Koganei 小金井

One night, RL suggested we should try out this Japanese restaurant located in Woodbridge. Yes, Woodbridge, which is not too bad since we were coming from Richmond Hill anyway. Driving from the east to the west on Hwy 7… passing Vaughan Mills and Weston Rd., we saw this BDC building on our left. The Japanese restaurant wasn’t hard to spot because of all the red lanterns.

It was around dinner time 7-8pm. At the front of the entrance, we saw a lot of pictures on the wall. In those pictures, I could recognize some familiar faces – singers/actors from Hong Kong. There were a lot of customers and there were a lot of staff. That was basically the first thing I’ve noticed. Looking at the dining room and the menu, I understood why they need so many people. The selection was huge – salad, sunomono, soup, sushi pizza, special rolls, maki, sashimi, set course, party tray, noodle in soup, cold noodle, pan fried noodle, donburi, bento box, hotpot, etc. The place was called “Japanese Seafood Restaurant” and I could see people having king clam (geoduck) sashimi. But for some reasons, I don’t really like eating that fresh/uncooked (in general – not specific to any restaurant). On the other hand, I saw they have lobster sashimi and I’d love to have some. I’ve always remember the ones that I had in New Zealand.

For that night we ordered a sashimi/sushi combo, a quasi-yakisoba (wasn’t on the menu, but we asked for it anyway), and handrolls.

Overall, The quality of the sushi and sashimi was ok. The soba was a bit soggy. The handrolls were good.

We then visited this place again two weeks after. Yup, better not comment just based on one visit. What we ordered this time were: a Sashimi combo, a spider roll, handrolls and grilled squid. The sashimi was ok. Spider roll and handroll were both quite tasty. I like the grilled squid – the sauce was the essence.

The place seemed to be always busy. Compared to many restaurants, I’d say the staff at this restaurant are generally very attentive and polite. They’re like “chop chop”. If you need anything, they’ll take the order right away, and even if you don’t need anything, they’d come and check if everything’s ok (of course without disturbing you). All the staffs are Chinese. In fact, I think there’s another Koganei in Shanghai opened by the same owner. Based on my two visits, I’d say the sashimi is so-so, the cooked dishes are generally better, especially the sauce they use. The price was good. I guess, the thing I like most was the service – very energetic and quick response. Western vs. Asian customers was about 70/30.

FYI: Koganei Japanese Seafood Restaurant
3901 Hwy7 West, BDC Bldg.
Main Floor, Suite 103, Woodbridge
Tel: 905-265-2288
*Free delivery with order over $25 (before tax) within 10km