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 #208: Kamei Royale - New Location

Vancouver (West End), $$$$ (Luxury)

www.kameiroyale.com

Puzzlefighter is always looking to try luxury sushi restaurants with me, and I would agree to go on the condition that I have not blogged about the restaurant before. To Puzzlefighter, the fancier the better, as long as it's traditional-style sushi. After making around 10 suggestions, all of which I declined, he finally suggested Kamei Royale. I did already have a post on Kamei Royale, but since they moved to a new location, I suppose it was worth a new blog post. How did I find out they moved to a new location? A few months ago, they invited 250 guests, including many of Vancouver's leading food bloggers, to a grandiose tasting event for their new location, and I found out through the blog posts all over my social media feeds. Yes, they dared to not invite me.

Kamei Royale is an authentic Japanese restaurant and has been around for decades. It used to be the largest sushi restaurant in Greater Vancouver (by area) and was conveniently located near Burrard Station. Their new location is just a few steps away, but in a much more hidden location. By the time we actually located the front entrance to the restaurant, Puzzlefighter was already half frozen.

Inside, the dining area was well-decorated with Christmas trees and ornaments and appeared to be roughly as large as that of the old location. However, there were a lot fewer diners than there were before.

Wakame - A-

Deep-Fried Shrimp - A-

Yasai - A-

Fresh Marinated Salmon - A-

Tamago Tofu with Ikura - B

Duck Breast - A-

Ankimo - A

Carrot and Radish - A-

Kinpira - A-

We started off with the Omakase Appetizer, and we indeed managed to split everything between the two of us. The assortment of nine appetizers consisted of the following:

• Wakame - This came with thin strands of regular green wakame intertwined with red strands of spicy wakame. I kept reassuring Puzzlefighter that the red wakame would not be spicy (as none of the red wakame I have had before was spicy), but it turns out I was dead wrong.

• Deep-Fried Shrimp - This was lightly spiced and savoury. We both enjoyed this one.

• Yasai - The Yasai was a mix of spinach and shiitake mushrooms. We found the light dashi broth refreshing, and I could taste a bit of mirin in the broth.

• Fresh Marinated Salmon - The fresh, creamy salmon had an excellent smooth texture. It was dressed with an interesting combination of mustard and olive oil, which had an acidic zing that I found slightly heavy.

• Tamago Tofu with Ikura - This had the texture of tamago and the mild flavour of tofu. It was an interesting combination, but it tasted a little strange to us.

• Duck Breast - The rich creamy sauce on this one accented the rich flavour of the duck breast. This was another well-executed one.

• Ankimo - The monkfish liver was the highlight of the entire appetizer platter. The Ankimo was extremely soft and just melted in my mouth.

• Carrot and Radish - I liked how this was marinated to produce a nice pickled flavour.

• Kinpira - The thinly sliced lotus root was crunchy, marinated, and slightly spicy.

Lobster Sashimi - A

Since we couldn't get lobster sashimi on our last adventure together (we didn't have enough people to finish the special lobster dinner), Puzzlefighter had to order the Lobster Sashimi this time. This dish comes with a 1- to 1.5-pound Nova Scotia lobster. It had the exact delicate sweetness of amaebi but was meatier and juicier. Our faces were filled with happiness the whole time we were eating the lobster sashimi. There weren't very many pieces of it, and we ran out very quickly.

Lobster Miso Soup - A-

After finishing the Lobster Sashimi, they took the head and claws and made a miso soup out of them. The soup had a light consistency and didn't absorb much lobster flavour, but the lobster meat itself retained an enjoyable sweetness.

Saba Aburi - A-

The Saba Aburi consisted of 8 pieces of torched saba in the traditional oshi style. The saba was fresh and not fishy. The amount of vinegar in the sushi rice was just right and worked well with the saba. I also enjoyed the soft texture of the saba, though I thought it could have more of a seared flavour.

