Sushi Garden (Lougheed)

It is a common occurrence that places such as Sushi Garden and the sort suffer the "foodie hate" due to their value-orientated menu.  Yes, it ain't authentic and yes, it is certainly not the most carefully prepared sushi.  However, what one gets is plenty of food for a low price.  Seeing how we aren't all millionaires (wait, I guess if you own a house in Vancouver, you are one on paper...), we can't be dining at Sushi Hachi everyday.  So with that in mind, we met up with Wolvie and Italian Stallion for some value Japanese. 

We started with the Assorted Sashimi with amaebi, hokkagai, tako, tai, salmon and tuna.  Although a bit thick, the slices of tuna and salmon were actually not bad.  In fact, if one didn't analyze everything with a connoisseurs' palate, it was more than acceptable.  When one visits Sushi Garden, it is almost a given that there will be an order of Spicy Salmon Sashimi on the table (assuming one eats raw fish).  Comprised of bite sized chunks, the salmon was dressed in a mildly spicy and sweet sauce.  Mixed in were crunchy cucumbers and scallions.  As much as it was difficult to taste the actual salmon, it was at the very least soft with a bite.

Next up, we had the Tropical Dynamite Roll with pineapple, mango and salmon to go along with the usual filling of ebi tempura and imitation crab meat.  Although the roll wasn't particularly constructed with care, it did stay together as it was wound tight.  The sushi rice was actually decent in texture albeit a touch dry.  It was rather bland though.  We went with a hot roll next in the Chee-Chi with baked chicken and mozzarella cheese.  Naturally, this ate a bit heavy and wasn't really a "sushi roll".  Rather, it was merely chicken rice and cheese in bite-sized pieces.  At least my son ate this as there was nothing raw inside.

He did enjoy the Assorted Tempura though.  Well at least the ebi, not the veggies (since he hates anything that is not a protein nor carb).  A little on the greasy side, the tempura batter was crunchy and cooked all-the-way-through.  It did start getting a bit soft as it sat for awhile.  That was not a problem for the aggressively fried Chicken Katsu as it featured a firmly crunchy panko coating.  The meat was not as juicy as it could've been, but it was hardly dry either.  Wolvie originally wanted the dinner portion, but ultimately got the appie size (which would've been accompanied by a side of rice).  As we were finishing up, there was a lineup out the door with people anxiously waiting for a table.  This further reinforces the fact that good value matters, especially when eating out can get pretty expensive.

The Good:
- Large portions
- Food is okay for the low price

The Bad:
- A rushed experience
- Food quality can vary