Eat and Relax in Ajax

Eat and Relax in Ajax

Ontario is bordered by Manitoba to its west, Hudson Bay to its north, Quebec to its east, and by three US states to its south. Ajax is a quiet town located in the Golden Horseshoe of Southern Ontario, neighboring the city of Pickering to the west and north and the town of Whitby to the east.

If you are living in Ajax and long to feast on quality Japanese cuisine, you do not need to plan a long trip to Asia. Thousand miles from Japan, there’s the stylish Sushi & Rolls Japanese Restaurant on Bayly Street in Ajax. Featuring a variety of sushi, rolls, sashimi, and other Japanese culinary delights, it is no exaggeration to call it a mecca of authentic and innovative Japanese food.

The restaurant was first founded in August of 2000 by Chun Kwong Han. It later moved to a larger establishment covering an area of 2,000ft2 in May 2009. The present location which is conveniently located in a busy area in the center of town is surrounded by a bustling outdoor plaza, the Baywood Center, small businesses, and several residential areas.

Stepping into Sushi & Rolls Japanese Restaurant, you may feel like you have been transported thousands of miles across the Pacific Ocean. Soft music and the aroma of dishes like Tempura serenade customers as they marvel at the interior. A lot of money and creativity has gone into the interior. While serious about sushi, the gorgeous pictures of tasty Japanese specialties help build up the ambience of the restaurant, giving customers a more authentic Japanese experience. Be prepared to enjoy a feeling of tranquility only interrupted by an eruption of flavor corresponding with each bite of sushi.

On the Menu

Take a glimpse at Sushi & Rolls Japanese Restaurant’s menu and enjoy a real Yamato feast. The menus have colorful pictures that help customers choose what to order when they might not be too familiar with the offerings. It’s also a great guide for first time diners. You will probably find your favorite dish on this lengthy list. However, its sheer length may make you a bit lightheaded. Don’t worry. The knowledgeable staff is available to guide you through the dazzling selection of menu items. In addition, you can also sit around the sushi bar and watch how the chef carefully slices, cuts, or dices the fresh tuna and salmon, then arranges it so as to whet the appetite.

Sushi & Rolls has more to offer than its name might hint at. There are a wide range of soups including spicy miso and clear soup. Salads with Japanese dressing, and all sorts of scrumptious Japanese appetizers, snacks, are available as well as rice and noodle dishes. You’ll find teriyaki beef and chicken, Tempura, and sushi and sashimi sushi rolls in a dazzling array of styles. To round out the meal, customers can have Japanese sake and bubble tea to complement the palatable dishes.

There is something that makes this restaurant unique. Besides tempura dishes, have you ever wondered if sushi rolls could be deep fried? You may feel a tremor of joy when you are served the “Basketball Roll,” “Baseball Roll,” “Hockey Roll,” and “Volcano Roll,” four of the restaurant’s original deep-fried sushi roll creations. “I found out that most of the people here are interesting in two things: doing sports and eating deep-fried food. And it gave me an idea,” Han says. The result is a modern interpretation of some creative dishes, with these deep-fried sushi rolls being named after different sports. Besides that you can also try the one-of-a-kind Sushi Pizza, which is a good choice for those who desire to sample a few different things at the same time (perhaps a sort of Italian-Japanese style dining experience).

Japanese cuisine has been exported to different countries and became popular because of its visually appealing presentation and its strong emphasis on quality and freshness. You may sense it immediately when you plunge your chopsticks into the sushi, sashimi, or other delicately prepared food. At Sushi & Rolls Japanese Restaurant, a quality driven concept has been instilled in the management. When dealing with raw food, especially fish, it is critical that the quality is topnotch. Han is fully in control of all the ingredients purchased. He and his kitchen staff check all goods to confirm their quality before accepting shipments.

The Road to Success…

Bringing in traffic and building up customer loyalty are hard work. Han knew before opening up Sushi & Rolls that operating a restaurant would be quite difficult. He recalls that when he began Sushi & Rolls in 2000, there were only two Japanese restaurants in Ajax. “At that time we had to persuade customers to try Japanese food because some of them were reluctant to eat raw fish.” Yet over time he succeeded in convincing customers that his offerings were of the highest quality.

It’s hard to define authentic Japanese flavor for Canadians, for it’s believed that 90% of them haven’t tasted real Japanese food. As one of the pioneers of Japanese cuisine in the city, Han believes that while service is essential, food should be the priority. The business he runs involves every aspect from quality control, staff management, marketing strategy to financial management. Despites being armed with over a decade of experience working at other Japanese restaurants, Han admits that there’s still a lot that he can learn. “My knowledge of the Japanese restaurant industry is still very limited. I’m a believer of continuous learning and will strive to learn more in the hopes of bettering my business.”

Han likes Japanese food because, he says, it is edible art. He’s greatly attracted by its delicate preparation and beautiful presentation. “When I make sushi or rolls, I try to make them in the most beautiful way.”