Sushi Oyama

I’ve stayed away from dining at any of the previous restaurant incarnations located at the old Glenedward mansion (Johnson House) for many years mainly because I’ve heard the stories about previous restaurant workers seeing “strange things” happen at that location.  For those of you that don’t know… the enchanting mansion used to be the home of the Royal Oak Funeral Home until as late as 1981.

Anyways, after being previously disappointed with our once regular Daimasu, I figured it was a good time to look for some new sushi places around Metrotown.  Plus, I’m a lot older now and my need for good sushi outweighs any previous qualms I was having.

The interior of the restaurant is very unique with little tables scattered all over the house and we were seated in a little balcony nook that was very cozy.

The gomae was a bit on the small size (about the same size we get at AYCE places) and seemed to be overly drenched with peanut sauce.  It didn’t really taste bad but I just prefer to be able to see the spinach that I’m eating.

The salmon sashimi pieces were generously sized.

The spicy agedashi tofu was also nicely sized with bonito flakes on top.  I didn’t really find it very spicy though.

The chicken yakisoba came sizzling on a hot plate and was pretty good.  I think the dish was a tad small but we had ordered a lot of food so I didn’t really mind.  I also kind of miss the shredded pickled ginger that we usually get at other restaurants.

The chicken karaage was made with chicken wings but did have the distinctive karaage flavour.  While I have nothing against chicken wings, I prefer my karaage made from boneless chicken pieces.  I was surprised that these wings actually tasted like karaage because so many restaurants label their chicken wings as “karaage” but they’re nothing more than regular chicken wings that you could find at any pub.

The last dish that we got was visually spectacular… the black dragon roll (sorry, I took the picture from the tail end and didn’t notice until we had already finished half the dish).  It’s amazing how creative people get with a california roll, some unagi, avocado, tobiko masago, and bonito shavings).  More importantly, the roll tasted great… a few pieces had a little too much rice for my liking but otherwise, it was very yummy.

The main peeve about our experience was the other table that was seated next to us.  Why do Chinese people (and I can say this because I am Chinese) always talk so loud at restaurants?  Do they really think that everyone wants to hear them talking about the corns on their feet?  Not to mention the way they let their little children run around the restaurant unsupervised.  I get that families want to be able to eat out with their kids but they should set some boundaries for their children… the kid at the next table almost broke the window while the parents were just jabbering amongst themselves.

Service wise, it was just okay but it might have been because we were tucked away in the little balcony so it was hard to get the attention of the wait staff.

Take a look at our recent Powell Street Festival Redo at Sushi Oyama.

Food:  4 / 5
Service:  2.5 / 5

5152 Kingsway
Burnaby, BC

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