Sushi Bella
2059 W. 4th Ave.
Vancouver, BC
604-734-4990
www.sushibella.com
WOHOOO~~~~~~ This marks the completion of my restaurant goal!!!!!!! Yay!
West 4th has changed so much in the last few years. So many new restaurants and chic shops have opened up recently that it is impossible to keep track and try them all. Among them is Sushi Bella, a new fusion Japanese restaurant located in the heart of Kitsilano.
I first heard about Sushi Bella from Asmin, a colleague of mine who oftentimes buys lunch from the neighbourhood. The sushi looked delicious, but in a city abundant in Japanese restaurants, the sushi could very well be just another ordinary roll of rice and seafood. Then, one day, as a committed subscriber to group deals (Groupon, Living Social, Indulge Living...etc. You name it and I've got it), I saw that Sushi Bella was offering a $30 deal for the price of $15. Considering that it is located in my vicinity, and also still trying to reach my restaurant goal at the time, I bought one. The next day, I told Aldin about the deal, and he said that since it's so close to work, we might as well get one to share for lunch sometime. Good idea. That "sometime" was this past Friday.
Sushi Bella from the outside, looked like a western-style restaurant; door and walls painted in green, no bold advertisement, and only a small window that showed a dimly lit interior. From the inside, the deco was classic and clean. Bamboo deco's served as dividers for sectioning, and brown furniture portrayed a very zen, calming style. Like most local Japanese bistro's, there's an open bar that displayed fresh seafood.
With $30 to spend, we ordered Chicken Katsu, BC roll, Bella roll, and their special roll of the day. Though I didn't really fancy fried chicken, and though I don't really fish skin of any sort (for those that don't live in BC, BC roll is pretty much grilled salmon skin wrapped in rice & seaweed), I didn't mind it since there were 2 other rolls to indulge myself on. Given that we are at Bella Sushi, it only makes the most logical sense to try their Bella Roll - real crab meat, red beets, topped with tuna and salmon. It was awesome. The special roll of the day was also delicious. I don't remember the exact content, but it had some sort of tuna tataki on the top, and shrimp tempura on the inside. The dishes were all beautifully arranged...something that seems to portray a part of Japanese culture where presentation is equally, if not more, important. And to further cater to a western audience, they also provided the option to serve sushi with brown rice.
I've only had one encountering with sushi in brown rice. It was not pleasant. Brown rice tend to stay solitude giving it a grainy texture to the bite, let alone the stiffness. Though a healthier selection, if I were to eat something, I'd rather enjoy it. Given that Aldin is all about being healthy ^^, as a compromise, we proceeded with the Special on brown, and the other two on white. To my pleasant surprise, the brown rice offered at Sushi Bella tasted quite similar to the white. Though it was still fairly grainy, it was not stiff. Though I still prefer the sweetness offered with white rice, I didn't mind it.
Comparing to all the other fancy restaurants on W. 4th, I wouldn't rank it as a notable one in the neighbourhood. However, given that there are not many good Japanese sushi on W. 4th, it undoubtedly is one of the better sushi places that offered quality and atmosphere. If you have a craving for Japanese, and do not want to go somewhere far, I would sure recommend Sushi Bella.
I think I've been here before, a few years back. Interior remains unchanged with wooden stalls and tables.
Nao Sushi is located in South East Burnaby. I typically don't travel over there since it's outside my social circle (haha). I've visited this restaurant a few times, and have enjoyed it every time.
The food is very authentic Japanese. I would say the unique dish that this place offers is the Kamemshi, hot pot rice with mixed vegetables in a steamer (I don't have a photo of it, but it is definitely worth trying). The rice is extremely well-flavoured from having been cooked with the vegetables.
Agnes and I were actually planning to try out Toshi, but as usual, we arrived at the wrong hour and the line up outside was crazy. With only 1.5 hour to spare and a craving for Japanese food, we stumbled upon this place. A total mistake.
