of the sushi. it is DOWNRIGHT horrible ! the sashimi doesn’t taste like one. the nigiris were disgustingly unpleasant and the rice from the tofu skin of the inaris kept dropping out, eww. everything was so bad that we didn’t even want to continue ordering.

my overall ratings are as follows:

ambiance: 8/10 (extremely love the seating arrangements and huge capacity of seats)
service: 5.5/10 (standardized)
food (taste & appearance): 3/10 (only like the chopped scallop cone)
value: 5/10 (cheap but i guess the ingredients of the sushi is downright cheap too)

total: 5.38/10★

in conclusion, i will NOT be a returning customer of kawawa japanese restaurant !

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richmond sushi
[ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT
LUNCH: CAN$11.95 {weekdays} CAN$12.95 {weekends} w/o tax & tips
DINNER: CAN$21.95 {weekdays} CAN$22.95 {weekends} w/o tax & tips
HAPPY HOUR: CAN$13.95 {weekdays} CAN$14.95 {weekends} w/o tax & tops]
8388 Capstan Way, #1488
Richmond, BC V6X4A7
(604) 207-7799

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tried richmond sushi twice 4 years back & it was my first time trying the all-you-can-eat sushi buffet in canada. initially, i thought it was really some exotic buffet but now that i’ve ate quite alot of sushi buffets, i’m giving richmond sushi the thumbs down. the standard is practically like sui sha ya.

my overall ratings are as follows:

ambiance: 7/10 (the party room was awesome despite everything)
service: 4.5/10 (OMG, i remember the waiter chasing us out >.<)
food (taste & appearance): 5/10
value: 4.5/10 (NOT worth your every penny !)

total: 5.25/10★

in conclusion, i’m never gonna travel that far to richmond just to eat there !

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samurai sushi house
5888 Cambie Street
Vancouver, BC V5Z3A8
(604) 325-8597

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firstly, the sushi served here is ENORMOUS & secondly, the sushi is value for MONEY ! my stomach is a little sensitive though. so sometimes, i do have diarrhea when i eat there. this has NEVER occurred to gigi though so guess it’s gotta do with my immune system. thirdly, the place is always FULL HOUSE so it’s best to either take out or try not to go on an empty stomach. last but not least, this place is definitely for casual dineouts !

my overall ratings are as follows:

ambiance: 6/10 (too small for a commercialized restaurant)
service: 4.5/10 (depending on the waitress but they’re rude most of the times)
food (taste & appearance): 6.5/10 (excluding the fact that i DO get diarrhea from eating there, everything else is fine}
value: 7.5/10 (huge portions and sizes/cheap treats – what more can you ask for ?)

total: 6.13/10★

in conclusion, i’m in for cheap thrills @ samurai sushi !

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sui sha ya
[ALL YOU CAN EAT]
4820 Kingsway, #236
Burnaby, BC V5H4P1
(604) 433-7881

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my bf and i were starving sometime last year and so, we decided to try out sui sha ya. it was not as good as fish on rice but so much better than kawawa japanese restaurant. unlike fish on rice, the small congee bowl was the appropriate size for buffet. can’t say much for the sushis because it is pretty much the standard of ” chinese people serving sushis “.

my overall ratings are as follows:

ambiance: 5/10 (nothing unique about it)
service: 5.5/10 (the waitress took too long to serve us)
food (taste & appearance): 5/10 (just like richmond sushi)
value: – (forgot the price >.<)

total: 5.17/10★

in conclusion, i will NEVER step into that restaurant AGAIN !

