Episode #197: Tokachi

Surrey Northwest, $$ (Moderately Priced)
www.tokachi.ca

I don't venture out to Surrey all that often, but this time, it was to have a long-due lunch with Xtrain. I credit Xtrain for training me to write well enough to create this blog. He has perhaps the sharpest eyes out of anyone I know. I would present to him a one-page piece of writing that I had proofread and revised for several hours, and within two seconds, he would be able to find a missing comma smack in the middle of the page. He always loved to give me a hard time. However, we went to Tokachi just to have a good time, and luckily for me, missing commas are not something I need to worry about when I am just eating sushi.

Xtrain knows the Surrey food scene better than I do, so I asked him where to go for sushi in Surrey. He suggested Tokachi, an authentic Japanese restaurant in the heart of Whalley. I have heard many great things about Tokachi's food and service, but I've never visited the restaurant before because I could not gather the courage to walk the two blocks there from Gateway Station. After all, Sherman once tried to visit Tokachi and found that it was cordoned off by police tape due to a shooting. Having someone to dine with put me back to my senses and reminded me that it's okay to walk around in Whalley as long as there is sushi involved.

In contrast to the very worn-down look of the exterior, the interior is actually very nicely designed and maintained. The dining area is very spacious, and there are small tatami rooms in the back for larger groups. Each waitress was dressed in a yukata, which added to the authentic feel. Funny enough, when I whipped out my camera to take a picture of the dining area, all the waitresses swiftly ran into the kitchen to hide from me.

Do I get free sushi if I play a song?

Miso Soup - B+

We each received a Miso Soup to start the meal. With green onion and tofu, this Miso Soup had a strong miso flavour and was served at a nice, hot temperature. The consistency leaned towards the thinner side.

Assorted Sushi

Next, I had the Assorted Sushi combo to test out their various nigiri offerings.

Tuna Roll - B+

The Tuna Roll came in rather large pieces and featured soft, savoury tuna. The sushi rice had sufficient flavour as well.

Sockeye Salmon Nigiri - A-

Tuna Nigiri - A-

Tai Nigiri - A

Hamachi Nigiri - A

Mebachi Tuna Nigiri - B+

Ika Nigiri - A-

Ebi Nigiri - B+

The nigiri turned out to be a treat. While not the best I've encountered, it was very good for the price range. It was around the same level as Sushi by Yuji. Among the best were the soft, buttery, sweet tai (snapper) and the creamy, melty hamachi (yellowtail). I also enjoyed the Ika Nigiri (squid), which was savoury and did not have that slightly sticky texture present in a lot of the ika I've had in the past. Freshness was apparent in every piece.

House Roll - B+

Xtrain is a big fan of salmon, so we got the House Roll, which consisted of steamed prawn, smoked salmon, cucumber, and radish sprouts. It was a unique blend of flavours that worked, and the crunchy, meaty prawn took the spotlight. The cucumber also added to the crunchiness of the roll.

Tuna Gomaae - A-

The Tuna Gomaae was by far the most novel item of the meal. Since the word "Gomaae" was in the name, both of us were expecting a small salad to accompany the tuna, but that was not the case here. (No, that one leaf does not count.) The tuna was covered with a sweet soy sesame sauce that produced a strong, nutty zing. The tuna itself was of very high quality and had an excellent soft and melty texture. 

The service was very polite and friendly. Xtrain remarked to one of the waitresses that I had a big appetite (which is true for the most part), so she asked me if I needed another combo after we had finished all the food on the table. Unfortunately, it was too early in the morning (ahem, I mean afternoon), and my appetite had not really fired up yet. I wish I did have the stomach room though, as the food was consistently well-executed. Tokachi is certainly one of the better Japanese restaurants in the area, especially given the reasonable prices.

Episode #196: PSI Sushi & Roll

Surrey Northwest, $ (Budget)
www.facebook.com/sushirollsurrey

Ever since I was introduced to PSI Sushi & Roll back in 2013, I have been visiting it somewhat regularly. I have been to both locations and have ordered take out as well as dined in. Sushi & Roll is one of those budget sushi restaurants whose food is serviceable and does the job. Joanna and I were at SFU Surrey campus catching up with Xtrain and needed a quick lunch, so we went over to Sushi & Roll. On the way there, she pointed me to all these other delicious-looking restaurants, but when it comes to sushi, I won't give in to other temptations. At least not until I've had my sushi...

