In late July, my friend and I wanted to get together to celebrate our birthdays. Mine was belated and hers was a few days early.
I like that my friend diligently looks for places to dine that we have never frequented. She suggested Sushi-Ya Japan. It's near my old workplace. Back then, I never went to this sushi restaurant. Instead, I went to the sushi place across from it on Dixon Road. To this day, there are two sushi places across from each other, with my old hangout having changed its name to Makimono.
I said yes. We decided on a 6 pm meetup time. She was coming in from Oakville. I was feeling like I was heading to the old workplace from Markham.
As I was driving along highway 401, I received a text from her that she was there. It was roughly 5:15 pm. Even with the horrible rush hour traffic, I would also arrive much earlier than our specified time.
Punctual people. It's another reason why we get along.
I knew where this eatery was. Even for me, it was tough figuring out when to pull into the lot. In the past, you could clearly see the Sushi-Ya sign. With this pandemic and restaurants building patios, this one built a large one such that it blocked its sign for anyone to see it from the road.
The other thing was parking. Since the patio now occupied several former parking spots, parking is limited. You can find parking spots around the building. I managed to find the last vacant spot at the back and pulled into it. Spots are a bit tight, too.
The entrance is on the east side of the building. There was signage! I walked in. It's gorgeous that you never want to judge this place by its boring exterior.
A woman immediately greeted me. I indicated that I was looking for a friend. She knew exactly where she was and guided me to our table.
I got water and a Diet Coke to start. My friend stuck with water.
We had both perused the online menu a week earlier. I wanted a bento box and got the Sushi-Ya bento. My friend ordered some sashimi and a few sushi rolls.
We got complimentary yam fries to start. They were yummy. They were crispy on the outside and naturally sweet inside. Each fry had light tempura batter, which made it special.
My bento box came with miso soup and a side salad. My miso soup was flavourful. I kind of wished that it had little cubes of tofu, but you can't win them all.
The salad was excellent. The romaine lettuce, cucumbers, and carrots were super crispy. The dressing was equally as flavourful as the miso soup.
My bento box had a lot going on. I had a mix of veggie and shrimp tempura. I got sushi and sashimi, chicken teriyaki, and steamed rice.
My tempura was good. I found the zucchini one a bit mushy, likely because it was the vegetable with the most moisture out of all of them. I loved the shrimp one. It was delicious and crispy, even after dipping it in the sauce.
I loved my sushi and sashimi. The seafood was fresh and the quality was excellent. So good!
I enjoyed the chicken teriyaki. The chicken was tender and perfectly done. The sauce was flavourful and wasn't overly sugary. There were veggies underneath the chicken, which I welcomed. Everything tasted yummy with the steamed rice.
My friend loved her sushi and sashimi. She admitted that she had ordered way too much and had what remained boxed up.
It was a nice evening chatting and catching up with each other. Our server was highly attentive, removing our plates when we were done and refilling our glasses with water.
We paid at the table. I used a credit card and tipped. All was great. We let our server know that the food was excellent. She appreciated it.
It's a decent sushi place. I'm so glad that I finally crossed the street to visit this restaurant!
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