Episode #70: Sushi Van

Vancouver (Northwest), $ (Budget)

Sushi Van is one of the newest additions to Vancouver's vast assortment of Japanese restaurants and is conveniently located at the intersection of Granville St. and Broadway. I got off the Skytrain at Cambie St. and Broadway and intended to walk over, when I realized that the walk was much longer than I anticipated. Conveniently, the pollen in the air had my allergy senses tingling. When I finally arrived at the restaurant, I noticed that it was Korean-operated and sat slightly underground, but the seating space inside is ample and cozy.

I was attracted to Sushi Van after reading their menu online and discovering their repertoire of unique special rolls. Who doesn't want to try a Sushi Risotto, a Burning Love Roll, or even a Nude Boy Roll? In addition to their special rolls, they also offer dishes in every major category of Japanese food from teriyaki to tempura to udon. Every time I visit a Japanese restaurant, I always want to try food from every category, but it is a sad truth that I am human and can only eat so much food.

They also have one of the best ideas in town for presenting a menu - who would have thought of using a photo album with pink flowers on the front?

Salmon Sashimi - B

Tuna Sashimi - C+

Sockeye Salmon Sashimi - A-

White Tuna Sashimi - A

The Assorted Sashimi A ($8) came with 8 pieces of sashimi for an astonishingly low price. At $1 a piece (and with sockeye involved), I was literally expecting eraser-sized cuts, but the portions somehow ended up being on the generous side. The Salmon Sashimi had a good texture, but the Sockeye Salmon Sashimi had a significantly better flavour. The Tuna Sashimi was unfortunately not fully thawed (how does this happen to me three adventures in a row?!) and had a bit of an icy taste. However, the White Tuna Sashimi (which is actually escolar) was near perfect with a well-balanced level of saltiness and a texture that was like tai (snapper) but much softer.

Note to readers: Escolar Sashimi (often labelled as white tuna) is very tasty but there are risks associated with consuming significant quantities of it. Refrain from eating more than 6 oz. (about 3 to 4 pieces) at a time.

Burning Love Roll - B+

After spending too much time mulling over which special roll to choose, I settled with the Burning Love Roll, which was made with avocado, cucumber, tamago, crab meat, seared salmon, green onion, and sweet chili spicy sauce. The roll ended up being moderately spicy with pleasantly soft textures. The salmon had a nice smoked flavour, but this was somewhat covered up by the bold, attention-grabbing spicy sauce. 

Takoyaki - A-

The Takoyaki had a nice crispy outer layer and the amount of sauce was just right. In addition to being presented neatly, I liked how the small piece of octopus inside was well-defined.

Ebi Mayo - C+

The Ebi Mayo came with 4 large meaty (and chewy) prawns. For some reason, everything other than the sauce and the lettuce leaves tasted quite bland. It was as if the prawns had no flavour to begin with.

The service was friendly and sufficient, while the food mostly decent with a few hits and misses. The prices are surprisingly good when taking into consideration all of the different factors (location, quality, etc.). Furthermore, they are the only Japanese restaurant I have seen in the Lower Mainland to serve White Tuna Sashimi (escolar). If you go to Sushi Van, there is a good chance that you'll see something on the menu that you have never seen at any other sushi restaurant before.

Episode #69: Sushi Bar Iori

Maple Ridge, $$ (Moderately Priced)

Touted by many to be the best in Maple Ridge, Sushi Bar Iori, a small Korean-operated Japanese restaurant, became my next target for my series of Maple Ridge sushi adventures. As their name suggests, they focus mainly on sushi and do not serve cooked items or noodles. Unfortunately, I was stuck in a traffic jam and arrived exactly when their break (from 3:00 to 3:45 p.m.) started. I had to temporarily keep my palate entertained at Yumi's Frozen Yogurt next door. Afterward, since I was in a hurry, I snapped a photo of the menu that was taped to the door and proceded to think about my order inside the small shopping mall to which the restaurant was attached.

Appetizer Tempura - B+

The Appetizer Tempura came with 3 prawns and 3 pieces of yam (even though the menu only says 2 pieces of yam). I was surprised that this would be the first item to arrive, but I was glad that it came out in less than 10 minutes. It wasn't fine-dining quality, but the tempura was mostly decent. The prawns were meaty enough and the yam was cut to the right thickness with sufficient sweetness. The dipping sauce has a nice mild hint of ginger.

Barbie Roll - A-

I wanted to try their seared stuff, so I went with the Barbie Roll, which consisted of prawn, crab meat, asparagus, seared wild salmon and avocado. The roll was cleanly cut and well-presented. The sesame added flavour and the salmon was seared the right amount. The sauce applied was just barely enough, and it helps if you slide the pieces around in the teriyaki and spicy mayonnaise sauce to capture more of its flavour. Despite its name, I think it tastes better than a Barbie, though I can't say for sure because I have never actually tasted a Barbie before. Maybe one day ...

Tuna Sashimi - B-

Sockeye Salmon Sashimi - B

Tai Sashimi - A-

Hokkigai Sashimi - A-

The Half Assorted Sashimi came with 3 pieces of Tuna Sashimi, 2 pieces of Sockeye Salmon Sashimi, 2 pieces of Tai Sashimi, and 2 pieces of Hokkigai Sashimi. The Tuna Sashimi was cut to the optimal thickness, but when I bit into it, I realized why it came last. In fact, they had been trying to thaw it on the counter for the duration of my meal, but when it came to me, two of the pieces were still half frozen. At least they tried. The Sockeye Salmon Sashimi was fresh, albeit sliced a little thick, making it a bit tough. The Tai Sashimi and the Hokkigai Sashimi were both decent and fresh. 

