Kimchi Sushi South, Passable Japanese but Good Korean

Exploring the vast amount of Korean and/or Japanese restaurants in Winnipeg is a difficult endeavour and I am still amazed each day as new places pop up. Kimchi Sushi had been on my radar for a long time; a pleasant and appealing restaurant that offers a mix of both Japanese and Korean is always worth a try for me. And so off we went on a pleasant early winter night in to Kimchi Sushi.

Kimchi Sushi is located on Pembina Highway in the Fort Garry area in a small stripmall. The bright and fluorescent signage is easy to spot and pleasing to the eye; clearly effort was made to enhance Kimchi Sushi's presentation. The same can be said of their interior decor: dim lighting covers semi private booths adorned with large pieces of traditional art overlaying solid wooden tables and comfortable chairs. A fancy electrical call system alerts your waitress of any requests.
I have a bias against restaurants that do combination menus. Kimchi Sushi, as per its name, attempts to offer both Korean and Japanese cuisine and while the variety is vast, I could not help but sense that the dishes seem imitative rather than impressive. The standard maki, sashimi and typical rolls are all there, as are noodle dishes like Udon and Soba. The Korean side of things are rather limited but include the classics like Bibimbap, Japchae or Gamjatang. I wish the owners have the confidence to explore one of these cuisines completely rather than attempt to offer both haphazardly.

Yam Tempura was solid. Nice and crunchy on its exterior while velvety smooth on the inside. Perfectly fried, the vegetable rings were not overbattered nor overfried.Good Gamjatang is determined by its soup broth and Kimchi's deep and rich porky base is great. The Korean bean paste gives a nice sense of spicy and sweet that is punctuated by the fattiness of the pork. While I wish there were more and larger pieces of pork bone, what did arrive was fall off the bone tender and perfectly cooked. Potatoes in the broth are the final icing as they soaked up all the flavour from the other ingredients. Kimchi Sushi serves their Gamjatang with three banchans and a bowl of rice.
I have always loved the visual of a Caterpillar Roll as it slinks around your plate. The version here was passable; indeed all the ingredients were there including sizable chunks of avocado topping a cucumber roll and finished with masago (the orange roe). I was disappointed by the amount of eel found on the roll which was completely enveloped by the huge slices of avocado. And while there was a hint of sweetness in the "secret" sauce drizzled on the roll, the taste of creamy avocado overwhelmed the roll.

Kimchi Sushi makes passable Japanese but good Korean cuisine. And while the initial impression of the restaurant is good, the food ultimately is not up to par with others in town and thus can only be recommended if in a pinch or in a group wanting both Japanese and Korean.