Review: Asha Sushi

Today saw a major gastronomic breakthrough for yours truly.  You see, about five years ago I tried sushi for the first time from one of those mall places and hated it.  I remember it being cold, rubbery, and WAY too spicy (I think I over-loaded it with wasabi or something).  I must admit I was disappointed by my reaction to it more than anything - after all, don't all the cool girls like sushi?  Why oh why was I so incapable of appearing cool in any way shape or form?  

Then last year I decided to give it another try, this time for slightly less superficial reasons.  I had by this point officially "discovered" the wonders of good food, and wanted to be able to enjoy as many different kinds of it as possible.  For some reason, I went back to the same mall chain at which I had the negative experience five years ago.  This time I made sure to go easy on the wasabi, and was happily able to finish my meal.  I did not, however, see what the big deal was.  Rice, raw fish, and some cold vegetables?  Whatever.

Yet some nagging instinct inside me seemed to know that this colourful, exotic dish had potential, and whenever I heard anyone talk about sushi (notably almost always pretty twenty-something women) my curiosity was further heightened:  I began to wonder what real sushi (i.e. that which is prepared fresh at a restaurant) tasted like.  This curiosity inspired me to suggest Asha Sushi when Steve and I found ourselves downtown at supper time earlier today.  

Asha Sushi is a funky, bamboo-adorned, paper-lantern-lit space, filled with tables of attractive young women on girls nights and a few trendy, earthy-looking couples on dates.  For pretentious purposes, we'll pretend Steve and I fell into the second category.  The restaurant features an all you can eat sushi buffet, which we opted out of (I'm not a fan of buffets unless they're serving a gourmet brunch) in favour of the regular menu.  I had no idea what to order, and ended up asking the waitress what she would recommend.  She rhymed off her favourites, and both of us ended up taking her advice.  I had the Avo Avo (sushi filled with crab salad, topped with avocado), and Steve the French Kiss (crispy shrimp, salmon, and cream cheese drizzled with a yogurt and mustard sauce).

To make an already too long story slightly shorter, I loved it.  Steve loved it.  Everyone was satisfied.  The flavours came together brilliantly in both dishes, and my growing love for the unique taste and creamy texture of avocados was further cemented.  Both rolls were slightly crunchy, which I also loved.  The only drawback was my famous inability to maneuver chop sticks.  Don't worry, I didn't ask for a knife and fork - but it did take me nearly twice as long as it should have to finish.  Oh well, I plan on eating quite a lot of sushi now that I know how wonderful it can be, so there should be more than enough time to practice.  And best of all, I get to pretend I'm cool.  Unless developing an appreciation for sushi does in itself permit entry to the world of cool people...now there's a thought...