Ottawa Foodies

Chim., your description closely parallels one of my visits to MHK, except in that case, we opted for a couple Thai dishes instead of sushi.

I came away thinking that MHK is similar to the Kelsey's of the Asian restaurant sector; its a roadhouse or all-in-one family restaurant. Some dishes are decent enough, others miss the mark.

The first time i tried MHK, everything we ordered (minus the salad / kimchi) missed. I can alter my expectations for something like Pad Thai: after all, its essentially street food (in Thailand) and you can find a different style on every corner. But, even here, my SO (who is not at all snobbish about Thai food) remarked that it among the worst she's had (excluding the ones i make!): clumpy noodles, just blah. My curry was even more disappointing, lacking essential ingredients that add balance, e.g., basil, fresh chilis, etc.

Sushi is, i think, an even more hazardous choice in a restaurant that aims to represent the cuisine of 3 or 4 different countries. Its not uncommon in Japan for sushi chefs to go through a fairly rigourous apprenticeship under a master chef, and its rare to find sushi in a place that also serves the variety of styles as MHK. In Ottawa, it seems a bit of capital and an Asian physiogamy is the primary license for serving sushi. Yes, that's a bit of a rant, and not meant for the 2 or 3 places (e.g., Suisha Garden, Genji, etc.) that do a decent job. But, the veggie rolls i took away from MHK on my second visit fell apart by the time i got home, and they didn't seem any better than what i can get more cheaply from Loblaws.

All that noted, i sometimes go to Kelsey's, and likewise, i will return to MHK. As you noted, Chimi., its friendly and sometimes pan-Asian variety can be a fun distraction, particularly on the way home from haggling w/ the returns department at one of the electronic stores up the street. I think next time, though, i'll ask the wait staff for their recommendations, and hope for the best.

I went to MHK after reading and hearing good things about the place. Unfortunately, I was a little underwhelmed. We ordered a couple of beers, kimchi, inari, lobster roll, spicy california roll, tempura shrimp roll and the hawaiian roll. First the good: the service was excellent (prompt, non intrusive, fixed a mistake in our order), the atmosphere was a bit surprising (in a good way) considering the strip mall location, the presentation was fabulous, and the kimchi was delicious. Unfortunately the above did not make up for the bad, which was: all of the rolls were very mediocre in flavour, the lobster roll was probably the biggest disappointment since the lobster meat was just inundated with mayo (killing the delicate nature of the lobster meat). The inari was possibly the worst I've ever eaten - was served waaaaay too sweet. The hawaiian roll had way too much fish roe on it, which ended up killing the delicate flavour of the tuna.

Maybe I should have stuck with kitchen options instead of the sushi bar offerings? Any recommendations?

Hard not to love this sushi. I have been at least a dozen times now and everytime the sushi is excellent. Very fresh, amazing flavour, perfect presentation...

The staff are great. I recently called the wrong location to place my take out order. They were very understanding and accomodating.

We went there last Thursday, hoping to try the place by going to Happy Hour. FYI, Happy Hour is now a thing of the past. We didn't really care, and sat down at 9 PM (even if they close at 10, they were extremely nice, and never made us feel rushed).

We ordered 5 rolls, Alaskan roll, Hawaiian roll, soft-shell crab roll, Kamikaze roll and a yellowtail roll.

Alaskan was very, very good, and so simple. But there was a big hunk of salmon in it, something you don't see in every sushi place. Hawaiian was good as well, but lacked a little oomph. I found the nutty taste too overwhelming. Soft shell was incredible, very crunchy, delicate sauce, one of the best. Kamikaze was good, not incredible, but average. Yellowtail tasted plain.

Overall, the food was extremely fresh. The avocado was just ripe, and I didn't feel like I was eating a stick of butter (I hate that). The roe was extremely good, the salmon was plentiful, it was a great meal.

Next time I'm in the area, I'll definitely go back. Also wanted to echo Mers' review that their nori is very fresh, and no soggy at all!

This new restaurant in Westboro is dissapointing . I've had much better sushi than here .

I'm afraid this posting is a less-than-positive review, although I am a fan of MHK.

Took my parents on Sunday night -- first time since they had completed the renovations. The resto is nice but the theme is not very clear and it's still kind of a mish-mash of decors. Anyhow, the new white (faux-)leather seats are quite comfy.

We ordered the spicy salmon rolls, soft-shell crab rolls, and lobster rolls. The soft-shell crab were by the best. I was greatly disappointed by the lobster rolls. The rolls were warm and I prefer them a bit colder -- might sound weird, but for you sushi aficionados, you probably know what I mean. I was really really looking forward to the sushi rolls but was overall not that impressed.

We also ordered the shrimp tempura (I didn't taste but they didn't look all the impressive -- rather puny compared to other restos). My mom had the wonton soup which she said was really good and quite authentic. My dad ordered the vanilla shrimp which on the menu sound interesting but in reality, are simply shrimp (the nice big ones at least) covered in a sweet mayonnaise. I ordered the Mongolian beef which was tasty but nothing spectacular.

