Episode #38: Sushiholic

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

Today, I decided to go to a new Japanese restaurant in the quaint village of West End whose name perfectly describes myself. They have another branch at Broadway and Rupert and that branch has gained quite some popularity. I believe that their location at Denman is larger and more spacious than their original location. Looking at the menu, I saw that fried items were very well represented in comparison to the other categories, and it was quite tempting for me to order only fried items. However, since that is the perfect recipe for a sore throat, I went on a mini nigiri sampling spree at the end instead.

Kaki Fry - B

I was started off with the Kaki Fry (deep fried, breaded oysters) which contained six soft, juicy oysters. The oysters were not very large, and I found the amount of batter to be a bit disproportionate for the size of the oyster. It certainly packed a lot of crunchiness though. The sauce on the right was a sweet tangy sauce mixed with mayonnaise (the same sauce typically used for takoyaki) and was a good accompaniment for the vegetables. I also found the mysterious star symbol rather interesting - it's like "Place the oyster here and something magical will happen."

Awesome Roll - B

The Awesome Roll consisted of crab meat, avocado, cucumber, masago, baked salmon, and some yam fries dressed with spicy mayonnaise on top. The most awesome part of it was the abundance of crunchy fries on top and the slight spiciness of the mayonnaise added dimensions to the overall flavour of the roll. The artificial crab meat was very sweet while the avocado was under-ripe, which, texture-wise, resembled an unfortunate piece of unmelted chocolate that somehow wandered its way into the mix. Otherwise, the roll was decent and mostly awesome.

Seared Toro Nigiri - A

Seared Salmon Belly Nigiri - A-

Unagi Nigiri - B

Tai Nigiri - A

Ebi Nigiri - B

And at last, the results of the mini nigiri sampling spree. The Seared Toro Nigiri was dressed with a mild, savoury sauce that greatly enhanced the flavour of the toro, and the resulting rich, juicy smoothness was a delight. The Seared Salmon Belly Nigiri had the top half seared (the right way to do it) and had a sweet taste as well as a small, non-distracting dab of wasabi inside. The Unagi Nigiri paled in comparison, and was not only small but also lacking in moisture. The Tai Nigiri, on the other hand, was very fresh and had a smooth texture and the perfect amount of flavour for tai. The Ebi Nigiri was a bit too chewy and was marinated with ginger.

The service was adequate and was neither something to rave about nor complain about. The food was fine (it would be quite decent if a few small things were fixed) and the prices were quite reasonable. However, the washroom was not reasonable. It was so small that I had trouble cramming myself in there. Plus, I had to stand to the side in order to use the toilet because the sink was in the way (there wasn't any other place to put the sink because the washroom was so small). I'm a pretty slim guy and if I have trouble fitting myself in, something is wrong. Go to the library instead (it's just a block away) for a more comfortable washroom. That being said, Sushiholic, with an adequate variety of menu options, can be a good place for a sushiholic to satisfy his or her desires.

Episode #37: Fuji Sushi

Port Moody, $$$ (Higher Priced)
www.facebook.com/fujisushi

Perhaps the most well-known of the Japanese restaurants in Port Moody, Fuji Sushi is authentic and has had a successful past, gaining a substantial number of regulars. They recently undergone a renovation, which transformed the restaurant from having a light theme to a darker theme. I guess it looks more like a Japanese restaurant than before, but in my opinion, I found the lighter theme (from before) more inviting. In fact, I thought the restaurant was closed and still under renovation when I walked by until I saw the chefs inside.

After the renovation, I also noticed that many of the prices had gone up. They also added a wide range of more expensive items to the menu, such as special rolls and aburi nigiri. Wanting to sample a bit of everything and sticking with the basics, I decided to order to Sashimi Combination ($19.95), which contained Miso Soup, a salad, Agedashi Tofu, Tuna and Salmon Sashimi, California Roll, 5 pieces of tempura, a mashed potato appetizer and Chicken Teriyaki. 

Miso Soup - B+

The Miso Soup was served hot and the miso paste was quite flavourful, but I found it a bit on the salty side.

Salad - A-

The salad contained fresh lettuce and tomato and the tangy vinegar-based dressing was a light, mostly liquidy vinaigrette.

After I finished the salad, the rest of the combination arrived:

It may not look like it, but the combination is actually quite large and filling.

Agedashi Tofu - B-

The Agedashi Tofu had light, crisp batter on the outside with a large piece of white tofu in the middle. I'm not sure if this was a good idea as the inside would have tasted much better if it was closer to the sauce. I prefer the smaller bite-sized pieces as those tend to be more savoury. It also could have used more sauce.

Tuna Sashimi - A-

Salmon Sashimi - B

The tuna sashimi had a bit of a sandy texture and was sliced quite thin, but it was adequately soft. It had a decent mild and balanced taste to it. The Salmon Sashimi was quite smooth and slippery (to the point that I had quite a bit of trouble picking it up with my chopsticks) and was a solid display of knife skills. However, it was quite lacking in taste, and was rather unwilling to absorb the soy sauce.

