Nikkyu Japanese Restaurant (web site, map, 3302 Main Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada, phone: 604-873-2220) is one of the few sushi restaurants on the east side of Vancouver that offers free sushi delivery within 5km. Check their web site for their menu and you can even order your sushi online. But how was the food, you might ask? Read on for more…

My friend and I are definite sushi aficionados, having tried many awesome sushi restaurants in Vancouver. We were originally in the area to try the Japanese food at Toshi’s at Main and 16th, which has a great reputation. Unfortunately due to its popularity there was a huge lineup outside Toshi’s. My friend’s friend (who lives in the neighborhood) gave us a hot tip that there is a sushi place near Toshi’s just a few blocks north on Main Street. We walked around and the only one we saw was Nikkyu, so that had to be the place. We were in for a real treat!

As a food photographer I always appreciate restaurants which put extra care and detail into their presentation of the food. Attractive and creative presentation is something I only expect at high-end restaurants, where the portions can be tiny and the food becomes more like edible art.

Many Japanese restaurants in town go for quantity over quality, and while I do enjoy all-you-can-eat and gigantic roll places, I don’t mind splurging for aesthetics once in a while.

But I was pleasantly surprised by Nikkyu Japanese Restaurant when the food arrived - the obviously very fresh sushi was presented in a simply beautiful fashion, with no grain of rice out of place, and the sprinkling of masago on the rolls put the finishing touch on some miniature masterpieces (pictured below).

Here’s what we ordered (all pictured below): 4 Saba Sushi ($4.60), Mango Smoked Salmon California Roll ($5.95), Chopped Scallop Roll ($3.85), House Roll ($4.75), Q.E. Park Roll ($7.50) and 6 pieces Salmon Sashimi ($7.95). Looking at these photos makes me hungry again!

Beautiful sushi from Nikkyu Japanese Restaurant in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Sushi rolls from Nikkyu Japanese Restaurant in Vancouver.

Saba sushi (Mackerel) from Nikkyu Japanese Restaurant in Vancouver.

Salmon sashimi from Nikkyu Japanese Restaurant.

Chopped scallop sushi and saba sushi from Nikkyu Japanese Restaurant in Vancouver.

More delicious sushi from Nikkyu Japanese Restaurant in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

T and T Market (web site, map, 179 Keefer Place, Vancouver, B.C., Canada, phone: 604-899-8836, Store hours: 8:30 am - 9:30 pm) is a large Chinese/Asian grocery store with several locations in the Vancouver area (view a list of all locations). The Keefer Place location is very close to the Stadium Skytrain station, GM Place Stadium, and BC Place Stadium.

The supermarket is well known for their exotic seafood and vegetable selections. Frommers writes that Tnt Market is “where strange and ungainly comestibles lurk: fire-dragon fruit, lily root, and enoki mushrooms”. But never fear, there are plenty of palatable items lurking here, which even those with Westernized tastes can enjoy.

I especially like the steamed dim-sum and buns, such as the BBQ Pork Bun (Cha Siu Bow), as well as the egg custard tarts. I also really like their Chinese BBQ Chicken which comes pre-cooked and sliced into bite sized pieces - a tray of chicken costs around $6 and makes a great takeout item to serve at home with some steamed rice and veggies.

T&T Supermarket also sells pre-prepared sushi trays such as the one pictured below (around $5.00). The sushi is tasty, and while a dedicated sushi restaurant might do better, T&T’s sushi is quite good value for the money. (The supermarket has some eat-in tables for hungry shoppers who can’t wait till getting home to start munching away.) After around 6:30pm the sushi items start being discounted by a few dollars every hour until they’re all gone.

I also tried their Vietnamese Salad Rolls served with peanut sauce (also pictured below, around $5.00) which I thought were a little bland. The Vietnamese restaurant in the food fair at Tinseltown Mall (just across the street) serves much tastier and fresher salad rolls, at about the same price.

Take out sushi tray from T&T Market in Vancouver, $5.00 (California roll, Salmon Nigiri Sushi, and Unagi sushi)

Vietnamese Salad Rolls ($5.00) from Tnt Super market in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Mr. Sushi Japanese Restaurant (map, 775 Davie Street., Vancouver, BC, Canada, phone: 604-683-6750) was recommended to me by a friend, who says that it’s where he always goes to eat sushi in the downtown Vancouver area.

I can see why he likes it: the prices at Mr. Sushi are reasonable, the quality quite high, and the service friendly. The menu has both vegetarian and non-vegetarian items, with some really creative rolls as well as the standard Japanese food you can expect to find around town.

I started the meal off with some Japanese green tea, along with a bowl of steaming Miso Soup ($1.00, pictured below) and a cold Ebi Sunomono Salad ($3.50, also pictured below).

Jason Chin writes on EatVancouver.net (click here to read review):

I asked about the absolute best item on the menu and was eventually steered towards the apparently very popular Crazy Boy Roll ($5.95). A bit of an unorthodox roll, the crazy boy is crab, cucumber and avocado roll served tempura style (battered and deep fried). It is then sliced lengthwise and served like boat with optional hot sauce (siracha).

The Crazy Boy Roll appealed to me as well, and I gave it a try ($5.95, pictured below). Mine had the siracha hot sauce, and it was very hot! I would recommend it without the hot sauce unless you are familiar with the siracha sauce and know what you are getting into. (I actually have a bottle of the siracha sauce at home and I like putting it on my kraft dinner sometimes, along with black pepper, Parmesan cheese, and ketchup. But I digress!)

I also ordered a 1/2 Spider Roll ($5.95, also pictured below), which thankfully doesn’t feature a real spider, but instead a variety of soft shell crab. It was very easy to eat and tantalized my taste buds terrifically!

This satisfying meal came to $16.40 before tax and tip.

Being somewhat arithmetically challenged, I used GeoTip, my handy Cell Phone Tip Calculator program (free download click here), and I figured out that I should pay a total of about $20 (with 5% tax and 15% tip).

Of course if you feeling a little less adventurous or are on a budget, there are plenty of combinations at Mr Sushi which are in the $8 - 12 range for a complete dinner.

Ebi sunomono salad ($3.50) at Mr. Sushi Japanese Restaurant in Vancouver.

Crazy Boy Roll ($5.95) from Mr. Sushi Japanese restaurant in downtown Vancouver.

1/2 Spider Roll (Soft Shell Crab, $5.95) from Mr. Sushi Japanese restaurant in Vancouver, Canada.

Miso soup ($1.00) and Green Tea (included with meal) from Mr. Sushi Japanese Restaurant in Vancouver, BC, Canada.