This weekend just gone I had been out with my family for a long day of enjoying the sunshine in a variety of parks and farms around the city. It was getting late in the day when we realized we had nothing prepped for dinner – we saw this as a perfect opportunity to have a late afternoon sushi dinner out.
Rather than heading back to one of our usual places, Sushi Town near Coquitlam Centre or Mega Sushi at Austin Heights, we decided to try out a new sushi joint – Sushi Mori near the corner of Barnet Highway and Falcon Drive.
And as usual, I will begin by saying we were impressed. Excellent sushi and we will definitely be returning to Sushi Mori.
Our kids are not yet adventurous enough to order much more than California Rolls so that is what they asked for. The California Rolls were rolled perfectly and they had a sprinkle of sesame seeds on top. The California rolls were prepared just the way our kids like them. The kids ate up all their pieces of rolls and enjoyed them.
Sweetheart and I ordered a yam tempura roll, and spicy salmon and tuna rolls. Each roll was just under $3. I thought the pricing presented very good value, especially when considering the quality of the ingredients and the obvious care that had been taken in creating these rolls.
Both the salmon and tuna rolls were perfectly rolled. Perfectly tight with a lovely slice of tuna or salmon inside. Unlike so many sushi places the rolls were actually bite-size. None of that business where the sushi rolls are the size of a man’s forearm. As far as “value” the massive roll places are fine, but for taste and table appeal, I like sushi rolled and cut the way it is done at places like Sushi Mori.
Beyond visuals, the spicy salmon and tuna rolls were very tasty. While the spicy sauce on top of the rolls added a flavour punch it did not overwhelm the roll. The salmon and tuna both had a fresh taste and nice crisp mouth feel.
After our order had gone in we decided to get adventurous ourselves and we ordered a baked Alaska Roll ($11.95) to our order. We had never tried baked sushi before and didn’t know what to expect.
I have to say, although it was a strange experience eating baked sushi, it was strangely delicious! The inside of the roll was just barely warm while the cheese topping was hot when it arrived at the table. It cooled very quickly and firmed up on the slices of each roll. As I said, it was strangely delicious.
My only concern was that during much of the time that we were inside Sushi Mori our server was busy at her work station. It would have been nice if she had paid more attention to the customers already in the restaurant. However, that is just a minor quibble and I assumed she was prepping for the dinner rush that would be arriving within the hour.
Oh, one other quibble I have with Sushi Mori is their menu. I can just imagine Gordon Ramsay taking a Sharpie to the menu and eliminating endless items. I can’t remember exactly but I recall there being at least SIX pages to the menu. It is crazy complicated and long and I couldn’t find anywhere on the menu where sushi or sashimi combos were listed.
Overall, our experience at Sushi Mori was top notch. Although the service was not top notch and the menu is far too long, the most important factor is the food and it was excellent. Guaranteed we will be returning to sample more of the menu.