California Roll - B-

The California Roll contained relatively little crab and had a strong presence of avocado (which bordered on being overripe). The sushi rice was decent, but overall, I found the roll to be mushy due to the excess amount of avocado. The cucumber was also noticeably hard and could be cut into thinner pieces for better integration with the rest of the roll.

Sweet Potato Tempura - B

Prawn Tempura - A-

Zucchini Tempura - B-

Carrot Tempura - C+

Onion Tempura - C

As for the tempura, the batter was laid on very unevenly and a most of the batter had a soft bread-like texture instead of the desired light crispy texture. Perhaps they had an accident when preparing the tempura but decided that I would probably tolerate a minor slip. My favourite piece out of the tempura was the prawn, which was thick, meaty and tasty. The Sweet Potato Tempura was cut to the right thickness and was soft, but the batter on this piece was hard in some places. The zucchini was thin and juicy while the carrot had a snappy texture. If the Onion Tempura was an attempt to mimic onion rings, then I must say it was a rather poor attempt. The slice of onion they used was huge and because of the soft batter, I felt like I was eating a large slice of unchopped onion. I failed to finish it. 

There was a small mashed potato appetizer in the middle of the combination box. There were small chunks of various vegetables inside for added variety. For mashed potatoes, it was quite decent but I won't assign a grade to it because me and mashed potatoes just don't get along. Yep ...

Chicken Teriyaki - A-

The Chicken Teriyaki was executed the best out of all the various items in the combination. The teriyaki sauce was delicious and brought out the flavours of the chicken quite well. They also did an excellent job of stir-frying the vegetables underneath.

Oyster Motoyaki - B

The Oyster Motoyaki was not part of the combination, but was one of the smaller items I could get without ending up too full (funny enough, this seems to be a common problem of mine). They were surprisingly generous with the amount of oysters in the motoyaki and the custard had a nice, creamy texture. The only issue was that the custard tasted excessively acidic (maybe the mayonnaise was too strong? or too much mayonnaise was used?). A bed of sliced onions lined the bottom of the motoyaki and the mild-tasting oil went well with the onions.

The service was very friendly overall and the servers' bright attitudes clearly distinguished them from those at other restaurants. The food I received was a bit of a hit-and-miss game and despite the decent service, I don't think the price premium was justified. In fact, I remember the food as being substantially better before the renovation. The restaurant was mostly empty at prime dinner time on a Thursday night and I believe they would need to lower their prices or come up with a few first-class news-inspiring dishes if they wish to continue their past success.

Episode #36: Sango

Port Moody, $$$ (Higher Priced)
www.facebook.com/sangores511

Sango is a Japanese fusion restaurant located in Suter Brook Village (across the street from Newport Village), one of the latest additions to the city of Port Moody. The restaurant is quite large, has a great ambience and is suitable for large parties. If you are familiar with Kami Sushi, you may notice that the menus of the two restaurants are remarkably similar.

Wanting to try sample a variety of nigiri, I ordered the combo called "8 piece sushi with California roll", which contained ... well, the name says it all:

Moving on to describe the different pieces of sushi:

Tuna Nigiri - B+

Salmon Nigiri - A-

Tai Nigiri - B+

Ebi Nigiri - B

The nigiri was generally fresh and neatly cut. The Tuna Nigiri was generous with a thick cut. It had just a slight fishy aftertaste, but was otherwise alright. The Salmon Nigiri had a fresh, sweet, buttery taste with a nice smooth sheen. The Tai Nigiri delivered in terms of taste and was a bit on the chewy side, but for tai, it had a smooth texture. They used a rather large shrimp for the Ebi Nigiri which packed a significant burst of flavour, but it would be nice if it was softer.

California Roll - B-

I felt like California rolls were not their specialty. Maybe I should have stuck with the fusion items since they advertise themselves as a Japanese fusion restaurant. The mayonnaise in the California roll was rather dry and the avocado was a touch overripe, but at least the roll itself held together well. A little more crab meat would also have been appreciated.

After I finished the combo, I got the Miso Roll:

Miso Roll - B+

The Miso Roll consisted of shrimp tempura, eel, sockeye salmon, special sauce (most likely a light teriyaki sauce with some miso mixed in). The highlight of the roll was the sockeye salmon, which was fresh and had an appealing, smooth texture. The taste of the shrimp was noticeable and the batter had a light crunch for some of the pieces. The crab meat was a bit dry (same issue as above) and the unagi was sliced thin with some bony sections. Overall, there was a decent attempt to create harmony with all the different flavours.

The restaurant wasn't very busy during my visit (I walked it at about 5 p.m.), so I received friendly and attentive service throughout my stay. In fact, the servers came to me three times before I was ready to order, though I'll admit that I'm quite slow at ordering. The regular Japanese items were decent, but not spectacular, so it felt like I was paying some premium for the ambience. I was craving salmon during this visit, but perhaps I should return and try some of their fusion items, which is allegedly their specialty.