Kenko Japanese Cuisine (Closed)

Kenko is one of those delicious restaurants that is pretty much impossible to find, even when you’re looking for it. If someone asks me where to go for sushi, chances are that one of my answers would be Kenko. It’s located in the same building as B Bim Baab, in the southside industrial area of the city. The main focus at Kenko is sushi, which is very fresh and presented nicely. The menu has tons and tons of sushi to choose from! I’m serious, the menu is pretty much endless. Along with sushi you can choose from tempura, teriyaki, udon, and dinner combinations (there’s a dinner boat). The atmosphere of the restaurant can be described as warm and inviting, as the service was friendly and attentive. Even with the nice presentation and decent portions, the pricing at Kenko is reasonable and not overpriced!

To start off our meal, we had beef tataki ($15.95). This was one of the best beef tatakis that I’ve ever had in my life! The beef was thinly seared and the Ponzu sauce wasn’t too overpowering or bland, with a slightly tangy taste. The beef tataki was topped off with white onions to add a crunch to the plate. The portion was quite big as well (we shared it between 6 people).

Our dinner also included a small portion of fresh edamame beans to share while awaiting our sushi.

Another beautifully presented plate was the the salmon sashimi ($19.95). At Kenko, you have the option of choosing 4 different appetizer servings of sashimi with different prices: salmon or tuna, salmon and tuna, assorted fish, or red tuna. The salmon sashimi that we ordered was fresh and wasn’t sliced too thin or thick.

The Master roll ($15.95/8 pieces) leaned towards the spicier side. It had a combination of chopped scallop, cucumber, mayo, and tobiko. The rolls were topped with spicy mayo scallop, masago, furifake, and their special sauce. 

The Double Double ($13.96/8 pieces) rolls were my personal favorite. They were tempura shrimp rolls topped with shrimp, avocado, sesame seeds, and slightly covered in a special sauce that tasted similar to a teriyaki sauce. I wish I could’ve eaten this whole thing by myself…

The Volcano rolls ($17.50/8 pieces) was a literally a volcano of spicy rolls. It was filled with avocado and tempura eel, with its topping being chopped squid, spicy mayo tobiko sauce, and tempura crumbs to add a crunch.

The TNT rolls ($13.95/8 pieces) is one of their popular dishes. Each roll was filled with avocado, cucumber, and crab stick. It was topped with tempura shrimp, masago, sesame seeds, and then artfully drizzled with three different sauces. I can see why these rolls are so popular as the final taste of it wasn’t too much and had the right amount of tanginess while still remaining savoury.

We were running out of rolls to order so the waitress recommended the White House rolls ($13.95/5 pieces) to us. Filled with many types of seafood – assorted fish, scallop, cooked shrimp – the rolls also contained avocado, tobiko, and mayo sauce while being wrapped up in pickled radish crepe. These rolls were definitely different and had a lighter taste compared to all the other rolls! It was a refreshing addition to our dinner.

The verdict? Kenko Sushi is definitely worth the search and is one of Edmonton’s hidden gems. With the amount of typical sushi restaurants in the city nowadays, Kenko stands out!