It's time to lighten up. This January, perhaps more than any other, I feel compelled to look for ways of doing less, but doing it better: spending wisely, speaking thoughtfully, choosing my food with care.

 

It's easy enough to dash out during a harried lunch break and grab a greasy fast-food burger, a slapped-together sandwich or cheap, production-line sushi. I don't want to do it anymore (although I can't promise that I never will).

 

My own New Year's resolution was not to go on a diet, but to eat less junk and more delicious, original, thoughtful food.

 

Lucky for me, my pal M suggested a meal at Ki-isu, a tiny Japanese restaurant that opened last summer in Ambleside. It's the North Shore outpost of a popular Yaletown eatery that's been drawing sushi lovers since 2005.

 

Clearly, the younger sibling is just as popular. When M and I meet there for weekday lunch, every seat is taken. We wait in the entryway, doing our best not to lean on the bank of light switches located shoulder height on the wall (although as M points out, we might encourage lingering diners to leave more quickly with a few flashes of the lights).

 

Eventually, we score a table for two snugged up against the wall, and we check out the updates to what was previously Sakana Sushi, which was the kind of place my new resolution excludes.

 

Now, instead of industrial-hued walls, they are a rich and cosy crimson. Seating is warm wood and dark banquettes, and wood lattice-work adds privacy and visual interest.

 

The menu shows similar deliberation.

 

Certainly all the usual suspects are in evidence: dynamite, California, tuna and salmon roll; sashimi constructed with slices of raw tuna, salmon, toro and yellowtail.

 

But what's this? Tuna Carpaccio on the sashimi menu? Uni (sea urchin)?

 

The list of special rolls is compelling. I want to know about the Red Bomb, the Spicy Dragon roll (spicy tuna on top), Dancing Dynamite roll and the Mango and Salmon Steak roll.

 

But we're only here for lunch, not a daylong feast, so we start with appetizers to stimulate the appetite: earthy miso soup for me, and a surprisingly big dish of tart sunomono for her.

 

Then we zero in the list of seasonal specials. Chef Sung Kwon Keith Hong, who attended the Tsuji culinary art school in Osaka after first doing time in the kitchens at several Vancouver favourites (Yoshi on Denman, Taisho, Daimasu, Kamei, Sushi Garden and Osaka), is just showing off here.

 

It's hard to choose. There's Haru Maki, a rice wrapper encasing a sweet and spicy blend of seasonal veggies, mango, salmon and tuna. Ebi Sweet Chili Mayo contains a deep-fried prawn with sweet chili sauce and wasabi mayo. There is Ki-isu-style Orange Ginger Beef Tataki, New York steak marinated in soy and orange, then sliced thin. We could try real crab salad, a Crunch Crunch roll (with tuna and tempura crunch) a Toro Stack, or the Krazy Dynamite roll made with BBQ eel.

 

In the end we decide on Brown Rice Salmon Cake, high-rise beauties layered with nutty brown rice, tempura crunch, avocado salad, luscious jalapeno salmon, all topped by tiny matchsticks of Kizami nori. They taste decadent, a two-bite stack of unctuous flavour. We sample the Philly Cheese Steak Roll because, really, why wouldn't we? This bizarre construction of tone-perfect sliced beef, bell pepper and cream cheese is wrapped like most rolls in seaweed and rice with a drizzle of chipotle mayo. If you can let go of your preconceived ideas about how Japanese food should taste and how a Philly cheesesteak should come together, it's not bad. The flavours are surprisingly complementary.

 

But if you have to choose only one roll from this list, go with Buddha's Favorite roll. Billed as treat for veggie lovers, it's actually got broader appeal. A rainbow of crunchy veggies: asparagus, bell peppers, carrot and cucumber are encircled by brown rice infused with the bright flavour of balsamic vinegar and wrapped up tight in thin rice paper.

 

I would return for this roll again and again -- it's healthy and full of flavour, and meets my resolution requirements to a T.

 

Service through lunch was inconsistent. At times we waited too long, whether for our waitress to address us, for drinks, or for tea refills; but she was friendly and obviously working hard, so we didn't complain. Still, between our wait for a table and lagging service, lunch was an hour and half. It's probably not a suitable spot for a speedy business lunch on deadline, but I'll be back regardless.

 

Our bill added up to $36.90 -- which sounds on the high side for lunch for two, but we ordered too much. We could easily have filled up on just two rolls instead of three.

 

Ki-isu Japanese Restaurant is at 1532 Marine Dr., West Vancouver. Call 778-279-8843 for information.

 

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