Prawn Tempura - A-

I am a huge fan of anything matcha, so when I saw that the Prawn Tempura came with sesame and matcha tempura batter, I had to order it, even though I had no clue how matcha and prawn tempura could possibly work together. Well, it did not. The matcha was obscured by the savoury flavour of the prawn. I tried to smother it in the matcha powder and the tempura dipping sauce to see if that would fix the problem, but it turns out the matcha powder was salted! Imagine my horror as I took a bite out of my heavily salt-laden prawn tempura! Despite all that, the matcha tempura would still fare well as a regular piece of prawn tempura. The sesame prawn tempura was the better of the two. The sesame seeds added crispiness and a unique, nutty flavour to the tempura.

Matcha Ice Cream - A

Tea Pudding - A-

Bowl of Red Bean and Jelly - A-

Cheesecake - B+

Puzzlefighter understands my constant need to try as many things as possible, so we agreed on the Dessert Assortment combo for dessert. It came with four desserts:

• Matcha Ice Cream - The ice cream was decorated with a caramel cracker and had a remarkably rich green tea flavour. It did not taste like something that just came from the supermarket, and Puzzlefighter was disappointed that you couldn't order the Matcha Ice Cream by itself. 

• Tea Pudding - This had a milk tea flavour and was really tasty when mixed with the red bean in the Bowl of Red Bean and Jelly. Unfortunately, the pudding was too soft to be scraped out by a fork, and we were not provided with a spoon small enough to fit inside the mini glass. The struggle was real.

• Bowl of Red Bean and Jelly - This came with a lot of red bean and red bean sauce. The sweet flavours went well together.

• Cheesecake - The Cheesecake was made with cream cheese and was topped with blueberries. We did not find this particularly remarkable.

The service was very polite, and the servers came by regularly to make sure our tea was refilled. Overall, I found the food to be very consistently well-prepared. The quality of the food was much higher than what I experienced during my visit to Kamei Royale's old location, although I'm not sure if this was because I ordered more deluxe items this time. The deluxe items did cost us and the price tag for this dinner was over $100, but both of us left feeling satisfied.

Episode #184: Sushi Bar Maumi

Vancouver (West End), $$$$ (Luxury)
www.facebook.com/sushibarmaumi

On the day of my very first food blogger joint dinner, the skies decided to present me with some of the highest temperatures I've ever experienced all year. While making my way to Sushi Bar Maumi to meet Food Wench from Drunken Noms and Picky Diner, I had to spend some time standing in front of the display coolers at IGA and wander around in a few air-conditioned hotels in order to prevent myself from turning into a sweat fountain. Thankfully, I budgeted plenty of time to ensure that I would still make it on time.

Sushi Bar Maumi is operated by the sushi chef Maumi Ozaki and is one of the few places in Vancouver where you can get an authentic nigiri sushi omakase experience. It is strictly a sushi bar, so the menu consists solely of sashimi, nigiri sushi, and a few appetizers (there are no sushi rolls or alcoholic drinks). Most of Sushi Bar Maumi's diners come to have their nigiri sushi omakase, which comes in three forms: 10 pieces for $40, 15 pieces for $60, and 18 pieces for $90.

There are only ten seats (all at the bar), and as the omakase commences, each diner receives one large dish in front of them to hold the nigiri. Then, like clockwork, the chef works his way around the bar and presents each diner with one piece of nigiri at a time. The pace was quite relaxed, and between each piece, I had the time to take photos, eat the nigiri, write down some notes, and then discuss various aspects of my life with my fellow food bloggers. After the omakase, you have the option to order additional pieces of nigiri from the à la carte menu, which is updated daily depending on which fresh fish they managed to import from Japan. You are allowed to stay for a total of 90 minutes.

Now, let us rewind back to the beginning...

Anago Tempura - C+

Surprisingly, our first dish, the Anago Tempura (sea eel tempura), was a hot mess (pun intended). The batter was quite oily, and the frying oil was quite obviously overused. The distinct flavour of anago was lost, and this tasted much like any other battered fish. After biting into the anago tempura, my brain decided to spontaneously turn off and Food Wench, our vegetable expert, had to save me by identifying that the vegetable tempura consisted of one piece each of green bean, eggplant, and yam. There was also a crunchy fried fish bone added to the mix.

