Episode #139: Maple Sushi

Maple Ridge, $ (Budget)

Once again, my dad and I ended up with a free afternoon, so he asked me what I would like to do to pass the time. Since the correct answer to that question is always sushi, we ended up travelling to one of our favourite places: the land of the inexpensive and sometimes decent sushi (a.k.a. Maple Ridge). It turns out that Maple Ridge is also the land of unending traffic jams, especially during the daytime, so we stopped our car as soon as we encountered the gorgeous backlog of cars radiating from Haney Place Mall.

Right ahead of us was Maple Sushi, and we were lured in after seeing the "20% off everything" sign in front of the door. The restaurant is Korean-operated, and the menu is rather extensive. As there were virtually no other diners, the food arrived astonishingly quickly. My dad, feeling extra nice, decided to take care of the bill and let me use his point-and-shoot camera. However, after witnessing my extreme clumsiness, he became worried that I would drop the camera into the food or cover the lens with steam, so he decided to take over the duty of photographing the food. If only cameras came with accident-proof cases...

Miso Soup - B

We received a Miso Soup along with our order of Chicken Teriyaki, and the soup came with green onion and tofu. It was steaming hot and had a thick, almost milky consistency. There was a rich miso flavour, but there was also a rich salt flavour.

Tuna Sashimi - A

Salmon Sashimi - A-

The Appetizer Sashimi came with three pieces of tuna and two pieces of salmon. I had absolutely no complaints about the freshness of either type of fish. The three pieces of tuna displayed neat knife skills and had an excellent soft texture. The two pieces of salmon were cut to just the right thickness and exhibited a delicious creamy, buttery flavour.

Chicken Teriyaki - B

Next, the Chicken Teriyaki came with a generous portion of tender chicken. The skin generally had a nice crispiness, but was a bit hard in some places. They attempted to create a smoky flavour, but they slightly overdid it, so the chicken came dangerously close to tasting burnt. The steamed rice, however, was above average in quality.

Tempura Udon - A-

The Tempura Udon came with a large bowl of udon noodles and two tempura prawns and one piece each of yam, sweet potato, and zucchini tempura on the side. The prawn tempura was excellent as the prawns were very fresh and the batter had an appealing crispy texture. The vegetable tempura was well executed with adequate moisture in each piece, though the zucchini was cut a little too thick. The udon noodles were on the softer side but tasty enough that my dad could not stop eating them even though he was full, which is a very rare occurrence.

Dragon Roll - A-

The Dragon Roll came with two tempura prawns, avocado, cucumber, crab meat, seared eel, tobiko, green onion, and unagi sauce. Once again, the prawns were fresh and had a good snap. The roll had a soft texture overall, and there was a good harmony of flavours. The appropriately thin layer of rice allowed for a better projection of the flavours of the eel, the avocado, and the prawns.

The service was especially friendly, and the waitress constantly made sure that our tea was refilled. Overall, the food was consistently better than what my dad and I had expected, and even though we could not finish all of the food, our bill came to less than $30 (before tips). This is quite remarkable considering that I often exceed $30 on my solo sushi adventures (thanks to fancy nigiri), but then again, my dad only ate about $5 worth of food, like usual. 

Episode #138: Ora Sushi

Steveston, Richmond, $$ (Moderately Priced)
www.orasushi.com

As soon as I was all done with finals, I decided to do my first round of Christmas shopping at Oakridge Centre. Unfortunately, I seemed to have forgotten that Oakridge Centre is situated in a highly affluent part of Vancouver, and as such, the prices were nothing short of sky high. After haphazardly wandering around the exquisitely decorated Christmas displays for nearly an hour, I had bought exactly zero gifts and ended up staring at the pricey Ferraris while thinking about how poor I really was.

To solve the problem, I headed over to Steveston and entered a type of establishment I usually feel less poor in: the sushi restaurant. The first one I came across was Ora Sushi. A few months ago, I heard a rumour that Ora Sushi started when a chef was fired from Mega Sushi and decided to open his/her own restaurant with similar menu items but lower prices in an attempt to capture a part of Mega Sushi's clientele (I have not been able to verify this). Whether this is true or not, Ora Sushi was full of customers when I walked in, so whatever it was doing worked.

After a few moments of appreciating the modern decor, I was presented with the smallest teacup I have ever seen (loonie shown for comparison). It was absolutely adorable, but it could not even hold one single mouthful of tea! Thank goodness they also gave me the teapot, or I would have had to ask for my own dedicated waitress for the sole purpose of refilling my tea. By the end of my meal, I was convinced that my arm muscles had grown stronger by a few notches after a few intense sessions of teapot lifting.

