Feeling like sushi, so I dragged L with me after work for some. She recommended Sushi Garden in Burnaby, as it was close to our work. It’s supposedly good and cheap food.
We expected it to be busy and it was, but the wait wasn’t too bad. 5-10 minutes only. It was a good idea that they put their take-out menu at the waiting area so we could pick our food while waiting, so when we finally got seated we were able to order relatively quickly.
I’ve always had Negitoro Roll but never Negihama (hamachi), so I picked it. It was quite tasty. The green onions were quite prominent. However, I don’t know if I could taste the difference between this and Negitoro.
The other two rolls we chose were the House Roll (L) and the Tropical Dynamite Roll. They were both big and good.
House Roll had tamago, tobiko, kappa, crab, salmon and avocado. Some of the pieces were more like slices though, as the middle parts of the roll were sliced very thin. But then that way the whole piece fit in my mouth, so I guess it wasn’t a bad thing afterall.
The Tropical Dynamite Roll was the same, in that the middle part was in thin slices. This roll had prawn tempura, kappa, avocado (the dynamite part), pineapple, mango, smoked salmon, and cream cheese (the tropical part?). This was very very good. I liked it very much.
Having had the amazing Toro sashimi at Ichiro, both L and I longed for it again. I also saw that the pieces of toro on the next table’s nigiri sushi were very big, so that enticed me even more. We ordered the 1/2 order.
But we were disappointed. First of all, they were in weird shape, and kinda firm, not buttery soft and smooth as before. The taste tasted like normal tuna, and I suspected it had just thawed enough for consumption. So overall this was a miss. Good thing we only had the 1/2 order.
Last item was the Mentaiko Yakiudon. Flavor-wise, it wasn’t bad. There was flavor, just not enough. It wasn’t spicy, as it should’ve been. I suspect it’s not even Mentaiko to begin with, just regular tobiko. It was very Japanese-mayo-y. A good point was the udon itself. Firm and chewy, not soft and mushy. I’ll probably order it again but in a different preparation. At least they did put some Enoki mushrooms in it.
Overall it wasn’t bad but it wasn’t great either. Not sure what the hype was about the place. Sushi House seems to be similar and has cheaper prices. Perhaps one day I’ll come back.
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Hi Wendy, I’ve heard the same things, some people really like it and some not so much. I drove by today and there was a large lineup. For me, if there is a lineup, the food either has to be really cheap or really good. Not sure if I’d lineup for Sushi Garden; but I’d still try one day. At least it’s not in Richmond… LOL… 😉
Since you work in the area, have you tried Sushi Oyama (Kingsway and Burlington) and/or Tomoya (Kingsway and Nelson, behind Lao Shan Don) for comparison purposes? I have been to Sushi Garden once (for take-out. Although I am patient, I can’t stand their queues) but, just like you, I thought it was overrated.
WORST SERVICE !!!!!
What you pay will be what you get —
Food is ok and inexpensive but you will get the worst service.
Trust me, the service in this restaurant is the worst one in town, the sexy Japanese waitresses will treat you like dogs and totally out of respect.
Don’t ever try go there unless you believe you have the best temper on earth or in the best mood of your life that day, otherwise, you will be driven crazy by those sexy Japanese ladies.