Li-Ao Sushi

[nj2Type-S]

if you guys like kinjo, this place is owned and operated by 2 guys that used to work at kinjo! this place just opened up last week and the wife and i are glad we stopped by.

no, we are not affiliated with this place. we're just happy that a sushi place opened up in the bridlewood/evergreen area. :)

[HomespunLobster]

I was there the other night. I quite enjoyed the sushi, as well as the entertainment value.

+1 to this place

[TomcoPDR]

Originally posted by nj2Type-S
if you guys like kinjo, this place is owned and operated by 2 guys that used to work at kinjo! this place just opened up last week and the wife and i are glad we stopped by.

no, we are not affiliated with this place. we're just happy that a sushi place opened up in the bridlewood/evergreen area. :)

Address?

When you first said Kinjo's guys, I thought it was that huge sushi place across the street on Macleod. (where Harvey's used to be)

[nj2Type-S]

Li-Ao Sushi
(403) 719-9668
231-2335 162 Ave SW
Calgary,AB
T2Y4G9

i actually just called for pick-up. i've been here 4 times this week. ffuuu!

[TomcoPDR]

Went here with some white friends... It's just two doors down from a Chinese restaurant called "Brothers"

Anyways, it's tiny, compact and IMO not a well thought out layout (but for the tiny space, they probably had to make do). Looks like typical Chinese owner ran place, but great money maker for them, tons of community take-out/pickup.

Not a cozy place or feel for sit down.

Today was busy, so the service was kinda shitty. Table given was so dirty, lol. They didn't even had time to wipe, or even noticed, lol.



http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r95/Tomcompany/Past%20repairs/Random/IMG_3020_zps07511131.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r95/Tomcompany/Past%20repairs/Random/IMG_3019_zps0049a241.jpg


However, the reviews are correct, the portions are big. I'm not sure on the pricing, cuz the couple paid.

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r95/Tomcompany/Past%20repairs/Random/IMG_3021_zps54d15c66.jpg
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r95/Tomcompany/Past%20repairs/Random/IMG_3022_zps021211e2.jpg

And as other mentioned, I guess the free "PORKY" chocolate incentive was a carry over from their Kinjo days.

But honestly, if I had a choice in South Sushi places, it'd be either Ginza... or Yume (Avendia mall within Tim Hortons/Original Joe's/Papa John's/Ricky's)

[eblend]

I went to this place a few times, and usually go there from now on since its like 2 min away from my place. it isn't the best but its very convenient and is pretty good...now that I think of it...I know what I am having for dinner on thur!

[CRXguy]

The sashimi portions here are huge.

[taemo]

damn that's way in the deep south but is that toro on the pic any good?
if it is, then it might be worth a trip

[TomcoPDR]

Originally posted by taemo
damn that's way in the deep south but is that toro on the pic any good?
if it is, then it might be worth a trip

What's a toro? (bottom left or right?) Sry, i'm just a eat what's in front of my face kinda person.

[diamondedge]

Originally posted by TomcoPDR


What's a toro? (bottom left or right?) Sry, i'm just a eat what's in front of my face kinda person.

Toro is bluefin belly tuna, fatty, marbled. Looks like snapper in the pic tho

[TomcoPDR]

Originally posted by diamondedge


Toro is bluefin belly tuna, fatty, marbled. Looks like snapper in the pic tho

That's the bottom left, cuz the buddy did tell me it's tuna belly. Yea, that was nice soft and buttery.

[Mibz]

Li-Ao served me frozen toro and their rolls are kinda bland and small, but the owners are super nice and the portions of sashimi are large. If you're a fan of Ginza then I suggest Sushi Me in Midnapore Mall. Service can be a little slow but everything is as delicious and more consistent. I got two bad meals in a row, followed by a mediocre meal, at Ginza and decided it wasn't worth it to drive all the way up there anymore. The only thing I miss is the smoked salmon special :(

[eblend]

Originally posted by Mibz
Li-Ao served me frozen toro..

Funny, I never experienced frozen sushi (can feel the ice crystals) until I went to Sakana Grill last week. We arrived at 11 and the bar was still preparing, but still, one would think they would do a test themselves first before the fish ends up on the belt. Haven't been to Sakana for like 5 years prior to last week, and found their sushi just ehh, as there are a ton of better places around (including Li-Ao). Haven't had problems with Li-Ao yet, but only been there 3 times and all times were pretty good.

