Takara Sushi

I've actually tried the food at Takara Sushi long before this recent visit.  So during the height of the pandemic, we had ordered take out and were quite impressed with the quality of the food especially for the price.  So when we started dining out again consistently, we made sure that Takara was on the list.  For those who aren't familiar, Takara took over the former location of Waffles Gone Wild on Canada Way just off Boundary.  Not necessarily the most convenient location to stop, but I do suggest that you give it a try.

So on this visit, we began with the Assorted Sashimi consisting of albacore tuna, hamachi, hokkigai, tai, Atlantic salmon, tako and ika.  This was rather unassuming but quite good.  Each piece had a fresh appearance and ultimately tasted fresh (as fresh as flash frozen can get) and sweet.  Unlike some of the value Japanese restaurants, the slices were not too big, yet at the same time, not incredibly small either.

Along the same lines, we also ordered the House Spicy Sashimi with diced tuna and salmon, cucumber, avocado and house spicy sauce.  Once again, the fish had a nice sheen and tasted fresh.  Textures were on point too.  This was more of a salad where the amount of ripe avocado and crunchy cucumbers were on par with the fish.  We didn't find the sauce particularly spicy, but did appreciate that there wasn't too much of it (as it can overwhelm the fish).

Onto something cooked, we went for the Assorted Tempura consisting of 4 prawns and 3 pieces of vegetables (yam, sweet potato and zucchini in this case).  This was served hot and crispy while not overly greasy.  The tempura batter was light and wasn't laid on too thick.  It was cooked all the way through as well.  We found the prawns to be buttery with a meaty snap.  Vegetables were cooked properly where the yam and sweet potato were tender while the zucchini wasn't mushy.

So keeping with deep fried things, we also had the Chicken Karaage featuring deep fried leg meat.  These were fairly large pieces that were juicy and tender.  Once again, this was fried perfectly as the outside was crispy and easy on the grease.  The chicken itself (as well as the batter) was seasoned enough so that it could be eaten without any other condiment.  However, the lemon and mayo dip were provided and I used it anyways.

Since the kids love Grilled Beef Short Ribs, we decided to get them.  Well also the fact I wanted to hit as many sections of the menu as possible too...  These featured a good char on the outside while the meat was still tender with the classic short rib chew.  The marinade was just enough where the short ribs were sweet and savoury and the meat had tenderized enough. 

Moving back to the raw stuff, we got some sushi cones including Chopped Scallop, Sockeye Salmon and California.  To compare with places like Sushi Garden and Sushi Town, these were significantly smaller, but the quality was better (not considerably more, but it was noticeable).  There was a good ingredient to rice ratio which made for an even bite every time.  As you can clearly see, the ingredients were fresh.

Of course my son would want his usual array of Nigiri, so we got some of that too.  However, since we had sashimi and cones already, we limited the selection to Tamago, Unagi and Hotate.  I know I'm repeating this by saying that these were reasonable in size and more carefully made than other places.  The tamago was excellent being delicate and lightly sweet.  Unagi was buttery and properly sauced while the scallop was sweet.

We did end up getting one each of a roll and aburi sushi as well.  For the roll, we decided on the Pacific Roll with mango atop smoked salmon with cucumber and 2 prawn tempura in the middle.  This was light and actually refreshing.  Mango was ripe too.  Also had the classic Aburi Salmon Oshi with mango in the middle.  This was pretty good with chewy sushi rice and a fairly thick slice of salmon on top.  Sauce was creamy and mild while nicely torched.  mango added a nice sweet pop in the middle.

For good measure, we also had the Chicken Yakisoba on a cast iron hot plate.  This was another solid dish with chewy noodles and plenty of tender dark meat chicken.  There could've been a touch more sauce as the noodles at a bit dry.  Now, I know that Takara shouldn't be compared to value sushi spots as the quality is better but since their pricing isn't really all that much more, I would suggest you give it a try.  Yes, the portion sizes are not as big, but the food is prepared with more care.

The Good:
- Food prepared with care
- Reasonably-priced
- Menu is quite extensive

The Bad:
- Parking in the area isn't the best
- Don't expect huge portions (but not their style either)