|
Raw is war >> Higuma hits the front lines of the sushi battle In the last year, quick-fix sushi spots have been proliferating in Montreal as fast as the fruit flies in my kitchen. The days of sushi snobbery are over, when getting a taste of it used to be a relatively upscale affair and highly skilled sushi chefs were regarded with quiet awe. We can now count eight Sushi Shops, seven Soto Expresses, two Katsura Expresses, one Mikasa Express, plus Kaizen’s new Sushi-à-Go-Go ... basically, we’re swimming in mini-chains. On the plus side, it means cheaper and easier access to a healthy meal. On the other hand, the sheer number of these places has taken some of the mystique out of the “art” of sushi, not to mention the fact that our obsession with fresh fish is reportedly depleting marine stocks far and wide. In the midst of this McSushi McMadness, a new Japanese restaurant dared to hang out its shingle on St-Denis last month. Higuma straddles the middle ground between the new breed of fast-food shops and a sit-down meal. It’s located in the space formerly occupied by the very lame Coconut Grill, and much of the angular wooden décor remains intact, along with the tiny patio out front. Overall, the place is cute, casual, comfortable and cheap-and everything is freshly made to order. Beware, however, that this is not really a resto for sushi purists. The emphasis is on maki rolls rather than on sashimi or nigiri, and a lot of the creations are kind of gimmicky. To wit, the Hawaii with pineapple, ham and cream cheese, and the Aloha with tangerine and crab stick. Combos ($10–15), including soup or salad, are an inexpensive way to go here. The miso soup was quite good, pleasantly musky, and filled with melt-in-your-mouth pieces of soft tofu that contrasted with strips of chewy seaweed. The green salad bordered on a non-event thanks to the iceberg lettuce, but the orange-tinged dressing had a nice sesame scent to it. I chose Combo A ($9.50), made up of California and Calgary rolls. The Western U.S. was represented by crabstick, cuke, omelette, avocado and mayo, while the centrepiece of Western Canada was deep-fried chicken accented by teriyaki sauce and flying fish caviar. The presentation was great, even if the flavouring was, at times, a little on the sweet side. My friend opted for two rolls: spicy salmon (5/$5.50) and spicy tuna (5/$5.75), which were both extremely tasty and less newfangled. The bits of tempura added texture to each bite, and the hot sauce didn’t overpower the fish. Higuma also has fishless options for vegetarians. These include hosomaki, small rolls of pickled radish, sweet potato, Chinese mushrooms, avocado or cucumber ($2.50–3), as well as inari sushi made with sweet fried tofu ($2.50). There’s also the more complex satsuma (6/$3.95) with sweet potato tempura, avocado, ginger and tempura sauce, or yasaimaki (5/$7.95) with lettuce, sesame, carrot, spicy cuke, oshinko (pickled cabbage), kampyo (squash) and plum sauce. There are other Japanese dishes on the menu besides sushi-no bento boxes here yet, though. We shared an excellent tempura ($7.95) as an appetizer. It was a delight of crispy, crunchy deep-fried sweet potato, veggies and huge shrimp. Other dishes worth trying are tonkatsu ($9.50), a pork chop fried to crispness and served on rice, and grilled eel called unadon ($8.50). Higuma is a fun, friendly eatery that just might do well if it doesn’t fall into mediocrity or get swallowed up by all the competition. I think it would be even better if they carved out a niche for themselves by offering a few more authentic Japanese dishes that are less well known than the ubiquitous sushi roll. : Higuma |