OUT OF BUSINESS: Edohei

NO LONGER IN BUSINESS

Edohei
355 Ellice Avenue
204-943-0427
http://www.edohei.mb.ca/
sadaoono@hotmail.com

August, 2009

As one of Winnipeg’s longest established sushi restaurants, Edohei has stood the test of time since its opening in 1988. However, as new Japanese restaurants spring up like enoki mushrooms, Edohei must work harder than ever to maintain its market share.

The unassuming building front sits on Ellis Avenue in the downtown, poised to attract a business lunch crowd, but unlikely to gather much happenchance, evening foot traffic. Inside, Edohei’s modest décor features a short sushi bar, with regular and tatami seating.

In judging sushi, I normally use the California roll as a benchmark. If the roll uses Pollack, there’s no need to come back. If they have some canned crab meat, they’re in the majority. The few that use genuine lump crab meat will have me back and drooling for more, every time; you very rarely see this. Edohei’s version barely has any crab at all and nothing else about the roll stands out—this is not a good start. In North America, ordering the dynamite roll usually puts you at the mercy of the chef as there’s no defined, required ingredient in the roll. I’ve encountered dynamite rolls with hamachi (yellowtail), or salmon, often coupled with some sort of vegetable. Roe and tempura normally finishes the roll. To my disappointment, Edohei’s dynamite roll is simply a California roll with tempura flakes and spicy sauce. Already, I found the California roll a disappointment, but add some old, crunchless, rubbery tempura into the roll and a disaster emerges.

For nigiri, I start with the hokkigai, or surf clam. A good, fresh hokkigai will have no fishiness and have a firm crunch in the meat. Edohei’s hokkigai tastes crunchy enough, which tells me that it’s fresh; however, its absence of flavour also tells me that it’s a lower grade of clam. The unagi (barbecued eel) too has little flavour. It’s often challenging to ascertain the true taste of the eel fish, since the barbecue sauce normally tastes bold, rich and sweetish. The truth: the eel only acts as a conduit for the wonderful barbecue sauce. Edohei’s sauce on the unagi tastes milder than most. Alas, this doesn’t mean that you get to taste the essence of the eel; this simply means that the dish tastes flavourless.

My unchallenged favourite part of a sushi meal is the simple raw fish, or sashimi. Many sushi houses offer delectable fresh fish (as you expect) but the true test comes with the freshness of the hamachi; if hamachi is slightly stale, strong fishiness devours your tastes buds and can easily ruin the rest of your meal (read: stinky). Although hamachi comes with great risk, it also gives great reward as fresh hamachi can be the highlight of your dinner. After my heretofore experience, I don’t think I want to risk a try at the hamachi. Instead, I opt for the salmon and the toro (fatty tuna). The salmon tastes fresh and silky, but the real star is the toro, which is so sweet and buttery that it melts in my mouth. Fantastic! Edohei’s rolls and nigiri may be substandard but their sashimi almost makes up for it.

Lunch for two persons with one large beer totals $99. You read that right, two rolls, two pieces each of the nigiri, two sashimi dishes and one large beer totals $99 before tax or tip. In the past, Masa restaurant had the highest prices but they also served the best sushi in Winnipeg. If I chose to go there, I was willing to pay a little more for the best. Judging from today’s cheque, Edohei’s prices far exceeds any I’ve seen so far in this city. Among today’s proliferation of Japanese restaurants, I expect the existing establishments to either serve better food, or charge lower prices to be competitive. It seems that Edohei has accelerated its prices and cut its food quality. While the sashimi indeed tastes delicious, the rolls and nigiri barely merit a passing grade. Add the ridiculous price tag and I urge you to move onto the next Japanese restaurant.

* ½ /5