Episode #89: Sushi Hachi

Richmond, $$$ (Higher Priced)

After seeing many rave reviews about the authentic Sushi Hachi on various Vancouver food blogs, I decided to check it out for myself. I had some errands to run at Richmond Centre and didn't want to use up another bus pass just to get to Sushi Hachi, so I decided to walk the 2.8 km distance between the two. It wasn't tiring at all; in fact, the only nuisance was the fact that I was constantly pestered to join this and that. I have never felt so wanted before.

Sushi Hachi's main focuses are nigiri sushi and sashimi. As you can see from the photo above, all they have for cooking are a few pots and pans, so don't be expecting teriyaki or udon at Sushi Hachi (there is nothing of that sort on the menu). I also heard that they are wary of food bloggers who take photos and then post rave reviews because they are worried that the regulars won't be able to get seats anymore. Not a problem at all. I discreetly opened up a WeChat conversation and texted all my notes and photos to myself instead of bringing out my notebook.

Starting from the top (12 o'clock), going clockwise:

 Kampachi Sashimi - A

Tako Sashimi - A

Shima-Aji Sashimi - A

Saba Sashimi - A-

Madai Sashimi - A-

Sockeye Salmon Sashimi - B-

Aji Sashimi - A-

The Chef's Choice Sashimi came with 7 kinds of sashimi, each sliced into very small pieces. The thickness of each piece was just right, but I wish the pieces were larger so that I could taste the flavours better. Nonetheless, the Kampachi Sashimi (yellowtail) was delicious with a thick, buttery texture. The Tako Sashimi (octopus) had just the right amount of chewiness, while the Shima-Aji Sashimi (Japanese striped jack) was softer and sweeter than the Kampachi (though they look nearly identical). The Saba Sashimi was rich in taste, had a deep burgundy colour, and was garnished with grated ginger. The Madai Sashimi was less rich in taste, and the Sockeye Salmon Sashimi lacked a smooth texture. The Aji Sashimi was sliced into thin strands and accompanied by green onion.

Chopped Scallop Roll - B-

Sushi Hachi seems to struggle with constructing sushi rolls. The sushi rice of the Chopped Scallop Roll was very well-prepared and tasty, but there was way too much of it. The roll was like 80% rice and 10% chopped scallop! I'll give it to them that the ingredients were fresh. 

Unagi Nigiri - A

Aburi Toro Nigiri - A

Marinated Red Tuna Nigiri - A-

The Unagi Nigiri ($4) was very expensive, but it looked so delicious in the box that I had to try it. It was served at a piping hot temperature and was very soft. I loved everything about it except for the fact that it was a tad bony. The Aburi Toro Nigiri was deliciously seared and was very soft and juicy. The Marinated Red Tuna Nigiri was accompanied by grated ginger and seaweed, which helped liven up the flavour of the tuna. 

BBQ Salmon Skin Salad - A

The BBQ Salmon Salad came with BBQ salmon skin, cucumber, masago, green onion, and ponzu sauce. I greatly enjoyed the subtle smoky flavour of the salmon and the ponzu sauce was not overwhelming at all. At $5.50, I consider this one of the best things to order at Sushi Hachi. The portion size was decent and it was masterfully prepared.

Overall, the service was very friendly and this was complemented by the pleasant, relaxing atmosphere of the restaurant. The restaurant is not large and reservations are a must on any day due to their very limited hours (6 to 9 p.m. from Tuesday to Saturday). Every diner without a reservation was turned away. The sashimi, the nigiri sushi, and the BBQ Salmon Skin Salad were all very delightful, while the sushi rolls could use some improvements. The higher prices were justified by the freshness of the ingredients. Well, here it is - another positive review for Sushi Hachi. Sushi Hachi, how about even more customers?

Episode #88: Sushi Umibe

Maple Ridge, $$ (Moderately Priced)

During the days in which I don't have the luxury of a U-Pass, my dad often drives me to the sushi restaurant I am about to visit on the condition that I pay for his food as well. On the surface, this does not sound like a good deal at all. However, he is my dad and he eats so little food that my bill only goes up by about $5. This $5 was easily saved by venturing to the land of the inexpensive and sometimes decent sushi, also known as Maple Ridge.

