Episode #237: Sushi Fu

Port Coquitlam, $ (Budget)
www.sushifu.ca

One restaurant in Port Coquitlam I have wanted to visit for a long time is Sushi K Kamizato. My dad and I visit Port Coquitlam for leisurely purposes every so often, sometimes to try out new sushi restaurants. Unfortunately, my dad works most evenings, and Sushi K Kamizato is only open for evenings. In order to satisfy my Aburi cravings on this particular occasion, we went to Sushi Fu, one of the newest additions to Port Coquitlam's constantly evolving sushi scene.

Sushi Fu is Chinese-operated and features a large, budget-friendly menu with a special that allows diners to choose 3 items (from a select list) + a bowl of miso soup for $8.50. The interior was cleanly and comfortably decorated for the most part, except for the oddly coloured walls, which were green enough for me to camouflage some wasabi without anyone noticing. Don't worry, I'm more well-behaved than that.

Salmon Sashimi - A-

Tai Sashimi - B+

Tuna Sashimi - A

Starting off with the Appetizer Sashimi, the salmon was soft and buttery with an excellent smooth texture. The tai was slightly tough but came with ample flavour. The tuna was the freshest, with a wonderful soft texture and a rich, non-fishy flavour.

Appetizer Tempura - B

The Appetizer Tempura came with two prawns and one piece each of sweet potato, carrot, and yam. The batter was average and a bit heavy in places. The prawns were juicy though a bit thin, and the vegetables retained good flavour and moisture. 

Seared Salmon Nigiri - A-

Seared Toro Nigiri - A

Seared Saba Nigiri - B+

The seared nigiri was surprisingly well-executed. A thin layer of mayonnaise applied to each piece of nigiri really helped bring out a smoky flavour, and this was supported by a sprinkle of aromatic sesame seeds. I highly enjoyed the freshness of the salmon and the very juicy toro. The saba, besides being cut a bit too thick, was also deliciously juicy. This was one of the dishes that would make me alter my response to "excellent" instead of just "good" when asked how my food is.

Hawawii Roll - B

Since my eyes tend to gravitate towards oddly spelled things on a menu, I naturally went for the Hawawii Roll. Perhaps they were trying to replicate the very relaxing experience of playing on a Wii in Hawaii in a sushi roll rather than making a typo (although really, who actually does that on vacation?). This roll, with prawn tempura, cucumber, avocado, imitation crab, mango and fish roe, came in large, neatly constructed pieces. The roll was visually appealing, although I thought the sweetness of the mango sauce wasn't a good pairing for the savoury prawn tempura. The prawn, however, was meaty and delicious.

Overall, I was more than satisfied with my visit to Sushi Fu, especially given the affordable pricing. The service was also very friendly during my visit. If it weren't for the fact that Port Coquitlam isn't the most convenient for me to transit to, I can see this being a place I would visit regularly.

Episode #232: Yui Japanese Bistro

Vancouver (West End), $$ (Moderately Priced)
www.eatatyui.com

Aburi sushi made by former chefs from Miku and Minami? For cheaper prices? Yes, please!

Ever since I first tasted Miku's Aburi Salmon Oshi Sushi more than 6 years ago (holy crap, I'm getting old), I've been looking for other places where I can also enjoy good Aburi sushi accompanied by less hefty price tags. After all, I'm not a small eater, and a trip to Miku means at least $80 out the wallet before I'm somewhat full. Yui seemed like the perfect place when I wasn't feeling quite as fancy. I got the help of Vancouver foodie Jeanne (@popofrouge) to try out their lunch service.

Situated among a sea of office towers, the Chinese-operated Yui was expectedly busy during lunch on a weekday. The only spots available for us were at the sushi bar, right in front of the Aburi station. What an excellent view! Well, for everyone except me.

Normally, food enthusiasts highly enjoy sitting where they can observe, eat the food as soon as it's made, and engage in friendly conversation with the chef. However, my brain is literally wired to do only one thing at a time. If I try to take notes and talk at the same time, I will actually start spewing out gibberish. Thankfully, I think the chef clued in and focussed on making his sushi instead.

