Episode #236: Kitami Japanese Restaurant

Harrison Hot Springs, $$$ (Higher Priced)

After having lunch at Yukiya Sushi, I decided it was time for some exercise in order to burn off some of those calories. By exercise, I meant going to a hot springs pool and doing absolutely nothing for an entire hour. That moment was perhaps the healthiest I felt the entire month. By the time I got out of the pool, I felt like I had burned enough calories to resume my eating adventures once again.

Just a few steps from the core of Harrison Hot Springs is Kitami Japanese Restaurant, serving diners who wish to have sushi in a slightly more refined setting. However, the restaurant had about as much life as an abandoned mine shaft. All the private rooms were closed off, and it took almost two minutes before someone even noticed that I had walked into the dining area.

The menu was not expansive but featured most of the typical traditional Japanese dishes. The combos helped to offset the higher prices. I would soon learn that the portion sizes were quite big too, as the waitress showed genuine concern when I placed my order, which consisted of only a bowl of udon and a sushi combo.

Ebi Tempura Udon - B

The Ebi Tempura Udon came in a large bowl with two large prawns and some appropriately firm udon noodles. The prawns had a good snap, but they did not taste particularly fresh and were coated rather heavily with batter.

Moriawase (Assorted Nigiri)

To keep the bill reasonable, I went for the Moriawase combo, which came with 7 pieces of nigiri, a tuna roll, and a bowl of miso soup.

Miso Soup - B+

The Miso Soup came with the usual green onions and a unique mix of radish and carrot. This was good for enhancing the flavour of the soup, but I thought they could've lightened up a bit on the radish and carrot so that we can enjoy the soup itself more.

Ebi Nigiri - C

Unagi Nigiri - B+

The Ebi Nigiri tasted strangely sour and came with too much wasabi. I guess the moral of the story is... avoid Ebi Nigiri in Harrison Hot Springs! The Unagi Nigiri, on the other hand, had a pleasantly soft texture and came with rice that was not packed too tightly, although slightly dry.

Tuna Roll - B+

The Tuna Roll was neatly constructed and came with wasabi inside. The tuna had a soft texture, though it was weak in flavour. This is $5 if ordered separately.

Tuna Nigiri - B-

Sockeye Salmon Nigiri - B

Tako Nigiri - B-

Hokkigai Nigiri - B+

Tobiko Nigiri - A-

Onto the top row, the Tuna Nigiri was soft but came with mushy rice. The Sockeye Salmon Nigiri had an interesting smoked salmon flavour, while the Tako Nigiri was rather chewy. The plum sauce on the tako and the wasabi inside created a strange mix of flavours. The Hokkigai Nigiri surprisingly came with two thin pieces of hokkigai, which worked to produce a rich sweetness, while the Tobiko Nigiri was perfectly bite-sized with an enjoyable bubbly texture. 

I found the service friendlier at Yukiya Sushi, although the quality of the food between the two restaurants was similar. With slightly higher prices at Yukiya Sushi, I cannot definitively say which is the better choice out of the two restaurants. However, I can say that both meals were very filling, and I had to do slightly more exercise the next day to burn off those calories. Well, "slightly more" just meant actually walking around instead of sitting in a tub.