| Restaurant Review: Sushi Yoko
I'm one of those people who can eat their weight in sushi, if offered. I invariably order too much and end up feeling gluttonous, but no matter – there's no substitute for excellent sushi when you're in the mood for it.
And so there I was, food shopping in the Central Grand Shopping Centre on the southwest corner of 16th Avenue and Centre Street North, and I got the fever: sushi fever. There's no stopping a sushi lover once the mood strikes, and as luck would have it, there was Sushi Yoko, located on the second floor (phone 230-1516). I'd never heard of it before, but I decided to give it a try. That was a lucky day.
Sushi Yoko is a small, quiet sort of place. It only has about five tatami rooms (request a tatami room if you're making a reservation, as there is a small smoking section in the restaurant), and some tables, and there certainly isn't a lot of that faux-Japanese decor which only serves to remind everyone that, yes, this is a Japanese restaurant. In fact, the interior reminds me a bit of a noodle house – if there weren't a sushi chef at the front, it could be any sort of Japanese restaurant, really. Similarly, the service is friendly, but apart from the kimono sported by our server, it did not scream "sushi" or "geisha," as it does at the Sukiyaki House, for instance. Sushi Yoko has a very unrarified atmosphere and gives no clue as to the quality of the food. What's more, it's in this crazy location: in an Asian mall, jammed between a huge Chinese restaurant and a Chinese food store, and across from a doctor's office and an insurance agent.
But what food! This is great sushi – it's on a par with the Sukiyaki House as having the best sushi I've had in town. Sushi Yoko is more informal, though, and thus feels more authentic. The nigiri sushi ($1.20 to $2.80 per piece) was fresh and fabulous, the mackerel was salty and wonderful, the tuna belly soft and plump, and the scallop tender. It all melts away to nothing. The rolls, which are the real test of a sushi chef, are always inventive and interesting: the spicy tuna roll is an outside roll with lots of heat, the outside California roll light and delicate, and the spider roll (the softshell crab, $14.95) rich. I always find giant rolls to be a bit unwieldy, but this spider roll is so good I managed to stuff it in. The rainbow maki (known locally as a stampeder roll) is not only a great example, it's almost a shame to eat it because it's so lovely to look at. The small tempura roll is also a delight.
As you'd expect, there is the other sushi restaurant fare on the menu, and at Sushi Yoko it's always very well prepared. The gyoza (dumplings) are very traditional tasting, but it's the quality of the cooking that distinguishes them: they arrive hot and they're not oily, just a perfect appetizer for the food to come. Similarly, the miso soup is nourishing and fresh, and the salad crisp and tart.
Going for sushi is never inexpensive, especially with an addict like me, and Sushi Yoko is in the middle of the pack as far as price is concerned. If you're ordering a la carte (which I always do), and you have a few appetizers, you should reasonably expect to pay at least $20 per person, not including booze. We do live a thousand kilometres from the sea, and the fish has to be flown in, and so it's understandable that sushi is not especially cheap. It's such a pleasure, though, to eat good sushi, and you can do that in quantity at Sushi Yoko. |
