BC Ferries take passengers around beautiful British Columbia (BC) Canada by sea. Start off in bustling and cosmopolitan Vancouver, and ride the ferry over to Vancouver Island. On the island you’ll find Victoria, the capital city of BC and a popular tourist destination.
Looking for a longer trip further off the beaten path? Visit the smaller towns on the Island such as Tofino, Ucluelet, Naniamo, Qualicum Beach, Courtenay, and more. The ferries will also take you to the serene and scenic Gulf Islands.
This summer I left the mainland quite a few times, and fortunately for me, there is food service available on board the ferries and in the terminal cafeterias.
Pictured below is some sushi and a ham sandwich (around $10) purchased from the Bread Garden cafeteria at the Swartz Bay Terminal. I bought it while I was waiting in line to go back to Vancouver (incidentally after playing a piano gig in Victoria with vocalist Peggy Hogan’s group – live recording here).
I am a little hesitant to admit that after my 4th ferry trip this summer I started developing a taste for – or rather, an addiction to – the Bread Garden sushi. It is now one of my favorite items offered by the BC Ferries food service – but sushi aficionados will tell you that is a far cry from what you can find in most land-based sushi restaurants in Vancouver or Victoria. One upside about the Bread Garden sushi is that a generous amount of wasabi and pickled ginger is provided, as well as chopsticks.
I put together a short travel video (accessible in the player below, or on Youtube) from a trip I took last year on BC Ferries from Vancouver to Victoria. The video shows some of the food and shopping available at the Tsawassen Terminal and sunset views of the Gulf Islands taken from the ferry itself.
For more ferry food, check out my photo of the salmon entree from the on-board BC Ferries White Spot cafeteria, or the smoked salmon bagel I had at the BC Ferries Tsawassen Terminal (on the Vancouver side). Happy sailing!
BC Ferries Bread Garden Sushi (California roll, around $5)
Ham and swiss sandwich from the BC Ferries Cafeteria (around $5.00)
19,995 views - Posted Tuesday, September 15th, 2009
Toyama Japanese Restaurant (web site, map, 757 Seymour Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada, phone: 604-688-3256) is a new “all you can eat” sushi restaurant that is open from 11am till midnight every day. Price is $11.95 for the all you can eat menu at lunch time, and $20.95 at dinner time. (They also have a late night price that is reduced to around $11 as well).
Toyama has been getting good reviews from visitors on the website DineHere.ca (click here to read), including galvinkuo2 who writes:
We really like this place and are considered regulars. Food is always fresh and very tasty. This is the best place for the price you can find in Downtown, too bad they don’t have all you can eat sashimi during lunch time, But Our suggestion is to go for a lunch all you can eat menu option. We always go for a lot of salmon sushi since this is the best place to get it. And of course the Oyster Motoyaki are “the must try” and the New stuff “BBQ Korean Pork” spicy and tasty!!
Pictured below are some of the items we ordered. I’m definitely going to go back to Toyama Sushi, maybe even on a regular basis!
Nigiri sushi from Toyama Japanese Restaurant
Sushi cones from Toyama Sushi - All You Can Eat Japanese restaurant downtown
Alaska roll and chopped scallop roll sushi
Assorted sushi from Toyama All You Can Eat Chinese/Japanese food
Assorted Nigiri Sushi from Toyama All You Can Eat Sushi restaurant downtown.
Last weekend I visited Sai-Z Japanese Restaurant in Kitsilano (web site, map, 3116 W Broadway, Vancouver, BC, Canada, phone: 604-732-7249).
I was sad to read on their website that they are closing on July 12th 2009. Hope this is only temporary and they will be back soon! Here’s your chance to experience this great restaurant before they close.
[A] hot appetizer we had was this noodle wrapped and deep-fried shrimp served with a spicy mayo dip. The contrast between the crispy exterior and the plump, juicy shrimp inside was superb […] Each [sushi] piece was densely packed, making it feel more filling than it already was […] The fish was good, each fresh and succulent, and not too big that it would take more then one mouthful.
All the dishes were beautifully presented and were a creative notch above the typical Japanese restaurant you’ll find around town.
I enjoyed the Sashimi Salad ($7.50, pictured below), a delightful arrangement of green salad topped with a variety of raw seafood.
For an appetizer I ate the Ebi Chili Mayo ($5.50, also pictured below), which is a generous serving of deep fried prawns covered in mayonnaise and sprinkled with Japanese masago (smelt roe) garnish. These were some of the best Ebi Mayo prawns I have had around town – it’s a shame the restaurant is closing soon or else I would definitely go back to have them again.
As for sushi, we ordered the Papaya Avocado Salmon Roll, which is reasonably priced at $5.50 (also pictured below) – and you can see from the photo that it was very pleasing to the eye.
The chef at Sai-z makes quite a daring and delicious decision to combine papaya, avocado, and salmon. The roll we ordered also had some lettuce in it, and I felt the lettuce made the sushi a bit too watery, but it was refreshing and tasty nevertheless.
My vegetarian friend ordered the Vegetarian Sushi Combo (also pictured below) which was great looking, yummy, and affordable (maybe around $6 to 8?).
A complimentary Salmon Skin appetizer from the chef at SaiZ Japanese Restaurant in Kitsilano, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Sashimi Salad from Sai-Z Japanese Restaurant ($7.50)
Vegetarian Sushi Combo from Sai-Z Japanese Tapas restaurant in Vancouver.
Ebi Chili Mayo prawns ($5.50) from Saiz Japanese Restaurant in Vancouver.
Papaya Avocado Salmon Roll sushi ($5.50) from Sai-z Japanese Restaurant in Vancouver BC Canada.
Another shot of the Papaya Avocado Salmon Roll Sushi from Sai-Z Japanese Restaurant in Vancouver BC Canada.
