Torarenbo

There are so many sushi places in Richmond so it's really hard to say which one is our favourite. Michael and I were on a bit of a time crunch over the weekend and wanted to grab a bite before a comedy show.    

We randomly picked Torarenbo, located at 8191 Park Rd, I've been here before with my parents but Michael wanted to go to try out their barbecued fish.

Spicy tuna roll

We shared everything that we ordered, except for my spicy tuna roll ($4.25). Michael doesn't like raw spicy anything. Whenever I'm at a casual sushi restaurant I always need to get spicy tuna roll, I don't know why, it's just a routine of mine. If my best friend is reading this, I think she would understand and give me a hand hug to that. I thought the spicy tuna roll was pretty mediocre just like any other spicy tuna roll I have had in Richmond. But the tuna tasted fresh and I loved the spicy kick it gives.

Gyoza

 
Michael and I shared gyozas ($4.50), yum, one of my favourite. Usually when I am at casual Japanese restaurant, the gyozas are pretty simple. But surprisingly the gyozas from Torarenbo were really good, once you bite in to it there are juices from the pork that comes out. It was really flavourful and the vinegar on the side made everything else more perfect.

Angry Bird roll

I love sushi rolls that restaurants create on their own, I think it's original and the restaurant adds some fun in to the sushi concept. Michael and I ordered one of the Torarenbo signature rolls, The Angry Bird roll ($6.85).  This caught my eye from the menu was because none other then it's one of Michael's favourite game on his phone. It contains chicken, we can see why the bird is angry, served with spicy mayo, seaweed, and tempura flakes. I thought the roll was good but the spicy mayo did nothing, it tasted like regular mayonnaise. I was hoping to have a little more heat. But the crunch from the seaweed and flakes were nice.

Zaru Soba

Michael ordered Zaru Soba ($5.95) one of his favourites, it was presented in a much nicer way then we have seen from other  casual sushi restaurants, it had the garnishes such as onions, sesame seed, and a quail egg on the side to mix it all in with the soy sauce to dip with the noodles.  I thought even with such elaborate garnish on the side, the noodles and the soy sauce together was very bland, the soy sauce and everything else did nothing. But I did think that the buckwheat noodles were cooked nicely and didn't taste chewy.

Barbequed Saba

Finally the barbecue "Saba" mackerel ($8.25) that Michael has been hearing about. He thought it tasted fabulous and that the meat was very easy to chew, smooth, and juicy. Myself on the other hand, thought it tasted okay. I wouldn't say it tasted as smooth as Michael have thought. I think I have had better barbecue fishes else where.

Overall my opinion on Torarenbo has not changed from the first time I was there. Since today Michael and I were on such a rush, I didn't really mind where we ate. Torarenbo to me is just a casual sushi restaurant in Richmond that serves mediocre Japanese food, a good place to make a pit stop if you have a sushi crave kicking in. If I wanted really good sushi this isn't place for me.

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