Takeya Sushi

Simple decor, decent food is what I would use to describe Takeya Sushi. Takeya Sushi is located in the Seafair mall which is on No.1 and Francis, right beside the Safeway in the mall. I used to be quite familiar as I lived in the area and from what I've heard before, this sushi place wasn't the greatest. So when my parents recommended this place, I hesitated until my dad told me they changed owners. So I decided to give it a try. 

The place isn't very big and they have very simple decor. We were greeted by a Japanese waitress and only waited a few minutes before we got a table. I was so overwhelmed by the menu. They had 6 pages of food and rolls alone, they probably had over 20 kinds. It was very hard deciding what to order. 

In the end, we ordered 3 of their chef's special which were Takeya nigiri, Mango Philadelphia roll and Ebi Shu-mai.

First came the Ebi Shu-mai. We ordered it because it is not a common dish we see at Japanese restaurant. The dish is quite creative but it was kind of bland. I couldn't really taste the shrimp although the filling was all shrimp. 

Then came this platter, which they put 3 rolls we ordered onto one plate. There was the salmon roll, which I always love. There was also the Futomaki which was half a roll, and then the chef's special, Mango Philadelphia roll. 

The salmon was pretty fresh and I was quite disappointment at the other two rolls. The futomaki is pretty average futomaki but it wasn't rolled properly. It was really loose. I don't know if you can tell from the picture but the two pieces at the back pretty much fell apart. We couldn't pick up each piece without the filling falling out. 

The Mango Philadelphia roll had very strong cream cheese. The mango on the top didn't seem like was actual mango pieces as the color of the "mango" was very pale yellow. The avacado wasn't ripe yet as it was quite hard to chew.  

This dish is what I enjoyed the most. This is the Takeya Nigiri which had seared salmon and tuna as well as unagi, shrimp and saba. All the sushi on this dish were quite good. Of course the seared salmon can't be compared to Miku or Minami's seared salmon sushi and considering the price, it was pretty good. 

Their service is pretty good too. Their waitresses always have a smile on. 

Overall, this is not the best sushi I've had in Vancouver but considering the affordable price, their sushi is pretty good. I would come back here for some decent and reasonable priced sushi. 

Miku - Vancouver, BC

After having been to Minami, I didn't really see the need to go to to Miku given they have the same food. I came here because it was one of my girlfriends' birthday and she wanted to come here. I was very pleased that I did. 

First of all, the view was quite amazing. This is a new location for Miku and it is super busy. I don't think you would be able to get a table without reservation. I came late because of work and my girlfriends already ordered some food. 

They actually ordered a lot of food. They ordered the Aburi Sashimi Trio which has 3 types of flamed Seared Sashimi with signature sauces. Each one of the sauces went really well with the sashimi. The salmon had more of a mayo sauce, the one in the middle had more of a wasabi sauce and Tuna had a yuzu sauce.  The sashimi was obviously very fresh. That was a very mouth-watering dish. 

We then had the Miku Roll which had salmon, crab, cucumber, sea urchin, rolled in fish roe with seared MIKU sauce. The sauce was to die for but I feel the sauce overpowered the roll a bit. I couldn't taste the sea urchin one bit. I could taste the salmon, fish roe and the crab though. I could easily finished all of these bite-sized rolls in no time. 

As I was still enjoying the aftertaste of the rolls, the waitress brought over this ginormous plater and I had no idea what this was. I soon found out this was the MIKU waterfront platter which served 3. That was probably why my girls ordered it . This included chef's choice of sashimi, oysters, clams, mussels, jumbo prawns, kaizen poke, scallop ceviche and kale gomae. All for $78 which is a pretty good deal if you ask me. It equates to $26/person for all those seafood. I don't know if you can tell but it was a lot of food. The sashimi, clams, oysters were all super fresh. I didn't like the prawns that much though. It was lacking flavour. I wasn't sure if it was because they sat on top of a bucket of ice for a long time.

The kaizen poke was seasoned with miso and sesame which was good. The scallop was a bit sour with the citrus they added to it although it helped maintain the freshness of the scallop. The scallop was very fresh and full of flavour. Next time I would just ask to have a little bit less lemon.

Lastly, we ended with my favourite sushi, the salmon oshi sushi. This is one of their signature and it's just so so so good. After eating all the food above, I could still eat all the pieces. I really liked that they later the salmon with a piece in the centre. It really brings out the salmon flavour. The fact that the salmon on top was half seared just sealed the deal. The salmon melted in your month, just the right balance between rice, salmon and the sauce. 

I am sure you would know my thoughts on this restaurant by now. I would definitely go back again and bring others to here. Their food is just too awesome.