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tomokazu japanese restaurant
[ALL YOU CAN EAT
LITE DINNER: CAN$19.95/CAN$22.95]
1128 West Broadway, #201
Vancouver, BC V6H1G5
(604) 677-0434

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it was joyce’s birthday and my virgin visit to tomokazu. i love how HUGE our party room is. it could fit 16 of us !! initially, i would say that the waiter was very patient and catered to minor issues like asking if we wanted to refrigerate joyce’s cake and etc but gradually and especially when we wanted to make payment, the other waiter was so rude as he catered to the customer lining behind us before he took care of our payment.

i really found the spicy tuna delicious and different from other spicy tuna. guess it must be the sauce or something. the spinach with peanut butter was something i haven’t tried before and i’m glad i did because it is unusual for me. the mango pudding and oranges were ordinary.

i really love how fresh their sashimis are. there were a large variety of sashimis but we had to pay CAN$3 more for it. the oysters were addictive but the cooked salmon in egg were dreadful.

my overall ratings are as follows:

ambiance: 8.5/10
service: 7/10 (mixed reviews)
food (taste & appearance): 7.5/10
value: 6/10

total: 7.25/10★

in conclusion, it’s way better than richmond sushi, sui sha ya & kawawa japanese restaurant !

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tomoya japanese restaurant
6285 Nelson Ave
Burnaby, BC V5H4T5
(604) 437-8839

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cool decorations all around tomoya. my bf introduced this place to me because i love how sushis are decorated like caterpillars, butterflies, etc. since there were only a few customers during lunch that day, we were served instantaneously ! the waitress was aware when we needed her assistance. the second time i went there with claire during the winter olympics break, i didn’t change my opinion of this place.

blossom sushi – CAN$8 – CAN$ 16

mixed sushi wrapped with salmon. add many of those and decorate it into a flower ! really amazed with the decorations with sauces. the salmon was a little dry but with help of the sauce decorations, the sushi tasted so much better.

ratings: 7/10

crispy california – CAN$8 – CAN$16

usually, i wouldn’t order california roll because i’m so sick of all the common sushis in town ! but with the suggestion of mister boyfriend, i decided to give this a try & boy i’m glad i didn’t regret my decision. thankfully, it didn’t taste a single bit like the california roll at my workplace, honour roll. totally my type of sushi !

ratings: 6/10

king neptune - CAN$12+

since i love shrimps so much, i got the king neptune sushi. unlike other sushi restarant, tomoya is very generous with the shrimps. the other seafood in the sushi itself tasted fine.

ratings: 8.5/10

my overall ratings are as follows:

ambiance: 9.5/10
service: 10/10
food (taste & appearance): 7.17/10
value: 7/10

total: 8.42/10★

in conclusion, in my opinion out of the japanese restaurants i have been to, it is the SECOND BEST sushi restaurant in town !

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toshi sushi
181 E 16th Avenue
Vancouver, BC V5T4R2
(604) 874-5173

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kiky & natalia brought me to toshi sushi early last year. we had to wait for 20minutes to get our seats as the restaurant only opens for a few hours and there were too little seats. we were greeted by friendly waitresses & one of which, is kiky & natalia’s friend. i didn’t really know the specialties there so kiky was the one ordering. the sushis were presented beautifully and the sashimis were refreshing ! i miss stingray served in singapore and i was ecstatic when kiky ordered the stingray. it was pretty neat. though the bill came up to a shocking amount of CAN$100+ for just the 3 of us, i was a very SATISFIED customer of toshi sushi & i highly recommend it !

my overall ratings are as follows:

ambiance: 6.5/10 (lack of seats but it also shows a level of exclusiveness)
service: 10/10 (my friends know the owner)
food (taste & appearance): 10/10
value: 7.5/10 (too expensive but you got what you pay for)

total: 8.5/10★

in conclusion, in my opinion out of the japanese restaurants i have been to, it is the BEST sushi restaurant in town !

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from my point of view, according SOLELY to the taste & appearance of the sushis, i would rate the restaurants in the following order:
KAWAWA < RICHMOND SUSHI ~ SUI SHA YA < SAMURAI SUSHI < TOMOKAZU < AJISAI SUSHI BAR < TOMOYA < TOSHI SUSHI

if you have read this far, thank you !

i am having my midterm this weekend and i can’t wait to get it over & done with so i can finally give my site a MAKEOVER ! keep coming back for more lovely readers ;p

swisscheese*

Tags: ajisai sushi bar, all you can eat sushi, fish on rice, high quality sushi in vancouver, kawawa japanese restaurant, richmond sushi, samurai sushi house, sui sha ya, the honour roll, tomokazu japanese, tomoya, toshi sushi, vancouver