I’ll be the first one to admit that this was not the most scientific quest I’ve done. There were no scoring sheets, and not a particularly consistent body of questers – but much thanks to Denton, PhotoJenn and Talix for their dedicated attendance!

This quest was more of a learning experience for me, as I hone in my sushi appreciation skills and industry knowledge.

Thanks also goes out to Scott Thompson of the Fisherman’s Market for tagging along at Sushi Jet and schoolin’ us!

One thing I’m struck by is the sometimes subtle, sometimes blatant mislabeling of food at our AYCE sushi restaurants. Here are a few things you will encounter:

Gyoza = deep fried dumplings, not pot stickers
Butterfish = escolar (tasty, but limit your portions)
White Tuna = also escolar (in no way is this tuna)
Black Cod = basa
Crab = surimi
Deep Fried Scallop = surimi

There are a few mysteries I haven’t unraveled yet – like, do most sushi restaurants make their tamago in-house?
Why is butterfish so abundant and albacore tuna so scarce when they are roughly the same price?

Obviously I have more work to do. But here are my AYCE findings, as they stand:

The Places

Wasabi Asian Cuisine
556 Sackville Dr, Lower Sackville

Genji Sushi
184 Wyse Rd, Dartmouth

Mizu All-You-Can-Eat
644 Portland St., Dartmouth

Ji Xiang Sushi
6311 Quinpool Road, Halifax

Sushi Jet
5171 Salter Street, Halifax

Fresh Healthy Happy Sushi
362 Lacewood Drive, Unit 11 (Clayton Park)

Prices

Best Value for Lunch:
Mizu (weekdays), Wasabi Asian Cuisine (tie on weekends, esp. when paying cash)

Best Value for Dinner:
Happy Sushi (Not counting the 10% gratuity, which will be added to your bill. Be careful not to double-tip!)

*Prices are before tax

*Please note that some of these restaurants offer discounts for seniors, children and military.

Variety

Biggest, Most Diverse Menus:
Genji
With 7 varieties of sashimi, 16 nigiri options, 34 regular maki rolls and 21 specialty rolls – Genji has the largest variety of sushi options. There are also 13 wok dishes, 26 deep fried items, 12 teppanyaki selections, and a dim sum menu! Be warned that sashimi, dim sum and house specialty rolls are available for dinner only.
Mizu
7 varieties of sashimi, 15 nigiri options, 29 regular maki rolls and 18 specialty rolls – not bad! Mizu also has a large variety of teppanyaki items, loads of Thai food and the largest dessert menu of all the AYCE joints.

Vegetarian’s Choice:
Wasabi Asian Cuisine – 17 sushi options (5 of them nigiri) in a dedicated vegetarian section AND amazing Agedashi Tofu!
Mizu – 18 sushi options (3 of them nigiri)

*egg omelet included as vegetarian item

Tuna Lovers:
Mizu, Happy Sushi, and Ji Xiang all have yellowfin tuna nigiri and some rolls.

Scallop Lovers:
Happy Sushi is the only AYCE that serves scallop. Spicy Scallop nigiri and maki are available.

Soft Shell Crab Lovers:
Genji, Mizu and Ji Xiang all have soft shell crab (i.e. Spider) rolls

Quality

Best Sashimi/Nigiri:
Wasabi Asian Cuisine, Mizu, Sushi Jet

Nigiri Sushi at Sushi Jet

Best Regular Maki Rolls:

Wasabi Asian Cuisine, Mizu, Sushi Jet

Best House Specialty Rolls:

Wasabi Asian Cuisine & Mizu

Sushi Pizza and Rolls at Wasabi Asian Cuisine

Best Hand Rolls:
Happy Sushi

Best Sushi Pizza: 
Wasabi Asian Cuisine & Happy Sushi
Runner Up: Sushi Jet

Best Agedashi Tofu:
Wasabi Asian Cuisine

Agedashi Tofu at Wasabi Asian Cuisine

Best Teppanyaki Dishes:

Happy Sushi

Best Tempura:
Sushi Jet

Best Dumplings:
Genji

Best Dessert:
Mizu – Deep Fried Banana

Deep Fried Banana at Mizu

Best Atmosphere

Happy Sushi & Wasabi Asian Cuisine

Best Service

Mizu, Wasabi Asian Cuisine, Happy Sushi

Best Ordering System

Ji Xiang, Happy Sushi & Wasabi Asian Cuisine – for ordering sheets that tear off by category!

Best Web Site

Mizu All-You-Can-Eat

Best Overall

Wasabi Asian Cuisine & Mizu All-You-Can-Eat
These two restaurants served us fresh, generous, inspired and well executed sushi. They had bright, clean environments and decent service. Prices are also very reasonable (except for the extra $2 added to Mizu’s prices on weekends).

Honourable Mention:
Happy Sushi is my #3 pick due to its atmosphere, price, and cooked items. Oh, and scallops!