matt dash low dot com

So its Friday night and my mom’s too lazy to cook. The decision is made to go out for dinner. Dad wants to grab some Japanese food since its been a while since he’s had sushi (while I went for it twice this week and will be going again tomorrow).

Seeing as its a Friday night, I correctly calculated that most of the nearby sushi places would be full and decided to head out a bit further toward Metrotown shopping center. There’s a whole bunch of sushi places in the area so I figured we’d have a bit more selection to choose from if a certain place was outrageously full.

Now, where does Japanese restaurant critique Matt go when he wants some top quality (and really affordable) sushi?

That’s right. We hit up Sushi Garden.

Dad dropped me off and I bolted right for the cashier while he fished around for a parking spot.

Pro tip: If there’s no one at the front taking names, always head to the cashier or to someone who looks like the manager. Most people stand around at the front and wait for someone to approach them asking if they’re looking for a seat. Be more pro-active and ask to put your name down on the list. You might be able to jump a few people that way. Dick move? Yes. But nothing comes between Matt and his sushi.

Anyway, here’s the story.

After we finished consuming an insane quantity of raw fish, rolls, tempura and the like (I wouldn’t be surprised if I woke up in the hospital tomorrow), one of the servers came by and took our plates. But the plate still had a perfectly good piece of raw Tuna on it. Once she started piling plates, my dad noticed it and questioned her why she was cleaning up so quick?

He was visibly irritated that  she had taken away a piece of edible tuna along with that white radish or carrot stuff that no one eats. You know, the stringy stuff that sashimi sits on? Yeah, I think my dad is the only person in the world who actually eats those. He wanted to eat some and compare it to the other places, but I digress. But she compensated and brought us one fresh piece of tuna sashimi (I watched her like a hawk and made sure she didn’t slip that other one into a new dish).

When the bill came, it turned up to about 52 bucks with taxes and all that. Normally, I’d tell him to tip about 6 or 6.50 (I figure thats around 15%). But I told him to drop 4 instead. He was a bit more lenient and left 5 as a tip. He took the bill up front and paid (at this point me and my mom were standing outside) and the manager politely asked him if everything was okay before looking at the bill and such. Dad answered with a gruff yes, paid everything and we walked out.

I told him he should have given the manager a piece of his mind about what happened earlier and in hindsight he did agree. He does a better job of expressing the annoyed look but he knows I’m a better communicator and told me to that I should have been the one to convey his message. So in the future, if he ever gets annoyed at service or food or something, I get stuck as the guy designated to tell them “Whats up”.

But yeah, see I don’t consider what happened a serious big deal worth a free meal or anything like that. At the same time though, I felt that it should have been something brought to the managers attention. My guess is that the girl wasn’t looking clearly or wasn’t paying attention or something. I was tempted to tell the manager myself but just wasn’t sure if this was something important enough to bring up.

Food was great though. I mean if you’re in the area and want some affordable sushi, definitely hit up Sushi Garden. Its in my top 5 Japanese places in the Burnaby area.

4635 Kingsway directly across from Metrotown’s Boston Pizza. Close to the intersection of Kingsway and Mackay.

Assorted sashimi (17 pcs) – 13.95
Medium party tray (Chopped Scallop Roll, BC Roll, Dynamite Roll, California Roll, Ebi, Hokigai, Tobico, Tuna sushi, Salmon sushi) – 25.00
Prawn and sweet potato tempura – 7.50
Alaska Roll – 3.95

Final tally was about 52.00 or so.

If you plan on only ordering one thing though, definitely go for the Alaska roll. That stuff just melts in your mouse. Its got that raw and plump salmon sashimi resting on top of it, while the roll is stuffed with avocado, crab meat (I think), and asparagus. And its drowned in some sorta sweet-ish type sauce.

I need to bring a camera. Words just don’t it justice.