Not too shabu
Lucy Rest
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Lucy Poskitt enjoys some avacado and smoked salmon sushi, that other food Suisha Gardens prepares beautifully
photo: Aaron McKenzie Fraser
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One last hot pot before summer
I thought I'd be supping beer and lighter fare on a patio by now. Still, if rain and drizzle were going to drive the four of us inside, I wasn't about to complain about one last excuse to eat sukiyaki until next winter - the traditional time for this cook-your-own Japanese meal.Whether you wait until next winter or next week to try it, call a little in advance to book a tatami room in Suisha Gardens' basement. There's a lot more elbow room at the table and you'll appreciate the privacy.
But we try to make the best of our four-seater in the perfectly nice '70s-style dining room, getting going on some sake and ordering both hot pots, sukiyaki and shabu shabu ($40 each, which is a meal for two, including a choice of two appetizers). We resist the temptation to order sushi, although it is very, very good here.
First comes some kara-age, tender pieces of breaded and fried-crispy chicken that put Colonel Sanders to shame. Then a little tempura trio - zucchini, mushroom and yam - all perfect golden crunch outside and tender-crisp inside without a trace of the oil they're deep fried in.
Then two different hot pots (and they are hot and frightfully close, so be careful kids): one shallow and wide for sukiyaki grilling and stewing, the other a deep vat of water set to boil with something mysterious and brown that looks like a skate wing, but which I should have known is a piece of konbu (kelp) to turn the water into dashi broth. Then plates of very thinly sliced raw beef and another plate of tofu,
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noodles and assorted veggies. Our server gets us going on the sukiyaki, explaining what to do (which we already know) but his shabu shabu explanations (which we do need) are a little vague and he then disappears, which makes for some shabby shabu on our first few attempts. What you're supposed to do is dump all the veggies into the boiling dashi and then cook the meat by very quickly swishing a piece between your chopsticks through the broth (which makes a sound like "sha-bu, sha-bu"). Then you dip the tender morsel in the creamy sesame or soy-citrus ponzu sauce provided, or garnish it with hot chili paste, minced green onion and garlic.
Quite yummy once we figure it out, but the subtle shabu just can't win over our jejune taste buds the way the dark, salty-sweet perfection of the sukiyaki does (it's just soy sauce, dashi, sake and sugar). Take a piece of ridiculously tender beef out of the sukiyaki pot and dip it in a little bowl of raw egg (ask for the egg) then eat it with a bite of rice and you'll see what I mean - ecstasy.
The tofu and the fat udon noodles also soak up the rich brown sauce beautifully. Chinese cabbage, carrots, shitake mushrooms, onions and fresh cress round it all off nicely. Since the ingredients are the same, we eventually ignore the shabu and start cooking everything in the sukiyaki pot.
Full as we are, I need something to cleanse my palate. A refreshing bowl of tangy yuzu sorbet (tastes like a cross between a mandarin and a grapefruit) does the trick nicely.
Maybe I'll try shabu shabu again somewhere, someday, but I'm already counting down the days to New Year's Eve and my next pot of sukiyaki.
SUISHA GARDENS
208 SLATER STREET
236-9602
DINNER $10-25
I have been to Suisha Gardens on many occasions and am always pleased. Not long ago a group of us got together to celebrate a birthday there for dinner. They were very accomidating for our large group, we were able to sit at a big table downstairs. When they found out we were there for a birthday they took out the polaroid and we received a framed picture of the group in the restaurant.
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Andrea Moore
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As in a lot of different Japanese restaurants there are many standard and delicious dishes to choose from. Here is no exception. I would definetly say that if you come to Ottawa downtown area and that you are in the mood for Asian food, Sushi Garden is worth trying and you won't get ruined at all. Especially, if like me, you go there for lunch. One thing for sure: it's good!
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Valerie Augier
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{1 vote}
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I guess I've been spoiled by B.C. To me, everything sushi and asian cuisine is measured against what I tasted there while on my trip back west. Sure, you can find sushi and other asian cuisine elsewhere but sheer number of immigrants from the East in Vancouver tilts the numbers of restaurants in their favor. I have never eaten so much sushi in my life. I'm not talking about the cheap kind some places foist on us, I'm talking the good stuff. I've had Mongolian BBQ, Cantonese, Japanese and well, if you name it I've tried it. So yes, Suisha Gardens might be good but until I can compare it for myself it will have hard to compete with my memories of B.C. cuisine.
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Pedro Eggers
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{3 votes}
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| Sounds like a good place to try |
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My interest in japanese restaurants stemmed from the time my friend convinced me to try sushi. I had tempura, shrimp and california rolls. I loved the california rolls, and this is the only reason, I'm always on the lookout for good Japanese restaurants. This place sounds like a good place to try.
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Ayse Sahin
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{20 votes}
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This place make the best sushis, they are just wonderful, so tasty, you'll never forget them and you'll want to come back for more. Whenever I'm in the mood for sushi, Suisha gardens is the first place that comes to mind and I never regret it.
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Roxane Gibault
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{1 vote}
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Went once will go again
I ate at suisha gardens last week for the firdt and I was pretty amaze.The decor
is nice,the service is great,and the food is amazing and the price are not to
expensive(unlike the japanese village).The shabu shabu was a new culinary
experience and it so good.And colonel sanders should send a spy at the suisha gardens to steal that kara-age recipe,I never ate fried chicken that tasted so good.
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Rock Sirois-Therrien
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{11 votes}
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I ate at Suisha Gardens a long time ago (maybe 8 years ago). It was my first time trying Japanese food. I remember the place smelled weird, like raw meat or fish, near the entrance. I had udon noodles and some kind of tempura. The tatami rooms looked cool. Now that I have more experience eating Japanese food, I'd like to go back there some time to try more dishes.
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Sue Michal
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{9 votes}
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I've allways enjoyed this restaurant for it's quality in food at an inexpensive price. I allways know I'll go home full without an empty pocketbook. It's a shame that the Server failed to give Lucy full shabu shabu explanations , but maybe they were new. This is one restaurant to try.
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Lynda Jones
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{5 votes}
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