Kisu Tempura - C

Accompanied with the same pieces of vegetable tempura as the Anago Tempura above, the Kisu Tempura (Japanese whiting) also came with heavy and hard batter. Neither Food Wench nor I was impressed. The vegetable tempura was also sliced overly thin. I wondered if they made the tempura crappily in order to create a contrast with the excellent nigiri that was about to come next...

Mejina Nigiri - A

With the very first piece of our $40 nigiri omakase, we were taken into a whole new world with the Mejina Nigiri (largescale blackfish). (I Googled an image of the fish out of curiosity and cannot get over how plump and cute it looks.) The sushi rice was excellent with just the right amount of vinegar. It was also packed loosely enough to complement the texture of the fish. The blackfish itself had a nice, buttery flavour and an evenly distributed savouriness due to the fact that the sushi chef used a brush to apply a fine layer of soy sauce to the top of the nigiri. Picky Diner also remarked that there was a fair bit of wasabi placed under the fish.

Amaebi Nigiri - A

Among Food Wench's favourites was the Amaebi Nigiri (spotted prawn). The amaebi tasted fresh and featured a creamy flavour and a soft texture. They also provided us with the amaebi heads!

Surume Ika Nigiri - A

Along with the Mejina Nigiri, the Surume Ika Nigiri (Japanese flying squid) was a novelty for me. While I had no trouble recording the Japanese name for the nigiri, I kept thinking that the English name was Japanese line squid. That surely sounds like a very interesting type of squid. Once again, Food Wench came to my rescue and confirmed that the chef said Japanese flying squid. The squid had a delectable chewiness and was sliced to just the right thickness.

Hotategai Nigiri - A-

Moving onto the realm of seafood that I am familiar with, the Hotategai Nigiri, which the chef described as fresh scallop from Hokkaido, had an amazing, delicate, sweet flavour and a soft, pillowy texture. The only issue I had with this piece was that the wasabi was a little too heavy. 

Mebachi Maguro Nigiri - A-

Next, the Mebachi Maguro Nigiri (bigeye tuna) was one of the meatier pieces we received and came with a pleasant, smooth texture. With this piece, the brushing of soy sauce really accentuated the flavours of the tuna and brought it to life. Once again, the only issue I had was the slight overage of wasabi. 

Shima-Aji Nigiri - A+

With the Shima-Aji Nigiri (striped jack), things went from very good to outstanding. Here, Sushi Maumi managed to beat the other restaurants that initially made shima-aji my favourite type of nigiri. With an exquisite, smooth texture and a well-distributed hint of soy sauce, this piece of Shima-Aji Nigiri came as close to perfection as I could imagine Shima-Aji Nigiri to be. 

Aji Nigiri - A+

The Aji Nigiri (Spanish mackerel) was also one of the highlights of the omakase. It was very fresh and featured an excellent smooth texture. The garnish of green onion and ginger on top was a perfect complement to the aji and provided a nice zing. 

Kanpachi Nigiri - A+

Another piece of nigiri featuring an extremely smooth texture and a delectable brush of soy sauce was the Kanpachi (greater amberjack). The kanpachi and the rice just melted in my mouth perfectly. Could I even ask for more?

Saba Nigiri - A

The Saba Nigiri (mackerel) featured a slightly leaner texture than the Aji Nigiri above and came without the garnishes on top. This piece had a richer flavour and a slight chew to it. 

Anago Nigiri - B

Finally, our omakase ended off with a few wrong notes on the Anago Nigiri (saltwater eel). It was a little softer than expected and tasted like it was baked without any marinade or sauce. The anago almost bordered on being bland, but I still have to give Sushi Bar Maumi due credit for the consistently excellent sushi rice.

