I find, regarding ‘Sushi’, the closer you get to the ocean, the better the sushi tastes (A bit of a no-brainer.) On the other hand, the closer you get to the ocean, the more expensive it seems to be to find good-quality Japanese Chefs. Abbotsford is the perfect city to find hit-or-misses. In fact, I’d almost go out and say Abbotsford is full of mediocre tasting sushi. That is why I am going to give you a bit of advice on my experiences on Sushi restaurants here in my hometown.
I am a bit of a sushi-fiend. I LOVE IT. I could wrap myself up with rice and seaweed and be pretty content for a few years. Raw seafood is comforting and easy on the stomach. I say that because I don’t like the pains that comes with digesting red meat. I loveee me some seafood. However, sometimes what gets in the way of enjoying an amazingly-tasty-piece-of-heaven-in-a-roll meal is the service.
Sometimes after eating a meal somewhere I will go onto Urbanspoon and take a look at how other people found their meals/service/experience. Honestly, 80% of the time I am completely blown away by how other people, like myself, have graded their experiences. The perfect example is Sumas Sushi Cafe. Here is a piece of a review I posted a few years ago onto Dine Here –
“Walking into a clean and orderly cafe, you are immediately welcomed by the chef(s) and other employees. I can choose whether to dine in, or take out. The food is made in front of me, if I choose to sit at the bar, and for take out, it’s never a long wait.
The sushi is not state of the art, but it is the best in town. And let’s face it, this is not Vancouver – it’s Abbotsford. The price is not bad, I pay $10.00 to satisfy my craving, and I am always satisfied.
I have a family of six and we order two trays and are completely stuffed by the end.
I am a loyal customer of the cafe, and will always point you in it’s direction if you’re looking for good sushi, in Abbotsford.”
Now since this post, things have changed drastically for the little cafe. Number one, the Chef (whom I have a special place in my heart for) is seemingly more and more fatigued-looking whenever I go. A number of times he has forgotten to put the “crunch” on my “california crunch roll” to-go, he does not greet me as happily as he used to, and I am actually getting a little depressed walking into my old favourite restaurant. I still go there, because I still want him to know that he has some regulars, but the service has gone down a few notches and it is a little disappointing. Still. I will honestly always point people in his direction because he is an amazing man who seems to be getting tired. Sumas Sushi Cafe is still on my top list for Abbotsford.
Midori Sushi. Well… I have had a lot of tasty rolls here. The Yam Tempura roll is fantastic and the rolls are huge! My only downside is some of the rolls are at times a little to mushy inside for even my expert tongue. On the other hand, they do stuff their rolls full so you are definitely getting a bang for your buck. They do have an All You Can Eat here for 12.95. I have never tried it, as I tend to avoid All You Can Eats, but feel free to comment and let me know your experiences!
I have had the most awful experiences ever in the history of my dining life at two sushi restaurants here in town. They were Ebisu Sushi and Hana Sushi. Just… well… I do not like to complain. But this is an honest review. I have only been to each place once, as my first experience was so dreadful I will never walk in their doors again. At Ebisu, I ordered take out. I was told it would be ready in twenty-five minutes. I always come early so that I can have my sushi ready after I arrive, the fresher the better. I walk in fifteen minutes after making the phone call. My sushi was already ready and packaged for me to go. That annoyed me a bit because I did order some hot dishes and if I had come ten minutes later they would be cold before I got home. WELL, NO PROBLEM THERE. I am completely honest right now. I stood by the cashier for half an hour waiting for someone to help me. The waitress did acknowledge I was there at one point but told me she was going to ring through one of the customers who ate their first. She then left and gave out dishes to some people, me still standing by the cash register. A man behind the counter kept looking at me, I held my credit-card in my hand and waited for him to suggest he help me pay, but this did not happen. By the time I got home my food was stone cold and I was so disappointed. On the other side of town, at Hana, I ate in. My sister and I were the only ones in the restaurant and we had a server who sat behind the counter on his cell phone the entire time. After our meals, which were very disappointing and not tasty at all, I had to call him over to pay. He only brought us water once, and forgot one of our rolls. It was sad.
To be continued.
Considering Eats 