Hong Sushi

Hong Sushi is a small Chinese owned, Japanese cuisine restaurant in North Burnaby on Hastings Street. I have passed the restaurant numerous times but never thought much of them. However, after reading a few posts on Urbanspoon, I decided to visit the restaurant for a late lunch. As we entered the restaurant, the staff was having lunch and one of them immediately got up to grab us tea. The restaurant has geisha photos on one side of the wall and photos of their dishes on the other. Since the restaurant is a small sushi joint, most people grabbed take out or had a quick five to ten minute meal. The restaurant only has six single chairs, two tables for four, and one table for two. 

The larger tables have plastic spoons, containers for wasabi and soy sauce, chopsticks and napkins. After waiting a while for the menu, I realized they are on the table! The most mentioned thing about the restaurant are the styrofoam plates. Am I fan? I consider them more sanitary but also a waste for the environment.. I do like them though.

COMBO A (CALIFORNIA ROLL, SALMON NIGIRI, TUNA NIGIRI, EBI NIGIRI, AND TAMAGO NIGIRI), TUNA AND SALMON SASHIMI, ASSORTED SASHIMI, CHEF ROLL, PASSION ROLL, AND SOFT SHELL CRAB TEMPURA.

ASSORTED SASHIMI CONSISTING OF HOKKIGAI, TAKO, SABA, TUNA, AMAEBI, SALMON, AND SCALLOP ($11.95).

Starting with the top row, the hokkigai tastes generic; the tako tastes soft with a slight pleasant chewiness; and the saba tastes slightly fishy as usual (some green onion and/or ginger would have been nice to kill the fishiness). Further on, the tuna sashimi tastes fresh but the upper body portion is served which is mainly used for only rolls and/or spicy tuna sashimi. Continuing along, the assorted sashimi usually comes with red snapper but we asked for a substitution and surprisingly the restaurant replaced it with amaebi, which costs more. The amaebi tastes a bit dry and does not have that full amaebi taste, since these are the smaller sized ones. Next, the salmon sashimi tastes fresh as well as fatty, and is sliced into two bite sizes. And last, the hotate tastes tender and tasty.

SOFT SHELL CRAB TEMPURA ($6.95).

The salad underneath the soft shell crab comes with dressing and can be eaten, rather than just being there for the presentation. As for the soft shell crab, it is lightly battered and perfectly deep fried, with moist as well as tender tasting meat. Although unfortunately, the cold teriyaki sauce drizzled on top caused most of the meat to taste cold. I will probably ask  for them to hold the teriyaki sauce next time!

SALMON SASHIMI AND TORO SASHIMI ($9.95).

I like that Hong Sushi offers a salmon as well as toro sashimi combo rather than only salmon and tuna, like most restaurants. The salmon sashimi tastes fresh, buttery and fatty, just like the salmon in the assorted sashimi. As for the toro, the sashimi tastes fresh and melts in the mouth.

CHEF ROLL, MANGO, CUCUMBER, AVOCADO WITH TORO, MASAGO ON TOP ($7.95).

The chef roll tastes refreshing as well as healthy, and is a must order for avocado, mango and toro fans. The mango tastes sweet, the avocado tastes fresh as well as ripe and not too mushy, and the thick slice of toro on top is tasty.

PASSION ROLL, TUNA, SALMON, IMITATION CRAB, EBI, SCALLOPS, CUCUMBER, AVOCADO WITH SALMON SASHIMI ON TOP ($8.95).
The passion roll is shaped like a heart, has quite a lot of fillings and is quite tasty. House specialty rolls are subjective and Hong Sushi has quite a few options. In addition for lazy readers, there are photos of their specialty rolls posted on the wall (the photos helped me choose the heart shaped passion roll!).

COMBO A; CALFORNIA ROLL, SALMON NIGIRI, TUNA NIGIRI, EBI NIGIRI, AND TAMAGO ($6.25).

The cut of the salmon sashimi is more towards the tail end so it has a bit of tendon. Next, the tuna sashimi is surprisingly the proper lower body portion cut (which is weird because sashimi costs more but we received the upper body portion earlier). Following, the ebi tastes like what it is - packaged ebi, and the tamago has a slight sweet taste. Although all the nigiri tastes enjoyable (except the salmon because of the tendon), the rice was squeezed a bit too hard and could have used a bit more sushi vinegar. As for the california roll, there is a thin layer of rice which highlights the imitation crab meat as well as the taste of avocado, and is not heavy on the mayonnaise.

POSITIVES

- Friendly staff

- Styrofoam plates are more sanitary

- Average eats

NEGATIVES

- Styrofoam plates are wasteful

- Not much seating (if that matters)

LITTLE THINGS

- Most may think other restaurants serve larger portions for the same price

- Although there is nothing special about the restaurant, I would come back because of the friendly staff and for the soft shell crab

Food: 2.5/5

Service: 2.5/5