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View Full Version : Haru Sushi and Grill (SE - McKenzie Towne)



Davetronz
07-11-2011, 10:02 AM
Looks like this place opened up at some point last week in the new complex by the TD bank and Sobeys in McKenzie Towne.

Has anyone been there yet? How was it?
I've been loyal to Ichizen, but willing to try something new, especially for takeout.

DENZILDON
07-11-2011, 10:42 AM
ooohhh, my need to try this out asap!

colinxx235
07-11-2011, 10:47 AM
Yah I wasn't sure when it was opening. I'm curious why the name got changed from blue phin to the new one...

Ichizen still gets a slight amount of my business, but when they re-vamped the whole menu, jacked up prices and got slower I visited less... it's still close and convenient. but unless i'm super pressed for time i started choosing kinjo which is worth the little extra drive. they need to expand the menu and include some new rolls.

Depending on what the hours are I'll try to hit it up this week before I leave town...

ercchry
07-11-2011, 10:59 AM
Ichizen has never really excited me, if this is good that would be excellent! would be nice to be able to stumble home after a couple bottles of sake! closest decent sushi in the se i think would be ginza, but my bill there always seems to hit $70 for just me :cry:

ercchry
07-11-2011, 08:52 PM
Closed monday?!?! Wtf...

colinxx235
07-11-2011, 11:41 PM
^^

HAHA I know... I drove by at around 7pm after I got off the 302 cause I was hungry and wanted to try it fast... those bastards =(

DENZILDON
07-12-2011, 08:36 AM
^^^^ :rofl:

We also tried to go last night! hahaha!

Going back tonight! :nut:

colinxx235
07-12-2011, 08:40 AM
haha too funny... make a Black ops sushi party... although not sure if i'd want to invite jong to that one lol
:rofl:

Davetronz
07-12-2011, 09:14 AM
Originally posted by ercchry
Closed monday?!?! Wtf...
Ichizen is closed Mondays too. :banghead:

ercchry
07-12-2011, 10:11 AM
Originally posted by Davetronz

Ichizen is closed Mondays too. :banghead:

yup... ginza was open... must be why its my go to for SE sushi :rofl:

DENZILDON
07-12-2011, 09:17 PM
So we just ate there and here is my take on it.

Ambiance: 9/10 Very nice layout, Modern looking with clean lines. The only thing is they did not have any baby chairs, only booster seats but then they just opened last Friday, hopefully they got my hint since my 16 month old boy made a mess. lol!

Service: 10/10 Pretty good, ordered and got the food with in 5 mins.

Food: 8/10 It was good I should say, the tempura batter was very good but the shrimp was kinda thin. I ordered some tuna and salmon sashimi and two orders of rice and both fish did not taste old. Presentation was good. Udon well, tasted like udon.

Price: Reasonable, I thought it was going to be pricey like crazy as the tuna sashimi on its own was $5.++ for 3 pieces! but then when it arrived the slices where fat and hefty. (Thats why the two orders of rice lol!)
We ordered 2 green tea, Veggie Udon, Tuna and Salmon Sashimi Combo and Assorted Tempura, the bill came to $42. I gave a tip of $8 bucks because my kid did made a mess! Lol!!

They have a bunch of different rolls and specialty rolls that I would like to try next time.

My gripe, they did not have any DONs. I would have love a Chirashi Don.

Their website myharu.ca

colinxx235
07-12-2011, 10:24 PM
^

Lol... what time were you there at? I ate from like 7-8:10 range.

I think the place is very sharp on the inside, not a ton of bright colors, but sleek with all the dark trim/white contrasts. I thought the menu was layed out very well, tons of excellent appetizers/salads and dishes that some places (especially ichizen) might lack.

I also enjoyed the server, older asian man, very friendly. I do personally prefer using a check list in restaurants so i can wait my time, especially when at a new place, but he wasn't awkward so it was good.

I ended up doing...

spicy tuna shashimi starter $3.69
pan fried gyoza $5.99
spicy tuna rolls $6.25
stampede rolls $15.25

The spicy tuna starter was really interesting. especially considering the price point versus the rest. you got almost the equivalent of 3 shashimi pieces (or so thats what it seemed) with the spicy mayo all over, fresh cut grape tomatoes and tons of sliced cucumber on the bottom.

