Nu Kidz in da Hood

Taiyo
23-12424 Symons Valley Road NW
www.thetaiyo.com

Checked out Taiyo for the first time a couple of weekends ago (Been twice now actually, I went again last weekend). Located in the Creekside mall up in the (far) north west (mostly north), Taiyo is a new(ish) sushi place (and perhaps the only) in the area. We were promptly seated upon arriving shortly after noon and shown the menu. I look a quick glance of the two sided laminate; Lunch combos… tempura… udons… Very typical items. A quick glance at the sushi menu reveals a decent selection of the typical cuts. It’s interesting to note that Taiyo does not offer any sashimi by the piece (not on the sheet anyway).

So I opted to go with the sushi list and picked my usuals. Shortly after placing my order, the waitress came back to inform me that they didn’t have any toro (This happened the second time I was there too). How unfortunate. I guess I’ll just keep my money. Not that it was super expensive anyway. In fact, if I recall correctly (it was almost 3 weeks ago now), it was pretty cheap. Maybe that’s why they didn’t have any left...

The sushi came out separately rather than all at once like other restaurants. Tuna with tuna, hamachi with hamachi etc. Though, I feel bad for the guy doing dishes in the back. 5 extra "plates" for no reasons at all (Actually I think that’s the order you are suppose to eat them in. The light flavours first and increase in flavour as you go). I suppose it wasn’t really that bad because there was maybe 2 other tables occupied the whole time we were there. The sushi was alright. Decently sized slabs of fish with a small ball of rice. The freshness was on par with my list of favorites. We ordered 2 additional rolls with our sushi; The house and dynamite. They were ok. The nori was a little chewy but decent overall.

7 stars out of 10. Very average in terms of selection. Doesn’t have the exotic fishes. I don’t suspect too many people rushing out to the boonies to try some three line grunts or something. Nothing too spectacular for the “hot” items either. If you’re looking to check out unique Japanese dishes, Taiyo is not it. If you’re looking for relatively cheap but good quality sushi, you should definitely check it out. On a brighter note, for the amaebi, they serve a single giant prawn rather than 2 little mini shrimps. That is most excellent. Urbanspoon shows a more extensive menu so I might have to give it a shot one evening and considering it's only 5 minutes from my house, this shouldn’t be a huge problem.