Quick Bites: Takara Sushi (Burnaby)

Between parenting, the pandemic, and pandemic parenting, I haven’t been posting too many restaurant reviews here for some time now. That doesn’t mean that my interest in food has waned in any way. While we haven’t eaten in a restaurant in months, our family does order takeout and delivery regularly. One such example is Takara Sushi, a relatively new spot on Canada Way near Boundary in Burnaby.

I share many of our culinary adventures on Instagram — both in the main feed and in Stories — so you may have already seen this. At the same time, I recognize that not all of you are on there. And so, I decided to talk a bit more about Takara Sushi on the blog today. It helps that, unlike Instagram posts, blog posts tend to stick around longer and are easier to find with search. So, here we are.

Takara Eats: The First Time Around

We’d heard some rumblings on the internet about this cool new sushi restaurant in Burnaby, so we decided to order some takeout from Takara Sushi. Our first experience was definitely a positive one.

Assorted Sashimi ($24). You get 16 pieces in total. Great quality, super fresh. From what I can tell, we got (clockwise from top-left) 3 pieces of sake (salmon), 2 pieces of hamachi (yellowtail), 2 pieces of hokkigai (surf clam), 2 pieces of madai (sea bream), 3 pieces of maguro (tuna), 2 pieces of ika (squid) and 2 pieces of tako (octopus). Not too many places around here offer madai, especially as part of an “assorted” platter.

Tokyo Roll ($12). That’s unagi tempura, asparagus, and avocado topped with a tamago sheet, some masago and kabayaki sauce. This is a good option for someone who doesn’t like raw fish. I’m not personally a big fan of tamago in general, so I appreciated how the sauce and unagi countered some of the egg’s sweetness.

Atlantic Roll ($14). This roll contains tuna, cucumber, tempura bits, and spicy mayo, topped with aburi salmon belly and ikura. I’m a sucker for aburi almost anything and the Atlantic roll is no exception. You get a great balance of slightly warm and cool, plus the pop of the ikura for salinity. A thoroughly satisfying bite.

Bento Box A ($13). This standard bento includes 6 pieces of California roll, chicken teriyaki and rice, 3 pieces of pan-fried gyoza, green salad and miso soup (not pictured). Not exactly reinventing the wheel here. This is a solid take on a classic.

Takara Sushi – Takeout Order #2

Since I already featured Takara Sushi on my main Instagram feed recently, I shared our second takeout order via IG Stories instead. Honestly, I regret not taking better pictures of each dish individually, especially the last one.

From left to right, we ordered…

• Nabeyaki Udon ($14): Chicken, beef, egg and 2 prawn tempura with noodles in soup. Personally, I would have liked to see some naruto in there, but I’ll let that go. You can also get this with ramen instead, if you prefer.
• Chopped Scallop Roll ($5): Chopped scallop mixed with mayo and masago with cucumber. This is one of my standard favorites I order at most sushi restaurants. The Takara take is exactly what I look for.
• Shiso Tuna ($6.50): House marinated tuna with tobiko and edamame. My mind pictured something like a tako wasabi where I’d wrap up little bundles of tuna in nori, but that’s not what this is. It’s more akin to a poke bowl without the rice. It’s an elevated sashimi dish, you could say.
• Fresh Snapper Tempura ($12.50): You don’t get just five pieces of snapper fried in a panko crust. The fresh snapper also gets shiso, seaweed and black pepper. These subtle additions make for a more dynamic flavor profile. The little pieces of fried (?) seaweed are really great too.
• Prawn Tempura: These two pieces of prawn tempura are part of the nabeyaki udon. They pack them separately for takeout so they don’t get soggy.
• Spicy Tako Karaage ($8): Simply describing this dish as “deep fried baby octopus” is totally underselling it. No joke, this was the star of the table. Along with the added garnish of baby tomatoes and sprouts, there’s this wonderful blend of sweet, spicy and sour going through this. I found it almost Vietnamese or Cambodian in terms of flavor familiarity. Really, really good, especially if you dig those kinds of flavors.

I Want More Tako Karaage

We’ve very lucky that we live in an area with so many great sushi options. Up on Hastings, we’ve got Sushi UOmo, along with Kazu Japanese and Osaka Sushi, among others. Head down Boundary and there’s Kimu, one of our personal favorites. And now, I’m more than happy to add Takara Sushi into our regular rotation. We will definitely be ordering the spicy tako karaage again, and exploring the rest of the menu.

Takara Sushi is located at 3726 Canada Way in Burnaby. They’re open Tuesdays to Saturdays from 11:30 am to 3:00 pm for lunch, and from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm for dinner. They’re closed Sundays, Mondays and holidays. Call (604) 439-0026 to order takeout. You can also order via Fantuan, DoorDash or Skip the Dishes. Visit TakaraSushi.ca for the full menu and more information.