Of all the dishes we ordered, the only one that I recommend trying out is the sushi roll that is wrapped in thinly sliced cucumber. It was light and refreshing.
Menu selection was extensive, but the quality was plain. We ordered a bunch of
dishes that looked interesting. It was nicely displayed, but it wasn't
appealing to the taste bud.
Sushi Bella
I first heard about Sushi Bella from Asmin, a colleague of mine who oftentimes buys lunch from the neighbourhood. The sushi looked delicious, but in a city abundant in Japanese restaurants, the sushi could very well be just another ordinary roll of rice and seafood. Then, one day, as a committed subscriber to group deals (Groupon, Living Social, Indulge Living...etc. You name it and I've got it), I saw that Sushi Bella was offering a $30 deal for the price of $15. Considering that it is located in my vicinity, and also still trying to reach my restaurant goal at the time, I bought one. The next day, I told Aldin about the deal, and he said that since it's so close to work, we might as well get one to share for lunch sometime. Good idea. That "sometime" was this past Friday.
Sushi Bella from the outside, looked like a western-style restaurant; door and walls painted in green, no bold advertisement, and only a small window that showed a dimly lit interior. From the inside, the deco was classic and clean. Bamboo deco's served as dividers for sectioning, and brown furniture portrayed a very zen, calming style. Like most local Japanese bistro's, there's an open bar that displayed fresh seafood.
I've only had one encountering with sushi in brown rice. It was not pleasant. Brown rice tend to stay solitude giving it a grainy texture to the bite, let alone the stiffness. Though a healthier selection, if I were to eat something, I'd rather enjoy it. Given that Aldin is all about being healthy ^^, as a compromise, we proceeded with the Special on brown, and the other two on white. To my pleasant surprise, the brown rice offered at Sushi Bella tasted quite similar to the white. Though it was still fairly grainy, it was not stiff. Though I still prefer the sweetness offered with white rice, I didn't mind it.
Guu Garden
Unlike the Guu on Robson, Guu Garden is well-hidden, and located on the 2nd floor of a plaza on Nelson. The building is an interesting one; The structure of this building looks more like a 2-stories open roof parkade. Guu Garden is the only restaurant located on the 2nd floor, with large panels of windows that overlooks the wide open space. There are trees planted outside the restaurant, and I can just imagine how relaxing it would be sitting outside during the warm summer weather, as if we are in the garden of Edens.
Anyways, so we ended up having dinner at Seto. Seto reminded me of Daimasu, a long-time favourite go-to place for sushi. I've had lots of experience with eating Japanese food. Though I can't say I am an expert, but having opted for Japanese food 90% of the time I eat out, and having lived in Japan for 8 months (not to mention at least 5+ times of visiting Japan), I can tell whether the food is at least, at minimal, up to Vancouver standard. The food was well prepared, and what I thought stood out for me was the wasabi salt (instead of the regular salt 'n pepper) that they had - it really spiced up all the dishes well! It blended really well with almost every dish, from the agedashi tofu, to the tonkatsu... I need to get my hands on a bottle of this, and I'll be the happiest person on earth! :)
Hapa Umi
FYI - Dine Out Festival is a 2-week long event that takes place annually where participating restaurants offer set menus priced at $18, $28, and $38 ranges. It is the largest restaurant festival in Canada, and is a good opportunity and excuse to try out new restaurants!
Despite all the other amazing dishes listed on the menu, we went ahead with the $38 3-course set menu. Once we placed our orders, the first thing that the server did was 1) provide each person with a sauce dish, and 2) filled the sauce dish with soy sauce. Interesting. I wasn't sure why we were all poured soy sauce since my 3-courses are: Albacore Tuna Tataki, Umi-"Salisbury" Steak, followed by Matcha Mille Fuille for dessert. Maybe the tuna with soy sauce? hm...maybe not. None of us touched the sauce for the entire meal. (I guess some people just felt that since this is a Japanese restaurant, the food's have to be paired with soy sauce?)
