Ogenki Sushi Fusion — Restaurant in Vancouver

The Ogenki logo image is quite prominent on this section of Main Street when we visit the shops on the opposite side of the street. Prominent doesn't necessarily translate to desirable though, in this case, the gimmicky symbol and the name "Fusion" gave me the impression that the food may not be authentic Japanese and I may not like it. However, while Googling for 'vegan food near me', Ogenki showed up on the results. A quick search on the word 'vegan' in the reviews section yielded comments like "Love the vegan menu" and "sophisticated vegan Japanese food". They actually have a separate two-page full of vegan sushi options and the main fusion menu is many pages long. The most impressive thing about the menu is that all the ingredients are clearly listed. For example: 'Spicy Green Dragon Roll' – inside: vegan crab meat, asparagus tempura, avocado. On top: avocado, vegan spicy mayo, sesame seeds, (contains wheat, soy, garlic). Naturally, I asked why sushi would contain garlic, and the answer was that the vegan mayo for the crab meat contains sriracha which has garlic. So, even though the garlic taste in this case will not be detectable, they still list it – how awesome is that! Also, the tempura batter does not contain egg. Because the vegan rolls and Tempura contains quite a bit of deep fried foods, I also asked about cross contamination in terms of the same oil used to fry Chicken Karaage, Deep Fried Soft Shell Crab, Croquettes, Squid, and Chicken Wings would also be used to fry the vegan tempura. So, even though they do change the oil daily, I cannot order anything deep fried from the vegan menu. I was going to order one of the five vegan Bento Boxes. But the Bento Boxes all contain 3 pieces of yam tempura, I didn't. The suggested, however, that the yam ca be steamed instead. So, in the end, we ordered a Vegan Veggie Gyoza Bento Box, a Totem Roll, salmon belly sashimi and Hamachi sashimi. The sashimi came first, from the way the fish were cut and presented, we knew that the food will be very good and they were. I found out the other day from another website that imitation crab contains egg. So, it is a relief that the vegan crab at Ogenki Sushi is made of firm tofu and they use vegan mayo! To be able to avoid egg is...

My first Sushi experience after moving to Canada couldn't have been better! And frankly speaking, I didn't believe a single review praising the vegan sushi options and rating these at par or higher than their non-veg counterparts. I thought that there was something fishy (or maybe not!) about these comparisons, but not for long. My cynicism (and piscimism!) met a swift end after taking a bait err bite of Chef George's vegan culinary creations! Mindblowing stuff! Wait, is it truly vegan?!

After wrapping up with work on Thursday evening, I called Ogenki Sushi to inform them that we'll be there at around closing time. Rose, who answered my call, was very patient and helped me in narrowing down what to select for my pickup order.

When we arrived, we grabbed a box of vegan Oshi and Rolls - Vegan Crab Oshi, Yellow Dragon Roll, Spicy Green Dragon Roll, and Ogenki Roll, along with a non-veg combo #3 box which comprised of Salmon, Tuna, Ebi Sushi, California Rolls with complimentary Miso Soup. It was love at first sight when our eyes met the beautiful and colorful (not to mention drool-inducing!) box comprising of vegan delicacies! It felt good to exchange words with and convey our gratitude to Chef George over the counter while he was busy doing his magic.

Each of these items tasted delicious, and I concur - not to take anything away from the original sushi, but the vegan crab meat and yam based sushi options don't need (to) fish for compliments! Perhaps for the first time in my life, I'll choose veg/vegan items as the undisputed winners over their non-veg namesakes even without sampling the latter!

Ogenki's interiors are spacious and the ambience is nice, plus there is ample street parking along the adjacent Main St and in the nearby neighborhood. Needles to say, I'll be back to try more of the many offerings on their extensive menu.

Kudos to Rose for the fantastic service despite it being nearly the end of a very long day for her, and hats off to Chef George and Ogenki Sushi for the goodies and their...

If your looking for a way to waste your money, maybe disappoint yourself at the same time, order Ogenki Sushi. We woke up from a night of excessive drinking wanting something to tide us over and help us through our hangover, so we decided to call the closest sushi restraunt to us. After waiting an hour for a delivery man who was unfriendly and slow, we payed and opened our boxes of sushi. Just at the sight of the mess that was within was enough to set our stomachs hurdling. We then decided to try a peice and almost had to spit it back out after warm, over cooked, slimy white rice hit our tongues. Half the pieces just fell apart into a soggy soppy mess before we could even dip them in the soy sauce! The avocado was almost brown and so squishy with the already soggy rice it tasted like we were eating porridge, not sushi. Even the wasabi looked unappetizing as it was sloppily spooned into the container and looked like a pile of vomit. At the end of this sickening experience we decided to try our luck with something that you can never go wrong with, (besides Dallas) pizza. So long story short, a piece of advice from an Ogenki victim; dont try your luck with this place because they will surely disappoint. instead try a place like Number 7 Sushi on Cambie Street where their craft is perfected and disciplined, the fish is succulent and the vegetables fresh. Compared to this, Ogenki sushi is a pitiful waste of time. It is a shame that they have managed to desecrate such an beautiful art that comes from their own country...