SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Boasting the "genuine Japanese" sushi chef known for making the Explorer Hotel's famous rolls, the owners of the Sushi Cafe promise to offer the same Japanese culinary diversity, so having two sushi joints in town won't be a problem.

"We'll have a bigger menu and more hot food," said co-owner Raymond Li. He and Anita Wai bought YK Pizza on Franklin Avenue and converted the pizza parlour into a Japanese restaurant.

"We love sushi," they both said sitting in their bright, though slightly under decorated, dining room as it begins to fill up for their second lunch rush of the day.

"RCMP every day," said Li, pointing to a table of RCMP having lunch.

"So nobody will make trouble here," he laughed.

Li had dreamed of opening a sushi restaurant for years, and even though Sushi North was already serving noodles and rolls a few blocks away, Li explained that he has a bigger kitchen and will be able to offer a wide variety of hot foods that Sushi North can't, like tempura, gyoza and steak dishes.

"The tempura and the teriyaki," said Li from his new eatery. "Those are hot items right now."

Every week Li and Wai mulled over the lack of good food choices in Yellowknife, feeling defeated.

"Every single Sunday we'd scratch our heads," said Li. "What to eat?"

They both felt there was no choices in the city, especially on Sundays when they said eateries they wanted to eat at are closed, so the idea to open a seven-day-a-week restaurant was logical.

Li had owned a pizza restaurant in Yellowknife in the 1980s and has dreamed of opening another place to eat ever since. The two were both working as computer programmers when the idea started blooming.

The restaurant industry, however, is a lot of work and even with his previous experience he was met with a few hurdles.

When they opened on Dec. 11, Li and Wai didn't have enough staff and there were long waits for hungry lunch hour patrons. They were short in the kitchen and serving staff, and the beautiful but expansive menu became difficult to execute.

Now Li said they have ironed out the kinks and are expanding the 48-piece menu in the new year. On the new menu will be a Japanese-style steak and chicken breast as well as smoked salmon rolls for those who don't want raw fish.

Li is working with his head chef Jimmy Hasegawa to seek out special, fresh ingredients to make his menu stand out.

"I'm still sourcing out Arctic char," said Li.

Being open seven days a week is also very important to the two owners, who want people to be able to go out or pick up healthy food any day.

"We also have lots of vegetarian dishes," said Wai, such as tempura yams and tofu dishes. "And we don't use MSG."

"That's why I love Japanese food," Li added, smiling, "for the health."

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