Chicken Chashu - A-

The Chicken Chashu looked like an interesting way to start my lunch. It came with soft-stew free-range chicken, accompanied by amakuchi (sweet) soy sauce and a side of grain mustard. The chicken was sliced somewhat like pork chashu but in much thicker pieces. It was lightly grilled, very tender, and savoury with help from the sweet soy.

Aburi Ebi Oshi - A-

Closely mirroring Miku's version, the Aburi Ebi Oshi ($11) was dressed with lime zest and creamy oshi sauce. It had a vibrant citrusy tint and a good amount of creaminess, but tasted slightly rice-heavy. 

Aburi Saba Oshi - A-

The Aburi Saba Oshi ($11) came with miso oshi sauce and a light sprinkling of seaweed. The saba was not excessively salty, and the miso sauce helped generate a delicious, savoury flavour. However, I thought that the saba itself could've been seared a little less, which would give it a softer texture.

Yui Plate

Next, I went for the lunch plate that contained the greatest variety, which happened to be the Yui Plate. At $11, it's not a bang for the buck, but it's a relatively cost-effective way to sample the highlights at Yui.

Aburi Tuna Nigiri - A

Aburi Ebi Nigiri - B+

Aburi Salmon Oshi - A

The Aburi Tuna Nigiri was delightfully fresh with a soft texture. The miso glaze and scallions were a perfect complement to the tuna. The Aburi Ebi Nigiri was dressed with a dab of pesto sauce and could have used a little more moisture. The Aburi Salmon Oshi was delectably creamy with an excellent smoky flavour. The jalapeño slices would work even better if they were thinner.

Dynamite Roll - B+

The roll that accompanied the Yui Plate was the Dynamite Roll. The sweet imitation crab meat went well with the creamy avocado. The prawn tempura was crispy, but the batter was hard in places. 

Overall, we had an enjoyable experience at Yui. We experienced no problems with the service. The food isn't exactly Miku, but it comes reasonably close given the lower prices. The difference was mainly in the sushi rice, where Miku's has a smoother texture and is more flavourful. In either case, Yui works as a good casual alternative to Miku for a quick meal... unless it's so busy that a line-up starts to form.

Episode #228: Sushi Hub

Vancouver (Southwest), $$ (Moderately Priced)

I probably would have never found out about Sushi Hub had they not followed me on Instagram. Located on one of the less busier parts of Main Street, the restaurant makes it quite obvious that its feature dish is Aburi sushi. As soon as I returned the follow, half of my Instagram feed was filled with delicious-looking photos of fusion sushi from Sushi Hub. I took this as a sign that Instagram was persuading me to try the restaurant and got Tamsen to join me for lunch. 

The restaurant is not very large, but the dining area appeared clean and in order. I suppose word about this restaurant had not really spread, as it was not packed even during peak lunch hours. As such, we had a comfortable amount of room at our table.

Miso Soup - A-

Since we ordered an Aburi Box, we were entitled to one miso soup. However, they were nice enough to give us two. Served hot, the Miso Soup came with green onion and bean curd and was well-balanced.

Edamame - B+

The daily special that came with the Aburi Box was a small serving of edamame. These were salted and tasted fresh with sufficient moisture.

Salmon Sashimi - A-

Tuna Sashimi - B+

Next up, the Salmon Sashimi was buttery and creamy with a pleasantly smooth texture. The slices were not particularly large, but the cutting was on point. The Tuna Sashimi was very soft and refreshing.

Aburi Box

There was some peculiar pricing going on, as the Aburi Box ($11.50), which contained 3 pieces of Aburi Salmon Oshi Sushi, cost less than an order of 6 pieces of Aburi Salmon Oshi Sushi ($12.50). Since it was lunch time, it didn't make much sense to get an order of Aburi Salmon Oshi Sushi, so we opted for the Aburi Box.

Salad - B-

The Salad was comprised of mixed greens and came with rather little vinaigrette. Although this made the Salad slightly too dry, perhaps this was a good thing because the vinaigrette was oddly salty.

