Tokyo Maki Sushi Buffet AYCE -Pretty Good, Brampton
Tokyo Maki Sushi Buffet
2 Bartley Bull Dr , corner of Hurontario
905-456-3988
AYCE Lunch $13 Mon-Thurs, $14 Fri-Sun and holidays
AYCE Dinner $20.50
Set meals at various prices
Lunch to 4pm
Despite (?) the name, this place is Chinese owned. I broke a vow by eating there- no more non-Japanese owned "Japanese" restuarants! But I was hungry, and it was too late for lunch at my troughs of choice in these parts, Tucker's Marketplace and My Big Fat Greek Buffet.. So I succumbed to the words, AYCE, and permitted them to inspire. "Buffet" in the sense that you order off a list and the dishes are brought to you.
The place turned out to have been open for three days (15 OCT). The food was pretty good and some items were quite tasty . Can't be compared to Hashimoto- not exquisite, and enough to eat. So I would be happy to return to TMS but not to Hashimoto. $13 at lunch is a low price which enhances pleasure
Chacun a son gout.
VVM
Vinnie Vidimangi
Oct 16, 2009 08:10AM
Thanks for the tip VVM. I will drop by on my way home from work next week and report back. Lunch 'til 4 pm sounds perfect. Have you ever tried the AYCE on Kennedy Road?
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No. What is it called?
Incidentally, I didn't have a MSG problem, but I avoided the miso soup at TMSB, which I am told is almost always loaded if made from a base, which it usually is.
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The place has a big sign that says "Sushi Buffet" but the name is Sushi 168. It's pretty good. Looking forward to try this new one next time I'm in Brampton.
BTW, do NOT go to the AYCE sushi near the downtown bus terminal, everything was bad, including the tea. I had to order the watery Sprite to drink instead and I almost never touch pop.
edit: thanks to Google Steet maps, found it's Sushi Brampton on George that is to be avoided.
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You are trying to refer to 168 Sushi Japan Buffet which has been in business at 168 Kennedy Road South for 3 years. It is the best Japanese restaurant in Brampton, followed by Sushi House (Main and Church). Sushi Brampton is a candidate for closure.
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I have been to Tokyo Maki Sushi twice and found the food to be disappointing both times. Most items I tried were rather tasteless. You did not miss anything by not trying the Miso Soup. It was thin. The food at 168 Sushi Japan Buffet is much better.
I had to laugh at the comment that you rarely go to non Japanese owned Sushi Restaurants. As immigration from Japan has been minimal during the last 40 years, there are extremely few Sushi restaurants in Canada run by people born and trained in Japan.
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Thank you for drawing 168 Sushi Buffet to my attention. I would never have found it on my own.I shgould tell you that Japanese cuisine is not an area in which I claim to be authoritative.
I stopped going to AYCE Japanese places because I thought they continued bad elements from bad styles of the proprietors' native cuisine, either Chinese or Korean. Tokyo Maki etc. was OK. It was the only one that I had gone to to which I had any desire to return. The food was nowhere near Konichiwa, particularly on a good day (Japanese owners, ex- Prince Hotel) but at least the tastes were "clean". A couple things were quite OK, eg the donburri, and the famous ancient dish, salmon pizza. There were no out and out loser to my taste. But they had only been open for three days. Who knows what they will be like when they settle in.
168 Buffet wasn't a real improvement in my round eyes. But there were some things that werre bad. The salmon pizza slice, the mackeral sushi and the (second) little grilled mackeral. The nice things in the roll and sushi were meagre.
But in both places there was enough to eat, which beats Hashimoto, and my Japanese friend says that Hashimoto is boring. I think that I would prefer Tokyo Maki. But really I should grow up and get over my AYCE fascination and spend a few dollars more and go to Konichiwa. If only they had free parking.
But really, once you know your way around the menu, quite OK for a $13-14 lunch. Wouldn't want ot go for supper at motre money though.
VVM
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I drove by Tokyo Maki Sushi at noon yesterday and saw only a few cars (mainly staff). I went to 168 Japan Buffet and found the place very busy even though it was just 12:05. The people have spoken.
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Tokyo etc opened 12OCT09. Not enough time has passed for them to become an overnight sensation. Furthermore, Joanne Kates hasn't discovered it yet.
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Went on Saturday night, by 6pm our half of the resto was full. On the whole I prefer 168 because of the larger selection, and a couple of things were not good here. Salmon skin roll - skin was prefried a long while ago - chewey and fishy. California roll has no tobiko. Chicken karaage was almost unseasoned. "Fried rice" was hardly fried - was still pure white. The sashimi seemed ok but at AYCE I concentrate on cooked foods. So I probably won't be back.
Service was very good though, better than 168.
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I endured dinner at Tokyo Maki this evening. I ordered a variety of items, from toriyaki (chicken skewers) to sashimi to beef fried rice to Black Dragon rolls. Everything ranged from mediocre to poor. I didn't finish three dishes and explained to the server that I was sending them back even though I was still hungry. Honestly, the cooks should be ashamed of the poor excuse for Asian food served here. Everything could be described with one or more of these adjectives: bland, fishy, mushy, overcooked, inedible, etc. This is the first place I have actually spat out food half-way through chewing. Beef in the so-called fried rice? Ended up in my napkin. Red snapper sashimi? Same fate. I wish I could sue someone for the $23 I spent. In fairness, the one saving grace was the "snow crab" sashimi -- which turned out to be a tasty, spicy mound of crab atop a cucumber slice. I wish I had ordered the chicken wings instead of the boring karaage though perhaps they just look good and taste equally boring.
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These adventures are better at lunch which is $10 cheaper and therefore less frustrating.
In the month that they have opened they seem to have gone from simplistically clean to tasteless to yuk. I think that I will reaffirm my vow, no more non-Japanese owned "Japanese" restaurants. Thank you for your sacrifice.
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I need to stop "trailblazing" in Brampton, and I also need to stop following "pretty good" recs. Frankly, unless someone says food is "mind-blowing" I'm no longer game.
I swear I heard staff speaking Japanese in the background.
Have you been to Kumai at Hurontario and Britannia?
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Tell me, FT, what is excellent, let alone "mind blowing" in Toronto? By excellent, I mean that everything that comes to the table is good, and by good I mean competent and not screwed up, regardless of the level of the restaurant.
What can one' s expectations be of a Chinese owned (I asked) "Japanese" AYCE buffet with a $13 lunch?
I think thathe soultion for both of us is
(a) go on a diet, (b) learn to cook.
I only know how to eat.
Haven't been to Kumai. Please advise.
VVM
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If a few veteran CHers declare a place "mind-blowing" or excellent, then I can usually expect competent, above average food. I say usually, because it depends on the 'hound and whether or not their tastebuds match mine.
Trust me, I went into Tokyo Maki with low expectations that were not low enough.
Good solutions. I would add (c) marry a chef whose tastebuds match my preferences.
If you check out my profile, my list of favourite restaurants includes a handful of places in the GTA that are consistently above average and can be mind-blowing.
Order the omakase sushi platter at Kumai. You'll drop more than $40 but you should get a higher class of fish than AYCE. One disclaimer: the last time I went for lunch, the fish quality had dropped. I'm hoping it is not a trend, but I will have to return soon to be sure.
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