On our way there, my dad accidentally drove just a hair past 207 St. and it took us almost 10 minutes to rectify this mistake. This involved so many tricky twists and turns that my dad started to believe this was a bad omen telling us not to visit the restaurant. The fact that the air quality in that area of town was particularly foul that day and the fact that the restaurant looked almost deserted didn't help. (Note that this was at 2:45 p.m.) When we hesitantly walked in, I quickly noticed that there was one diner in the restaurant who was alive and enjoying his meal, which helped me convince myself that everything was probably going to be alright.

Miso Soup - B+

The Umibe Combination came with a Miso Soup, Gomae, a California Roll, Tuna Nigiri, Salmon Nigiri, Ebi Nigiri, Tempura, and Chicken Teriyaki. My dad remarked that the Miso Soup was garnished with a small amount of green onion and tofu, and that it was served at a hot tempurature with rich miso paste.

California Roll - A-

Sushi Umibe nailed the basics with the California Roll, which was neatly constructed and enhanced by sesame seeds. The mayonnaise and crab combination was tasty with the right textures. My dad really liked this roll too and wanted my mom to be able to try it, so he had to keep telling me again and again to stop eating the whole thing.

Tuna Nigiri - B+

Salmon Nigiri - B

Ebi Nigiri - B+

The Tuna Nigiri was fresh and sufficiently soft, while the Salmon Nigiri exhibited a mild, buttery flavour. The Ebi Nigiri was my favourite as it was fresh and quite meaty. The sushi rice was adequately seasoned but packed a bit too tightly.

Assorted Tempura - C+

The Assorted Tempura was rather disappointing because it was fried using old oil and the batter was quite thick. The one piece of prawn was quite tasty and would have been a decent piece of tempura had it been fried with better oil. The kabocha was sweet but rather dry and the sweet potato was harder than expected. The yam was sliced into a peculiarly thin piece that resembled a potato chip.

Chicken Teriyaki - B+

The Chicken Teriyaki came with tender, juicy chicken dressed with a good amount of teriyaki sauce. It didn't come with rice, so I had to pay an extra $1.25 for a bowl of steamed rice. My dad enjoyed the Chicken Teriyaki and so did I, although it would be nice if the pan-fried skin was slightly thinner.

Gomae - B-

The Gomae was dressed with copious amounts of sesame sauce and fresh spinach. The sesame sauce could be ground more finely and spread out better throughout the spinach. 

Lobster Roll - B

The Lobster Roll consisted of cucumber, avocado, crab meat, prawn tempura, lobster, and tobiko along with 2 spring rolls and a salad. The spring rolls were dressed with spicy sauce and the pastry was a little hard, but there was enough flavour. Although this was the cheapest Lobster Roll I have had ($13.95), it was also the most stingy in terms of the amount of lobster provided. There was barely any meat in the tail and it was next to impossible to taste the small bit of lobster on top of each piece of the roll. Although the roll tasted decent, I would have enjoyed it much better if they had given it a different name, such as "The Splendid Roll That Comes With Glamorous Spring Rolls and a Beautiful Salad".

The service was decent and the waitress didn't appear to mind the fair number of times I changed my mind while ordering. The food came out quickly and there was a number of enjoyable dishes during our visit. The prices were on the lower side like many of the other Japanese restaurants in the vicinity. Overall, my dad and I found the restaurant neither very bad nor very good. Judging from the other online reviews, it appears that the restaurant either had better days in its past or happened to be jinxed along with my dad and I from the bad omens.

Episode #87: Hachi Hana

North Vancouver, $$ (Moderately Priced)
www.hachihana.com

Spring cleaning can potentially be a very dangerous activity. A few days ago, I had a small mishap while carrying some old window blinds to the dump truck. Feeling manly and trying to carry two blinds at once, I managed to pull a mysterious muscle in my chest, which resulted in the worst stabbing pain imaginable. I tried to think of ways to soothe the pain, and the first thing I thought of was sushi. Since it was a gorgeous sunny day, I took the Seabus over to North Vancouver and walked stiffly like a penguin into Hachi Hana.

Hachi Hana is Korean-operated and is one of the most popular sushi restaurants on Lonsdale Ave. I first visited Hachi Hana a few years ago and found their prices to be some of the lowest in the area. Since then, the prices have increased considerably, but so have the portion sizes. Well, the price increases sure worked because the restaurant was full of diners during prime dinner time on a Tuesday evening. I started my dinner with the Dinner Box B ($21.95), which came with Goma-ae, Tuna and Salmon Sashimi (a spicy tuna option is available), Nigiri Sushi (tuna, salmon, ebi, tai), the Big Dynamite Roll, a Chicken Teriyaki (a beef option is available) with Rice, a Miso Soup, a House Appetizer, and a Green Salad.