Arriving in a timely manner, the Moncton Set was neatly plated with plenty of moisture on the tray.

California Roll (half order) - B

The California Roll was neatly constructed and the mayonnaise in the center provided a creamy texture. There was a decent amount of crab meat, but the ingredients were average in quality and essentially standard fare.

Chicken Teriyaki - A-

The Chicken Teriyaki came with a decent amount of tender chicken that exhibited a nice grilled flavour. The stir-fried vegetables underneath, being quite savoury, worked as a good complement to the chicken. 

Prawn Tempura - B+

Green Bean Tempura - C+

Kabocha Tempura - B-

Sweet Potato Tempura - B-

The Tempura came with one prawn and one piece each of green bean, kabocha, and sweet potato. The batter was laid on quite thickly, and the frying oil showed slight signs of overuse. The Prawn Tempura was the best of the bunch as the prawn was fresh and provided a nice burst of flavour. However, the flavour of the green bean was completely lost in the thick coating of batter. The kabocha was sufficiently soft but very thinly sliced. The sweet potato came in a large piece with adequate sweetness.

Tai Sashimi - B+

Tuna Sashimi - C

Hokkigai Sashimi - B-

Sockeye Salmon Sashimi - A-

The Assorted Sashimi came with three pieces of tai, three pieces of tuna, one piece of hokkigai, and three pieces of sockeye salmon. The tai came with an appealing light pink hue and was not too chewy with a mildly sweet flavour. Unfortunately, the tuna did not taste very fresh and had a strong fishy flavour. The Hokkigai was chewy and lacking in flavour, while the Sockeye Salmon Sashimi was the freshest with a deliciously smooth texture.

Ebi Sunomono - A-

The highlight of the Ebi Sunomono was the shrimp, which was very fresh with an excellent texture. The vinegar base was on the milder side but amply sweet. The slice of lemon provided a citrusy, refreshing feel to the sunomono.

Monster Bite - A-

Having tried Mega Sushi's Godzilla Bite, I decided to order the mirroring dish here to make a comparison as well as acquire a small flame to transform my tuna sashimi into tuna tataki. Imagine my disappointment when the Monster Bite came without this small flame! Instead, the salad comprised the center of the dish and was well dressed with the standard Japanese salad dressing.

The "sushi" part of the Monster Bite consisted of deep-fried seaweed and rice, tuna, salmon, torched spicy chopped scallop, alfalfa, and spicy mayonnaise. The deep-fried base had just the right amount of crunchiness, and the spicy mayonnaise contributed a nice zing. The seafood had a soft, creamy texture, and the tuna had a tasty tataki flavour. Each piece of the Monster Bite was graced with a light, fluffy layer made up of very fine pieces of daikon. This Monster Bite was well executed, but the one I had at Mega Sushi was a bit more carefully prepared and showed greater attention to detail.

Chocolate Pear - A-

After countless years of seeing the Chocolate Pear from Mario's Gelati on the table menu stands of numerous restaurants, I finally decided to give it a try even though I was already full (classic me). At first, I could not understand why they provided me with a knife until I had a few close calls in which I almost launched the whole pear onto someone else's table while trying to break it down with my spoon. The pear is surely much easier to eat after it has been cut up. I enjoyed the hazelnut chocolate gelato, which was served at the appropriate temperature and had a nutty, quasi-coconut flavour. 

The service felt a bit rushed while the restaurant was very busy, but as I stayed past 2:30 p.m., the decreasing number of diners made for some pleasant, friendly service towards the end of my meal. In the end, I didn't find any particular dish especially outstanding, but there were more hits than misses. Although I felt that the food at Mega Sushi was slightly better executed, the prices are slightly lower here, so it is a classic case of "you get what you pay for."

Episode #137: Namoo Sushi

Port Moody, $$ (Moderately Priced)
www.toktokvan.com/namoosushi

** Merry Christmas to all of my dear readers! **

Despite the extra amount of travel time needed, I enjoy doing my studying in different places around Greater Vancouver. I claim that studying in different places helps me remember things better, but most importantly, I get to go to different sushi restaurants in the process. One of my favourite places to study is the Port Moody Public Library (even though I don't live in Port Moody), and I've been stealing their Wi-Fi and desk space on numerous occasions. Over two such occasions, I completed a Sushi-a-thon at Namoo Sushi while my brain was overflowing with math formulas.

Namoo Sushi is Korean-operated and has a very extensive menu. The dining area was spacious and decorated with many Japanese fans along with an endearing water fountain. I found the booth seating a bit tight, and I had some trouble getting into the seats. Just to be clear, I am neither beefy nor well built. If you want to picture my body shape, just think of one of those feeble nerds who spends too much time studying and you'll have approximately the right idea.

