As of last Saturday, Garden Sushi is back. Now on the corner at Barnes Ave NW and 17th Ave NW, just south of NW Market St.

After being displaced when the Shell station on the corner of 15th Ave NW and NW 70th St closed down, there was some concern about what would happen to Tsering Lama and his popular food truck, Garden Sushi. But it wasn't long until he found a new place, when a customer offered Lama a piece of property he had at the new location.

"I haven't made sushi for 3-4 weeks now and people kept calling, 'Where are you?'" he said. "That's sweet. Very sweet."

The loyal customer, who we won't name for privacy's sake, seems confident in Lama's ability as a sushi chef.

"He knows what I make. He trusts me. He wants to see me have success," Lama said.

Make no mistake, though out of a truck, the sushi Lama makes is not like the stuff you find in a gas station. He brings with him over ten years of experience as a sushi chef from a variety of restaurants.

"I like to make sushi. When I make sushi, people are happy," Lama said. "In life, do something useful or do something that can make people happy."

Garden Sushi has received a lot of local acclaim, including one of Seattle Magazine's "Best New Food Trucks of 2012" and favorable writeups in Seattle Weekly and Seattle Met.

"I didn't expect this," he said. But, he said, "I tried my best to use all my knowledge to make sushi nice, clean, fresh."

When asked about his philosophy on making food, he said, "My main goal is make my customers happy and make the best sushi I can. If I make something I can't eat, then I won't serve it to my customers."

When asked what plans he has for the future, he said he would keep running the truck in Ballard, the neighborhood he has lived in for the past few years.

"I really love Ballard ... and I love to make Ballard a unique Ballard," he said.

In any case, it's unlikely Lama will stop making sushi anytime soon.

"It is a joy to make sushi," he said.

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