Shima Japanese Cuisine

Shima Japanese Cuisine
414 Dundas St. West

So Saturday was help the sister with projects around the home. After advising on shelving and installing a ceiling fan I was rewarded with dinner. Since our schedules have been a little all over the place over the past couple of weeks she decided that we haven’t done sushi in far too long. Who am I to turn down a free meal let alone one that caters to this site?

We both brainstormed on where to go, a quick google of “Dundas St Sushi” indicated that there were a few places East of Spadina that might fit the bill. Umbrellas were gathered and off we went. Now after the last couple of times being OK at best, I wanted a decent meal. Something to restore my faith in the sushi chefs of Toronto. So I made a caveat that we weren’t going to stop at the first place we saw. Laura spotted Shima Sushi as we were walking past on the other side of the street, so we wound up going to the first place I *didn’t* see.

This is the way sushi should be. A nicely decorated restaurant with reasonable prices in an accessible location. I actually managed to get a shot of the interior, as we were a bit late for lunch, a bit early for dinner. No-one to disturb with a photo. The rolls on the menu weren’t delving too much into the fancy territory, but I couldn’t see one over $8. See, for the most part sushi really shouldn’t cost that much. A small strip of tuna, a section of crab stick, nori, rice and maybe tobiko just isn’t that expensive. Start getting into unagi and lobster, and we might have an argument. But this time around I stuck with some old favorites.

First up was the Salmon Pizza. For $6.99 you get the usual, pan fried rice patty with salmon and mayo. This is probably the most unhealthy thing you can have at a sushi restaurant, and may go a long way toward explaining just why I love it so much. The Pizza here was quite good, not too much mayo, and enough Salmon to justify the $7. I will admit that it was a *little* greasy this time around, but not enough to disappoint, but enough that it should be mentioned. Next up was the “main course” of the Toronto Roll (Salmon, Crab Stick, Cucumber, Mayo,  and Tobiko) for $5.45. See? Thats what it should cost. A bit of crab stick, but who can complain for a shade over $5 a roll? I actually could have done without the mayo in this roll, as it did tend to drown out the taste of the Salmon a little bit. There was nothing to hide either, as with the quantity of the salmon ingested in this meal, had it been off a bit or sub standard, I would have noticed. Nope! Good and fresh all around. Toss in some Edamame for $2.95 and we’ll call this a successful dinner!

Thumbs up for a nice meal in a nice restaurant when on a budget.