Sushi Bella (Burnaby) – Hawaiian Poke

It’s been about a year since my first visit and I’m really enjoying the food at Sushi Bella.

The Gomaae ($4) is a fairly generous serving of boiled spinach… great way to start a meal.

I was quite pleased with the Mango Prawns ($10) which came served with mango chunks. These jumbo prawns had a nice crisp exterior and a snappy bite to it once you got past the flavourful coating.

We originally wanted to try their Hawaiian Ahi Poke but they were all out of red tuna (we actually tried to order it on another visit and they were out too… think they only get it delivered once a week so you need to get it early). Instead, we wound up ordering the Bella Tower ($12). Despite craving poke, I thought the tower was well executed… it had salmon and tuna tartar precariously topped on a crab and mushroom mix. I loved how the capers in the pesto sauce gave a nice salty contrast to the fresh salmon and tuna.

If you like tofu but can’t decide whether you want the regular or spicy agedashi tofu, they’ve got you covered. The Trio Agedeash Tofu ($6) serves up three different versions… one with mango sauce, the original flavour, and a spicy house sauce. My pick would be for the original and the spicy variety.

The Gyoza ($5) is another winner of an appy dish. Pan-fried and served with a tangy chili soy dipping sauce, the delicate skin had a perfectly light crispness encasing the filling.

I was craving poke so much that I had to come back for another revisit. But before we get to the main event, here’s the Ebi Sunomono ($4) – a very generous portion of fresh baby shrimp and vermicelli noodles in vinegar.

I actually wound up ordering a bunch of appy dishes this time around.

The Potato Croquettes ($5) are panko-breaded with a soft interior mix of potato and corn encased in the crispy coating.

Puri Puri Ebi ($8) is kind of like shrimp tempura on steroids. I was a little concerned at first with the very uniform, torpedo-like shape. However, these crunchy panko-breaded prawns had a nice plump snap to the shrimp on the inside. Unlike tempura, the batter is thicker and crisper and this is served with a creamy cocktail sauce.

Lastly, the Hawaiian Poke ($18) – fresh red tuna sashimi with soy and sesame dressing. First off, nothing is like the poke that you get in Hawaii (try Ono Seafood in Honolulu). But this is probably the best poke that I’ve had in Vancouver so far. The tuna was velvety smooth yet still slightly firm in texture. And while the sauce was a bit understated, the freshness of the tuna made up for it. There’s actually a good amount of tuna in this serving.

They also have a spicy version of the poke that I’m looking forward to try one day.

5278 Kingsway
Burnaby, BC

www.sushibella.com

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