Aburi Salmon Oshi Sushi - B

The main feature, the Aburi Salmon Oshi Sushi, came with thinly sliced pieces of seared salmon, which were graced with huge, honking slices of jalapeño. Although the seared salmon had a nice smoky flavour, the jalapeño was quite overpowering and brought death and havoc to our poor tongues. I also found the oshi slightly rice-heavy.

Teriyaki Beef - B+

The Teriyaki Beef was sweet and helped bring our tongues back to life. The beef was tender, though sliced thickly in some places. The steamed rice underneath was well-prepared.

Tempura - B+

With a light layer of crispy batter, the Tempura was one of the better items in the box. There were 2 juicy prawns along with 3 small pieces of yam. The prawns were excellent, though the yam could have used a little more moisture.

Volcano Hub - B+

Of course, our visit wouldn't be complete without trying one of the hubs (their code name for special rolls). I wanted to go for the Barbie Hub (for obvious reasons), but I couldn't convince Tamsen that having asparagus in a roll works if done right, so we went for the Volcano Hub instead. With crab meat, avocado, chopped scallop, spicy mayonnaise, and sweet sauce, the Volcano Hub came with some really soft scallops. The roll was quite sweet with a delectable, cheesy layer on top.

Overall, the service was reasonably friendly, and the food was reasonably consistent. However, the food didn't exactly have the wow factor suggested by the restaurant's Instagram photos. With average prices and slightly above average food, Sushi Hub would have to do more to perfect its Aburi sushi before attracting crowds.

Episode #226: Kimu Japanese Cuisine (2nd Visit)

Vancouver (Southeast), $ (Budget)
www.kimucuisine.com

Every semester, I try to organize a sushi meet-up so the TAs in my office can meet and get to know each other. This time, however, my attempts to organize were more or less a fail. Despite drawing a huge availability schedule that spanned our chalkboard and personally bugging each TA to fill out the schedule, more than half of the TAs ended up cancelling hours before the dinner for various reasons. Somehow, 15 confirmed guests became 7, and plus-ones almost outnumbered TAs that actually share the office with me. Nonetheless, the dinner went on with Andrea, Angus, Anya, Ashton, Patrick, and Sean in attendance.

Even though the restaurant still displays a "Grand Opening" sign, it has actually been open for many months. It has been gaining popularity, and now, it is one of my go-to places for casual group dinners.  Their menu features a great assortment of fusion dishes, most of which are Instagram-worthy.

As is usual for dinners with me, no ordering took place until around 45 minutes after we had sat down at our table, by which point the restaurant began to get busy and the service became sparse. We placed all our orders at the same time, but for some reason, my food came way later than anyone else's.

Belly King Roll - B+

After awkwardly staring at my friends enjoying their food for a very long time (some of them were already finished), my Belly King Roll finally arrived. This roll came with avocado, negitoro, seared sake toro (salmon belly), jalapeño, capers, garlic chips, balsamic reduction, and pesto olive sauce. Despite its small size, the roll was very successful texture-wise, especially with the smooth and soft seared salmon. I thought the salmon could've used a bit more smokiness though.

Spicy Crunch Roll - B+

Since Sean was with us, we got the obligatory Spicy Crunch Roll. A deep-fried California roll topped with spicy tuna, tobiko, tempura flakes, spicy house sauce, and BBQ sauce, the Spicy Crunch Roll packed a lot of flavour, and it was nice that the batter was not too hard. The spicy tuna had a delectable, soft texture, but it was slightly overwhelmed by the aggressive use of chili sauce.

Beef Gomae - B

Next, I had the Beef Gomae simply because I'd never seen the dish at any other restaurant before. It was essentially beef sashimi accompanied by gomae. The beef was tender and went well with the sweet gomae sauce, but the tangy ponzu sauce on the bottom complemented neither the beef nor the gomae. I had to let the ponzu sauce drip down before each bite.