Overall, I wasn't that impressed with the food and had been looking forward to eating at MHK for a few weeks. Previous visits had resulted in much better tastings. Anyhow, it's still on my "good" list for now.

Just a short comment on the service -- our waitress was very nice and kind. It took a long while for my mother to get her pot of hot tea though. The sushi counter was definitely busy. Our entrees came at the same time as our three appetizer rolls. Oh well, I got to eat sushi and Mongolian beef at the same time.

I eat sushi probably twice a week and this place didn't disappoint! I had the salmon sashimi and MHK Maki dinner(chef's choice, Hawaiian roll and Japanese bagel roll). The sashimi was perfectly chilled ( I hate warm sashimi but sadly it happens all too often) and the Japanese Bagel roll was perfection! I will be going back very soon.

Initially I was a big fan of MHK. I'm not a seafood person but I love non-sushi japanese & korean cuisine. I had been to the Merivale location 4 or 5 times for lunch and was always happy with the food and price.
That being said, the last time I visited MHK I had one of the worst service experience I have ever had at a restaurant... and I eat out a lot.
It was a busy lunch, and I was expecting the service to be a little slow. We waited to be seated for at few minutes (not an unreasonable amount of time) and were given a table by the front door. After the first five minute of no one bringing menus I flagged a server, who proceeded to drop a couple of them on our table as he rushed by us without a word. Time went by and the restaurant staff continued to walked by us with other peoples food. After half an hour, a large table across from us started to receive their order, despite being seated 10 mins after us.
In the 35 mins we were there we didn't recieve so much as a glass of water.
We left without anyone asking why and proceed to 1000 Islands Of Sushi. The quality is not quite as high as MHK but is excellent for $13 and we had our Miso soup within the first couple minutes of being seated.
Like I said, I really like the food at MHK. I'm sure that there was some sort of communication break down between floor staff. Still that kind of treatment is totally unacceptable. It will be a long time before I give them any more of my time or money.

I had lunch at the Westboro location last Friday.

The menu is different from the Merivale location menu. The Westboro location only serves sushi, so it doesn't offer any of the "prepared" foods like curry or pad thai.

I made the mistake of ordering the sushi lunch, which was pretty basic (california rolls, salmon, shrimp, etc.). It was okay, but was too common to really judge the quality of the restaurant. Next time I'll try the volcano roll among other things.

Yes, the Westboro location is now open! I should note that I gave it a try and they didn't offer the special "happy hour" menu from 8-10pm like the Merivale MHK location does.

As I said above, my boyfriend and I think that this place has the best sushi in Ottawa. I always get the vegetarian platter, and the staff is always nice about substituting out avacado (which I hate). The rice is always the perfect texture and flavour, and the seaweed wrappers are never soggy. I find the amount on the platter to be just right with soup and an appetizer.

This is so far my preferred sushi place in Ottawa. I was excited to see an old favorite "Hawaiian roll" on the menu (even if it only has a few nuts inside instead of being rolled in them! - it's not as flavorful as it could be, but it's a great price at $6.95). The Volcano roll is DEFINITELY HOT (spicy). Keep your beverage handy.

I see the majority seems to prefer Genji, but I did a take-out order from them and was really disappointed. Perhaps I'll try again?

It was nice and fresh.Pieces were a bit large and difficult to fit in mouth all in one bit as I believe is intended, but definitely means great portion sizes for your money. Usually not a Maki person but they do quite a good job here. On my next visit I will indulge in more.

The Volcano specialty roll was quite good and spicy, topped with baked octopus. Check out the neato avocado "leaves" on the side!

Nicely presented but not exceptional. The unagi maki was quite good but the bbq salmon skin maki was the driest I've had (and I always order salmon skin!).

I've only had the miso, but I have to agree with From Da Rock that it's very good. I prefer it a bit stronger, but I could just have spoiled myself by making it at home.

Miso Soup was bar none the best I ever had. Just wish it was given as a palate cleanser when ordering a main meal as is at other Japanese/sushi places.

Kimchi is usually good and this was no exception. The bonus is that it's complimentary! Highly recommended to satisfy you even if you've lost your sense of smell due to a cold! ;-)

Thanks to Tiana (user 15) for promoting these things.. they are yummy and very fun to eat! I think we'll be making a habit out of ordering edamame in the future.

This is the first time I see a tempura made like this! Obviously not the Japanese batter.

Look at this measly thing! Makes you want to cheer it up or something. I had a cold and couldn't taste much but wifey confirmed that there wasn't much flavour here.

These were decent. Light, crispy, not greasy, with a nice sweet chili sauce for dipping.

This was not good at all. There were little grease pools floating on top, it was a white orange colour, and had no flavour of lime whatsoever. The shrimp in it were very nicely done.

But here's the best (worst) part! This "tom yum" soup had pieces of what appeared to be frozen mixed peas/carrot/corn in it! Any other time I've had tom yum, it has contained thinly sliced mushrooms or chopped scallions. The default north american microwavable vegetable mix was a bit of a surprise.