The first time we ordered takeout was with my parents. My mom ordered salmon sashimi ($8.95) and Ikamaru Yaki (grilled squid – $7.50). My dad, who isn’t that adventurous when it comes to Japanese cuisine ordered two dynamite rolls ($3.95/roll). Finally, I ordered the Salmon Don ($9.50).
My mom’s salmon sashimi is thickly sliced pieces and she enjoyed both the sashimi and the grilled squid.
My dad’s tempura in the Dynamite roll was still crispy which was nice.
The Salmon Don is a healthy portion and the taste of the sashimi is quite nice and buttery. A nice touch to the rice is that they add Furikake (Japanese seasoning that includes seaweed and sesame) to it. Delicious. There was a small bone in it, but I managed to pull it out before I ate it.
My next experience with Sushi California was with Brian. We ordered an Alaska Roll ($3.95), Hot N Roll ($3.95), Mega BLT Roll ($4.95), Caterpillar Roll ($.795) and Salmon Sashimi ($8.95). In hindsight, we ordered way too much for the both of us, so not so much next time!
The first two was the Caterpillar and Hot N Roll.
The Caterpillar Roll is comprised of prawn tempura, cucumber, roe, mayo and topped with sliced avocado, red tobiko and sesame seed. I really, really enjoyed this roll. One roll is probably filling enough for one person. They are very generous with the avocado which is nice. The tempura was still crunchy when we ate it.
The roll behind it is the Hot N’Roll. This is spicy tuna, avocado, pickled onion topped with sliced tuna and jalapeño. Well, I guess it’s pretty obvious that this was the stand out roll for me since I adore spicy food. And if you were wondering, the heat is not too intense – if you can stand the spicy sashimi in most places, you can eat this roll. The pickled onion and jalapeño on top was perfect. The inside of the roll was a little mushy (but it’s probably because we took it home first before we ate it). I would definitely order this roll again in a heartbeat.
Next up the Mega BLT Roll and Alaska Roll. The Alaska roll was fine, it is slightly bigger than the Alaska roll at Sushi Garden and is made pretty much the same way – cucumber, avocado, tobiko and mayo with salmon on top. Again, I found the rice to be a little mushy but it could just be because we took it to go. I still prefer the Alaska roll at Sushi Garden.
Our Mega BLT roll is bacon (mmm bacon), lettuce, tomato topped with smoked salmon, cooked shrimp, sweet chilli and wasabi sauce. I personally didn’t like this roll but Brian seemed to like this one. I think the bacon should be crispy – it is quite flavourful but this roll needed the crispy texture. Wouldn’t it be cool if they could layer the bacon on top and fry/torch it and have the salmon in the middle?
And finally, our sashimi. Again, I found another bone when picking through the sashimi. I’m not entirely sure why this happens but I’m glad I poke at my sashimi before I eat it.
Overall, the price point is similar to many sushi restaurants and they have a good selection of things to eat – if you’re more like my dad who loves cooked food or if you’re more like my mom who likes her sashimi and raw goods.
I also noticed they have some interesting things on their menu I want to try out including the Smoked Salmon Tomato Salad, KimmChee Yaki Rice and a Smoked Salmon Garlic roll. Hrmm…time to make another trip.
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