Although the dining space of Sushi & Roll is one of the largest among the sushi restaurants in town, it was still almost full when we got there. Since I already have a blog post about Sushi & Roll from before, I ordered a few things I haven't blogged about yet.

Seared Saba Nigiri - A-

Seared Toro Nigiri - B+

How could I not order seared nigiri when it is for less than $2 a piece? The Seared Saba Nigiri was very juicy and melty, to a point where it almost felt unnatural. I highly enjoyed the nice smoky flavour though. The Seared Toro Nigiri came with the same excellent smoky flavour, but parts of it were a bit dry.

Spicy Tuna Roll - B

Joanna had the Spicy Tuna Roll, which was nicely accented by sesame seeds and came with soft tuna. It would be nice to see the hot chili sauce integrated into the roll a bit better instead of just being piled on top.

Snow Angel Roll - B+

For my special roll, I had the Snow Angel Roll, which consisted of stir-fried salmon, wakame, and creamy sauce. The sheer amount of thick, creamy sauce on top made this roll look more like the Calories of Doom Roll than a Snow Angel Roll. However, to my surprise, the sauce actually worked well with the seaweed and the flaky, rich salmon inside. The wakame formed a net on top rather than separating nicely with the individual pieces of the roll, so grabbing one piece of the roll could potentially cause another piece to fall apart. Other than that, if you can get past the thick sauce, the flavours of the roll were decent.

Yes, we have already come to the end of this post. Did Joanna eat next to nothing? Did I finally decide to eat as much as a normal person even when there's sushi on the table? Nope. They forgot to place in two of my appetizers! It seems like I'm on a streak, as something similar happened in the previous episode as well. They were apologetic about it, but unfortunately, we couldn't stay any longer to wait for the missing dishes to arrive. I really needed my calories though, so we went to the nearby Chatime to fill ourselves up. 

Episode #168: Sushi Mori

Surrey Southeast, $$$ (Higher Priced)
www.surreysushimori.com 

Semester breaks always give me an excellent opportunity to relax, refresh my brain, and become nocturnal. As soon as midnight strikes, my refrigerator and my cabinet of snacks suddenly turn into huge Raymond magnets, and moments later, I'm sitting at the dining table with a pile of cookies, chocolates, jello, ice cream bars, etc. in front of me. After a nice calorie overdose, my energy level goes off the charts until I feel hungry again, and the cycle continues until sunrise. Besides the sun, there is only one other force powerful enough to stop this vicious cycle: the thought of going on a sushi adventure the next morning.

Miraculously, by harnessing the power of sushi, I managed to get myself up at 8 in the morning. With plenty of time to spare, I ventured all the way to South Surrey to have lunch at the newest Sushi Mori location. I found it ironic that there was a sign outside the restaurant that said "Taste the true Japan," given that the restaurant is in fact Korean-operated. Furthermore, the extensive menu contains a lot of fusion dishes and even some Korean dishes. The typical menu items were priced regularly, while special or innovative dishes came at a significant premium in general.

The Sushi Mori chain is also quite well-known for its highly elaborate dining areas. As you can see, my seat featured a marvelous view of a wooden fish-shaped object dangling from a raised log.

Barbie Doll Roll - A-

Named after one of the greatest inventions of the twentieth century, the Barbie Doll Roll featured crab meat, prawn tempura, cucumber, avocado, seared sockeye salmon, orange sauce, white wine, and ponzu sauce. The prawn tempura was rich in flavour and noticeably crispy, while the orange sauce was a good match for the sweet flavour of the crab meat. A mysterious seasoning (that apparently neither the server nor the chef could identify) played an important role in livening up the flavours of this roll. Overall, the combination of flavours was unique and worked very well. This roll tasted just as good as a date with Barbie. Oh wait, I've never even gone on a date...

Salmon Ceviche Goma-ae - B

Next up was the Salmon Ceviche Goma-ae. The salmon sashimi had a soft, smooth texture and was dressed with a citrusy salad dressing. The spinach was also decent but covered with perhaps too many sesame seeds. Sitting at the bottom was a large dose of overly thick sesame sauce, which didn't exactly mix well with the tangy salad dressing. 

