Sherman's Food Adventures: Ki Sushi

Ki Sushi

Alright, I think for the very first time, my son actually decided where we were going to eat tonight. We asked him if what he wanted to eat and he insisted on udon noodles in soup. That pretty much narrowed down our choices; thus we headed off to Ki Sushi in New Westminster. I've been meaning to try the place out for awhile and since we needed udon, I guess this was as good as any time to try it out. When we arrived, the parking lot was completely full, so we had to circle around a bit until we found a spot on Columbia. We figured out why the parking lot was full when we entered the restaurant - there was a lineup. No matter, it didn't take long to get a seat. Fortunately for us, the table was fully enclosed into it's own little room. This was good since the kiddies could do there thing and not bother anyone. Also, I could take many pictures and no one would even notice. We overheard the servers chatting in Mandarin amongst themselves. So I guess this is not a Japanese-run restaurant? No matter, for me if the food is good, I don't give a damn who is making it.

The first thing I noticed about the menu were the prices - they are very reasonable. Taking a peak at what other people were eating, it also appears that the portions are good as well. This looked promising. Viv and I decided on the Dinner for 2 which included Assorted Sashimi, California Roll (6pcs), Kappa Maki (6pcs), Sushi (4pcs), Prawn & Vegetable Tempura, Oyster Motoyaki or Chawan Mushi, Kara-age, Sunomono, Miso Soup and Ice Cream for $34.95. We added a Vancouver Roll and also a Chicken Udon for the kiddies.

The sashimi and sushi arrived on one platter and they were quite good. Each slice of sashimi was fresh and quite large. We particularly like the wild sockeye salmon sashimi; it was deliciously sweet. I must mention that there was very little rice in every one of the rolls - a very good thing. The Tempura was also very good. It was perfectly fried and the batter was ever so light. It wasn't particularly oily either. The same goes with the boneless Chicken Karaage. Outside was not oily and very crispy; but the inside was tender and juicy. Included in the meal was a choice between Oyster Motoyaki and Chawan Mushi. We couldn't decide on either, so we had one of each. The motoyaki was a bit different than I am accustomed to. Rather than a whole oyster baked in sauce, it was diced-up oyster, mushrooms and spinach mixed in with sauce. For me, it was alright; but I wouldn't want to eat another. The mushi was very light and velvety. I really liked eating it and was a bit amused by the happy face created by the edamame beans and shrimp on top.

The Vancouver Roll was a bit of a disappointment. The roll itself was prawn tempura, avocado and masago on the inside. It was topped with more avocado and unagi with sauce on the outside. This is similar to a Dragon Roll found at other Japanese restaurants. Yet, compared to other places such as Toyotomi and Tomoya, the Vancouver roll here at Ki was not as good. It was generally flavourless and seemed a bit empty inside. Definitely not worth the $10.00 price tag. However, the meal in general was solid and I certainly enjoyed eating it. The portions were generally pretty good and the prices make Ki Sushi a good value. Service was generally quite attentive and friendly; if not a bit absent minded. It took us 3 tries to replace a dirty bowl. Not the best Japanese food I've ever had; yet still a solid choice in New West.

The Good:
- Reasonable prices
- Good portion size
- Pretty decent food

The Bad:
- Small parking lot, fills up quick

Ki Sushi on Urbanspoon

2 comments:

Mia said...

Ki Sushi is one of my favorites, I've been going there since my student days so almost over 10 years ago now... it's reasonably priced and it's always consistent quality. I prefer this place over AYCE any day.

Their set lunch with a choice of three items is a great value at around $8, I always pick the chicken karagge.

I also love their katsu.

Their salmon sashimi is generously sized and is very reasonable.

I like that they only use sockeye salmon here.

Also this one time our car got stuck in the snowfall this past winter, we hadn't even gone to Ki Sushi but we were parked outside the restaurant on the street, and the owner came out with some of the staff to help push our car out... It was unbelieveably kind of them to help.

Sherman Chan said...

Thanks for the comments Mia. Yes I agree. Ki Sushi is reasonably priced and a solid place for Japanese in New West. Indeed the staff were very friendly.

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