The one waitress was enough to provide sufficient service to all of the tables. I enjoyed the freshness of the food and the neat presentation of each dish. The food at Sushi Bar Iori has a slightly more traditional Japanese feel than Shinobi. However, it is a bit questionable whether Iori or Shinobi serves better food overall. I would say that Iori has better consistency due to its limited menu, but there are some spectacular items at Shinobi that make neither restuarant a clear favourite over the other.

Episode #68: Mega Sushi

Steveston, Richmond, $$$ (Higher Priced)
www.toktokvan.com/megasushi

Sushi restaurants in the quaint Steveston village are notoriously expensive, but tend to serve some of the freshest sashimi in the Lower Mainland since the village has its own Fisherman's Wharf. The two most well-known sushi restaurants in Steveston are Ichiro Japanese Restaurant and Mega Sushi. Mega Sushi, unlike Ichiro (which is Japanese-operated), is Korean-operated and serves a wide selection of Japanese dishes with more affordable prices. They were unbelievably packed for a Tuesday evening, and even a party of one was subject to a 20-minute wait (which was a first for me). Make sure you have a reservation!

The atmosphere inside was quite boisterous due to the number of patrons but the seating was clean comfortable. The restaurant is moderately sized and the decor has a modern feel to it. In my opinion, the restaurant is not very well named, as it is not the type of restaurant that serves jumbo-sized portions with low prices.

Ebi Sunomono - B+

In my quest to try every category of Japanese food, I got the Mega Bento, and the first item to arrive from it was the Ebi Sunomono. It was nice that they brought me a bit of the bento before the whole bento was ready. The Ebi Sunomono was quite cold with a modest amount of vinegar that didn't overwhelm the other ingredients. I found the ebi to be slightly tough, possibly due to the colder temperature that the sunomono was served at.

Miso Soup - A-

The Miso Soup (part of the Mega Bento) was served hot and had a good balance of miso paste and dashi broth without being too salty. I also liked the neat container that the Miso Soup came in.

Godzilla Bite - A

The Godzilla Bite contained deep-fried seaweed and rice, torched tuna, salmon, and chopped scallop, and alfalfa. This was a highly inventive roll (or is it even a roll?) that was very well executed. The deep-fried seaweed and rice formed little soft, crispy pillows on the bottom for the torched tuna, salmon and chopped scallop, which had decent smooth textures. The good balance of sweetness and mild spiciness was highly enjoyable. There is also a small container of crispy rice in the center that was lit up to produce a small flame!

Tuna Sashimi - C+

Sockeye Salmon Sashimi - A

The Appetizer Sashimi came with three pieces of tuna sashimi, two pieces of sockeye salmon sashimi, and a piece of celery as a decoration on top. Unfortunately, the Tuna Sashimi was not fully thawed, though it wasn't very far off either. To fix the problem, I came up with the brilliant idea of holding the Tuna Sashimi over the small flame from the Godzilla Bite above. The resulting tuna tataki tasted excellent! As for the Salmon Sashimi, it was very fresh with a smooth sheen, as expected from a Japanese restaurant in Steveston!

Next, the rest of the Mega Bento arrived. There was Chicken Teriyaki, an Alaska Roll, a Salad, Appetizer Tempura, and Gyoza. Once again, I ordered way too much food to fit on my table!

Chicken Teriyaki - C+

The Chicken Teriyaki had good flavour from the sesame seeds and was tender with a smooth texture. The only issue I had with it was that the skin was really mushy and too reminiscent of mashed potatoes.

Alaska Roll - B-

The Alaska Roll consisted of cream cheese, cucumber, avocado, imitation crab and smoked salmon. The smoked salmon was of high quality and the avocado was fresh, but there was an overdose of cream cheese. I think the cream cheese had a larger volume than the cucumber, avocado, and imitation crab combined.

Salad - B+

The Salad consisted mainly of arugula leaves dressed in the appropriate amount of vinaigrette. It was quite refreshing even though I had already had a larger salad from the Godzilla Bite.

 Prawn Tempura - A

Sweet Potato Tempura - B+

Kabocha Tempura - B

The batter on the tempura was particularly well made and had an excellent soft but crispy texture. The Prawn Tempura was by far the best of the bunch and was nearly as good as Ichiro's A+ Prawn Tempura. The vegetable tempura (sweet potato and kabocha) paled in comparison, but still retained the good qualities of the batter.

Gyoza - B-

I wasn't a big fan of the Gyoza as the filling was weak in flavour and the wrapper was a bit dry. However, there was sufficient juiciness inside the Gyoza.

The servers were quite busy throughout my entire visit due to the especially high demand, but they tried their best and maintained a pleasant attitude. Although not every dish was exactly stellar, the restaurant does have its fair share of must-trys, such as the Godzilla Bite. I wanted to try the Mega Tower too as it looked very delicious when others ordered it, but then, I would end up with three salads and so much food on the table that I would have to start putting items on the floor. Oh, the terrible dilemmas I face during my sushi adventures!