Aburi Tuna Nigiri - B

Toro Nigiri - A

Sous Vide Lobster Nigiri - A-

A few years ago, I visited the Sushi Mori in Langley and was not very impressed with their Aburi (seared) sushi. Unfortunately, the Aburi sushi here does not seem to be any better. The Aburi Tuna Nigiri was dressed with salt and pepper, which completely eliminated the seared flavour (if there was any to begin with). There was also too much salt on the tuna. However, I'll give them credit for the above-average rice formation. The Toro Nigiri was excellent and came with a mouthwatering melty texture. The Sous Vide Lobster Nigiri had a nice chew to it and was dressed with sweet chili sauce, which provided a refreshing zing. 

Crab & Oyster Crab Cake - B+

The Crab & Oyster Crab Cake consisted of two plump croquettes with real crab meat, onion, bell pepper, and oyster as filling (in addition to a salad). The crab cakes came with two dipping sauces (sweet chili and orange), which I did not photograph because I did not realize their importance until biting into the crunchy but weakly flavoured batter. Both dipping sauces were good companions for the croquettes. A delicious seafood flavour emanated from the crab meat and oyster inside. The crab meat and oyster were very finely cut, making the filling extremely soft (it borders on being mushy).

Bulgogi Rice Bowl - B+

I don't know about tasting the true Japan here, but at least I could taste the true Korea with the Bulgogi Rice Bowl. This rice bowl featured Korean-marinated AAA beef with rice and Japchae noodles (sweet potato noodles). The beef was tender and high-quality, but for some reason, some of it was bunched up together into chunks. The Japchae noodles were on the softer side and absorbed the flavour of the bulgogi sauce well. Overall, this dish was good enough to stand up to the bulgogi beef at an average Korean restaurant in Vancouver.

I received friendly service during my visit, and I was a little surprised to see that the large dining space did in fact become substantially filled up during the peak lunch hours on a weekday. After tips, my lunch did traverse the $50 mark, but other than the weak Aburi sushi, the food was generally prepared with care. I also ended up so full that I had to walk over to Walmart and browse through the skinny Barbie dolls to convince myself to be a little more conservative with the ordering next time.

Episode #122: Nori Casual Japanese Restaurant

Surrey Northeast, $$ (Moderately Priced)

www.nori-restaurant.com

After having too much fried chicken lately, I decided to go for something healthy by visiting Nori Casual Japanese Restaurant. Taking public transit from SFU to Nori Casual is neither very easy nor convenient. I had to make three transfers in quick succession, which precluded any opportunity for me to catch up on missed sleep. Furthermore, it's a little hard to sleep on the bus when other people are having an argument behind you (welcome to Surrey). I could almost say that the people on the bus were going up and down. However, none of this matters as long as the sushi is good, right?

Nori Casual is located a few blocks northwest of Guildford Town Centre in a mostly residential part of town. I would never have found out about the restaurant if I wasn't a regularly reader of Vancity Noms. The restaurant is run by an older Japanese couple and serves mainly traditional Japanese food, including numerous donburi and udon dishes. Unfortunately, they had just discontinued their omurice, so I went with one of their twelve different kinds of udons instead as my filler.

Tuna Toro Nigiri - A-

Scallop Nigiri - B-

Sockeye Salmon Nigiri - A-

My lunch started on a high note when my three pieces of nigiri turned out to be carefully constructed. The tuna toro (they added the word tuna because they also served Salmon Toro) had a delicious smooth, melty texture. The Scallop Nigiri was garnished with tobiko and minuscule pieces of cucumber. I appreciated the harmonious sweet flavour and the innovation, but texture-wise, this didn't really do it for me. The sockeye salmon had a rich flavour, and the sushi rice was decent and not packed too tightly. 

Black Dragon Roll - B+

The Black Dragon Roll came with BBQ eel, avocado, tobiko, crab meat, cucumber, bonito flakes, and sesame seeds, and for $7.25, it was quite a good deal! This is even cheaper than the Dragon Roll from T&T, and I'm sure you know just how good that is. The rich unagi blended well with the avocado, and the crab meat was very soft. It didn't have the most natural flavour, but it is imitation crab meat after all. 

Spring Rolls - B+

My Tanuki Udon came with a side of Spring Rolls. The wrapping was quite crunchy since it was on the thicker side, but the cabbage-based filling was moist and juicy. I also enjoyed the small bit of black pepper they added to the filling to give it the slightest touch of spiciness.

