Burnaby Heights, if nothing else, has become an increasingly diverse neighborhood over the years. It has traditionally been Italian and a lot of that influence is still clearly visible today. But take a stroll down Hastings Street and you’ll find quite the multicultural assortment of culinary delights.
As you may recall, we were treated to the Crave 2015 promotion a couple of weeks ago. After indulging in some calamari and souvlaki at Cristos Greek Taverna, and comforting ourselves with spring rolls and green curry at Chad Thai Restaurant, we made our way over to Sushi UOmo for some raw fish and seasoned rice. In addition to a $15 menu for one, Sushi UOmo offered a special $25 menu for two. We went with the latter. So, what did we get?
Sushi Pizza: Deep-fried rice dough, mayo, crab meat, avocado, tuna, salmon, masago, BBQ sauce and green onion
Sushi UOmo certainly isn’t the first place to offer a sushi pizza and it certainly won’t be the last either. The dinner for two came with a “half” order of this creative concoction. It’s one of the tallest sushi pizzas I’ve seen, making it a bit of a challenge to figure out how best to eat it. The crunchy rice provided a nice textural element and the spicy mayo was a nice touch. I would like to see more variety of fish though.
Assorted Sashimi: Sake, maguro, sockeye, hamachi, hokkigai, tako
The individual pieces of fish were larger than expected, particularly with the regular salmon (sake) and tuna (maguro). You could split a piece in two and still be very satisfied. The temperature, while not warm, wasn’t quite chilled enough either. I did really like the tako (octopus), especially with just a little squirt of lemon.
Super Kalamary Roll: Deep fried squid, mayo, masago, cucumber, avocado, crab meat
It’s not very often that you see some ika tempura in a maki. The chew provided for textural contrast in a roll that is otherwise subtle and restrained. The Super Kalamry Roll was not included as part of the $25 set menu and was ordered separately for $5.
Burnaby Heights Roll: Prawn tempura, chopped scallop, mayo, masago, lettuce, fish stick, avocado, cheese, cucumber with spicy sauce
Specialty rolls have become all the rage in just about every sushi joint these days. Sushi UOmo continues that trend with creations like the Burnaby Heights Roll. Something that they neglect to mention in the description is that the roll arrives slightly torched, adding a wonderful smokiness. I didn’t think I’d like cheese in my sushi, but it’s very mild, giving some fatty contrast to the fresh chopped scallop.
Deep Fried Ice Cream
As far as I can tell, this isn’t on the regular menu at Sushi UOmo and they may have been experimenting during the Crave promotion period. And I say they should add this to their regular offerings. It’s just regular vanilla ice cream on the inside (I would have preferred green tea or some other options), but the soft and crispy dough on the outside is perfectly balanced. This was a great way to end our meal.
When Sushi UOmo first opened, replacing what was the only Mexican restaurant in the area, we didn’t think it was anything particularly special. We tried it and thought it was simply mediocre. Now that some time has passed, this sushi joint has really come into its own. The fish is wonderfully fresh, service was on point, and the Burnaby Heights Roll is simply dynamite.
Between this place, Kazu, and Osaka, those who live and work in the neighborhood have some pretty decent sushi options. And they’re all very affordable too.
It all looked quite good Michael. I would have tried it all myself. I’m always in to try a different specialty roll, but I need my spicy tuna or volcano roll too.
My wife loves spicy tuna sashimi.