Gyoza was fairly good, two of the pieces were breaking apart a bit and had to be careul. My friend tried the deep fried gyoza and i wasn't a fan of those, stick to the pan fried.

Spicy tuna roll.. meh... put together well, good tuna serving, i'm just not a fan of that really weak "spicy" mayo that restaurants use. i'd like a little more kick personally. but i'll admit it was fresh and none of the sushi fell apart for anyone which was awesome.

Stampede rolls were excellent, tons of tuna/salmon/red tuna/avocado/cucumber/mango on those large rolls. i'm not typically a mango fan on sushi but i didn't find it to be as sweet/overpowering as other restaurants, definitely my favorite dish of the night.


Overall I'd probably give it a 8-8.5/10 given its the first time. I did find some parts were a little pricey... 3 pieces of red tuna shashimi was $9, and some of the basic rolls like $8 for spicy scallop seemed about ~$2-3 higher per set.

It's a good change from ichizen and i'm sure i'll be back to give it another few tries.

DENZILDON
07-13-2011, 08:11 AM
hehehe, we eat early dinners. We got there at 5:30 and was done at 6:30.

GQNammer
07-13-2011, 08:26 AM
Like the above 2 comments, the decor is pretty. My night started out pretty good. Got there last night@6pm and about 1/3 of the restaurant was full. I was also greeted by the older gentleman server and he was very nice.

But it all went down hill after I ordered my food. I ordered A LOT considering it was only my daughter and I. Took lots home. My order is as follows:

1 chicken karage
1 Korean style bbq beef short ribs
4 x Salmon sushi
2 x Beef sushi
1 dynamite roll
1 spicey tuna roll
1 Nacho cheese roll (Felt like trying something new)

The sushi pieces were rolled nice and tight and the rice didn't fall apart. The nacho cheese roll, well, let's just say it's not my preferred taste. I mean it was different, and it may appeal to some people, but not quite for me.

The worst part was the Korean style beef. They serve it on a hot plate which looked pretty cool. But when I flipped my beef over it was completely burnt. I'm not a picky guy either! I'll eat almost anything. I dont mind a nice charred surface on my meat, but when it's burnt right through, it's just unbearable. I proceeded to eat it anyways because I dont like wasting food. Just my nature I guess.

But here's the kicker. When asked how my food was, the older male server asked me specifically about my beef short ribs. Didn't ask about anything else. Instead of asking "how's everything tasting," He asked, "How was the bbq beef?" I explained to him how the meat was burned throughout and the one side the beef was sitting on the hot plate was completely black. I also told him i understand it was probably because it was on a hot plate and it is what it is, but cooks need to adjust to that. He just nodded, smiled and walked away.

I really like my water, especially when I eat sushi. I usually drink 3-4 glasses/meal. Once I finished my 1st glass, I put it on the edge of the table waiting for a refill. After the servers made about 5-6 passes, no one offered to refill. So on the next pass I requested more water and they graciously smiled and said, "no problem." After approx 5 min, no water has come and I asked again and received the same courteous response. Still no water. So about 20 min later they finally got me water. This could've been avoided by maybe having an extra server or have at least one busser. 2 servers for an establishment with seating for 60+ doesn't cut it.

I had lots of food packed and then proceeded to the front to pay my bill. I noticed they still charged me for the beef, but what really pissed me off was when I got home, I noticed they didn't give me any soy sauce and no wasabi, and I packed a shit ton home.

Ambiance: 8.5/10
Food: 3.5/10 (could be a 7.5 if it weren't for the beef)
Service: 4/10

All in all, I think Haru has a lot of potential. I may have had one of their 'off' services. I will give them another shot in the near future and I hope I will have a better experience.

PS: Total bill was $61+$9 tip

GQNammer
07-13-2011, 08:27 AM
Originally posted by DENZILDON
hehehe, we eat early dinners. We got there at 5:30 and was done at 6:30.

Might have been there at the sme time you were :)

I was the fat asian guy with the 4 yr old girl who looks like she's 2 and a half haha

DENZILDON
07-13-2011, 08:53 AM
Yup, I saw you! Did you see the big mess we had at our table! lol!!!

