Address: 1113 Blanshard St.
Phone: (250) 381-8622
Website: http://www.shikisushi.ca/
Price: $10-30 average dinner
Note: Great value on combos, fancy rolls, excellent service for regulars.
Sushi is one of those things I have come to love. Before I met my partner-in-food-and-life I wouldn't touch sushi with a ten foot pole, let alone raw hunks of fish. Now, I crave the stuff on a regular basis, and if I had to choose one dish to eat for the rest of my life it would be tuna sashimi (mercury poisoning aside). I've gotten to the point where there isn't much I haven't tried, and not much I wouldn't attempt if given the opportunity.
They have all the standard rolls and kind of fish, as well as a few that are unusual - on the rare occasion you can even get sea urchin, I'm told. They also have a lot of fusion rolls, including a sushi "pizza" - a round, spiced piece of rice, tuna and green onion deep fried and cut into triangles. Some of the more creative rolls are also deep fried (as in the whole roll, deep fried and then sliced into pieces), or even burnt slightly on top with a torch. If you're a fan of Japanese Village steak sauce, the rice and sauce is very similar, and also very good.
In the last year they have moved to a new location. The place has easily doubled if not tripled in size, and the decor is sleek and modern. Most of the core staff are still the same, but the menu has expanded.
Service
September 11, 2011
The owner was actually running the delivery van, not the Sushi bar tonight. A bit funny. The sushi was nearly as good without him on the bar, but not quite the same. The one thing that both my partner-in-food-and-life noticed independently and commented on after was the discomfort we felt with the non-English conversation happening between the two sushi chefs. It wouldn't have bothered me so much if they hadn't looked at our order, made a comment which I'm pretty sure was about the fact only one of us ordered the miso and then they both laughed. In that kind of moment, you cannot help but feel self-conscious. This is something the owner is pretty conscious of, as he always makes a point of including customers seated at the bar in his conversation and keeping chatter with other chefs to a minimum.
May 26, 2011
I think sushi is one of those things where you get really good service, and really good quality if you are a regular. I certainly notice that a striking difference for both when I go to Shiki with my p.i.f.a.l. With the p.i.f.a.l. the cut and the thickness of my fish improves immensely, and I get friendly hellos and smiles. Without, the service is polite and the sushi is above average for the city. I just let this be a lesson that I need to become more of a regular... and sit at the bar and chat with the sushi chefs.
Food
September 11, 2011
Today we ordered the "Love Boat" for two. This is the best deal if you are planning to have a meal and don't have specific preferences! The price is $40 (pre-tax) which explains why we get it so often - if we ordered a soup/salad and tempura plus a roll and some sashimi we are already at that price anyhow. If we get the Love Boat we get way, way more for our money. 
You are served both a miso soup (which I declined as soy is not my friend so is not pictured) and a sunomono salad. I adore the sunomono here, they really have the sweet/sour balance right in their sauce. I like it better with octopus but the shrimp is also good.
As you can see, this is an Epic amount of food. I'll try to remember it all!- Edamame
- Shrimp & veggie tempura
- 2 piece each of salmon, shrimp and tuna nigiri
- 3 piece each of tuna, shrimp, octopus, scallop, snapper and clam sashimi (and I feel like I might be missing one more still...)
- 1 spicy tuna roll
- 1 tempura yam roll
May 26, 2011
Mexican Roll via foodspotting.com
The Mexican Roll is a standard favourite at Shiki! The warm tempura prawn, plus avacado, tomato and a spicy mayo makes for a very lovely and simple roll.
Tempura and Sashimi Combo via foodspotting.com
I think this whole meal is $11 at lunch? It includes miso soup, rice + sauce (very similar to the steak sauce at Japanese village!), assorted tempura including shrimp, a small salad and a generous helping of assorted sashimi (you can also opt for a tempura yam roll instead but the sashimi is way better value!). I was so full I regretted ordering the mexican roll as well even though I was sharing with a coworker!
She ordered the Shiki Nebayaki Udon. It was epically epic! I don't have her photo but it was a huge bowl with lots of vegetables, plus two tempura prawns, two king crab legs and a tempura oyster. For less than $15! She was stunned at the value even in comparison to what she usually gets in Vancouver!
