Sushikan

[LordBalthazar]

Having received the heads up from Ling re: Sushikan's imminent closure, I elected to head down to Richmond and finally check it out. I say "finally" but, in truth, it's not as if I've been remiss. I anxiously awaited the restaurant's opening for months but, when it did eventually open its doors, I was distracted by scriptwork, visiting family, the holidays, and prep work for the show (in that order). In what seemed like blink of an eye, three months had passed. Sushikan had opened, tested the waters in Richmond, and, apparently deeming them unfriendly, decided to pack it in.

As we drove to the Aberdeen Mall, I realized I was driving a little faster than usual as if the 5-10 minute time difference might actually factor in to whether we actually got to eat there before the place shut down. "Wait!"I imagined myself shouting, dragging my wife along behind me at break-neck speed, waving at the chef who was in the process of shuttering the establishment, "Not yet! Not yet!"

Well, we arrived at the Aberdeen Mall a little before 6:00 p.m. and immediately consulted the map of the complex - which, it turned out, didn't have Sushikan in the listings. We went downstairs to information and were directed back up to the second floor. "It's in a little alley,"the girl at the information booth informed us. "It's really hard to miss."

We headed upstairs and found the restaurant. It's located right beside Northern Delicacy, one of my favorite restaurant's in Richmond. We're regulars and, as we walked by and caught a look from our usual server, I gave a wave and felt incredibly uncomfortable, like a girl I'd been dating had caught me out on the town with someone else. For the second time that night, I found myself quickening my pace.

A waitress met us at the door and seated us at a table near the back. There were about three other occupied tables in the place. Not bad for six o' clock, I thought. We perused the fairly extensive menu and opted for a nice cross-section of items. Undaunted by the warnings of a fellow egulleter - or, to be perfectly honest, maybe because of it - I started with the Kani Miso ("crab guts" - see my previous Yuji's post). Unlike the steamed orange cake-like offering I had at Yuji's, the crab liver here was green, almost cream-like, and served on a bed of thinly sliced cucumbers. Tasty, but I preferred Yuji's version. My wife had the seaweed salad which she absolutely adored. We moved on to sushi - two orders each of the top-dollars tuna: Yakitoro ("highest grade tuna", lightly grilled, served with a jellied ponzu and garlic chip), O-toro ("highest grade tuna") and chu-toro ("higher grade tuna"). At $10 a pop, it may seem like an incredible amount of money to pay for one piece of sushi, but it's a deal compared to what you'd pay for the same thing in Tokyo. And by "the same thing", I mean exactly that. The toro is flown in from Tokyo's tsukiji market and, I have to say, I've never eaten tuna so tender and perfect outside of tsukiji (where, last year, my wife and I had a lunch of similar grade toro that set us back a little over $200). We moved on to the Kobe beef tataki (lightly grilled, seasoned with garlic, served with a ponzu sauce), and the grilled kobe beef (cubed, again served with ponzu) - mouth-meltingly good. It reminded me of our trip to Tokyo and how the kobe beef there had so spoiled us that, since returning to North American, we haven't had the heart to eat steak. Having "moved on" from the sushi, I elected to "move back", ordering another two orders of the o-toro and chu-toro. Every bite took me back to that glorious week we spent in Tokyo, heading down to tsukiji for a tuna breakfast before hitting Akihabara, Ueno Zoo, and the Sapporo museum where I tried the sampler platter and ended up plastered before lunch.

I quizzed one of the servers about the restaurant and was told that business was slow. "Do you think you'll stay open?"I asked. "We're not sure,"came the non-commital response which, in my mind, roughly translated to "No, so get while the getting's good."

Having been told that the chefs were Japanese, I took the opportunity to brush up on my Japanese as we headed out: "Gochiso osama deshita!" "Totemo oishikatta desu!" "Thanks! Have a good night!"they chimed back.

As we left, I couldn't help but feel a little sad. If only Sushikan had opened downtown, maybe things might have turned out differently.

