Mega Sushi (Richmond)
Janice, Kirby and I had a small farewell lunch before Kirby left for Korea. Being very savvy about new restaurants in Richmond, Kirby suggested a Japanese restaurant in Steveston called Mega Sushi that had just opened a couple months ago. When I first heard the name, I thought it would be a run-down neighbourhood sushi joint, so I was quite surprised when I arrived to see a nice outdoor patio and a rather spacious parking area.
The ambiance inside was casual yet classy and gave a sense of comfort and tidiness. We were greeted with smiles from the waitresses and the sushi chefs behind the counter. I overheard them conversing in Korean, so naturally I began wondering if the sushi would be Korean style.
I appreciated the care to detail shown in the stylish menu and the paper wrapper for the chopsticks.
The complimentary green tea was served in an elegant cast iron teapot with double-walled glass teacups and wooden saucers. Those teacups were so cute that I wanted to bring them home with me.
We started off with salmon sashimi ($7.95) and I was once again very impressed with the presentation. I loved the irregularly shaped dish and the colourful vegetables and seaweed on the side. The salmon was a bright red colour and there was no visible fat unlike typical salmon sashimi. The texture was very firm and the taste was quite mild due to the lack of fat.
When I browsed the menu, I was intrigued by the dish called monkey brain ($8.95). For a split second, I even wondered whether monkey brain was legal for consumption in Canada. But then I read the description and realized it was just fried avocado stuffed with tuna and crab meat. The appearance did resemble brains slightly... The breading was very thin, so it wasn't as heavy and oily as I had imagined.
The concept is innovative, but I think putting creamy avocado, crab meat and tuna together in a fried ball is a bit much.
Kirby told us the cherry blossom roll ($12.95) was highly recommended, so of course we took her word for it and tried it out. It tasted like a California roll topped with salmon, but something was different that I couldn't quite put my finger on. I asked what else was in there and it turned out the special ingredient was applesauce! The applesauce added a refreshing quality and a subtle sweetness that complemented the crab meat very well.
We also tried the paradise roll ($11.95) and I thought it was interesting that it came with a sliced strawberry and fried lotus root slices. The lotus root was fried to a crisp like chips and the strawberry was a good palate cleanser. When I bit into the roll, my first thought was that it tasted very similar to the previous roll. I asked about the ingredients and realized that this was in fact a fried California roll. So we ended up ordering variations of the same roll, but the toppings were different enough that both rolls were enjoyable and not too boring.
As we chatted and picked at the remaining food, a waitress brought over a dish of 3 negihama sushi and told us it was the chef's special on the house. We looked around and it didn't seem like any other table got this, so I suspect it was because the staff saw us snapping photos of everything. In any case, we definitely don't mind free food and happily dug into this roll of chopped hamachi and green onion. It seems bad to criticize a free dish, but we didn't think it was very special at all. The hamachi was very mushy probably due to over-mincing. I'm sure that raw ground beef would have a similar texture.
Since we had a rather late lunch, the restaurant was already completely empty by the time we had finished. We stayed for a while to chat and the waitresses were always more than happy to refill our teapot. We always had to ask and they rarely took the initiative to check on our tea, but we didn't really mind as long as they did it when asked. We each paid around $18 for this meal including tax and tips which isn't exactly cheap for a casual lunch. And we didn't even have that much food! But the ambiance was nice and very suitable for chatting, especially with the fancy teapot and teacups. Mega Sushi is a good choice if you want to splurge a bit on sushi and/or if you want to impress someone.
The ambiance inside was casual yet classy and gave a sense of comfort and tidiness. We were greeted with smiles from the waitresses and the sushi chefs behind the counter. I overheard them conversing in Korean, so naturally I began wondering if the sushi would be Korean style.
I appreciated the care to detail shown in the stylish menu and the paper wrapper for the chopsticks.
The complimentary green tea was served in an elegant cast iron teapot with double-walled glass teacups and wooden saucers. Those teacups were so cute that I wanted to bring them home with me.
We started off with salmon sashimi ($7.95) and I was once again very impressed with the presentation. I loved the irregularly shaped dish and the colourful vegetables and seaweed on the side. The salmon was a bright red colour and there was no visible fat unlike typical salmon sashimi. The texture was very firm and the taste was quite mild due to the lack of fat.
When I browsed the menu, I was intrigued by the dish called monkey brain ($8.95). For a split second, I even wondered whether monkey brain was legal for consumption in Canada. But then I read the description and realized it was just fried avocado stuffed with tuna and crab meat. The appearance did resemble brains slightly... The breading was very thin, so it wasn't as heavy and oily as I had imagined.
The concept is innovative, but I think putting creamy avocado, crab meat and tuna together in a fried ball is a bit much.
Kirby told us the cherry blossom roll ($12.95) was highly recommended, so of course we took her word for it and tried it out. It tasted like a California roll topped with salmon, but something was different that I couldn't quite put my finger on. I asked what else was in there and it turned out the special ingredient was applesauce! The applesauce added a refreshing quality and a subtle sweetness that complemented the crab meat very well.
We also tried the paradise roll ($11.95) and I thought it was interesting that it came with a sliced strawberry and fried lotus root slices. The lotus root was fried to a crisp like chips and the strawberry was a good palate cleanser. When I bit into the roll, my first thought was that it tasted very similar to the previous roll. I asked about the ingredients and realized that this was in fact a fried California roll. So we ended up ordering variations of the same roll, but the toppings were different enough that both rolls were enjoyable and not too boring.
As we chatted and picked at the remaining food, a waitress brought over a dish of 3 negihama sushi and told us it was the chef's special on the house. We looked around and it didn't seem like any other table got this, so I suspect it was because the staff saw us snapping photos of everything. In any case, we definitely don't mind free food and happily dug into this roll of chopped hamachi and green onion. It seems bad to criticize a free dish, but we didn't think it was very special at all. The hamachi was very mushy probably due to over-mincing. I'm sure that raw ground beef would have a similar texture.
Since we had a rather late lunch, the restaurant was already completely empty by the time we had finished. We stayed for a while to chat and the waitresses were always more than happy to refill our teapot. We always had to ask and they rarely took the initiative to check on our tea, but we didn't really mind as long as they did it when asked. We each paid around $18 for this meal including tax and tips which isn't exactly cheap for a casual lunch. And we didn't even have that much food! But the ambiance was nice and very suitable for chatting, especially with the fancy teapot and teacups. Mega Sushi is a good choice if you want to splurge a bit on sushi and/or if you want to impress someone.
Why thank you! You called me 'savvy' about new restaurants. Haha. While I'm gone, you have to keep in on the loop for new Richmond restaurants so I can read your reviews! :D
ReplyDeleteI think I will finally have time to write a post tomorrow about my first adventure in Korea :P Bibimpap on the plane!
@Kirby: You are savvy! You're always the first to try new restaurants. Looking forward to your posts on Korea!
ReplyDelete