Tanuki Udon - B

The Tanuki Udon consisted of broccoli, fish cake (naruto), seaweed, green onion, and lots of tempura crumbs. So much for healthy eating! The udon noodles were on the softer side, and the udon broth was rich due to the seaweed and the huge mass of tempura crumbs. I let the tempura crumbs soak in the broth until they became fluffy and pillowy, since that's how I enjoyed tempura udon as a kid. Unfortunately, since the tempura crumbs were slightly overdone to begin with, things ended up getting really oily by the time I neared the bottom of the udon. That being said, the Tanuki Udon did taste quite good in the beginning.

The couple who ran the restaurant were friendly, although they don't seem to be the most talkative people. The interior, as suggested by the restaurant's name, is neither fancy nor modern, but things were kept clean and orderly. Nori Casual isn't a place for fancy, first-class food. It is a place for decent, affordable Japanese food with a slight homemade touch.

Episode #105: Sushi Castle

Surrey Southeast, $$ (Moderately Priced)

About a year ago, after the completion of Episode #17 at Kami Sushi, my family and I crossed the streets to browse the outlet stores at Morgan Crossing. I was quickly engulfed by the magnificent aroma of Chinese food that was emanating from Bamboo Chinese Restaurant, but when I glanced up, the first thing that caught my eyes was Sushi Castle, which is situated just to the right of the Chinese restaurant. The simple, attractive modern decor was enough to convince me to make a visit on my next trip to Morgan Crossing.

One year later, that next trip finally took place. After snatching a few notebooks for five cents a piece at a nearby Staples, I took a half-hour walk to Sushi Castle and entered the restaurant feeling reasonably famished. I usually have no trouble finishing a special roll and a lunch box in one sitting, so I proceeded to order the Special Box E and the Castle Tower.

Miso Soup - A-

The Miso Soup from the Special Box E arrived quite quickly at a very hot temperature. It was garnished with seaweed and a few bits of green onion. It was decent and well-balanced in terms of flavour.

Prawn Nigiri - B

Tuna Nigiri - B

Salmon Nigiri - B

California Roll - B

Next to arrive were the three generously sized pieces of nigiri sushi and the California Roll from the Special Box E. The Prawn Nigiri came with a very meaty but rather chewy piece of prawn. The Tuna Nigiri was sufficiently soft, but there was a slight hint of fishiness with the tuna. The amount of rice under the Salmon Nigiri was just right. The slice of salmon was peculiarly shaped like a rectangle. The California Roll was neatly constructed, and the sesame seeds helped to enhance the weakly flavoured crab meat inside.

The rest of the Special Box E came in enormous portions. At this point, I was starting to get a little worried that perhaps I had ordered too much food.

Prawn Tempura - A-

Kabocha Tempura - B

Yam Tempura - B-

Sweet Potato Tempura - B

I enjoyed the crispy, meaty Prawn Tempura, and the Kabocha Tempura and Yam Tempura both had enough moisture. Only the Sweet Potato Tempura was a touch dry. The tempura dipping sauce (not pictured) had a strange sweet flavour, which I didn't really find appealing. 

Plain Sunomono - B+

The Plain Sunomono came in one of the most humongous portions I have ever seen for a sunomono. Furthermore, the sunomono was jam-packed with vermicelli noodles! The vinegar was on the milder side, but I found this sunomono quite refreshing nonetheless. 

Chicken Teriyaki - B-

Just like the Plain Sunomono, the Chicken Teriyaki was also very filling. The generous slices of white meat were quite tender. However, all I could taste was the burnt, smoky flavour of the charred parts. This reminded me of my not-so-great experiences at a number of western restaurants. There was also not enough teriyaki sauce to liven up the flavours of the rice and the pan-fried cabbage underneath the chicken.

Salad - B-

The Salad came with mixed greens and was served with a good amount of dressing. I found the dressing too acidic and tangy for my liking.

Castle Tower - B

The impressive Castle Tower quickly piqued the interest of many diners around me. One of them even ordered one for himself! Unlike me, he was actually wise and didn't order much food besides the tower. The Castle Tower easily trumped the size of both of my fists combined. The ingredients in the tower consisted of brown rice, tempura crunch, avocado, seared tuna, sockeye salmon, and Atlantic salmon. My favourite parts of the tower were the tasty seared tuna and the tempura crumbs, which had a nice spicy kick. For practical purposes, I would have preferred a flatter structure so that it would be easier to savour all the ingredients at once. Furthermore, that would help to alleviate some of the blandness in the middle of the tower.