[ercchry]

Originally posted by diamondedge


Toro is bluefin belly tuna, fatty, marbled. Looks like snapper in the pic tho

it is NOT blue fin :nut:

and +1 on the decline of ginza. pisses me off cause i use to talk it up so much, then i would go there and it would suck... only so many times i could use the "weird, must be an off night" excuse

[clem24]

Originally posted by ercchry


it is NOT blue fin :nut:


Sure it is.. The maguro served in Japan is blue fin looks like this:

http://blogyourarteries.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/toro1.jpg

:drool:

We get stuck with the crappier albacore, which they call shiro maguro. And what we get as maguro (usually appears as "red tuna" on menus) is usually yellow fin (which I don't like as I find it quite fishy).

[ercchry]

well yeah, toro CAN be blue fin. but the "toro" you see on every menu in town sure as shit isnt. its just normal fatty tuna belly :cry:

[Disoblige]

I never eat "toro" at medium to low end sushi joints. They usually suck and barely pass as toro. Not worth it at all.

Plus it depends how it was prepped too. I've had normal tuna taste way creamier and delicious than a poorly prepped toro. Calgary is so inconsistent I hate it.

[eblend]

Just a heads up, Li-Ao is closed until Jan 14th :( Made a list to call in my order yesterday, no one answered so I figured it was super busy, so decided to drive in and order and just wait to take it home (wife wasn't feeling well to go out). Arrived there, and all the windows are taped up and a note saying that they are doing renovations from Jan 3rd to 14th. Wonder what its going to be like once its done, can only do so much with a small space like that.


Went out to Yume sushi instead....came home very disappointed.

[clem24]

Originally posted by ercchry
well yeah, toro CAN be blue fin. but the "toro" you see on every menu in town sure as shit isnt. its just normal fatty tuna belly :cry:

Yeah we usually get albacore I think. I agree though. The tuna here sucks so much that my preferred fish is hamachi (usually really good at reputable places) and salmon (also usually good - heck this is Canada's signature fish).

[ercchry]

baby hamachi :drool:

i like saba too, but last time i was at li-ao they didnt take the outer skin off :barf:

butterfish is pretty tasty too

[Disoblige]

clem24, I'm pretty sure 90% of sushi restaurant are tricking customers by calling their yellowtail, hamachi. Most are not hamachi, and probably buri.

[taemo]

Originally posted by Disoblige
I never eat "toro" at medium to low end sushi joints. They usually suck and barely pass as toro. Not worth it at all.

Plus it depends how it was prepped too. I've had normal tuna taste way creamier and delicious than a poorly prepped toro. Calgary is so inconsistent I hate it.



Originally posted by clem24


Yeah we usually get albacore I think. I agree though. The tuna here sucks so much that my preferred fish is hamachi (usually really good at reputable places) and salmon (also usually good - heck this is Canada's signature fish).

my favourite sushi join was Reiko sushi in bankers hall, never understood why they closed down though :(
their toro was decent (would rate it as 8.5/10)
towa now is my go to toro fix (8/10) with shikiji and zipang as backup (7/10)
still have to give zen8 a try during their wednesday toro days

but still havent found chutoro or otoro in calgary

[Mibz]

Originally posted by eblend
Just a heads up, Li-Ao is closed until Jan 14th :( Made a list to call in my order yesterday, no one answered so I figured it was super busy, so decided to drive in and order and just wait to take it home (wife wasn't feeling well to go out). Arrived there, and all the windows are taped up and a note saying that they are doing renovations from Jan 3rd to 14th. Wonder what its going to be like once its done, can only do so much with a small space like that.


Went out to Yume sushi instead....came home very disappointed. IIRC they bought the space of the flower place next door so it'll be bigger when it reopens.

[Skyline_Addict]

Yup. Pretty much a smaller version of Kinjo. Went there once and the portions were slightly bigger and cheaper than Kinjo. Food selection and quality was about the same as Kinjo too; obviously the Chefs having worked there is the reason why.

We went at around 9:00 pm on a weekday and the place was packed. Once we sat down, there was a line-up to be seated. Place is super busy, so the service suffers a bit. However the staff, especially the owner (I think?) is super friendly and upbeat. They were serving fresh real strawberry smoothies for like $3.00 that day too and they were super good!

Only thing stopping me from going there more is that I live in the far NW. About a 40 min drive for me to get down there :(. Great place for cheap sushi/sashimi. Otherwise I would say it's better than Kinjo since you basically get the same food for 80% of the price.

[clem24]

Originally posted by taemo

still have to give zen8 a try during their wednesday toro days



Meh pricey and not that great. Do they do toro EVERY Wednesday? Last time I tried their toro (which I am pretty was yellow fin) it was fairly chewy. I give that place an enthusiastic thumbs down. Generally poor value all around. Even though Zen8 is only a 5 minute walk from work, I prefer to jump into my car and head to Misato or Zipang for lunch take out ahahaha. The waitresses are generally hot as fuck though.


