After hearing so much good about this place, I felt like I had to go try it out for myself. Suika is the sister restaurant to Kingyo – a higher end Japanese Izakaya restaurant. Suika is a little bit more affordable than it’s counterpart.

When we arrived it was packed, I think there was a game on so that must’ve been why. My friend Bren and I were seated at the back room area, it was an interestingly decorated area.

(Is that you Doraemon on the menu?!!)

It had plush leather seats with super cute chandeliers but we were incased in a metal fence that reminded me of elementary school.

Our first order of business was ordering drinks, I was cold and fighting off a cold so I ordered their Jasmine Blossoming tea, which was a bit costly but provided great entertainment as I watched it open up to bloom. Beautiful.

We started off with the very popular Deluxe Suika Box ($10). With nine small cups of different appetizers, there is definitely something for everyone in this. But it’s fairly small, maybe one bite per person between two people.

Unfortunately, I felt like this box left much to be desired. The only thing I really enjoyed was the kimchi and the pickled eggplant. There was some sort of melba toast like bread, cold tofus, bits of octopus and wakame salad (which I love but I didn’t enjoy here).

Up next was our assorted sashimi  ($12.80)- There were three different types and it was actually a great variety. It’s not what you would normally get at many generic sushi restaurants so I appreciated this dish. I liked that each fish had a different level of ‘fishy’ taste to it and was covered in black roe. It was beautifully presented too.

I’m guessing this next one because I didn’t write down what it was (bad gastrofork!). I’m assuming it was the Sashimi Shake Salad  ($7.80) Octopus Carpaccio – thanks Rachel for pointing it out! I also enjoyed this dish, I like the different textures – the tako (octopus) is chewy in nature and very bland, but with the mix of ‘gritty’ sesame soy dressing, the flavour was light but filling.

Our next dish was the Aburi Shime Saba Sushi ($12) which is “seared cured mackerel pressed sushi served with mustard soy dressing”. I don’t know what it is about pressed sushi, but I can’t say I’m that big of a fan of it yet. I’ve only had it twice and the texture just doesn’t jive with my taste. At Suika, it wasn’t so bad as my other experience – the pressed fish stuck together and the mustard soy dressing balanced the fishy taste out. You could almost say it cancelled the taste of it (which is great in my books since I’m not a big fan of fishy tasting ..fish.).

Our last dish, I believe was duck. But I could be wrong, I can’t find it on the menu but I think it was part of their fresh sheet at the time. This was actually one of the stronger dishes we ordered. The duck was pan fried and lightly battered and the bitter-sweet sauce really gave it a great taste.

I want to like Suika, but I think I might have to try and come back again with people who enjoy it and let them do the ordering. I am a big fan of Kingyo though – it’s definitely a great place to take your date if you want to impress her/him. Are there any dishes you suggest I try next time I go in?

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Check out Suika’s Menu here.
Suika on Urbanspoon