I am one of those people who like to eat a lot, not exercise, and stay slim. Being a person who gets sick quite often, I would accomplish this by going on an extreme diet during my sick days. Usually, I get sick for around 20 days every flu season, and my brilliant strategy would work like a charm. However, this flu season, I was sick for only two days, so I was packing on extra kilograms faster than the pregnant fish in Insaniquarium. I first thought of burning off some calories by walking the entire perimeter of Stanley Park, but having not exercised in months, who was I kidding? I opted for the much shorter Steveston boardwalk instead. Of course, I had to have some sushi first, because what is the point of exercising if there is no sushi involved?
Near the east end of the boardwalk is Village Sushi Bar, a small, quaint, authentic Japanese restaurant. It has some of the highest ratings of any sushi restaurant in Richmond, which provided me with another reason to give it a try. The restaurant has a pleasant smell as you walk in, and the waitress was very welcoming. The menu is limited to the more basic items, and I don't recall seeing any item above $10. My savings account let out a huge sigh of relief.
Tuna Tataki Salad - A-
The Tuna Tataki Salad came with three pieces of lightly seared fresh tuna. I would have liked a little more of a smoky flavour with the tuna, but the garlic chips and pine nuts in the salad did accentuate the flavours of the salad. Furthermore, the dressing was sufficient and spread evenly, creating a refreshing, well-rounded salad.
Next came all of my sushi on a large plate. I think I ordered more than half of all the different kinds of nigiri they had.
Dragon Roll - C+
Normally, I get Dragon Rolls for something between $10 and $15, so when I saw this Dragon Roll for just $5, how could I resist? Unfortunately, the lower prices came with lower quality. My soul died a little at the tightly packed and inadequately seasoned sushi rice. The roll was also rice-heavy, so the flavour of the unagi got lost in the mix. On the plus side, the tempura prawn inside was well-prepared and had a nice snap.
Toro Nigiri - B
Tuna Nigiri - B
Salmon Nigiri - B+
Shimesaba Nigiri - B-
Hotate Nigiri - B+
Chopped Scallop Nigiri - B
Inari Nigiri - B
With the nigiri, the fish was very fresh and delicious in general. The hotate (scallop), salmon, and tuna all had delectable, soft textures, and the toro was quite juicy. My least favourite was the Saba Nigiri, which was a little too salty. Unfortunately, the sushi rice was packed much too tightly and interfered with my enjoyment of the softer textures of the fish. If it weren't for this, I would have given out a lot of A's here.
Besides the sushi rice, I enjoyed virtually every aspect of my visit, from the friendly service to the fresh ingredients. Perhaps they just had an unfortunate rice cooker malfunction during my visit. After finishing my meal, I went to the boardwalk, walked to Steveston, and then got a Frappucino from Starbucks. I'm really hoping that a short walk burns more calories than a Frappucino has...
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