Kadoya Never Fails

Kadoya
Japanese Cuisine / Sushi
1063 Davie St.,
Vancouver, BC
V6E 1M5 Canada
ph: (604) 608-1115

It is an understatement to say that Vancouverites love sushi. They are crazy about it. In fact, you can find a sushi place in every corner of the city. These restaurants don't produce mediocre creations, the chefs spend extra time and even squeeze their brain for some ingenuity to find new ways of jazzing up this most loved hand-rolled delight. Back home in Manila, I was more accustomed to having the traditional teka maki and negitoro but moving to Vancouver, it introduced me to the world of creative sushi that is actually art. Having said that, there is an unspoken battle of which restaurant holds the title of the best sushi in Vancouver and believe me, many will have their own opinion. Maybe it's their own preference, the price or the dinning experience that made everyone pick a personal favourite but I'm sure everyone has a reason for that choice. As for me, Kadoya is my top pick, this little hole-in-the-wall restaurant just never fails.

Kadoya's special rolls were huge, inventive and every bit delicious, it was hard to pick what to order, I wanted them all but after some trial and error (the error only happened once), I fell in love with the Canucks roll. It was an amazing combo of tuna and tempura bits topped with salmon and bonito flakes, I could eat that everyday. The crunch of the tempura bits and the added flavour of the bonito flakes just made this roll unforgettble. Their tuna tataki is another must-have. The grade A perfectly seared tuna with a garlic soy dip had a buttery aftertaste I just can't get enough of. I promised myself to have the other dishes and rolls on the menu but I just find myself having my usual Canucks roll, tuna tataki and spinach gomaee and it was definitely a habit that will be hard to break.

There are other Kadoya special roll winners and must-tries. The Sakura roll with its chopped scallop and the Spider roll which has more than just the usual soft shell crab are also on my list. I have never tried their regular sushi but why would I? Offering these one of a kind rolls makes Kadoya a special place but you have to come early for dinner or line up. This tiny restaurant decorated with "I love Kadoya" written by their customers from all over the world fills up in a blink of an eye. The price is also good, definitely worth it for the portion and the quality. The service may be inconsistent depending if you a get a friendly or a bitchy PMSing server but all will be forgiven once you have piece of their Canucks roll -- works for me.

* picture stolen from dineouthere.com