Rainbow Sushi Pizza - B+

In honour of one of our guests, who really likes colourful things, I ordered the Rainbow Sushi Pizza, which came with crab meat, salmon, tuna, ebi, hamachi, tai, unagi, tobiko, BBQ eel, and wasabi mayonnaise. The crispy layer of rice at the bottom was slightly overdone, but the mixture of creamy sauces and smooth cuts of fish worked well. The tai and unagi were the highlights among the seafood.

Hamachi Toro Nigiri - A-

Madai Nigiri - A-

Shima-Aji Nigiri - A-

Uni Nigiri - B+

Ordering my nigiri turned out to be quite laughable for my entire table because they had run out of most of the more expensive types of nigiri. After having my order rejected again and again (feels bad), I finally ended up with the nigiri above. The nigiri was fresh and came in generous cuts. The delicate sweetness of the shima-aji and the smooth texture of the madai were highlights. There wasn't a lot of uni in the Uni Nigiri, but it still had a nice, creamy texture.

While the service was a little sparse as we came at prime dinner time on a Saturday, it was at least friendly. Once again, I enjoyed the innovation and the consistency in execution. I can foresee more adventures to Kimu, as there are still many creative dishes that I haven't tried yet, such as the Dontoro Bites, the Volcano Eggplant Seafood Yaki, and the Honeymoon Roll. Okay, maybe that last one will have to wait...

Episode #219: Minami Restaurant (2nd Visit)

Vancouver (Yaletown), $$$$ (Luxury)
www.minamirestaurant.com

As soon as the restaurant lineup for Dine Out Vancouver was released, I scoured the website to see if there were any new sushi restaurants I could try. Disappointingly, there were none. Since I have a tendency to dislike foods that are not typically consumed using chopsticks, I chose to stick with sushi. Lara was my dining companion that day, and having heard that she had never been to either Miku or Minami, we decided to head over to Minami for dinner (Miku was not participating in Dine Out).

Located on the tiny street of very posh and wallet-unfriendly restaurants in the middle of Yaletown, Minami is one of the five restaurants on the street that serve Japanese fusion (the others being Kibo, Kuma, Sushi Maro, and Bistro Sakana). Even though we went on a Tuesday, the restaurant was predictably busy. Nonetheless, the service remained efficient, and the timing of our food was on point.

Market Beets and Citrus - A-

First on our table was the Market Beets and Citrus, which came with grapefruit, Okanagan goat cheese mousse, wild baby arugula, basil pesto, yuzu marmalade, and soy balsamic reduction. We found the grapefruit soft and delectable, and it went well with the pesto sauce. The beets also had a pleasantly soft chew, with a texture akin to very juicy carrots.

Aburi Hamachi Nigiri - A-

Hamachi Nigiri - A-

Hokkaido Scallop Nigiri with Mentaiko - A+

Minami Roll - A-

Aburi Salmon Oshi Sushi - A

Aburi Ebi Oshi Sushi - A

Next up was a plate featuring some of Minami's signature sushi offerings, with two pieces of Aburi Salmon Oshi Sushi, arguably their most notorious item. Each piece of sushi was garnished with carefully chosen ingredients, and the texture of the sushi rice was essentially perfect. The highlight here was the Hokkaido Scallop Nigiri, where the creaminess and sweetness of the scallop was beyond that of any scallop nigiri I have ever had. The Aburi Salmon Oshi Sushi and Aburi Ebi Oshi Sushi felt slightly drier than usual, but were otherwise carefully prepared.

Coconut Poached Half Lobster Tail - A-

Miso Sakekasu Baked Sablefish - A+

For my entrée, I had the Surf, which came with the Coconut Poached Half Lobster Tail and the Miso Sakekasu Baked Sablefish. The lobster tail came with tender meat and a sweet, buttery sauce that complemented the sweetness of the lobster meat. However, it was quite difficult to get the meat out of the shell. While I luckily managed to slide the meat out of my lobster tail in one piece, Lara had to laboriously scoop the meat out of the shell bit by bit. The Miso Sakekasu Baked Sablefish was executed to near perfection, with crispy skin and a melt-in-your-mouth burst of savoury flavours.

