About 20 years ago I tried sushi for the first time and to be honest with you, I was less than impressed.  At the time there were only three sushi places in Winnipeg leaving me lots of other restaurant options so I wouldn’t have to eat it again, so I thought.

Don’t get me wrong, I love fish. I’m actually a bit fanatical about fish.  I eat it at least twice a week, but I don’t like things that taste fishy.  Sounds like an oxymoron, but good fresh fish doesn’t taste fishy.

With the rapidly growing popularity of sushi restaurants I have really had no choice but to give this sushi thing another try.  So for the past five years or so I have grown to enjoy many sushi restaurants, although I still avoid fish roe and prefer to switch it out for tempura crunch.

Well my appreciation of sushi reached an entirely new level when I discovered Kudara Sushi at 427 Academy Road.  Not easy to find if you are searching just by address, but it’s in the 7-eleven strip mall behind the Domo on Academy. Kudara Sushi puts a creative spin on their dishes which are as beautiful to look at as they are to eat.

We started with the tempura vegetables and while I thought the portion could have been bigger, I was very impressed with the taste.  Not at all greasy and served piping hot.

We decided on four rolls.  My very favorite was the Sunflower, filled with tamago (Japanese style omelet) cream cheese, cucumber and avocado; this rice roll is topped with a thin slice of deep fried yam.  Dipped into the combination of sauces served along side this roll made it the perfect melt in your mouth bite.  A close second in my mind is the Yami Yami. (I think I like yams a lot!) This rice roll is stuffed with fried yam, cucumber and cream cheese and smothered in crunchy little strands of more fried yam.

I also really enjoyed the Crazy.  Filled with spicy tuna and cucumber and topped with thin salmon and creamy avocado. We weren’t as fussy on the Volcano the spicy tuna sashimi on top was too thick for my taste and overwhelmed the sweet chopped scallop hidden inside.

Everything was very fresh. The little bits of sauces running along side some of the rolls was what put me over the top with delight.  Not like the sloppy orange mayonnaise you often find at sushi joints.  These sauces where light in texture but full in flavour.

Kudara is a little place with only four tables. But they do a brisk take-out business. The room is cute and the owner (I only met KJ) is very personable.  My dinner companion and I really appreciated the poster on the wall that featured translations of Japanese words like Unagi (eel), Tobiko (flying fish roe), Tako (octopus), that you often see on a sushi menu and feel silly repeatedly asking what they are.

I think I will order a platter of this amazing sushi for this year’s birthday celebration.  I can’t image a better gift of food to enjoy and share with my friends.  Rumour has it they’ll whip up some Korean dishes upon request, so I’m sure to be back for more than just sushi!

Kath’s quote: “In Mexico we have a word for sushi: bait.”-Jose Simon

Love-that is all.

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