I have heard so many good things about Sushi Bar Shu and it has been on the top of my ‘to-try’ list for ages. I’m so glad I finally had the opportunity to try thier stunning omakase this past weekend. If you feel uncomfortable with dining in, Sushi Bar Shu has an amazing take out menu as well.
The omakase at Sushi Bar Shu is $138 and is by reservation only and there seating every night. My meal at Sushi Bar Shu is one of the best meals I’ve had in Vancouver.
Otoshi – A Delightful Amuse Bouche
We started the meal with an ‘otoshi’ (amuse bouche). It serves to whet our appetite and it definitely set the scene for the rest of dinner. Our otoshi of the day was a chawanmushi (Japanese egg custard). This little morsel was packed with mushrooms which give it an earthy flavour, a smooth egg custard and a lovely brininess from the ikura on top. A lovely start to our meal.
Sashimi Course
Proceeding the otoshi, the next phase was the sashimi round. Each sashimi portion was purposefully cut and served in a beautiful dish. First up was suzuki (Japanese sea bass). The fish was on top of a bed of seaweed marinated in vinegar. The next dish was aji (horse mackerel). The fish was firm and the ginger and green onion garnish cut through the fishy taste that is characteristic of mackerel.
The final sashimi offering was bafun uni with ika and caviar. This was a sumptuous and luxurious bite. Bafun uni is smaller than local BC uni, and is sweeter with a very smooth texture. The ika was delicate and was a good textural contrast. The shiso added an herbaceous note to this delicious bite.
Appetizer Course – Sunomono and Tempura
Moving on from the sashimi course we were had a bevy of small appetizers. To start, we had a kani sunomono. It was light and refreshing with a lovely acidic bite from the citrus jelly.
Following the sunomono we tried two different types of tempura – okra tempura and anago tempura. The tempura batter was ultra light and delicate and not oily. The okra tempura has matcha salt on top which was a unique twist. The anago was soft and the pure flavour of eel was very evident.
The final course of the appetizer round was King Salmon with Miso Glaze. The salmon was so fatty and smooth. The miso glaze had a mild saltiness that works perfectly with the fattiness of the fish. A delicious end to the appetizer round.
Nigiri Course
To start off the gauntlet of nigiri – mejina (smallscale blackfish). The use of moshio (seaweed salt) and sudachi (green citrus from Japan) was interesting. This is my first time to try this fish, and it had a delicate taste that went well with its accompaniments. Following that in quick succession – Isaki (Japanese Grunt Fish), Botan Ebi (Shrimp) and Madai (Red Sea Bream).
The stand out for me was the Botan Ebi for its fresh and sweet flavour. The texture was on point as well. However, I found each piece to be fantastic – fresh, delicate and delicious.
Next up was kanpachi (Yellowtail), kinmeidai (Golden Eye Snapper) with soy and yuzu with torched skin, and scallop. The most interesting texture and flavour was the kinmeidai. The application of torching the skin gave the fish a nice smokey flavour. However, my favourite of this set was the scallop. It was smooth, sweet and bursting with ocean flavour.
The guest of honour and the piece I was most looking forward to – bafun uni. Bafun uni usually comes from Hokkaido and is much sweeter and smaller than the local uni we find in BC. This is my favourite type of Uni, however I don’t really discriminate. Most uni is good uni in my books. This bite was so small, but so perfect. It was like having a bit of the cleanest freshest ocean essence in my mouth.
To finish off the nigiri course – tekka maki, chutoro, shime saba (cured mackerel) and tamago. The tekka maki had a rich flavour from the fish and you can see how each individual grain of rice holds its shape. The chutoro was a personal favourite as the fattiness from the tuna had such a delicious texture. The tamago was light and fluffy and its texture is similar to castella.
After the Bafun uni nigiri, this negitoro hand roll has to be one of my favourite parts of the meal. In particular, I enjoyed the roasted sesame seeds which gave a nutty flavour to the roll which paired perfectly with the fattiness of the tuna.
Dessert Course
To round out the meal we had a yuzu panna cotta with a cinnamon crisp. The panna cotta was smooth and had a light refreshing taste from the yuzu. A perfect ending to a stunning meal.
Overall my experience was fantastic. The restaurant followed all the safety protocols set in place due to COVID and I felt very safe dining in the restaurant. Dinner lasted a little over an hour and the pacing of the food was good. Of course, it cannot be compared to an omakase experience in Japan, however Sushi Bar Shu comes pretty close to the real deal!