GQNammer
07-13-2011, 09:11 AM
Originally posted by DENZILDON
Yup, I saw you! Did you see the big mess we had at our table! lol!!!

If you were the table behind me with 3 or more little ones, then yes haha

DENZILDON
07-13-2011, 09:17 AM
We were the one in the corner by the sushi bar.

ercchry
09-02-2011, 09:32 AM
so i finally made it over to this place last night... still prefer ginza for SE sushi...

walked in at 7:30, parking lot was pretty full so i was worried at first about trouble finding a table, opened the door to a room with ~10 people in it. laughed.

the waitresses were not very good at timing the menu reading time to the "what can i get you" time... i need more than 5 min to read this thing when its 8 pages deep :nut:

also the one waitress i over heard trying to describe a certain roll to someone else... she didnt know what tobiko/roe was... "you know those little fish egg things" hahahaha

you can see that they are trying to be high end with the decor and prices... but when your menu is a picture book.... :facepalm:

but whatever, what matters is the food right?

we ordered the haru platter, philly rolls, few pieces of smoked salmon (for the lady... she is getting there but still not a sushi lover), 2 large beers and a bottle of sparkling sake.

everything started great, tempura shrimp were a little small but batter was okay. philly rolls were interesting with the tzatziki drizzled on them. the spicy, crunchy tuna rolls were pretty good (only the tuna was tempura, not the whole thing). everything was going good till i reached the sushi... i noticed a dark spot under a piece of fish... lift it off the rice... and MOTHER FUCKING WASABI was in there.... i fucking HATE sushi places that do this... if i want wasabi i will ADD wasabi myself. i have noticed that the places with the best fish NEVER do this. my theory is its to mask sub-par quality fish and it just ruins my experience.

bill came to $120 with 15% tip... on par with the bills we have at GOOD sushi places... but sushi felt like i was at kinjo/ichiban so i give it a :thumbsdow

if you are a roll lover and enjoy globefish you may like this place... but i enjoy sushi so its not my thing.

ginza ftw, worth the 10min drive. only bonus this place had was i could walk home

clem24
09-02-2011, 10:56 AM
Originally posted by ercchry
and MOTHER FUCKING WASABI was in there.... i fucking HATE sushi places that do this... if i want wasabi i will ADD wasabi myself. i have noticed that the places with the best fish NEVER do this. my theory is its to mask sub-par quality fish and it just ruins my experience.

This is the correct way to assemble nigiri sushi... Dab a bit of wasabi on the underside of the ingredient (i.e. fish) before plopping it on the rice. Also, you're really not supposed to put any wasabi into the soy sauce, which is the reason for this. And when you dip the sushi, you're supposed to flip it over so that only the fish lightly touches the soy sauce, instead the rice, which tends to soak it up. And the best way to do this? Eat with your hands! ;)

In Japan, many places don't even give you wasabi because it's already on the sushi. Having said that, you only need a bit. A big clump, as your post suggests, is a big no no...

Just so you know, all the best places do this, like Zipang. The only reason why you don't notice is because it's discrete. Try lifting up the fish next time before you eat it and see for yourself.

ercchry
09-02-2011, 11:10 AM
would you look at that...

http://www.sushifaq.com/howtoeatsushi-etiquette.htm

but yeah like you said, i sure dont notice it at the "good" places around town.

i dunno, i find wasabi to be really overpowering and kind of ruins the taste of the fish in cases like last night's

lilmira
09-02-2011, 12:01 PM
Only if you can find fresh ground wasabi, it tastes so much better than paste in a tube.

Yes, there is supposed to be wasabi in sushi. If it's overpowering the taste of the meat itself, the chef put too much in it. I try not to shake my head every time I see people mix wasabi with soy sauce into a paste and dunk the entire piece of sushi in it. All you can taste after that is soy sauce and wasabi. But what I can do, don't want to be a sushi nerd and tell people how they should eat their food.

I like the traditional sushi, because of the simplicity of it you can taste everything. The modern/fusion/north american sushi is too busy with all the mayo, fruit, cheese. Not that they don't taste good, but they are just too overcrowded. I suspect the lack of freshness in the ingredients may have something to do with adding all these other stuff.