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After dropping off some of our Trophy cupcakes at Girl Smiley's house in Cloverdale, we were ready for a late dinner. But where? Yah, the area is not exactly the hotbed of culinary greatness, but hey, there must be some decent eats as the place is a growing community. Oh and yah, we weren't looking for a chain restaurant nor fast food either. Therefore, we settled on the nearby Denji Sushi, since Viv had just tried it a few weeks ago while she was visiting their house.
We started with the Assorted Tempura which arrived neatly plated as a fairly large portion. Consisting of 4 ebi, sweet potato, yam, golden squash and green bean, it was interesting to see no carrot. No matter, the tempura was prepared masterfully with a thin batter than was lightly crunchy and easy on the grease. We thought the slices of potato and yam were ideal in size which ensured that they were cooked through while still retaining texture. As for the ebi, they were still buttery and meaty after the deep fry. I didn't like the green beans as they were old and stringy. Next up was the Assorted Sashimi that was neatly arranged with sockeye salmon, albacore tuna, flounder, hokkigai, hotate, tako and tai. I thought the tuna was pretty good as there was a noted sweetness. The flounder was a surprise (as it is not often served) where it was firm and fresh-tasting.
For our sushi rolls, we got the Futomaki and Spicy Salmon Roll (as well as 2 tamago for my son... yes, he is beginning to eat sushi...). We found the rice appealingly chewy with a mild flavour. The futomaki contained freshwater eel rather than the commonly found imitation crab in the GVRD. We weren't fans of the spicy salmon as it was overprocessed having a slurry consistency. It did taste good though. For the kiddies, they shared a Chicken Teri-Don which was pretty large in portion size. The rice was a bit soft, yet not too wet. On top, there was a large piece of deboned chicken leg that was succulent and well-seasoned. Unfortunately, the skin was rather fatty and unappealing. In the end, Denji served its purpose and was fairly good with all things considered.
The Good:
- Generally carefully prepared food
- Friendly service
The Bad:
- On the pricier side
- Smallish sushi and sashimi
With a 2+ hour break in between games during our hockey tourney at Great Pacific Forum, going home did not seem like a good idea. With the high gas prices and waste of time driving, I figured I might as well drop off my gear at work nearby and let it air out. In the meantime, I would go in search of eats. Well, any gas savings blew up in smoke when I decided to venture all the way out to Cloverdale for some sushi. Yes, I do travel for food...
I was warmly greeted by the staff and made myself comfortable in the clean and nicely appointed dining room. I started off with the Appetizer Tempura which was served hot and crunchy. The batter was fairly light and easy on the grease. Buttery with a light snap, the ebi were prepared nicely. As for the veggies, I thought the yam and sweet potato were sliced a tad too thin where the batter-to-ingredient ratio was too equal. Next, the Chirashi Don was attractively constructed as well as sporting an impressive assortment of vibrant-looking sashimi. It consisted of Tuna, Hamachi, Tako, Tamago, Sockeye Salmon, Ebi and Tai. I enjoyed all the neatly cut pieces except for the tamago as it was a bit crumbly in texture. All of this sat atop chewy sushi rice which was well-seasoned with a purposeful amount of rice wine vinegar.
Lastly, I got one of their specialty rolls being the Red Dragon. It was a spicy tuna roll topped with avocado, unagi and tobiko finished with unagi sauce. I thought this was carefully constructed with a minimal amount of rice. The spicy tuna was quite mild, but texturally on point. The unagi was buttery with just the right amount of sauce. On another visit, I was intrigued by the Stinky Roll (due to the name). It was comprised of a tuna roll with fried garlic chips, yam strings, tempura bits and baby scallops finished off by a combination of sauces. This looked much larger than the sum of its parts, but was decent nonetheless. Once again, the small amount of rice was chewy and surprisingly good. The garlic chips could've been fried longer as they were chewy rather than crunchy.
I also got the Tonkatsu Don that was served in a small casserole dish. The pork cutlet itself was not exactly dry, but it wasn't succulent either. I liked the crispy breading though. Similar to the chiraishi don, the rice was chewy and toothsome. However, it was doused in teriyaki sauce which didn't really go with the tonkatsu. Also, the addition of sprouts and onions made the rice a bit wet. Despite the strange Tonkatsu Don, the rest of the items were solid. Definitely more-than-acceptable for Cloverdale and ultimately decent in general.
The Good:
- Carefully prepared sushi and sashimi
- Nice people
The Bad:
- It may upset those looking for authenticity (I didn't mind it)
- Not expensive, but not cheap either
Posts
We started with the Assorted Tempura which arrived neatly plated as a fairly large portion. Consisting of 4 ebi, sweet potato, yam, golden squash and green bean, it was interesting to see no carrot. No matter, the tempura was prepared masterfully with a thin batter than was lightly crunchy and easy on the grease. We thought the slices of potato and yam were ideal in size which ensured that they were cooked through while still retaining texture. As for the ebi, they were still buttery and meaty after the deep fry. I didn't like the green beans as they were old and stringy. Next up was the Assorted Sashimi that was neatly arranged with sockeye salmon, albacore tuna, flounder, hokkigai, hotate, tako and tai. I thought the tuna was pretty good as there was a noted sweetness. The flounder was a surprise (as it is not often served) where it was firm and fresh-tasting.
For our sushi rolls, we got the Futomaki and Spicy Salmon Roll (as well as 2 tamago for my son... yes, he is beginning to eat sushi...). We found the rice appealingly chewy with a mild flavour. The futomaki contained freshwater eel rather than the commonly found imitation crab in the GVRD. We weren't fans of the spicy salmon as it was overprocessed having a slurry consistency. It did taste good though. For the kiddies, they shared a Chicken Teri-Don which was pretty large in portion size. The rice was a bit soft, yet not too wet. On top, there was a large piece of deboned chicken leg that was succulent and well-seasoned. Unfortunately, the skin was rather fatty and unappealing. In the end, Denji served its purpose and was fairly good with all things considered.
