Ajisai: First Visit

I often file away restaurant information in an obscure part of my mind. When an opportunity to eat out arises, I can often pull up the info and head for a restaurant that I had heard or read about. After reading SaabKen's review of Ajisai, I did just that. Luckily we didn't have to wait very long for an occasion to try it out.

Tonight our friend, Robert (who is a sushi afficionado), flew in from Toronto and we jumped at the chance to try out Ajisai. We were not disappointed!

We arrived at the restaurant after 8 p.m. and it was completely empty. Lucky for us since most people were watching the Canucks game. We decided to sit at the bar as we're always intrigued by the graceful artistry of sushi chefs. We ordered the sushi combo D, tuna with mountain yam, pressed unagi sushi, hot crunchy tuna roll and miso soup.

Usually we're a bit wary of ordering "combo's", but our beautiful platter of sushi (10 varieties) was plentiful and gorgeously fresh. The salmon was particularly outstanding--buttery and flavourful. The tuna with mountain yam was a delicately flavoured dish of lightly marinated tuna adorned with freshly grated mountain yam. The flavour was bright and sweet. The most intriguing dish was the hot crunchy tuna roll: a sushi roll filled with nori, spicy tuna and cornflakes! A lovely texural contrast.

Before tax and tip our bill came to just under $54 for three hungry people. A real bargain for the outstanding quality and the amount of food we ate. I have a feeling that Ajisai will be our regular sushi joint.