Sesame Soy Glazed Obie Braiser - A-

Lara had the Surf & Turf for her entrée, which came with an Obie Braiser (braised Alberta beef) and the same Coconut Poached Half Lobster Tail above. The wasabi sauce applied on the beef gave it a strong spicy kick. The beef was slightly tougher on the outside, but very soft and succulent on the inside.

Hojicha Mousse - A+

The dessert for the Dine Out dinner menu was the Hojicha Mousse. The mousse was very soft and had a prominent green tea flavour. The garnishes on the side included white chocolate shortbread, ginger crumble, raspberry coulis, two blackberries, two raspberries, two blueberries, and a black stripe of some mysterious sauce that tasted mysteriously bland. The highlight (and what persuaded me to give out an A+) was the half teaspoon of very rich and sweet green tea on top of the mousse that brought life and vigour to this dessert. It's too bad that there wasn't more of it, as I would have loved a thick, sweet and syrupy drink. Okay, on second thought, maybe that might not be such a good idea...

The service was professional throughout our stay, and the food was unsurprisingly well-executed. Despite the slight hiccup on the Aburi Salmon Oshi Sushi, their signature dish, the mastery displayed in some of the other dishes made up for it. The innovation and the excellent attention to detail made this an enjoyable dinner for both of us. 

Episode #217: Satomi Sushi (2nd Visit)

Burnaby South, $$ (Moderately Priced)

After a surprisingly good experience at Kimu last time, Emperor Weng, Kyle and I decided to make a revisit and bring Eugene along with us. We had everything planned out, until all of a sudden, we discovered that it took an hour to transit from SFU to Kimu and that the restaurant closes at 9 p.m. on Tuesdays. Since Kyle and Eugene had evening classes and we wanted to stick with something affordable, we relocated our adventure to Satomi Sushi.

Satomi Sushi is quickly gaining notoriety as a budget-friendly authentic Japanese restaurant near Metrotown. Even at 8:30 p.m., our planned meeting time, the restaurant was still quite busy. Unfortunately for me, Kyle, Eugene, and the emperor experienced an internal GPS malfunction, and they left me sitting alone at my table for half an hour. During this time, one of the waitresses kept peering out the window, wondering where my mates were.

Aburi Tuna Toro Nigiri - A-

Having tried many of the more standard items during my previous visit, I scanned the specials on the walls for something more adventurous to get and came across the Aburi Tuna Toro Nigiri. It scored an A+ for presentation, and the tuna was juicy with a nice, smoky flavour. The fish-to-rice ratio was correct, and the sushi rice was not packed too tightly.

Uni Motoyaki - B+

One special I had never seen before at any restaurant was the Uni Motoyaki (baked sea urchin). The texture of the uni was akin to a cross between masago and pudding. The motoyaki was very savoury, and the addition of sliced onions gave it some zing and some crunch. It tasted slightly heavy, but if you like motoyaki in general, you'll most likely enjoy this one.

Foie Gras Sushi - B+

Next, to ensure that my bill was impressive, I went for the sautéed Foie Gras Sushi ($5). Although there was a bit too much rice, the foie gras had a light crispiness as well as the characteristic, smoky flavour of freshly seared foie gras.

Scat Aburi Roll - A-

Because I'm a fan of all things aburi, I chose the Scat Aburi Roll for my special roll. This roll consisted of prawn tempura and seared spicy scallop. The spicy mayonnaise brought this roll to life, and the crispy, meaty prawn tempura was an excellent contrast to the sweet chopped scallop on top. I was pleasantly surprised at how well-executed this roll was.

Unatama Roll - A-

Another surprisingly well-executed roll was the Unatama Roll, which came with unagi, tamago, and a drizzle of unagi sauce. Both the unagi and tamago were well prepared, and together, they gave the roll a really soft, cake-like texture. 

Takoyaki - A-

With still some stomach room left, I went for the Takoyaki. It was served hot and came with twice the amount of tako as a regular takoyaki. The pillowy interior was balanced nicely by the crispy exterior of each ball.

