Sakura Sushi, Seasonings

Good morning,

I hope everyone enjoyed a beautiful Thanksgiving weekend in the company of family, friends, food and fall colours. 

A cottage was an ideal place to be and both the wine and food were first-rate. A couple of the wines were particularly fine and I’ll be talking about those in an upcoming edition of Lookout Wine, which you can sign-up for here.

Today, we make a quick stop at a new sushi eatery and I highlight a few favourite items you’ll always find in my kitchen. These are seasonings to elevate any dish, and two of them are vegan-friendly.

Let’s get started.

Ralf Joneikies, food and drink editor. [email protected]

Upon entering the building, save for a small sandwich board out front, you might think you’re at the wrong address. The signs out front only read Chung Chun Hot Dogs and Gong Cha, a bubble tea chain from Taiwan.

To your left is a small seating area, and on your right are two large screen kiosks for ordering. Immediately in front of you, a few steps up to a landing teeming with people waiting for the food they’ve ordered from the screens.

On the landing to your left are more stairs up to Sakura Sushi. It’s a calming, blonde wood space with a few tables that are shared with those enjoying Korean hot dogs and tea from the venues below.

Given this dynamic, it’s no surprise that Sakura Sushi is the latest restaurant from the parent company behind the other two. Expect to see more Sakura on the landscape in the years ahead.

A friend and I seated ourselves after ordering miso soup, scallop sushi nigiri, a rainbow roll and a hamachi roll. 

The miso soup ($5) arrived and it was disappointing to say the least. This soup sets up the appetite and is a remarkably simple affair. At Sakura, there was even less effort. 

It was an almost entirely clear broth with little miso in evidence both in appearance and taste. The universal Japanese seasoning dashi had, although essential, not been used, but the soup was loaded with so much seaweed it did the dish no favours.

The Japanese salad ($8) was a success however. A refreshing, bright salad with a tasty sesame-inflected dressing and topped with shredded surimi.

The scallop nigiri was plump and sweet and pretty standard on a bed of well-crafted rice and served with seasoned soy (slightly sweetened) and a paste of too mild wasabi.

Freshness was also front and centre with the maki rolls. The rainbow roll was a mix of tuna, salmon and shrimp topped rolls filled with cucumber, surimi and avocado. 

I asked for a negi hama roll but was told they didn’t have it. Yet they did, but didn’t know it under that name, only as a Hamachi Roll. Hamachi is also known as Yellowtail and for whatever reason, it works like a charm when rolled together with green onion. It was very good.

As a fast-casual venue, prices at Sakura reflect those of a very good (Nagi Sushi) dedicated Japanese restaurant so I’ll leave it to the individual to determine if it’s value for money. As part of a global chain, I was expecting economies of scale to be at play and that prices would be more modest but the opposite is often true of large chains.

Chef Duc Vu runs the whole show by himself and having worked at the original Laurier location of Shinka Sushi, he brings his experience to bear on credible sushi and maki. It’s especially notable in his rice, which is perfectly cooked so that all the grains are identifiably separate but holding their shape in various applications. I’m certain we all hate when our sushi falls apart.

As part of a multi-venue one-stop shop, Sakura offers fresh, healthy options for those government and office workers in and around Tunney’s Pasture. It’s a slightly different concept but one that is very popular and much needed in what was largely a barren strip.

Those of us who cook do so from scratch but we all still have some seasoning helpers in the kitchen. These are three favourites that pack a ton of flavour, are relatively clean label and are easy to use.

For those who like to camp, or who live in more remote areas, these are also items that will add excitement to dishes when access to a large selection of ingredients is limited.

Hondashi is a popular Japanese staple used around the world. It’s the ultimate shortcut for making dashi stock used in things like miso soup, Japanese omelet or rice dishes.

It contains dried bonito tuna, broth and extracts, as well as a variety of sugars such as lactose, maltose, xylose and dextrose and msg and yeast extracts.

This is delicious stuff, and don’t restrict yourself to just Japanese cuisine. It’s fairly intense so use it sparingly.

I find it easily at many Asian food stores, such as T&T and Green Fresh for about $7.

Next is this Matsutake Mushroom Seasoning. I discovered it at T&T late last year and found it a fantastic and versatile addition to so many dishes. Now they’ve started stocking a large format version (400 grams for $16) and I don’t want to do without it.

It’s an umami-forward experience that contains an assortment of mushrooms: matsutake, shiitake, straw and oyster in addition to apple, carrot, seaweed, cabbage and monk fruit powders as well as sesame, salt and yeast extract. That’s it. No MSG necessary, and it’s vegan-friendly.

Use this instead of salt if you like, and I find it works beautifully in salad dressing, stir-fried vegetables and scrambled eggs. A final note: this is not a powder but a granule, and as such, it dissolves easily.

Another clean label is Better Than Bouillon Organic seasoned vegetable base. I buy my large format version (597 grams) at Costco for $14 and it’s enough to last me six months. 

Shameful as it might be, it’s my one concession to buying an American product, as I’ve not found a Canadian equivalent. If you know of one please send me a note.

They also do an organic beef and chicken broth (also at Costco) that is excellent but I don’t understand why they refuse to put those products through a fining process. Both these meat-based broths contain small bits of cartilage and sometimes bone. I suppose the thinking is that it lends authenticity but I don’t care for it.

Use this veg concentrate in soups, sauces, vegan chilli or just as a mug of comfort when you want something savoury but not a big meal. Very good stuff. 

A sublime dining experience that proves you don't need to be in Vancouver or Toronto to enjoy exceptional sushi

Read the review