Delicious and affordable Sushi
xMay 1, 2006
xBy the Mystery Muncher

Finding a good sushi restaurant is difficult. Finding a delicious sushi restaurant where you can fill your belly for less than $15 is next to impossible. Yet the moderately-priced WasaBee Sushi on E. Chestnut Street in Bellingham proved me wrong in this assumption. Affordable sushi is no longer relegated to the hard and stale rolls in the supermarket deli section. This eater was ecstatic.

Ambience of the restaurant.
Inside, a small but elegant dining room with hardwood floors is host to only eight tables and our group of six had to wait more than 25 minutes to be seated but it was well worth it.

What the Mystery Muncher had.
This eater ordered the tempura prawn roll ($3.95 for six pieces); Tamago, a faintly-sweet Japanese rolled omelet placed neatly on top of a coin of rice and secured with seaweed ($1.95 for two pieces); and the Unagi, or fresh water eel, which is broiled, steamed, and then broiled again with a rich barbeque sauce made of soy sauce and rice wine ($2.95 for two generous pieces).

A friend ordered the Spicy WasaBee combination plate, which was more than a bargain at with six pieces of spicy tuna roll; six assorted pieces of Nigi sushi (slices of fresh fish placed on top of a sushi rice square) that included tuna, salmon, Hamachi, Tai, unagi and Super White tuna; and a bowl of tofu miso soup ($9.95).

The Caterpillar Roll ($6.95), however, was the star of the meal as everyone at our table wanted a piece of it. A generously-sized roll of imitation crab (surimi), pickled Mountain Burdock root and Tobiko (flying fish roe) were wrapped in alternating light and dark green slivers of avocado creating the illusion of insect stripes. The two sunflower sprouts carefully placed at the "head," however, made the food almost too visually appealing to eat.

About the service.
Service was friendly and accommodating and dishes were served neatly on attractive ware (which made us slightly embarassed at the mess we left behind).

Apparently, word of mouth has been an effective tool of advertising as one can expect at least a 30-minute wait on Friday and Saturday nights. Reservations are recommended.

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5-1-2006

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