Being the avid sushi-eater that I am, I was thrilled when I heard that there was another sushi place that had recently opened up in the Algonquin area. Woow Sushi, along with Bistro Wasabi and @ Bangkok, had been added to my list of go-to restaurants when my sushi cravings hit.
I remember getting the menu and coupons in the mail for Woow Sushi’s grand opening specials. There were so many tasty-looking menu items to choose from, and they were all within a reasonable price range. I knew this was not a restaurant worth missing out on.
Walking in to the restaurant, I noticed how similar yet different the setting and ambiance were from Bistro Wasabi. The modern-style decor gave the restaurant a high-class, expensive look, but the soft lighting and comfortable chairs made everything seem more relaxed.
Despite the setting, I felt like I was at home, especially when our waitress came out wearing sweatpants and crocs. She started out by giving us a free order of edamame, and helped us out by suggesting the best menu items that had no beef or chicken.
So we decided to stick mostly to the Japanese food items, since the Japanese portion of the menu consisted of various forms of cooked and uncooked fish. What really caught our attention, were the names of the sushi rolls listed under the “Chef’s Special Roll” category.
We were referred by our waitress to try the Golden Dragon, Fire, and Godzilla Rolls. The Fire Roll, which literally comes out of the kitchen on a flaming plate, is the most popular amongst the customers for its presentation, and is arguably the best roll on the entire menu. But since the regular Fire Roll is topped with filet mignon, we asked the waitress if we could just try it without the steak on top.
The presentation of the rolls did not fail to impress me. They painted a picture of a dragon on the plate with the chef’s special sauce and the Godzilla Rolls looked exactly how the name suggests. And as promised, the Fire Roll was set ablaze before our hungry eyes.
And just like the presentation, the taste was nothing like I’ve ever experienced before. I had ordered deep fried rolls before and NONE of them were crispy like the Godzilla Roll. The avocado and cream cheese balanced the strong flavors of the eel and spicy sauce.
The Golden Dragon did not look as intimidating as the Godzilla Roll, but it certainly did pack a hard-enough punch, in the good way of course. The roll was spicy salmon, avocado, topped with baked white tuna, 14kg gold tobiko, and drizzled chef’s special sauce. I usually try not to order sushi with tobiko on it since the texture grosses me out a little bit, but the kick from the spicy salmon and the sweetness from the tobiko made me forget all about the fact that I was eating fish eggs.
And last but certainly not least, was the Fire Roll. It was the moment of truth, to see if the taste of the sushi had met the high expectations that were brought on by the presentation.
The roll is a tempura jalapeno stuffed with spicy tuna, avocado and cream cheese, topped with filet mignon, and seared to perfection right on the table. The only difference ours wasn’t topped with filet mignon. Without the steak, the roll was still delicious!
I had a lot of firsts when I came to this restaurant. It was my first time trying eel and stuffed tempura jalapeno, and watching my food catch on fire before me. It was also the first time I felt relaxed and comfortable in such a classy environment. Woow Sushi has definitely earned a spot on the top of my list.