Ezo Awabi Nigiri - B-

After the conclusion of our omakase, Picky Diner and I proceeded to try out the Ezo Awabi Nigiri (Ezo abalone). I've had abalone many times in Chinese restaurants before, but this was my first time having it in nigiri form. Neither of us liked this piece in particular. It was much chewier and harder than I expected, and I felt like I was chewing little blocks. It didn't have much of the abalone flavour that I am used to.

Hon Maguro O-toro - A

I felt compelled to try something near the top of Sushi Bar Maumi's vast nigiri spectrum, so I went for one piece of Hon Maguro O-toro (fatty bluefin tuna). Due to sustainability issues (as bluefin tuna is an endangered species), I only order a piece of bluefin tuna once or twice a year (this being my first time this year). Picky Diner and Food Wench, being slightly more ethical than me, decided not to order this at all. The o-toro was served a noticeably cooler temperature than the other pieces, and was quite savoury and juicy. However, it wasn't quite as melty as the one I had at Octopus' Garden. 

During the whole omakase experience, the sushi chef didn't converse with the diners very much, but the waitress came around regularly to make sure that everyone's tea and water were refilled promptly. Aside from the tempura, I had a mostly excellent experience at Sushi Bar Maumi. The precision, care, and attention to detail are all clearly evident in the nigiri sushi. At one point, I started to feel a bit spellbound due to the consistently rich and luscious flavours of the nigiri. I could imagine all the delicious fish of the ocean swimming in my head. If it weren't for my eyes catching Picky Diner and Food Wench diligently pick up their cameras to take photos of each item, I would have forgotten to take photos of some of the nigiri myself.

 Click here to read Picky Diner's post!

Episode #173: Japanese Bistro Hatzu

Vancouver (West End), $$$ (Higher Priced)
www.bistrohatzu.com

As much as I enjoy travelling around Vancouver, getting to my restaurant destinations can occasionally be a challenge. This time, not only was my sleep interrupted by virtue of the bus breaking down, but I was pestered by so many strangers for spare change that I might as well have written the words "Human Charity" with a Sharpie on my forehead. By the time I finally got to Japanese Bistro Hatzu, all of my hunger alarms were ringing at full blast, and I was so low on energy that I barely managed to stay awake.

Japanese Bistro Hatzu is a fusion Japanese restaurant that was previously the home of Sushi Bella and is run by the same owners. (Check out The Georgia Straight's article for more details about the launch of Japanese Bistro Hatzu.) The bistro features a variety of innovative fusion dishes in addition to an upscale dining area. The atmosphere was quite lively, and the restaurant was bringing in a steady stream of customers.

Truffle Dancing Shrimp - A-

I scanned the menu for things that looked like they would replenish my energy, and dancing shrimp seemed like a good option. The shrimp were meaty with a snap, and the truffle oil, balsamic reduction, and basil pesto blended well together. The creamy, savoury flavour of the shrimp was topped with a nice helping of bubbly masago. 

Salmon Battera (Hatzu Oshi Sushi) - B+

Of course, I went for one of my favourite dishes to order at any fusion Japanese restaurant: the Salmon Oshi Sushi. The salmon had a soft texture, and the rice formation was above average. However, the jalapeño slices were quite large, and combined with the spicy mayonnaise, the oshi sushi was so spicy that I actually started crying. Trust me, that did not look very manly. After downing my entire glass of water, my mouth was still slightly burning. That being said, if you are used to eating spicy foods, then you should be able to manage this dish.

Dancing Ocean Roll - B+

While my energy levels were a bit higher, they still weren't at their best, so I thought that if the entire ocean started dancing, that would do the trick. The Dancing Ocean Roll came with prawn tempura, avocado, cucumber, sockeye salmon, tuna tataki, oroshi ponzu (grated radish with citrus sauce), green onion, and sesame seeds. Light seasoning was sprinkled on top of the roll for enhanced flavour, and the black pepper that garnished the tuna tataki was prominent. The thin pieces of sockeye salmon were actually glistening, and the creamy avocado inside was pleasant. The only issue with this roll was that the tempura was a bit overdone, which made it slightly hard and dry. 

