Halifax sushi restaurant makes lonely customer's birthday 'awesome'

It was an unusual note to see on an online sushi order — one from a customer who was having a hard month.

"He was saying it was his birthday and he was in a new place and he was alone," said Chris Lin, owner of Fujiyama, a Japanese restaurant in Halifax. "He wrote 'Happy birthday to me?'"

That made Lin pause. He said it's the first time he's seen a message like that on an online order.

The customer's order, placed Tuesday, included a sushi pizza, which is a round patty of fried rice with toppings.

"I was thinking that our sushi pizza looks like cake, and we have a candle here," said Lin.

So Lin and his staff put together a special birthday delivery for the customer — complete with a candle on the sushi pizza — and sent it off.

"I didn't think that much about it," Lin said. 

A day later, photos of Fujiyama's thoughtful delivery were posted by the grateful customer and quickly trended on Reddit.

In the Reddit post, a man who identified himself as EFCFrost said he had a difficult month leading up to his 29th birthday, having recently moved away from friends and family.

He said he was so touched by the surprise that he cried. With the help of his seven-year-old son, he lit the candle and made a wish for better days in the future.

"Thanks Fujiyama! Your food and birthday surprise was awesome and you've got yourself a new regular customer now," he wrote.

Lin said he's surprised by the attention the gesture has gotten online. 

"I didn't know he would post that," he said, adding the customer called the restaurant to say thank you. 

Lin said he can relate to the situation. He moved to Halifax from China as an international student 12 years ago. He bought Fujiyama two years ago, and many of his staff are also newcomers to Halifax.

"We wanted to make him happy," he said.