Episode #86: Hiraku Sushi

Coquitlam, $$ (Moderately Priced)
www.hirakusushi.com

One of the fastest-growing areas of Greater Vancouver is Burke Mountain (in northeastern Coquitlam), which now has an eclectic mix of modern homes as well as a shopping plaza known as Meridian Corner. The shopping plaza, albeit small, contains all of your usual businesses: a bank, a pharmacy, a fast food vendor, and a sushi restaurant. There is no grocery store, but who needs groceries when you have sushi?

Hiraku Sushi, a Korean-operated Japanese restaurant, first caught my attention when I saw its sparkly lights as my dad was driving by the area. When I walked into the restaurant at about 4 p.m. with my dad, I was quite astonished by how popular the restaurant had become. There were 3 sushi chefs at the counter, 3 servers, and several other chefs in the back. The dining area, which was at least moderate in size, was half full, and by the time 5 p.m. came around, the restaurant was truly bustling with activity. The gentle piano music along with the clean, modern decor made for a nice, comfortable atmosphere.

Tuna Sashimi - B+

Salmon Sashimi - A-

The Appetizer Sashimi contained 3 pieces of tuna and 2 pieces of salmon. The sashimi was cut into very large and generous pieces. The Tuna Sashimi melted in my mouth, but had a slight fishy taste. The Salmon Sashimi was cut thickly and had a delicious, buttery flavour.

Grilled Tuna Toro Sushi - B+

Grilled Salmon Toro Sushi - B+

The grilled versions of the tuna and salmon were just as generous. Instead of being thick, the grilled tuna and salmon were cut into very long pieces. Add small ikura eyes and you can have some beautiful grilled toro nigiri dragons. Or snakes. The Grilled Tuna Toro Sushi was slightly crispy on the outside, but had a soft texture underneath. A dab of sauce would help bring the flavours alive. The Grilled Salmon Toro Sushi was slightly overseared, but remained juicy. 

Burke Mountain Roll - A-

The most expensive special roll on the menu ($12), the Burke Mountain Roll consisted of prawn tempura, cucumber, avocado, yam tempura, sockeye salmon, unagi, green onion, and tobiko. My dad and I both enjoyed this roll, which was a tasty mix of umami flavours. The tempura was well-executed with lightly crispy batter, while the cucumber could be cut into smaller pieces to avoid being too crunchy. The sockeye salmon and unagi were both fresh and adequately featured.

Salmon Teriyaki - B

To fill my dad up, I got him the Salmon Teriyaki, which was served with a small bowl of steamed rice. The salmon was nicely grilled and the bean sprouts below were adequately dressed with teriyaki sauce. The quality of the salmon itself was so-so, but the decent preparation kind of made up for it. Of course, my dad couldn't finish all of the teriyaki, so I ended up stuffing myself full too.

The service was adequate and the food was consistently executed at an above-average quality. The pricing of the dishes was very reasonable, and there were a lot of items on the menu that appeared to be worth trying. Compared to other sushi restaurants in Coquitlam, Hiraku Sushi has quite a good balance of everything I look for in a restaurant, and I will likely make multiple repeat visits in the future.

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 #84: Sushi Momo

Langley, $$ (Moderately Priced)

After hearing about my plan to take a 90-minute bus trip to Hanako Japanese Restaurant (beside Guildford Town Centre), my dad offered to help me save an hour by driving me there. Somehow, we got cursed by the wrong turn fairy and ended up in the middle of Langley instead. My $15 phone plan unfortunately does not include 3G, so we had to select a Japanese restaurant based on outside appearance alone. We couldn't use the heuristic of choosing the restaurant with the most diners because every restaurant that we passed by happened to be almost empty. In the end, my dad chose Sushi Momo because it had the most comfortable seating.

Sushi Momo is Korean-operated and offers a 10% discount to seniors. The interior decor had a clean feel and they were playing 80's pop music on the stereo, which added to the "un-urban" feel of being in Langley. While I was combing through the large assortment of dishes and combos, my dad noticed something peculiar about the washrooms. To get to the men's washroom, you have to go through a long, winding path, which leads to a flight of stairs to the second floor on which the washroom is located. The women's washroom, however, is located on the main floor. Do men really need more exercise?

Miso Soup - B

I ordered the Dynamite Combo, which came with a Dynamite Roll, nigiri sushi (5 pcs), and a Miso Soup. The Miso Soup was garnished with tofu, green onion, and a few small pieces of bean curd. The temperature was good but it was overly salty.

The rest of the Dynamite Combo was nicely presented. It's also the first time I've seen unagi in a roll and nigiri combo!

Dynamite Roll - C+

The Dynamite Roll consisted of yam fries, tempura yam, tempura prawn, crab meat, and lettuce. Although I liked the extra crunch provided by the yam fries at the top, I was bugged by the sauce, which was as sweet as canned cherries.

Unagi Nigiri - C-

Tuna Nigiri - B

Salmon Nigiri - B

I was initially excited to have unagi in my combo, but that excitement disappeared when the unagi tasted like they mixed up their unagi and Worcestershire sauces. How am I supposed to like tangy unagi?! Oh, the horror! The Tuna Nigiri and Salmon Nigiri were substantially better. The salmon was fresh and buttery and the tuna was sufficiently soft. However, I had to deduct some points since the sushi rice was lacking in flavour and the fish looked like it was cut using a miniature pair of scissors.

Baked Salmon Roll - B-

The Baked Salmon Roll came with crab meat, cucumber, avocado, baked salmon, mayonnaise, green onion, and sweet soy sauce. The salmon has a seared look but it tastes baked, and I thought that the salmon and green onion combination was nice. The roll itself is not baked and is substantially cooler. The crab meat inside was rather coarse with a bit of a powdery texture and the roll was slightly heavy on the rice.

Salmon Teriyaki - B

Carrot Tempura - B-

Zucchini Tempura - B+

The Salmon Teriyaki also came with a Miso Soup and two pieces of tempura (carrot and zucchini). It wasn't a big portion, but the salmon was fresh. The sauce was overly sweet and started to overwhelm the salmon. The Carrot Tempura was a bit hard and dry, but the Zucchini Tempura was nice and juicy with the right amount of batter. It would be nice if they provided tempura dipping sauce.

Then, the waitress caught me taking notes and actually came to my table to confront me about it. My dad and I told her that I was taking notes so that I could introduce the restaurant on my blog. Instead of being any help at all, she just said "That doesn't help" and walked away. I thought she was really enraged, but one minute later ...

Raspberry and Tempura Banana Dessert - A-

... she brought back a complimentary dessert for both my dad and I! She didn't apologize or anything, but she suddenly remained quite friendly for the rest of my meal. I'll definitely add this to the list of things I don't understand about women. The Raspberry and Tempura Banana Dessert was the best-executed item of the entire meal. The tempura was crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside and went especially well with the sweet raspberry. 

The service was decent for our entire stay except for the moment disaster struck when the waitress saw me taking notes. The food was not expensive, but not cheap either, and the portions are not large. It helped that my dad was able to get us the 10% seniors' discount. The quality of the food was in line with the standards for sushi in Langley. The sauces were the biggest issue, and by not constantly using the wrong sauce, they have the potential to become one of the best sushi restaurants in Langley.