Hatzu Crunch Tower - A

My last dish of the day was the Hatzu Crunch Tower, which featured salmon and tuna sashimi, avocado, tenkasu (fried flour-batter bits), crab meat, shitake mushrooms, lemon mayonnaise, basil pesto, olive oil, garlic chips, capers, balsamic reduction, and tobiko. Yeah, they pretty much put the entire herbs section of the supermarket into this thing. With a predominantly creamy texture and flavour, this tower reminded me of sushi without the rice and the seaweed. The tuna was especially fresh and fresher than the salmon. This is a heavy dish, and although it is not very large, I would recommend sharing this with at least one other friend.

The service was professional and on-point throughout my visit. I enjoyed my visit here significantly more than my visit to Sushi Bella in Kitsilano (I'm not sure if the other Sushi Bella locations are better). The food was consistently well-prepared and above average. My energy was fully replenished by the end of the meal, and I would say that it was worth all the hassle I experienced in trying to get here.

Episode #172: Aki Japanese Restaurant

Vancouver (West End), $$$$ (Luxury), $$ (Moderately Priced) with the lunch combos
www.akirestaurant.ca

I often like to actively participate in my classes because it helps me remember the information and keeps me from getting distracted. However, participation does not come easily if you had completed the pre-requisites for a course two years ago and have my memory. Combined with the fact that the lecture was held in the morning, my attempts to participate turned into awkward staring sessions with the prof and an abundance of laughter from my classmates. Well, at least I was entertaining. I contemplated ways to increase my memory and IQ, and of course, the solution was staring at me in the eye: a delicious round of sushi.

After the lecture, I did my usual and sleep-travelled to Aki Japanese Restaurant, a well-known authentic Japanese restaurant situated right next to Coal Harbour. Aki's current location has a trendy upscale interior, and it was filled with the scent of lemon meringue pie when I walked in (I'm not sure why). The menu focused on traditional Japanese dishes, and the lunch combos were noticeably cheaper than the standard items. In order to get the weirdest look possible from the waitresses, I decided to order two lunch combos.

Miso Soup - A-

Each of my combos came with a Miso Soup, and fortunately, both were well-prepared. The Miso Soup came with seaweed, green onion, and tofu. It was served at just the right temperature and had a well-balanced flavour.

Next to arrive was the Sushi Combo.

Tuna Sashimi - A-

Salmon Sashimi - A

The sashimi was cut into tiny pieces that were each barely the size of a Pink Pearl eraser. However, both of types of sashimi were very fresh. The salmon had a pleasant buttery flavour, while the tuna had a delectable smooth texture.

California Roll - B+

Salmon Roll - B

Cucumber Roll - B

Tuna Roll - B+

Next up was the standard maki sushi, a place where miracles rarely occur. The California Roll had a good balance of flavours but was slightly dry. The hosomaki rolls on the right were standard fare too. I enjoyed the rich flavour of the seaweed and the decent projection of flavour from the inner ingredients, but there were also issues such as a small bland clump of rice that I found in the Salmon Roll.

Ebi Nigiri - B+

Tuna Nigiri - A-

Tai Nigiri - A-

Salmon Nigiri - B+

With the nigiri, the sushi rice was a touch dry for my liking, but the toppings exhibited ample freshness. The Ebi Nigiri was sweet and had a nice crunch to it. The Tuna Nigiri featured soft, melty tuna, and the Tai Nigiri was also delightfully soft. 

Perhaps Aki's most famous dish is its black cod, so I felt compelled to order the Black Cod Lunch Set. At this point, I received strange looks from not only the servers, but from the diners beside me as well. With my notebook out and everything, I took up the entire dining space next to me (I was sitting at the sushi bar). Go me...

Ebi Sunomono - B+

The Ebi Sunomono was especially sweet and came with soft baby shrimp. The sunomono was on the milder side, and it was very light on the vinegar. The "soup" was quite drinkable. I would prefer a little more punch from the vinegar. 