Originally posted by Disoblige
clem24, I'm pretty sure 90% of sushi restaurant are tricking customers by calling their yellowtail, hamachi. Most are not hamachi, and probably buri.

According to this (http://www.sushiencyclopedia.com/sushi_fish/yellowtail.html),one and the same? Anyway it's not hard to pick out the good from the bad and has a very distinct flavour.

[Disoblige]

Originally posted by clem24

According to this (http://www.sushiencyclopedia.com/sushi_fish/yellowtail.html),one and the same? Anyway it's not hard to pick out the good from the bad and has a very distinct flavour.
I like the yellowtail that looks like this:
http://hotnfresh.info/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/hamachi-300x225.jpg

not like this:

http://static2.orstatic.com/UserPhoto/photo/1/UK/0061AA404B405D567F8494m.jpg

Lots of places in Calgary charge the same price for the shitty bottom picture.

[dj_patm]

I love li-ao. It's my go-to place down here. There is a reason it's at 90% on urbanspoon.

I'm not big on Nigiri from any where but their rolls are great.

[RiceMonkey]

Originally posted by clem24


Sure it is.. The maguro served in Japan is blue fin looks like this:

http://blogyourarteries.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/toro1.jpg

:drool:

We get stuck with the crappier albacore, which they call shiro maguro. And what we get as maguro (usually appears as "red tuna" on menus) is usually yellow fin (which I don't like as I find it quite fishy).

BlueFin Tuna I had
http://i1271.photobucket.com/albums/jj636/kennytran919/IMG_1634_zps4d268d39.jpg
http://i1271.photobucket.com/albums/jj636/kennytran919/IMG_0155_zps6e8c8e83.jpg

[EK69]

Fuck, while reading this thread I just came to the realization that I have no idea wtf I eat when I eat sushi :rofl: :nut:

Slap on some of that volcano roll sauce shit on everything and down the hatch :rofl:

[403ep3]

I hate this thread.. Everytime I read it I have an urge to eat sushi -_-

[Kolbatron]

Update: This place is back up and running after being closed down for the month of January expanding into the bay next door.

I went in there tonight, good big place but the service was HORRIBLE!!!

Waitress forgot to put through half of our order, then gave us attitude and said "we didn't order it" even though it was marked down on the menu with the felt marker.

Also, she never once came by to top up our water or ask us for more tea.

The food was not as good as it was originally either.

All in all I am very disappointed with the new and "improved" Li Ao.

Maybe after a month or so they will figure out what the waitresses actually need to do to serve the customers.

[eblend]

Originally posted by Kolbatron
Update: This place is back up and running after being closed down for the month of January expanding into the bay next door.

I went in there tonight, good big place but the service was HORRIBLE!!!

Waitress forgot to put through half of our order, then gave us attitude and said "we didn't order it" even though it was marked down on the menu with the felt marker.

Also, she never once came by to top up our water or ask us for more tea.

The food was not as good as it was originally either.

All in all I am very disappointed with the new and "improved" Li Ao.

Maybe after a month or so they will figure out what the waitresses actually need to do to serve the customers.

Went there for my birthday last week and the service was prompt and food was great. Spend about 100 on two people. So much bigger now. Their servers definitely need more practice at what they do, seems like just random people found on the street who have never done the job before, but overall wasn't bad. We had plate after plate of sushi coming every couple of minutes

[jampack]

Originally posted by Kolbatron
Update: This place is back up and running after being closed down for the month of January expanding into the bay next door.

I went in there tonight, good big place but the service was HORRIBLE!!!

Waitress forgot to put through half of our order, then gave us attitude and said "we didn't order it" even though it was marked down on the menu with the felt marker.

Also, she never once came by to top up our water or ask us for more tea.

The food was not as good as it was originally either.

All in all I am very disappointed with the new and "improved" Li Ao.

Maybe after a month or so they will figure out what the waitresses actually need to do to serve the customers.

We went there this afternoon and service was ok. Great, bigger place. Love the food as usual. I guess it must have been certain employees and they should be able to work that out (hopefully, hehe). Still a good place nonetheless especially we live very near from it :)

[euro_racer]

Going to give it another try sometime soon and see how things are after the reno...Heard a new Kinjo location is going to be opening in the shawnessy plaza by Sobey's (old Rogers video), wonder how that's going to affect li-ao considering its pretty much the same menu at a better location!