Episode #117: Risty's Café & Sushi Bar

Vancouver (Southwest), $$ (Moderately Priced)

Risty's Café & Sushi Bar is a small restaurant at the south end of Granville Street that serves both Canadian and Japanese food. No, I do not mean Canadian-Japanese fusion. Instead, this is probably the only place in Vancouver where you can order a hamburger and a sushi roll in the same meal. I invited my friend Tamsen so that our combined appetite would be enough to let us sample items from both the Canadian and Japanese menus. To my great surprise, I found out that Risty's is actually Chinese-operated.

Salmon Sashimi - [no grade]

Tako Sashimi - B+

Hokkigai Sashimi - A-

Tuna Sashimi - B-

Tai Sashimi - B

Our first item was the 12-piece Sashimi Platter. The Salmon Sashimi had a nice smooth sheen, but Tamsen found a really tiny bug having the time of its life on one of the pieces of salmon. When we alerted the waitress, she promptly provided Tamsen with another piece of salmon sashimi that was twice as big (I will not assign a grade since a replacement was provided). Moving on, the Tako Sashimi was chewy with a nice subtle lemony flavour. The Hokkigai Sashimi was the best of the bunch, while the Tuna Sashimi was a touch too dry and the Tai Sashimi could be smoother. Taste-wise, the tai had a delectable, faintly sweet flavour.

Teriyaki Chicken Burger - C+

The Teriyaki Chicken Burger comes with a side of fries (as with all of their other burgers). The fries were neither salted nor seasoned, so they tasted really potatoey and plain. As for the burger, the bun and the lettuce were moist and passable, but the teriyaki chicken was disastrously overcooked. It was so stiff that I felt like I was nibbling on a brand new pair of jeans. I reluctantly decided to take Tamsen's wild suggestion, which was to fill the burger with sashimi instead(?!). After replacing the chicken with sashimi, the burger was finally chewable and juicy, but let's just say that there is probably a good reason why nobody makes raw fish burgers. Nope, this didn't really work either. (Don't try this at home!)

Risty's Roll - B-

The Risty's Roll consisted of prawn tempura, cucumber, avocado and spicy tuna. The best part of the roll was the avocado, which was really fresh and prominently delicious. The prawn tempura was sufficiently crispy, and the flavour of the prawn worked very well with the avocado. This roll comes with a small side of salmon fries too. There were lots to like about the roll, except... what in the world is up with the mayonnaise?! There's as much friggin' mayo on this roll as there is icing on a gingerbread house! Scooping off some of the excess mayonnaise onto my dish did not make for a pretty scene either.

On a positive note, the waitress was quite friendly and put effort into making our visit as enjoyable as possible. For the most part, the food tasted alright, but there was a rather significant mishap with each of our dishes. I left the restaurant thinking, "Did we visit on a bad day?"

Episode #116: Ono's Sushi

Abbotsford, $$$ (Higher Priced)

On our way back from Chilliwack, we decided to go shopping at Highstreet Shopping Centre, a newly built outdoor shopping centre on the western fringes of Abbotsford that seems to be overtaking the older Sevenoaks Shopping Centre in downtown Abbotsford. Now, as much as I love sushi, I'm not particularly keen on eating it multiple times on the same day, so I let my parents choose where to have dinner. My parents were in the mood for Asian food, and we wandered around the whole shopping centre several times only to find that Ono's Sushi was the sole choice that fit that criteria. Alas, two sushi adventures in one day it is!

Ono's Sushi, like the rest of the shopping centre, dons classy, modern decor. Despite the fact that we arrived after 8 p.m. on a weekday, the restaurant was still moderately busy. There was only one server on duty, and raising our hands to get her attention was pretty much a fail as she was evidently overworked. Things improved after one of the chefs decided to step out and help with serving. I really hope she's not the only waitress during peak hours...

Miso Soup - B-

First to arrive was the Miso Soup that accompanied the Chicken Teriyaki. This Miso Soup came with green onion and tofu. My dad wanted the Miso Soup, so I let him have all of it. However, he remarked that it was so salty that he was unable to finish it. This rarely happens, so I'll assume that the Miso Soup wasn't any good.

Chicken Teriyaki - B+

The Chicken Teriyaki came in a large teppanyaki plate with a heavy dose of stir-fry bean sprouts and cabbage. The skin for the teriyaki chicken was crispy and savoury. The small amount of black pepper sprinkled on top helped to liven up the flavours further. If anything, the chicken could be a bit more tender.

Salmon Sashimi - A-

My dad does not like reading menus, so he decided to order with his eyes instead by going all the way up to the sushi bar and visually inspecting the raw fish. He ended up selecting the Salmon Sashimi, and lo and behold, it was a success. The salmon was markedly fresh and had the sought-after creamy, buttery flavour. The slices were also on the generous side, though a few of the pieces could be softer in texture.

Paradise Roll - A-

Arriving on a paradise-sized plate was the Paradise Roll, which consisted of crab meat, avocado, cucumber, salmon, mango, green onion, and a special sauce (which turned out to be spicy mayonnaise mixed with teriyaki sauce). There was a good amount of both spiciness and salmon. The crab meat was soft and had sufficient sweetness. Overall, the flavours were pleasantly harmonious.

