Sushi Village
4272 Mountain Square
Whistler, BC
(604) 932-3330

When I entered Sushi Village, I was half expecting to be whisked away to feudal Japan. In Whistler, anything can happen, including sudden turns of the weather—but in this case, it’s a touch of the old world with the new, and a noisy neighboring table of Chinese tourists. A customer was complaining about the service and not getting what he ordered.

It had me wondering what I got myself into. The waitress’ unease disappeared when she approached me, and I could sense that she had a long day. The complementary green tea was served without any delay and it wasn’t hard for me to choose what I wanted—the SASSs roll ($14.95), a spicy tuna roll ($5.25), and a spicy scallop roll ($8.25) as my first round.

While waiting for my meal, I was treated to some wonderful scents from the kitchen. I suspect they were making chicken karaage and that started to get my hunger going. The three different types of rolls all arrived at once, and I wasted no time trying each one. For the unique SASSs roll, it consisted of a very soft but crunchy shrimp tempura with scallop and salmon rolled around it. Instead of nori seaweed, a sheet made of soya bean was used. Avocado complemented this combination roll with a soft fruity flavour.

I found the salmon to be a huge step above what I’ve had before at other restaurants back home. Given the location of Whistler, I suspect the staples are harvested locally than brought up from the metropolis down below (i.e. Vancouver). I also found the bright pinkish red colour of the salmon was just a vision of culinary beauty.

The tuna roll was also very good without being overly spicy and I thought the use of daikon in this roll was a very novel touch. The last roll I tried was the scallop maki that had sesame seed sprinkled on top. Eating this last was a perfect way to end the meal. However the spicy mayo they used on this roll was a lot more powerful. I like the taste of scallops, so it’s a mark against them to decide to overpower one taste with another.

I was still feeling hungry and thought I should try their local tuna sashimi ($5.95). I wasn’t disappointed, as it simply melted in my mouth with succulant tenderness. I left the place with a contented burp and a very tighter feeling waistline.

Overall, I wasn’t disappointed. The grumpy gus at the next table really didn’t affect my opinion about the establishment. The food was great and my waitress was simply being human. Errors can happen especially at the end of the long day, and I gave more than my usual tipping amount since she was very pretty.

4½ Blokes out of 5