After 45 minutes of me trying to finish the Castle Tower, the waitress noticed my struggles and offered to pack up the rest of the tower for me. Carrying a take out box wasn't very convenient for me at the time, so I decided to persevere. It literally felt like the Anton's Pasta challenge on hard mode. At the 70-minute mark, I completely lost my fighting spirit and had to admit defeat. Furthermore, the forces of nature took over and the remains began to dry up. I tried. I really did. I was grateful that even though the restaurant was full at times during my two-hour stay, no one made any gesture to hurry me out of the restaurant.

Episode #85: Hanako Japanese Restaurant

Surrey Northeast, $$$ (Higher Priced), $$ (Moderately Priced) for lunch

Once again, my dad offered to drive me to Hanako Japanese Restaurant to help me save a considerable amount of travel time. After ending up in the wrong city last time, it was time for us to use one of the basic necessities of the 21st century - Google Maps. Fearing that the restaurant would be full at prime lunch time, we set out early and arrived at the restaurant shortly after 11:30 a.m. We entered the restaurant in high spirits as we had made zero wrong turns on the way there. In addition, the restaurant was only a quarter full and the sky was beautifully overcast.

Hanako Japanese Restaurant is an authentic Japanese restaurant located just a block away from Guildford Town Centre. It has been in operation for a long time and the interior of the restaurant somewhat reflects this, although everything was very clean and tidy. In addition to the regular menu, there is a specials menu that consists of some very luxurious items such as the prestigious Blue Fin Otoro at $10/piece. I hadn't mentally prepared myself to destroy my wallet, nor did I bring enough cash with me to add Otoro to the items I planned to order, so I handed the specials menu back to one of the waitresses and ordered wallet-friendly things such as the Teriyaki & Tempura Lunch Box.

Miso Soup - A-

The first item of the Teriyaki & Tempura Lunch Box to arrive was the Miso Soup. My dad was the recipient of this Miso Soup as he only likes to eat hot/warm things (with the exception of sashimi). That was fine by me as my dad is a very picky eater and tends to give me helpful descriptions of the food he eats. The Miso Soup was garnished with fine pieces of seaweed, green onion and tofu. It was an above-average Miso Soup with a well-balanced taste.

After a 20-minute wait, everything else that I ordered arrived almost simultaneously. I had to play a bit of table tetris in order to get everything into photographable positions. Pictured above is the remainder of the Teriyaki & Tempura Lunch Box.

Salad - B

The Salad consisted of salad greens accompanied by a vinaigrette, some crispy bits, and a slice of tomato. The citrusy vinaigrette needed to be spread out better, but the bottom layer tasted decent with the additional flavour from the olive oil resting at the bottom. 

Prawn Tempura - A

Sweet Potato Tempura - A-

Kabocha Tempura - B-

Green Bean Tempura - A-

The Prawn Tempura (2 pcs) was a delight with a crispy, light layer of batter and a skinny piece of prawn that had a good snap. The Sweet Potato Tempura had a nice sweet flavour and was cut to the right thickness. The Kabocha Tempura needed a bit more sugar, while the Green Bean Tempura was sufficiently soft and juicy.

Breaded Cod - B+

The Day Special came with what I believe to be Breaded Cod (I was too focused on savouring the food and forgot to confirm with the servers). The cod was soft and the batter was crispy without being hard. The tangy sauce and the slice of lemon livened up the flavour of the Breaded Cod.

Chicken Teriyaki - A-

The Chicken Teriyaki came with some large cabbage leaves underneath. The chicken was simply but carefully executed. I enjoyed the tender chicken and the slightly crispy skin and my dad enjoyed the high-quality rice that accompanied the Chicken Teriyaki. Don't worry, I actually gave my dad most of the chicken to go along with the rice.

Hanako Roll - A

The Hanako Roll consisted of sockeye salmon, grilled salmon skin, masago, cucumber, avocado, spicy tuna, and a few pieces of daikon. Since the Hanako Roll is not a hot/warm thing, I gladly gobbled up the whole roll. I thoroughly enjoyed the colourful burst of flavours the roll provided, and I was impressed by the fact that I could actually taste all of the different ingredients used in the roll.