Negitoro Roll - B

Ever since having the Negitoro at Kami Sushi in South Surrey, my sister has been craving negitoro. I really liked the juicy un-minced pieces of toro inside the roll, as the Negitoro Roll is often served with minced tuna instead. That being said, neither my sister nor I got very excited about this roll due to the overly dry sushi rice.

We found the service quite friendly, though it would be nice if there were more waiters or waitresses so that the diners could be more adequately and more efficiently served. Overall, the quality of the food and the portion sizes were fair considering the slightly higher prices. I should also note that the prices of sushi tend to tick up slightly as you head east past Langley, so this restaurant may only be moderately priced compared to nearby Japanese restaurants. 

Episode #115: Yale Sushi

Chilliwack, $$ (Moderately Priced)
www.facebook.com/YaleSushi

With summer vacation slowly meandering to a close, my dad suggested that we go on some travelling for sushi. By travelling, he meant a two-hour drive or less. As the U.S. dollar is so high that cars at the border are beginning to flow in the opposite direction, we decided to head east instead. My dad drove all the way to Chilliwack before I got too hungry and declared that I had to eat immediately.

Yale Sushi is reportedly one of the best sushi restaurants in Chilliwack, and since that's where my dad decided to park, that's where we ended up eating. The restaurant is Korean-operated, and we were pleasantly surprised by the clean, modern decor and the spacious seating. There was a good flow of customers during our visit on a weekday afternoon.

The tea set that arrived at our table was so exquisite that my dad insisted that I take a photo of it and post it on my blog. As I was busy arranging the tea set, I put my mom in charge of ordering since there were enough photos on the menu to allow her to choose properly.

Miso Soup - B

To try a bit of everything, my mom ordered the Lunch Special C, which came with a Miso Soup that contained green onion and tofu. I found the Miso Soup pretty standard fare, although slightly heavy with the salt. 

At the speed of lightning, the rest of the Lunch Special C arrived in a large lunch box. The food wasn't necessarily inexpensive, but we found the portion sizes quite generous!

Tempura - B+

The Tempura was executed better than I had expected, and the flavours of the ingredients were preserved well. I liked the sufficiently sweet Yam and Sweet Potato, while the Broccoli was a bit dry. The two pieces of Prawn Tempura were decent with ample moisture.

Salmon Teriyaki - B+

The Salmon Teriyaki was slightly crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. I would have preferred more moisture as I found some parts of the salmon dry, but the salmon was fresh with a decent amount of flavour. The stir-fry vegetables were savoury as well.

Croquette - A-

Of all the items in the Lunch Special C, I enjoyed the Croquette the most as the mashed potato filling was very soft and moist. The batter had just the right amount of crispiness. Unfortunately, after I snipped off a bite-sized piece and said it was good, everyone else wanted to try it, so we had to cut it up into really little pieces. Perhaps I should keep a poker face from now on...

Tuna Roll - B

The Tuna Roll was neatly constructed and came with fresh tuna. However, I found the sushi rice too tightly packed and teetering on being too dry.

Salad - B+

The Salad consisted of assorted greens dressed with a mildly tangy Japanese salad dressing. The vegetables were cut into small pieces, making it easy to digest. 

Tuna Sashimi - A-

Salmon Sashimi - A-

I wasn't expecting fresh sashimi to make it this far into the Lower Mainland, so I was quite surprised when the sashimi ended up being fresher than the sashimi at most Vancouver restaurants! The Tuna Sashimi had an excellent soft texture, and the Salmon Sashimi had a delicious buttery flavour.

Red Dragon Roll - A-

Since my sister is a fan of spicy tuna, we had the Red Dragon Roll, which consisted of prawn tempura, crab meat, cucumber, spicy tuna, crispy crumbs, and spicy sauce. There was a generous amount of spicy tuna on top, and it wasn't mashed, so I could taste the small blocks of tuna melt in my mouth. There was also a good amount of spiciness to the roll, and the flavour of the prawn tempura inside was showcased well.

Spider Roll - B+

My mom had no idea what a Spider Roll was, so when she asked me, I told her that they take a huge spider, deep-fry it, and then put it in a sushi roll. (It's supposed to be made with soft-shell crab.) She wasn't fazed at all and decided to order it anyways. This Spider Roll came with deep-fried soft-shell crab, avocado, crab meat, and cucumber. The soft-shell crab lived up to its name and was sufficiently crispy and moist. There were large portions of crab in the outer pieces and very little crab in the inner pieces. 

Beef Hot Pot - B+

My sister is a huge fan of Korean food, so we also had the Beef Hot Pot, which came with marinated beef and vegetables in a Korean-style hot pot, some steamed rice, and a salad that was identical to the salad in the Lunch Special C with the addition of what appeared to be dried cranberries. Although the aroma of the hot pot differed from a sukiyaki, it tasted quite similar. The vermicelli noodles absorbed the beefy flavour of the broth well. Some of the pieces of beef were decent, while some were sliced too thick and became overly chewy.

The service was friendly during our visit, and the Korean waitress was very patient as well. The only thing we found strange was that our bill arrived mere minutes after the Beef Hot Pot while all of us were still eating. In fact, we were not ready to pay the bill until 20 minutes later. Did they not want us to order any more food? Other than that, we very much enjoyed our experience at Yale Sushi. The food was obviously superior to anything I've had in Langley, and I wouldn't hesitate to say that this was a lucky find!