Miso Soup - A-

The Dinner Box B started off nicely with the Miso Soup, which was rich in taste without being excessively salty. It was garnished with green onion and tofu and served at a nice, hot temperature. By the time I finished the Miso Soup, my pain was barely noticeable. This is why I have never ever taken any Aspirin or Advil. Food works better for me than anything...

Green Salad - B+

The Green Salad came as a small bowl of mixed greens. The vinaigrette was tangy and citrusy in flavour. There was certainly enough flavour with this salad; by the time I got to the bottom, there was a small 1-centimeter-deep pool of vinaigrette left over. I always prefer this rather than a shortage of dressing.

Grilled Tuna - B-

The Grilled Tuna was on the house! From what I saw, every table received a complementary dish, which I thought was a very nice gesture. The tuna was graced with a few drops of lemon juice. It was a bit dry, but I also found it interesting how it was crispy like a grilled sandwich.

Seared Toro Nigiri - B+

Unagi Nigiri - B

Before the remainder of my dinner box arrived, I received the Seared Toro Nigiri and the Unagi Nigiri (which I had ordered separately). Both pieces of nigiri were remarkably large. The Seared Toro Nigiri was just a touch overseared, while the Unagi Nigiri had a soft texture and a delicious, sweet taste, at least on the top. The skin of the unagi was somehow crispy and burnt, which made for a very strange combination of textures and tastes when the nigiri was eaten as a whole.

As for the rest of the dinner box, everything was immaculately placed (except for one speck of rice) and I liked how one of the slots was in the shape of a boat. In addition, the portion sizes were huge! Unless you are the proud owner of a pen from Anton's Pasta, you would most likely have trouble finishing the whole dinner box. This was, without a doubt, the largest dinner box for one person I had ever seen.

Tuna Sashimi - B-

Sockeye Salmon Sashimi - C

The sashimi came with 3 large pieces each of tuna and sockeye salmon. The Tuna Sashimi had very little flavour, although it had a soft texture despite being cut into thick pieces. The Sockeye Salmon Sashimi was almost completely bland and lacked a smooth texture. Dunking it in as much soy sauce as possible made it a bit more edible.

Goma-ae - C

The Goma-ae was easy to digest and was the only item of the box to come in a small portion. As much as I like Goma-ae, this one was rather disappointing. I couldn't tell if they used peanut sauce or sesame sauce because the sauce was very watery and tasted like peanut shells more than anything. Maybe it was a peanut shell sauce?

Big Dynamite Roll - B-

The Big Dynamite Roll came with 5 enormous pieces consisting of prawn tempura, cucumber, avocado, and daikon. It certainly lived up to its name. The rice was tightly packed but some of the pieces still fell apart. The small bit of mayonnaise helped livened up flavours, while the tempura was crispy with some occasional hard parts.

Chicken Teriyaki - B+

The Chicken Teriyaki was well-executed. The chicken had a smoky BBQ taste and the bean sprouts and other vegetables underneath were well-dressed with teriyaki sauce.

Sockeye Salmon Nigiri - C+

Tuna Nigiri - B-

Tai Nigiri - B-

Ebi Nigiri - B

Since I don't believe in wasting food, I ate the Sockeye Salmon Nigiri and the Tuna Nigiri despite the blandness issues. The Tai Nigiri was weak in flavour and chewy, while the Ebi Nigiri had a nice sweetness and a nice snap. I found the sushi rice slightly gummy and chewier than normal. 

House Appetizer - A-

I'm not completely sure if this was intended to be the House Appetizer, but it was the only thing I received that could count as one. This was a fresh and refreshing appetizer (or should I say dessert?) and the sliced orange had an excellent, sweet taste.

I found the service quite friendly and my server even came around several times to make sure that everything was okay. Besides being stuffed so full it was hard to breathe, things were okay for the most part. I would have preferred smaller pieces of sashimi that actually had flavour rather than large, bland pieces of sashimi. For me, larger portions can make up for higher prices, but not for both higher prices and lower quality. However, the steady stream of customers seems to indicate otherwise.