Kenko Niwa

* Not to be confused with Kenko (the original)

Cuisine: Japanese (Sushi)
Area: Confusion Corner
Address: 631 Corydon Avenue 
Number: (204) 452-3656
Hours: Usually opens daily around 11:30 AM and closes pretty late. Don't quote me though; hours
are a bit hit and miss here.
Price range: ($$1/2) out of ($$$$$)
Star rating? uh.... 3.5 out of 5


Special Interest: They have really good lunch and dinner box specials where you can pick and choose your own meal for a decent price. The seafood and fish come from Gimli Market so it's semi-local (har-de-har-har).


Sushi is definitely one of my all time favourite areas of cuisine, so just a fair warning that my opinion may be a bit biased in this area. I really lean towards picking sushi if everyone else doesn't know what they want but at the same time, I'm pretty picky with where we get it from.


Kenki Niwa is one of three places in the city that I love when considering where to get sushi (I'll be covering those in later posts). It branched off of the original Kenko (which is just a heartbeat away on the same street) but is not entirely the same restaurant; similar menu (but not quite the same) and different owners. Contrary to the norm in Winnipeg, the sushi here comes in delicately packaged bundles that are perfect bite-sized morsels packed full of flavor. My personal fave: the T.N.T roll. There's a picture on the menu if you're curious what it's all about but it essentially is a glamorized dynamite roll. There's also a good version of the roll in shrimp tempura form (or tofu tempura for all my vegetarian friends). 


A roll that is really delicious and is not on the menu anymore is the Cherry Blossom. I can't remember what is in it exactly but it is delicious; you'll have to ask the waitresses for it. Some special items that I enjoy are the Gyu Tataki (Japanese-marinated steak; seared rare and served with ginger and onion and special dipping sauces) and Ika Tataki (tender, simple, char-grilled cuttlefish that is only there seasonally). For drinks, the restaurant carries some basic house spirits but does carry Sojo which according to a friend of mine who has spent quite some time living in Korea, is the best (yet overly priced here) Saki.


Environment:
The staff here is usually pretty friendly; and by staff I mean the waitresses because the sushi chefs are just geared up to work-- they won't talk much except to say 'bye!'. Not that that's a highly important factor but I do like to converse with the chefs sometimes to get their input and recommendations for my meal. The food comes out pretty quickly but during rushes, your order can sometimes be pushed to the back if you don't ask about it. Lunches get pretty packed because of the specials and Saturday night is pretty crazy too.

The restaurant is dimly lit and has a semi-modern feel to it -- just enough that it's still a bit cozy. There's a hidden room in the back for larger parties which has much more accommodating washrooms. In the summer, the restaurant opens up to a really lovely patio but it is adorned cheap plastic patio decor; and the season really does dictate the use -- in August, there are way too many wasps to sit outside with your meal.






End post.