Sushi Oyama-Haunted mansion?

Another sunny day in Vancouver :) Despite I had loads of work to do, I decided to spend some time outdoor and enjoy the sunlight before the rain returned. Of course, I brought EU with me again because she has finished all her final exams and is enjoying her holiday now. Since we did not have the chance to visit Viet Sub last week, we decided to return for today's lunch! I ordered the Chicken Sub this time, and it was good as usual ;)

We then took the skytrain from Granville to Metrotown for another small-scale shopping spree. Haha. It's Saturday and I must have Japanese food AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK. EU suggested Sushi Oyama. On my wishlist? Check. Sushi & sashimi? Check. Is it far from Metrotown? Not really. Okay, let's go to Sushi Oyama then!

Sushi Oyama
5152 Kingsway, Burnaby BC

Ratings
1:Yucks! 2:Improvement needed 3:So-So~ 4:Good 5:Very good 6:Heavenly

Food: 4
Price: 4.5
Service: 3.5
Ambiance: 5
Overall: 4

• Mon-Sat 11:30am-10pm Sun 12pm-9pm
• Run by Koreans
• Special rolls available (but choices are not as many as Sushi Garden)
• Dine in/Take out
• Many combos available
• Suitable for families
• Modern interior

There is a lot of privacy in Sushi Oyama, but it looks like a haunted mansion to me. However, EU really likes their design and the interior. Hmm...maybe that's just me.........

There are many seatings available. We were brought to the table-for-two near the windows.

Wakame Salad-3.5/6

• $3.50
• Garnished with cucumber strips and a slice of avocado
• This is a common appetizer, so nothing to shout about.

• The only thing I could say was the Wakame Salad here was smaller than the ones I had in other restaurants. It might look big/decent portion from the pictures above, but with such price (which is the normal price for a Japanese appetizer), it appeared to be smaller when the waitress brought to us. Taste-wise anyway.

Mangodise Roll-4/6

• $5.10
• Crab, mango, cucumber inside with ebi on top
• I substituted the ebi with saba because I can't eat ebi (+o.60-0.90~ extra charge).
• Saba was average; it did not have that sourness I normally find in saba.
• The sushi rice was not really sushi rice (if you understand what I mean). Similar to the ones in Sushi Garden, it did not have any vinegar flavour; it's basically the rice you cook at home. It was not sticky either.

• The mango was surprisingly good and they did give each roll a big piece of mango. It was not very sweet but was acceptable :)

Awesome Roll-4.5/6

• $6.90
• Crab, cucumber inside with cooked salmon, green onion, masago & bonito outside
• I wowed when this dish arrived. It looked kinda...chaotic but it actually tasted pretty good. I especially enjoyed watching those bonito flakes "moving" on the plate ;D
• The sauce was alright; luckily it was not too tasty, so it did not overwhelm the ingredients.
• I started off eating the top of the roll, where the cooked salmon was lying. It was warm and was not flaky.

• After finishing the salmon, I started to dig in deeper. The ingredients inside were also warm! I was surprised by this warm sushi roll!
• Apparently, they microwaved the sushi rolls before serving. That's why the inner part of the rolls were also warm. However, this was actually a good touch to the usually served cold sushi rolls. We both like that ;)

I was actually tempted to try their sashimi because I found most of their special rolls do not have sashimi (so maybe that's the reason why the prices of their special rolls were comparatively lower than other restaurants). Sadly, they only offer a few types of sashimi, so I did not order any when I was ordering the rolls. After finishing the two special rolls, however, EU and I decided to order the tuna sashimi to end our meal.

Tuna Sashimi-2/6

• $7.95
• I was pleased with the generous portion they gave us!
• However, it was very mushy; even mushier than the ones I had in Gyoza King three days ago.
• While we were having this, I overheard a lady saying the tuna "melt inside your mouth!". I was pleased by looking at her joyful face and enjoying her food :)

Sushi Oyama is not bad, but next time when I'm in Burnaby, I will rather go to Sushi Garden for their really-generous portion and the sashimi choice they offer. But if you have not tried Sushi Oyama, you should give it a try. The location and the modern interior are somewhat interesting I find ;)