By Sherman Chan,
Special to The Post

The Takoyaki  were served on a plate that held them perfectly in place. Soft and fluffy, these had a nice mouth-feel and featured a piece of chewy, yet tender octopus. It had just enough sauce and bonito flakes. The Ebi Mayo batter was too thick and gummy. It was texturally off-putting.  The spicy mayo was a tad too spicy and too dominant.

The Salmon Belly passed the litmus test since it was crispy on the outside and buttery soft on the inside. It was fresh-tasting and lightly salted. It was cooked just enough were it was still fatty and tender. We also had the Katsu Curry which was a large portion of rice, sauce and a pork cutlet. The pork was rather lean which meant it wasn't juicy, but it wasn't chewy. The panko coating was appealingly crispy. The curry was rich and lightly sweet while packing noticeable heat.

For our sushi roll, we got the Taiyo House Roll which was rather large. It featured a tonne of tobiko on top while the rice was chewy. It had plenty of ingredients. We had Nigiri including tamago, unagi and smoked salmon which featured the same chewy mildly-seasoned rice. The topping was rather meager for the amount of rice. Lastly, we had the Chirashi Don which was topped with fairly thin slices of fish. Most were quite good except the albacore tuna which was a bit too soft. We loved the inclusion of red tuna. Overall, the food at Bistro Taiyo was decent and ultimately did the job, especially in Nanaimo.

Taiyo Japanese Restaurant

321 Wesley Street, Nanaimo, BC

The Good:

• Respectable Japanese, especially in a place not known for it

• Friendly service

The Bad:

• Prices can get up there

• Small place, can get pretty cramped

Sherman Chan is the #1 ranked food blogger on the Vancouver portal of Urbanspoon.com. Read more of his reviews at www.shermansfoodadventures.com.