Rather than do my customary green tea ice cream, I opted to head downstairs to the Starbucks for a cup of chantico - the cloyingly sweet chocolate drink that I once drank, to my friend's horror, accompanied by a "dipping brownie" - only to be told that it was going to be discontinued in the near future. I mean, come on!!!

Edited February 12, 2006 by LordBalthazar (log)

[Ling]

^I'm glad Sushikan is still there. My friend, DaFonz, has eaten there a number of times, most recently on Thursday. He said the head chef is still there, but some of the old waitstaff is gone. He also felt that the quality had slipped a bit from his three earlier visits.

ETA: I hear it is the support staff that went back to Japan.

Edited February 12, 2006 by Ling (log)

[Claudiak]

I was at Aberdeen Centre on Thursday and Friday to cover the fatal stabbing--the first time I've ever been there, in fact. They didn't close down the mall during the investigation, so shoppers were still going in and out. If the relatively low number of people I saw on both days is any indication of the traffic at the mall, I would be very concerned about the success of all of the businesses there. I've been told mall owner Thomas Fung is losing money hand over fist.

I hope I get a chance to check out Sushikan before it closes down (your other pictorial looked awesome Ling!) If not, I hope it relocates to a better location.

[D90]

If the relatively low number of people I saw on both days is any indication of the traffic at the mall, I would be very concerned about the success of all of the businesses there. I've been told mall owner Thomas Fung is losing money hand over fist.

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*sorry a little off topic*

I heard that also but I am not even a little surprised that they are losing money, the way the mall management treats their tenants and potential tenants they must feel its okay to lose funds. I personally don’t have a store in Aberdeen or have even tired (I have nothing worth selling =)) but I know a few people that were tenants, are still tenants and others that have inquired when the mall first opened, and some of the stories are just ridiculous.

But they do have a few cool stores in there.

Edited February 13, 2006 by D90 (log)

[Vancitygirl]

How does one travel to the Aberdeen mall? Let's say from Granville and Broadway.

[Daddy-A]

How does one travel to the Aberdeen mall?  Let's say from Granville and Broadway.

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CLICK For MAP

Just be sure you don't confuse Aberdeen Centre (Richmond) with Aberdeen Mall (Kamloops).

A.

[Ling]

I just had lunch at Sushikan, and while it wasn't bad, it certainly wasn't as good as I remember. The $11.95 all-you-can-eat lunch special they were advertising should have tipped me off.

We ordered a plate of assorted sashimi ($25), which came with 2 of the following: sake, hotate, maguro, tako, and hirame. The sake was pretty bad--on par with all-you-can-eat quality, unfortunately. Everything else on the platter was OK, but certainly a big step down from what a good Japanese restaurant should be serving.

The clam miso soup was good--clams were very plump and tender.

The spider roll and the BC roll both came with lots and lots of sushi rice.

I think I'll skip this place in the future.

[sanrensho]

I just had lunch at Sushikan, and while it wasn't bad, it certainly wasn't as good as I remember. The $11.95 all-you-can-eat lunch special they were advertising should have tipped me off. 

Has there been a complete turnover of staff (or management)?

I know that they were advertising for new staff in one of the local Japanese publications.

[Ling]

I didn't recognize any of the former staff when I was eating today, but perhaps they have a different staff at lunch. Certainly the sushi chefs behind the counter were new to me, though.

[sanrensho]

I didn't recognize any of the former staff when I was eating today, but perhaps they have a different staff at lunch. Certainly the sushi chefs behind the counter were new to me, though.

Not a good sign if the counter staff are completely new. It sounds like they have changed their direction. I never understood the logic of their location. I suppose they were banking on affluent Chinese clientele in Richmond, but I think they would have done better downtown, where they could target those with business expense accounts as well as Japanese business travellers.

[Ling]

I heard a few months ago there was supposed to be a downtown location opening...I don't know what happened with that.

[LordBalthazar]

I heard a few months ago there was supposed to be a downtown location opening...I don't know what happened with that.

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Are they still importing their fish from Tsukiji?

[Ling]

^I don't know. I didn't ask. But you've gotta wonder when they serve you what looks exactly like farmed Atlantic salmon.