Akira Sushi

Not to be confused with the longtime Akira Sushi that existed on Hastings Street in North Burnaby, Akira Sushi on Denman has been around for 23 years.  It is amazing that I've never tried the place out despite walking past it countless times.  However, I guess it isn't surprising as there are so many places to eat in Vancouver, especially Japanese restaurants.  Jacqueline and I were invited to try out some of their new menu items as well as some classics on the regular menu. 

We were started off with the Uni Shooter with real crab meat and ikura.  For those who do not like uni, I can understand some trepidation with something like this shooter.  But I find that when uni isn't fresh, especially the local variety, it can pretty much taste like garbage.  However, for this one, it was indeed fresh being sweet, a bit briny and creamy.  Due to the combination of delicate ingredients, I could still taste the crab as well as the pops of briny goodness from the fish roe.

Up next was the Kaiseki Bento for $46.00 with an array of dishes including Zaru Soba, Albacore Tuna Mango Salsa, Spinach Gomae, Ebi Mayo, Sashimi, Pudding, Fried Chicken, Maki Roll, Chawanmushi, Agedashi Tofu, Aburi Salmon Oshi and Fruit.  With all of these little dishes, it was hard to choose what to eat first.  However, the chawanmushi was our choice as we wanted to eat it hot.  It was silky, smooth and lightly sweet.  All of the other items were solid and there was a good variety for one person (a lot of food for one person though) or to share with another.

Our next starter was the cold Gomoku Somen that is perfect for the upcoming Summer months.  It consisted of wheat noodles topped with shrimp, crab meat, egg and mushrooms served in an ice bowl (to keep everything chilled).  We drizzled the side of dressing onto the salad, then subsequently, we tossed everything together.  Due to the ice bowl, everything was uniformly cold and that was appealing.  I found the dressing to be lightly sweet and it complimented the ingredients well.

One of their newer offerings is the Sukiyaki served over a a heat source.  There was an array of mushrooms, greens and premium beef in the cast iron pot.  The sukiyaki broth was poured tableside as well as some milk.  Extra dipping sauce as well as the usual raw egg was served on the side. The trick was to have everything cook through first and then we would dip the beef into the raw egg and sauce.  The beef itself was buttery and soft with a noticeable meaty flavour.

In addition to the new features I've already talked about, we also tried some classic dishes including the Aburi Set consisting of salmon oshi, jumbo scallop, engawa, aki ebi, foie gras, hamachi and toro.  As you can see, this was appealing to the eye, but in my opinion, also great to eat.  The sushi rice was chewy and lightly seasoned while the ingredients were fresh and clean tasting.  There was enough sauce for impact.  Personally loved the scallop and the salmon.

We also sampled one roll and it happened to be the very pretty Volcano Roll with tempura sakura garnish.  The roll itself consisted of imitation crab, salmon and spicy tuna.  It was coated in tempura batter and deep fried.  Then finished with spicy mayo, avocado, tobiko and green onion.  This was texturally interesting with the crunch of the outside giving way to the soft and warm rice.  It was definitely a bit spicy, but not overly so.

For myself and Jackie, we couldn't visit a Japanese restaurant without ordering Assorted Sashimi as well as a Charashi Don.  If the picture makes you think that the slices of sashimi were vibrant and sweet with a beautiful sheen, you would be correct.  This was some pretty good stuff, especially for a smaller spot.  Furthermore, the pieces were cut properly into the right size.  We also got the spot prawn head fried up afterwards.

If we had a cold don, it was time for a hot one in the Unagi Don which featured a huge piece of unagi.  There was enough of it to compliment the chewy seasoned rice.  It was sauced rather aggressively, but the rice needed that.  We also had some Mocktails including a Passionfruit Green Tea Mojito, Lychee Mocktail and Blueberry Mojito.  These were equal parts sweet and tangy if stirred before enjoying.  As you can see, the food at Akira Sushi is legit.  They have a great mix of classics as well as some modern dishes.  Something a bit for everyone at a reasonable price.

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:
- A cut above the typical neighbourhood sushi spot
- They have the classics, but also newer modern dishes
- Good portion sizes

The Bad:
- Small spot, so limited seating