Osamu

As my list of "to-visit" restaurants (that are not new) is getting increasingly smaller, it has brought me full-circle to Osamu Sushi.  You see, I've wanted to visit the place since the early years of this blog.  However, it just got lost in the shuffle and we never did eat there.  Trust me, I've tried, but attempting to secure a table for the whole family and my parents on a weekend without a rez never really did pan out.  Yah, I really should get my #$#( in order, but with our busy lives, visiting Osamu was never a priority.  We ended up meeting Bluebeard, Nikita, Herbie the Lovebug and Lana Banana for lunch (where we could get a table).

Since it was a weekday, they had a bunch of specials on their tapas menu and I practically ordered all of them including the Chicken Karaage.  I'm not sure if their discounted menu also meant smaller portions, but if this was the size of their $10.00 karaage, I'd be choked.  This was discounted at $6.00, so it was about right.  We liked it as the batter was crispy and thin while the dark leg meat was well-seasoned and succulent.  We also got the Spicy Prawns with tempura veggies topped with spicy sauce and wasabi mayo.  I liked this dish as the prawns were meaty sporting a crispy and light tempura batter.  The sauce was spicy and sweet while the mayo adding a cooling effect (couldn't taste much of the wasabi though).  Again, this must've been the smaller discounted size which makes me wonder if we got a deal at all!

Onto more fried goodness, we had the Yam Fries that were prepared expertly.  They were the right thickness where there was still soft yam goodness while not being too soft.  The light tempura coating (which was not greasy) ensured that they would be crispy.  For me, I felt there needed to be a dip of some sort of a drizzle or sauce to elevate the dish.  Since we went to Hawaii last Summer, I was excited to try their version of Ahi Poke.  When it arrived, it didn't look like any poke I've seen before.  The large slices of ahi tuna was more akin to carpaccio or sashimi than poke.  Also, the combination of julienned apples, wakame and citrus dressing (with mango puree) made this taste more like a salad than a poke.  I guess it was fine as a dish of some sort, but it certainly wasn't poke.

Heading off to some sashimi, we got the Wild Sockeye Salmon Sashimi while Herbie got the Albacore Tuna Sashimi.  These looked fresh with a nice sheen and smelled as such too (as fresh as flash frozen can get).  The salmon was indeed buttery and mildly sweet.  Again, this was the "discounted" for $8.00.  Regular price is $15.00, so I'm pretty sure they are not serving 5 slices for $15.00 here.  Continuing with raw fish, we had the Salmon Carpaccio with yuzu, miso and citrus dressing.  This was pretty good with lightly seared buttery salmon.  The dressing wasn't overly acidic not sweet which meant the salmon could stand on its own.  However, I would've liked more impact personally, otherwise I could just have salmon sashimi.

For the kiddies, we got them the Teriyaki Chicken Don with a large pan-fried chicken breast, veggies and a conservative amount of sauce.  As much as we appreciated the use of a large chicken breast, the meat turned out to be rather dry and bland.  The rice was good though being chewy and not too wet, but there wasn't enough teriyaki sauce to keep both the rice and chicken flavoured and moist.  Lastly, we got the Shogun Roll which was basically a dynamite roll with thick slices of albacore tuna on the outside topped with tobiko and tempura bits.  I found the sushi rice to be quite good featuring a chewiness accented by a balanced amount of sugar and rice wine vinegar.  The ample amount of tuna made the roll more interesting and substantial.  So was it worth the wait to finally visit Osamu after all these years?  Not really.  The place does serve up some decent eats, but the prices are pretty high and I'd be happy with dining closer in Burnaby.

The Good:
- Fairly decent eats
- Attentive service
- Items seem carefully prepared

The Bad:
- Pricey
- Specials are not really specials, more like reduced portions