Even though we stayed a hair past closing time (10 p.m.), the servers were still reasonably accommodating. Both the consistency and quality of the food were better than during my last visit, and I was most pleased with how well the rolls were prepared. With so many specials items for me to try, a third visit might very well be in the plans! 

Episode #215: Victoria Sushi (2nd Visit)

New Westminster, $$ (Moderately Priced)

Every now and then, I like to motivate my friends to get good grades by offering to treat them to sushi if they do well in their courses. Last semester, I offered to treat Patrick and Sean to Victoria Sushi if they each got at least an A in a course specified by me. I expected this to be reasonably challenging, but little did I know that Patrick would try to obtain that A by studying at least 6 hours virtually every day throughout the semester. He turned down sushi adventures, weekend parties, and even raves that he already had tickets for just to study. I don't think I could have studied that much even if my reward was a two-month trip to Japan. Nonetheless, both Patrick and Sean got their A's, and off we went to Victoria Sushi.

Taking transit to Victoria Sushi is not exactly an easy task. The last time I visited Victoria Sushi, I tried to walk there from Columbia Station and got hopelessly lost. This time, Patrick offered to drive me there instead. However, due to the darkness of the night, we ended up on the wrong lane and were forced to go all the way to Surrey, which caused Patrick to start low-key raging. What should have been a three-minute drive ended up taking us more than 20 minutes.

The last time I visited Victoria Sushi was in 2014, when they first started rolling out their Aburi offerings. Since then, the restaurant has become much busier, and the menu was expanded to include a full range of Aburi options. Victoria Sushi previously held the 4th place spot in my books for the best Aburi Salmon Oshi (behind Miku, Minami, and Green Leaf), and I was interested to see whether they had kept up the quality over the years.

Salmon Roll - B

Chicken Teriyaki Roll - B

We started off with two simple rolls. We found the rice in the Salmon Roll rather sticky, and other than that, there was nothing particularly remarkable about the roll. The Chicken Teriyaki Roll came with tender chicken, but would have benefited from a stronger grilled flavour.

Soy Ginger Duck Miso Yaki - B

Going for something more adventurous, I selected the Soy Ginger Duck Miso Yaki. The duck was rather fatty, but was not as tender as we expected. The seasoning on the duck provided a slight spiciness, but it was hard to detect any miso flavour.

Salmon Oshi - A-

Scallop Oshi - A-

Beef Oshi - B+

Our three orders of oshi sushi came in a marvelous checkered display. The creamy oshi sauce on top of the Salmon Oshi and the Scallop Oshi was seared to create an excellent, well-rounded savoury flavour. The Beef Oshi, made with AAA tenderloin beef, was topped with onion and garlic mayonnaise. Overall, the toppings on each type of oshi were well-prepared, while the rice was overly sticky and too tightly packed. I later learned that we had come on an off day, as the rice issue was fixed on a subsequent visit.

Prawn Tempura - A

Due to the overly sticky rice, the Prawn Tempura ended up being the highlight of our dinner. The prawns were delicious, juicy and fried to just the right amount of crispiness. The amount of batter on the prawns was perfect. I would have gotten ten orders of this if I had the stomach room.

Boneless Karaage - A-

We were almost full at this point (we also had a Deluxe Bento, which I covered in Episode 39), but we decided to go for one last dish—the Chicken Karaage. It was pleasantly juicy and crispy, but could have been better with an additional sprinkling of spices.

Shime-Saba Oshi - A

A few days after our dinner together, Sean went back to Victoria Sushi and reported to me that he would give the Shime-Saba Oshi an A+. Since Sean almost never gives out A+'s for anything, that prompted me to return to the restaurant just to try the Shime-Saba Oshi (along with the fact that I had forgotten to take a picture of the restaurant). The oshi did not disappoint, and this time, the sushi rice was indeed packed correctly. The saba was savoury without being overly salty, and the soft texture of the saba was a perfect match for the rice underneath.

Despite the restaurant being rather busy, we were not disappointed with the service. It was too bad we encountered minor rice problems with our oshi, but Victoria Sushi remains one of the top places for affordable oshi in my records. If Victoria Sushi was in a more convenient location, I would undoubtedly become a regular.