Tuna Sashimi - A

Ma Tai Sashimi - A-

Tako Sashimi - B

Sockeye Salmon - A

The Assorted Sashimi was actually the first to land on our table but the last to land in my mouth because I had to move it aside in order to take photos of the other dishes. I guess I inadvertently saved the best for last because the sashimi was not only generous but also surprisingly fresh. The Tuna Sashimi melted deliciously in my mouth while the Ma Tai Sashimi (genuine sea bream) was silky smooth with a delicate sweet flavour. (I think Madai is the correct spelling but the waitress seemed really sure about the "Ma Tai" spelling on the menu. Who am I to disagree with a Japanese person on Japanese?) One of the pieces of the Ma Tai Sashimi was soft (which I luckily managed to get). The Tako Sashimi was cut a little too thick but had a fresh-from-the-sea taste, while the Sockeye Salmon was the best of all with a rich flavour and a smooth sheen. 

The service was quite friendly and I was quick to notice that the waitresses served the dishes with graceful, elegant gestures. It was almost like watching a ballerina with food. The restaurant did get quite busy, but was never 100% full during my visit. In any case, I can confidently say that Hanako is one of the best Japanese restaurants in Surrey. In fact, my dad liked it so much that he now insists on taking my mom out to Hanako. 

Episode #78: Rokku Asian Cuisine

Surrey Southeast, $$ (Moderately Priced)
www.facebook.com/pages/Rokku-Asian-Cuisine/802545169802210

To celebrate a mostly successful team presentation which marked the end of one of my courses at SFU, I went down to Rokku Asian Cuisine for some fusion Japanese food. Unfortunately, I couldn't invite my teammates to come with me because some of them had other classes, so I texted them pictures of the food on Whatsapp. Close enough ... at least they can enjoy the food with their eyes.

Rokku Asian Cuisine is Chinese-operated and is one of South Surrey's newest Japanese restaurants. Perhaps the most notable thing about the menu is that there is a sizable selection of bubble teas on the back page, which I did not even notice until the server asked me if I would like bubble tea. My initial reaction was WTF? It also turns out that their bubble tea is only $1.99 with a $8 order during their Happy Hour (3 to 5 p.m.). Even though this was technically a steal, I turned down the offer so that I would have more capacity to try more dishes (bubble teas are quite filling).

Salmon Gomae - A-

The Salmon Gomae came with spinach on many small slices of salmon sashimi dressed with sesame sauce. The spinach was refreshing and easy to chew. As for the salmon sashimi, they did use the leftover pieces close to the skin that can't be served in a sashimi dish. However, the salmon went very well with the sesame dressing, and they wouldn't be able to give me nearly as many pieces of salmon for $5.95 if they used cuts that could be served as sashimi, so there wasn't much for me to complain about.

Seared Salmon Nigiri - A-

Seared Toro Nigiri - B+

Seared Saba Nigiri - B+

The Seared Toro Nigiri and the Seared Saba Nigiri didn't really manage to project a seared flavour and the seared toro was a total miss in terms of authenticity. However, the textures were correct and they saved the toro with spicy mayonnaise sauce. The Seared Salmon Nigiri was successfully seared and its smooth, creamy flavour was enjoyable. 

Lobster Roll - B+

The Lobster Roll consisted of lobster, avocado, cucumber, grilled salmon and cheese. I ordered this roll so that I would have an appetizing photo to text to my teammates. Now, I don't know if I would call it a Lobster Roll, because it was more like a Salmon Tataki Crunch Roll with Lobster Tempura in the middle. Despite the lack of lobster in the roll (there was only a very small amount of it inside the roll), both the "Salmon Tataki Crunch Roll" and the lobster tempura tasted decent. Oh, and you also get a small Wakame Salad under the lobster tempura.

Wasabi Mayo Prawns - B-

The Wasabi Mayo Prawns came with 6 tempura prawns and deep-fried cellophane noodles dressed in wasabi-mayo sauce. Unfortunately, I didn't see the word "deep-fried", so this ended up looking a bit unhealthier than I expected. The cellophane noodles tasted exactly like potato chips, and if you like wasabi chips, then you might like this dish. Unfortunately, I am one of the rare species of people who don't like potato chips. As for the prawns, they were quite meaty, but the batter has room for improvement.

My server was quite friendly and I liked how she was dressed in a kimono. A lot of the food was not technically prepared the correct way, but they still managed to make each dish taste decent in the end, so I'll give them credit for that. After all, I look for taste rather than authenticity. Next, I attempted to take a walk down to the beach where Moby Dick is, but I got lost about 50 times due to the ultra-confusing layout of roads just north of the beach. I celebrated with a sorbet after successfully finding a narrow staircase leading down to the beach.