Have you ever had bad Sushi? I don’t mean sushi that made you ill, I mean sushi that was unsatisfying when you’ve been craving sushi. I think unsatisfying sushi is one of the worst food experiences.

When my friends and I would go to Sushi Garden this was never a problem. Sushi Garden made the best, lighter than air Tempura, and an absolutely fabulous Unagi Hand Roll. But the best item on the whole menu was the Spicy Tuna Maki. It was fresh and rich, spicy and flavourful, without being overpowered by heat. The best part was the teensy weensy dried baby shrimp that the tuna was rolled in, they gave the maki a surprising and delectable crunch.

You may notice that I’ve been speaking in the past tense, that is because sadly, Sushi Garden closed. We don’t know why, and we don’t know where it went, but every time we find another Sushi Garden, we go and try their Spicy Tuna Maki, but it’s never the same. There’s an oyster bar there now, which isn’t a bad thing.

So how do my friends and myself get our sushi fix nowadays? We have found 2 other Sushi restaurants that we frequent which help to fill the gap left by Sushi Garden. One is Crazy Sushi, I believe it is a chain, so there might be one near you. The restaurant is funky and modern, and some of the maki are made inside out, which is a fun visual surprise. My favorite is the Great Canadian Maki, which is lobster, asparagus, spiced Japanese mayonnaise, and smoked salmon. Do I even need to add adjectives to make this thing sound good?

The other place we frequent is Sam Jung, which is within walking distance of my house, which means I go quite a bit. It was given the best restaurant award by our community magazine in 2003 and 2004. The prices and service are excellent, and their Unagi Avocado Hand Roll is even better than Sushi Garden. But I’ve learned not to order the Spicy Tuna Maki, because although it is good, it simply isn’t as satisfying as the Spicy Tuna from Sushi Garden…Sigh….

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