Marinated Black Cod - A-

The Marinated Black Cod was a hit and a featured a delicious grilled flavour. You can take a large chunk and have the juiciness of the cod melt in your mouth. It wasn't the best black cod I've had though, and it would benefit from a slightly stronger miso flavour. 

Overall, the service was very friendly and professional. This is my second visit to Aki (the first was before I started this blog), and this visit confirmed my initial impression that Aki was consistent but did not provide any surprisingly outstanding dishes. What was surprising though was the fact that I had consumed both combos and taken all my notes and photos in the span of just 25 minutes. That is faster than the time it takes me to figure out how to operate the washing machine. I believe I have finally eaten enough sushi to activate my super saiyan food blogging abilities.

Episode #147: Kadoya Japanese Restaurant

Vancouver (West End), $$ (Moderately Priced)
www.kadoya.ca

I love taking public transit during my sushi adventures, except when I am in a hurry. For some odd reason, whenever I am in a rush, I end up missing each of my connections by a minute or two. Such was the case when I tried to go to Yohachi Sushi (in North Vancouver), which features decent sushi and a beautiful body of water to the south. I missed the 1:31 p.m. SeaBus sailing by just two minutes and could not make it in time for lunch! Clearly, the force is not with me. Not wanting to forgo my beautiful body of water to the south, I decided to head over to Kadoya Japanese Restaurant.

Kadoya Japanese Restaurant has two locations in West End, and after a few minutes of wandering around trying to find either one of them, I ended up at their second-floor location near the south end of Denman St. The interior decor is Japanese-themed, but the restaurant is Korean-operated and has a bit of a funky touch to it. When I tried to flip through the menu, I was startled by how dirty the menus looked, but upon closer inspection, I realized that some of the random specks were actually part of the design. The menus were either an epic design fail or "modern art." I know, it's hard to distinguish the two.

Kadoya Flower - A

Davie Flower - A-

During my search for fancy nigiri on the menu, my heart found its true love when my eyes met with the $3 nigiri flowers at the end of the list. The Kadoya Flower came with scallop, avocado, and two pieces of tuna surrounding some sushi rice. The fresh taste and melty texture of the tuna went perfectly with the light sweetness of the scallop. The Davie Flower consisted of scallop, ikura, two pieces of salmon, and sushi rice. The juicy ikura provided some extra depth of flavour to the buttery, creamy flavour of the salmon. The only issue with the nigiri flowers was that due to their size, they were hard to pick up and impossible to eat in one bite (unless you are part pelican). 

King's Roll - B

Wanting to experience what it would feel like to be a king, I decided to order the King's Roll, which consisted of prawn tempura, wild salmon, green onion, garlic, honey mustard, avocado, and cucumber. My plan sort of failed because I could not imagine any king eating sushi with honey mustard and garlic in it. I must say that this roll is filled with funkiness and will only appeal to those who are fans of both honey mustard and garlic. I liked the crunchiness of the garlic crumbs, but I found the tempura batter on the prawns a bit thick. The wild salmon had a nice smooth texture but was sort of drowned out by the small dabs of honey mustard on top. 

Chicken Teriyaki with Fried Rice - B+

Wanting to end my meal with something that tasted more normal, I decided to go for the Chicken Teriyaki with Fried Rice. I chose the fried rice version over the regular steamed rice version because it was cheaper for some reason. The fried rice was delectable and infused with tiny bits of egg and some sesame seeds. The chicken was mostly tender, and the chicken skin was mostly crispy. However, there was this one unfortunate piece of chicken that was full of tendons and came with a smooth, rubbery layer of skin on top. Oops!

The service was decent and the prices were reasonable for the quality of food. The portion sizes tend not to be very big, but fortunately, the fillers are not expensive. I would not consider this restaurant a must-try, but it does the job fairly well for a modest price. Furthermore, it is quite close to a beautiful body of water, if that helps.