Jodi on 
Erin on 
Eric on 
Bill Evans on 
I’ve kept Momo-Yama Sushi up my sleeve for a while but it’s time I share one of the best values for your money in Calgary if you love Japanese food.
Momo-Yama is a tiny place — seats 24 at best — tucked in the Glamorgan Shopping Centre (by the Safeway and bowling alley) in the southwest. They do a ridiculously busy take-out business that sometimes stretches to waits of up to 90 minutes. Luckily, they take reservations.
The menu is not huge, but has all your basic sushi rolls, sashimi and teriyakis. The sushi chef is always going non-stop, but you can tell he really enjoys himself and service is great.
We first came here on Arthur’s recommendation of the deep-fried soft shell crab which is amazing — especially for $9.25.
I love the chirashi sushi here — chirashi means “scattered” — pieces of sashimi over a bed of sushi rice.
I always order this if I see it on a menu because I think it tests the chef: chirashi should feature the restaurant’s freshest fish and show off what he can do with simple presentation.
Momo-Yama never disappoints. There are usually 10 or 11 thick pieces of fresh, fresh sashimi: salmon, tuna, toro (fatty tuna belly), octopus, halibut, sometimes calamari or shrimp, then some tamago, bean curd, and shredded daikon for texture.
I’ve seen chirashi priced anywhere from $20 to $30 — but never for $14.50. And that’s after Momo-Yama recently raised the price from $12.50!
You cannot ever accuse Momo-Yama of skimping. The beef tataki ($9.95) is twice the size of any other place I’ve had it at, and just as good, if not better. The tender rare slices in ponzu sauce come with spicy pureed radish and shredded daikon.
And that is a photo of the regular order of piping hot chicken katsu ($9.50). Trust me, we didn’t supersize it or anything, and it comes with rice and miso soup.
So there it is. The secret’s out. Now run and get some chirashi.
(NOTE: I think I saw a sign in the window that Momo-Yama might be closed for a couple of weeks in March for a family emergency, so best to call ahead these days to check.)
Momo-Yama Sushi, 3919 Richmond Rd. SW, Calgary, Alberta, (403) 233-0995. Open weekdays 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., 5-9 p.m., weekends 12-3, 5-9 p.m. Closed Tuesdays.
I love a good chirashi.
We actually have a very “Americanized” sushi place here (in upstate NY) that does a mean chirashi, especially when the head sushi chef is behind the line.
The craziest thing, though… It’s only $9.50
I know… crazy.
Thanks for a lovely review. My better half and I love Japanese. (OK, I am the one that can have Japanese food every day. (smile))
Will certainly give Momo-Yama Sushi a try.
Thanks for sharing your secret. (smile)
P.S. Lovely Flickr photos. I found your food photos of Zen Fine Chinese Cuisine indirectly from the mention in this *economics* blog link (smile),
http://www.marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2008/03/china-fact-of-t.html
Oops, what I meant to say was I Google Zen Fine Chinese Cuisine and saw your pix.
Good to know, “Zen is not fusion. Lau cooks zingy, authentic Chinese dishes, presented in a Western style.”
But wow, “6 courses can run from $55 to $188 per person” in 2006 dollars. A bit out of my price range. And I think I like the sharing aspect of Chinese food and not sure will I like having individual portions all dished out.
Thanks for those lovely pix anyways.
I have to say that I was very disappointed by the “sushi” at this establishment. I’m sure the hot food is very good but the sushi was subpar to say the least. The fish was average and the rice in the rolls and nigiri sushi was terrible (warm, over cooked, and under seasoned).
Sushi is not just raw fished slapped on a ball of rice…there’s a reason why in Japan the sushi chefs spend the first 2-3 years just learning how to make sushi rice.
I love your reviews but Momo-Yama is not a good sushi restaurant.
I tried Momo Yama based on your recommendation a little while back. I specifically went to try the beef tataki, because I’ve been looking for something comparable to the best beef tataki I ever had at Ichiban (87Ave, 149St) in Edmonton. I have to say that my girlfriend and I were disappointed by our overall meal.
While the beef tataki was definitely a large and generous portion, the ponzu sauce was very bland and lacked the kick that we are used to from Ichiban.
As far as the sushi goes, I agree with Bobby; very terrible. We ordered the spider roll, and what we got was soft shell crab that was the size of a rat. It was just this one big piece of what looked to be a small crab deep fried and battered beyond belief with some rice wrapped around it. Disgusting.
I would not recommend anyone to go there.
Alex: I’m sorry to hear you were disappointed with Momo Yama. I don’t really go there for the sushi; just the sashimi and the cooked foods.
Hey, it’s not your fault :p I’m glad that you blogged about such a place, even if it wasn’t the greatest Japanese restaurant. Now at least I know for myself, and I can tell others in the future. If anything, we need more local food bloggers like you to point out places like these so people can make their decision whether to eat there or not. Keep it up!
Wow. Am sorry to hear that so many people have had such poor experiences at Momoyama’s. I LOVE eating at this place and usually will eat here at least once every couple of weeks. I have never seen another place so generously include avocado in their rolls. 90% of the time when I have their salmon or tuna sushi it tastes excellent, with a real ‘creamy’ taste to the salmon or that bit of tartness to the tuna. Their unagi rolls have substantial amounts of unagi placed in them too; not like the countless places where you have to hunt for the little speck of unagi buried inside some roll.
But all the better that you guys don’t like it — the restaurant is busy enough as is!
Some mouth-watering photos you got there!