SUSHI TAXI

After a crazy weekend on the road, visiting our families and friends, and before we got home, we went to Sushi Taxi, expecting a great play time in a beautiful place. We arrived very early for dinner, but we were nicely welcomed and were told it was not a problem.

Alex and I have been waiting for that play time at Sushi Taxi for a while, since it’s 2 hours from home to get there. But it worth the wait and the distance. Always. It’s our fourth time there, and each time we get in, we are stunned by the style and the ambiance. It’s a combination of modern and retro elements in shades of black, white and fuchsia, which gives an incredibly nice atmosphere. A really nice selection of world music is playing, and if the place is still empty because we are very early, it will fill up quickly as it’s a very pleasant place.

Alex and I are both hungry, so we quickly order an appetizer and two selections of nigiri to share. I ask the waitress to recommend us an appetizer between the calamari salad and the fried calamari, and she recommends the fried ones, telling us that they are different from other places calamari, and very nice. She also recommends us albacore tuna and cajun salmon nigiris, which we order. When the plate gets on the table we are not surprised, but still impressed by its beauty: Sushi Taxi’s plates are always stunning! I’ve never seen two similar presentations in that place, even when I look at other tables. The albacore tuna nigiri, an eco responsible alternative to red tuna, is absolutely delicious and very fresh, it melts in the mouth and has a very subtle lemon flavor. The cajun salmon is really nice too, but we both think it could be a little tastier: we were waiting for a little more flavor. The cuts are very nicely done, even if a Nomad would have like it a bit larger, according to Sushi Nomads standards. Now let’s talk about those fried calamari: the best we’ve ever had. It’s hot, spicy, crispy on the outside and really tender on the inside, and the crispy coating is not too thick, like it is too often with restaurant calamari. Served with the Taxi sauce (seems to be spicy mayo topped with a sweet, dark sauce that looks like teriyaki), it brings us to heaven.

Fried calamari, cajun salmon and albacore tuna nigiris, served with the yummy Taxi sauce.

We take a little time to choose our rolls. I want to try something new, even if I have my favorites at Sushi Taxi, while Alex feels a bit more conservative and choose 3 rolls he already knows: the Valdez, the Hawaii 5-0 and the Oeil de tigre (Eye of the tiger). I go for one of my favorites: the Winnie, and three I’ve never tried: the Hocho, the Miyagi and the Hanoï.

The plates are beautiful, and we get very excited while the waitress kindly explains what’s in each roll. I have to say that here in Canada, the rolls usually contain 4 or 5 pieces and are served all together in one large plate (saw that USA sushi are often served individually, one roll per plate, and 8 pieces per roll). The Valdez roll, wrapped in rice paper, contains crabmeat, avocado, tempura, masago, shallot, lettuce and mât sauce. It melts in the mouth, and while the flavors are delicate, the whole roll is tasty. The one called Hawaii 5-0 is made of cajun grilled salmon, tuna tartare, avocado, tempura, honey, mât sauce, rolled in rice paper and topped with strawberry slices. What could we say? This one is mild, tender, sweet, and the flavor mix is very harmonious. Alex also has the Oeil de tigre on his plate: salmon, avocado, roasted red pepper, shallot and cream cheese, fried in a panko tempura batter, and served with Taxi sauce. Perfectly fried: not too hot, crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside. The roasted pepper / cream cheese combination is very interesting, and the Taxi sauce is a perfect addition.

Valdez roll is in front.

Hawaii 5-0 roll.

The Oeil de tigre.

Let’s see what’s in my plate now! First: the Winnie roll, that was already a favorite of mine: salmon tartare, green apple, mango and cream cheese, fried in coconut tempura, sprinkled with honey, and served with the Taxi sauce. Tastes like heaven! The sweetness of honey mixes perfectly with the spicy sauce. My only point: I’d like to see more stuff inside this roll. The mango and salmon amounts could be more generous.

Up next we have the Hanoï roll. Made with eel, avocado, mango, basil, tempura, coconut, spicy sauce and unagi sauce. I wasn’t sure about the eel, but the waitress recommended that I try it, and I don’t regret I listened to her! The roll is sweet and the fish, soft. Again, the flavor mix is insane, fresh basil giving a very particular and interesting taste, and the textures are perfect.

The Hocho roll, made from a huge tempura tiger shrimp, basil, cucumber, coconut, avocado and spicy sauce, and topped with masago, was awesome. That shrimp was crunchy, sweet, tasty, probably the best shrimp we’ve ever tasted. Another fantastic roll!

Finally, we had the Miyagi roll: spicy salmon tartare, avocado, cucumber, shallot and tempura, wrapped in rice paper and topped with tataki tuna and mât sauce. That is the best sushi I’ve ever had! It was simple yet tasty, and the whole thing melted in my mouth so nicely, I almost ordered another one! And Alex agreed that it was just fabulous!

From left to right: Miyagi roll, Hanoï roll, Hocho roll and the famous Winnie.

We were really happy with the service we got: our waitress gave us recommendations, what we appreciated, and she gave us a top notch service, filling our glasses with water often (even if the bottle was on our table), and being present to answer our questions and to check if everything was ok. In fact, everything was more than ok. Oh, and the chef brought us sushi dessert that was eaten really fast even if we didn’t have place left in our stomachs… That mix of fruit and chocolate, with a crunchy texture, was pure goodness, not too sweet, not too heavy, just terrific! Thank you, chef!

Sushi Taxi All Rolled Up

We can say that we tried a lot of “best sushi restaurants” in Québec city, according to persons we know, but now we are sure that Sushi Taxi is THE sushi place in Québec city, maybe in Québec province. And just to make it better, they are eco friendly: they use recycled cardboard boxes for take outs and recycled paper napkins, reusable sticks in the restaurant, they avoid overfished products, and they have many other ways to protect environment. Way to go!