Judging from the restaurants I've critiqued/shared here; one would rightly guess that I enjoy poking about in some of the smaller/independent establishments.  It isn't that I think large franchised chains aren't good...They're tried and true and so the excitement isn't always there.  There's always a couple of great places that I keep in mind when dinnering with multiple people with multiple tastes or for that one or two picky friends of mind.  However, generally speaking, I do like to poke around in different places...Sometimes it leads to disappointment but most often than not, I leave feeling satisfied. 

Tucked away in the tiny corner of the plaza on Midland Av. and Finch Av. is tiny Hanabi Sushi.  You almost have to be looking for it purposefully...The sign is big but it's recessed back almost as if it it's keeping itself a secret.  And no wonder!  The food is good, the price is right but the place is small that you almost don't want too many people to know about it.  Yes, the place is small, the congee and miso soup has more of a Korean flavour to it...But it tastes good to me so I'm not complaining.  It may not be a place for a cosy romantic rendez-vous; but it's a good place to hunker down with close buddies. 

The dinner menu is simple and range from about $8 - $15 or thereabouts and each set starts of with a little bowl of congee, then a salad, a cold dish sampler, followed by miso soup; your main dish and finally a little scoop of green tea ice cream.  An overall satisfying meal.  

One of the sets ordered was the chirashi rice set...A mixed cut of various fish over rice.  The host warned that there would only be salmon that evening and promised it would be very fresh.  It truly was!  I didn't even mind not having a variety of fish; the salmon being that succulent and tasty!  

That's right!  You read the title correctly...Carb-free sushi at Tekka Sushi.  How?  By eleminating the rice!  I was skeptical about it but figured if it's going to help with my low-carb diet, might was well try it.  And I'm glad I did!  

It's a refreshing sushi, more suitable for the warmer months but just as tasty now.  Crab meat, salmon, tuna and avocado rolled up in thin slivers of fresh, crunchy cucumber slices.  Very tasty!

The other dishes ordered were good but didn't really stand out.  We had an order of gyozas...They brought out two accidentally and we just weren't sure if they had split the dish into two portions.  We finally asked and then they took it away.  mm, wouldn't have minded if they just decided to give it to us...There weren't too many other diners at that time anyway.  The deep fried tofu tasted as expected but the  chicken terriyaki was thin and this resulted it being dry. 

The restaurant functions as a buffet but as we were only in a nibbly mood, we opted for the a-la carte.  If we do come back, it'll be to try the buffet or to have more of the no-rice sushi!