Hamachi House Made Me a Sushi Lover

I will fully admit that I was a sushi virgin before heading out to Hamachi House with some friends from university. Sure, I had eaten the vegetable rolls available at most grocerty stores but I've been told that doesn't count. One of my friends is a sushi expert and raved about the stuff. I was convinced and met up with her and another friend on Friday night.

I walk into the small restaurant and am greeted with the smell of fresh fish, ginger, beer and candles burning. In the middle of the room is where all of the sushi prep and cooking is done. Three chefs share a small work space surrounded by bar style seating and a conveyor belt with little boats on it waiting to be filled with sushi. The seating around the chefs is completely full of people.

My friends and I are seated at at table in a corner of the restaurant. This little corner is very private and quiet and would be great for a date night. I am the last to arrive and cucumber waters are already on the table.  Usually I am not a fan of cucumber water but I like it in this setting; it works well with the food.

The sushi expert in the group runs the show. She wants us to experience real sushi without being overwhelmed. She picks out a perfect rookie menu, allowing us to try lots of different and rather tame things to intorduce us to the world of sushi.

She starts us off with miso soup. I have had this soup before and always found it way too salty to be palatable. Here, however, the chef has a light hand when it comes to the salty ingredients and it is not overwhelming. Freshly sliced green onion and sea weed (salty and slimy but good) float on top. I eat every last drop.

The next item on our rookie menu is Edamame. These are soy beans that are steamed while still in their shells and sprinkled with sea salt.

Edamame

The pods themselves are inedible. Only the beans inside are consumed. To eat them, you bite down on the shell just enough for the beans to pop out into your mouth. You pick up the salt with your lips while you do this. The beans are perfectly cooked, still a little crunchy but with a smooth texture once you bite into them. I find these little beans to be as addictive as chips. My friend wants us to try a Japanese beer called Sapporo with the Edamame. The beer comes in a giant 650 ml can that we split. She says she loves it because it is very "clean" and I can't agree more. Very crisp and light, it is the perfect partner to the salty beans.


Next, our sushi arrives and it is a beautiful sight. We ordered the sushi all together and it arrives on a large plate for sharing. They are served with soya sauce, wasabi and pickled ginger. My friend informs me that the ginger is used as a palate cleanser to allow you to go between different types of sushi without mixing flavours. I was ashamed to learn that I had been wrong to put the ginger on top of the grocery store veggie roll and eat it that way. Rookie mistake.

To avoid over heating, she tells me to dissolve a small amount of wasabi into your soya sauce. That way when you dip the rolls, you'll get some wasabi with your sauce- awesome tip!

L-R: deluxe vegetable tempura, spicy tuna maki, California roll,  shrimp tempura. Back left: salmon nigiri

California roll: avocado, crab, cucumber and fish roe wrapped up in seaweed and rice. This was probably the most "fishy" tasting roll we had and the flavour was still not very strong.  The veggies inside are crisp and fresh. This is the first type I try and I find it delicious enough to try the rest.

Spicy Tuna Maki: Raw tuna, tempura and spices make up the filling to this type maki (roll). The tuna melts in your mouth and has no hint of fishiness. The tempura (deep fried batter) is crunchy, which is unexpected and wonderful. The slight spiciness of the filling is great in combination with the tuna but is not overpowering. This is by far my favourite roll on the plate.

Deluxe Vegetable Tempura: Asparagus, red pepper and green beans are all cooked tempura style and wrapped into various rolls. My favourite of these is the asparagus (pictured above sticking out of one of the rolls). It is easy to cook asparagus too long and have it tun out soggy. This doesn't happen here. I comment that the tempura batter is very light and almost floats above the vegetables. Delicious.

Salmon Nigiri: This is the thing on the plate that scared me the most. Thinly sliced salmon sits on top of tiny beds of sticky rice. That's it. I am not a huge cooked salmon fan and worry that I will hate the raw version. My friends convince me to try half of one and I am amazed. Like the tuna, the salmon has that "melt in your mouth" consistency. It is extremely fresh without the stale taste that salmon can get. I quickly go back for the second half.

Shrimp Tempura: Tempura shrimp and fresh veggies compose this roll. The shrimp is perfectly cooked and sweet. The vegetables are also lightly handled and maintain their crunch. I am shocked to find out that while I like the cooked fish sushi like this one, I prefer the raw fish versions!
All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed my experience at Hamachi House. Our server was very attentive and our water glasses never went empty. The place was bustling with people. Some were families out for dinner together, some people were on dates, some were friends getting together for a Friday night bite. All of them were laughing and enjoying their food.

It was also MUCH less expensive than I had anticipated. All of the food mentioned above plus one beer were split 3 ways and we each had to pay less than $20 before tip. I can now officially say I am a sushi lover and I will definitely be back to Hamachi to try to expand my sushi palate. Many thanks to "the sushi expert" for her menu selection!

Hamachi House
5190 Morris St
www.hamachirestaurants.com