1st visit:

Miso Soup - A-

To get a sample of everything, I started with the Sashimi Box, which came with a Miso Soup. The Miso Soup arrived steaming hot and came with green onion and tofu. It was well balanced with a sufficient amount of flavour.

The Sashimi Box was neatly arranged, and the portion sizes were quite generous.

Salad - B

Starting with the top-left corner, the Salad was standard fare and consisted mainly of bite-sized pieces of lettuce dressed with the standard Japanese salad dressing.

Tempura - A-

The Tempura came with one prawn and one piece each of sweet potato and yam. The prawn had an excellent texture and was covered with a light, crispy layer of batter, which provided a delicious, savoury burst of flavour. The batter on the sweet potato was a bit heavy, but both the yam and the sweet potato exhibited a good balance of sweet and savoury flavours.

Fruit - B+

As strange as it may be, I have always rated single pieces of fruit on this blog and will continue to do so. I found this piece of orange neither sweet nor sour, but it was sufficiently juicy.

Salmon Sashimi - A+

Tuna Sashimi - B+

The Salmon Sashimi blew my mind. It was extremely fresh and sliced into large, thin pieces for a softer texture. It had the perfect creamy flavour and was definitely the highlight of my entire day. There's nothing in life that can compare to an excellent piece of sashimi, right? The Tuna Sashimi exhibited no fishiness at all and was cleanly cut, though it wasn't very soft. 

Beef Teriyaki with Rice - A

The Beef Teriyaki with Rice came with tender, savoury beef that was dressed with a good amount of teriyaki sauce. Underneath was a flavourful layer of bean sprouts, chopped onions, and lettuce. A slight hint of black pepper livened up the flavours. I enjoyed virtually every aspect of this dish, though I guess if I was really, really picky, I could say that it was the slightest bit greasy. 

Baked Salmon Roll - B

After finishing the Sashimi Box, I got the Baked Salmon Roll, which came with avocado, crab meat, red pepper, baked salmon, melted cheese, green onion, and bonito flakes. Now, if you're one of those people who eats fajitas and goes "I wonder what these would taste like in a sushi roll," I have no better solution to offer than to try this roll. The melted cheese was a blend of white and yellow cheeses, and the cheese + baked salmon + teriyaki sauce combo sort of worked. The salmon was not fully cooked to retain a smooth texture, and there was a generous amount of salmon. 

2nd visit:

 Yakitori - B

The Yakitori comprised two extremely bulky skewers, each with several gigantic chunks of broccoli. Thrown into the mix were a few large, crunchy pieces of red pepper. The chicken, no longer the center of attention, was sufficiently juicy and tender, and the broccoli had a subtle seared flavour. While I wasn't paying attention, one of the wooden skewers magically broke apart into three pieces, possibly due to its own weight. The "mysteriously disintegrating skewer" is a skill that I have never witnessed before.

Ebi Mayo - B

The Ebi Mayo came with six battered shrimps dressed with mayonnaise and a bit of honey for some extra sweetness. The shrimp had a decent snap to it, and I liked how it was peeled all the way to the tail, making it cleaner and more convenient to eat. However, the honey made the batter slightly chewy in places, and the shrimp still remained weak in flavour.

Dragon Roll - A

The rest of my order was exquisitely plated with a beautiful shrimp head in the middle. Behind the shrimp head is the Dragon Roll, which came with crab meat, cucumber, avocado, tobiko, BBQ eel, and teriyaki sauce. The crab meat was very rich in flavour and made the roll quite addicting. The unagi was pleasantly soft and had a savoury, sweet flavour. 

Amaebi Nigiri - A-

Toro Nigiri - B+

Saba Nigiri - A

Once again, the raw seafood was fresh. The amaebi (sweet shrimp) was creamy with a slight, appealing snap, while the toro was soft and came in a very generous piece. The Toro Nigiri is one of those rare times where I thought there wasn't enough sushi rice underneath. However, the Saba Nigiri (mackerel) was excellent. Not only was the saba very fresh, but it also had just the right amount of saltiness and just the right amount of sushi rice. The smooth, soft texture of the saba added a few points to the delicious-o-meter.

The service was very friendly and attentive on both of my visits, and I was quite pleasantly surprised with the quality of the food, especially given the price. From what I tried, it appears that their greatest strength is their fresh supply of fish. The classical piano music in the background made my dining experience more classy. Unfortunately, some of the pieces were played a bit too slowly, and I heard a few wrong notes while I was eating the Ebi Mayo. Oh deer...