Episode #155: Sushi Katsu

North Vancouver, $$ (Moderately Priced)
www.sushikatsu.ca

On another one of Vancouver's rare non-rainy days, I ventured over to Lonsdale Ave. in North Vancouver to look for a new restaurant to try. That's right—I've become too lazy to do any online research on sushi restaurants before actually visiting them. I found myself a nice large restaurant to dine at on 19th St., but taking a photo of the restaurant's exterior was quite challenging due to the low angle of the sun. I tried so many different shots and angles that a few pedestrians and drivers were looking at me weirdly. Allow me to show you my best attempt:

As indicated by the exterior, the restaurant has a very spacious dining area. In fact, they had so much room that they left a significant area of the restaurant undecorated and unused. I also noticed that the dining area was quite echoey, which made the screaming baby behind me sound like a frightening horror movie. However, I don't really mind a broken eardrum and a couple of heart attacks as long as the sushi is good. Besides that, the seating was comfortable and appeared to be clean.

Miso Soup - B+

I did my usual thing and went for the priciest roll and the biggest bento box (the Sashimi Bento). The Miso Soup that came with the bento had a strong seaweed flavour and a light consistency. It contained seaweed and tofu and was not too salty.

With six slices of sashimi, half a California roll, tempura, nigiri, chicken teriyaki, and a salad, this was indeed one large bento box.

Tuna Sashimi - A-

Salmon Sashimi - A

California Roll (half order) - B

Both of types of sashimi were very fresh and generally cut to the right thickness, though the knife skills could be a bit more precise. The salmon was excellent and had a creamy buttery flavour, while the tuna had an appealing soft texture. The California Roll was rather large but thinly sliced. It was rice-heavy, but at least the rice was not mushy. Overall, it tasted quite standard fare.

Tempura - B+

The tempura came with five pieces: two prawns and one piece each of zucchini, carrot, and sweet potato. The batter was quite thick, which somewhat inhibited the flavour of the underlying ingredients, but it was crispy and not hard. The prawns were soft and juicy, and the vegetable tempura came with sufficient moisture.

Tuna Nigiri - B+

Salmon Nigiri - B+

The nigiri exhibited a decent fish-to-rice ratio, but the rice could have been more flavourful. Like the Tuna and Salmon Sashimi above, the tuna and salmon here were also fresh, and the salmon came in quite a generous cut.

Chicken Teriyaki - B-

The chicken was tender and dressed with a good amount of teriyaki sauce, but the skin was quite soggy and mushy. However, the bean sprouts underneath were savoury and above average.

Salad - B+

The lettuce-based salad was amply dressed with a tangy Japanese salad vinaigrette. It was quite watery at the bottom, though the "water" did have a nice citrusy flavour.

Caterpillar Roll - C+

I am aware that I tend to order a lot of Dragon Rolls, but how can I resist the savoury, smoky flavour of deliciously grilled unagi? Wanting to switch things up but not forgo the unagi, I went for the Caterpillar Roll ($9.50), which consisted of tempura unagi, avocado, cucumber, and unagi sauce. Unfortunately, it was rather disappointing. It was rice-heavy, and yes, the rice was lacking in flavour once again. It was also hard to taste the unagi under all that rice. The saving grace was that the avocado on top was quite melty and flavourful.

Seared Tuna Sushi - A

A very large bento and the most expensive roll on the menu didn't exactly suffice, so I also tried the Seared Tuna Sushi. Lucky for me, this was a hit. The tuna was very juicy and soft and exhibited a light but discernible smoky flavour. The grated daikon with ponzu and the green onion on top added a pleasant, unique zing to the seared sushi.

The service was satisfactory, but it was a bit sparse. They accidentally brought out my bill by mistake way before I finished eating. Food-wise, their biggest strength is the freshness of their raw fish, while the sushi rice appears to be a weakness. However, the prices were reasonable and the portions were quite generous, so I would say that this adventure was worth the obliteration of my poor ears.

Episode #154: Asakusa Sushi

Burnaby South, $ (Budget)

I was all set to go on another sushi adventure to Steveston, but unfortunately, my school day ran a little longer than expected. By the time I arrived at Metrotown, the skies were already darkening, and I was so famished that I didn't have the energy to sleep on any more buses (if that makes any sense). Perhaps having only a bowl of instant noodles for breakfast and a frappuccino for lunch wasn't a good idea after all. I had to cut my trip short and just dine at a random sushi restaurant near Metrotown. The first one I came across was Asakusa Sushi, and seeing that it was quite busy, I decided to step in and give it a try.

Asakusa Sushi is one of the few Vietnamese-operated Japanese restaurants in Greater Vancouver. The menu was filled with cheap lunch combos and dinner combos. Looking at the tables beside me, I also saw that the sashimi cuts were quite generous. Unfortunately, they didn't have an Appetizer Sashimi, so I went for the nigiri instead.

Miso Soup - B

I first had the Dinner #2 combo (Tempura, Beef Teriyaki, and a BC Roll), which came with a Miso Soup. The Miso Soup contained green onion, seaweed, and tofu. I liked how it was not too salty, but the miso paste tasted a little off. It reminded me of a broth rather than regular miso paste.

Tempura - B-

Beef Teriyaki - C+

When the first dish came, I was rather puzzled. Why was the tempura taking a dip in a pool of teriyaki sauce? Why was it even placed on the same plate as the teriyaki?! I tried to rescue the tempura from the sauce once I had taken a photo of it, but by that time, the zucchini tempura and the eggplant tempura had already fused together with a mush of soggy batter in the middle. Uh oh...

There were two pieces of prawn tempura and one piece each of zucchini, eggplant, and yam. The underlying ingredients were fresh, juicy, and savoury. The prawns were the best of the bunch, but they were coated with way too much batter. The vegetables, on the other hand, had soggy batter due to the teriyaki sauce. I couldn't really decide which I preferred. Moving on, the beef in the Beef Teriyaki was rather tough, although it was sliced thinly. There was an unsensible amount of bean sprouts underneath, which were drenched in teriyaki sauce. Overall, this was not a very carefully prepared dish.

The rest of my order arrived on a large plate. On the plate were some of the largest pieces of sushi I have ever seen. 

Inari Nigiri - B

Toro Nigiri - B-

Sockeye Salmon Nigiri - C-

Ikura Nigiri - C

I first went for the nigiri, and the Inari Nigiri was well-seasoned with sesame seeds inside to enhance flavour. The inari was on the thinner side, but it had a nice sweet flavour. Up next, the toro was fatty and enjoyable. However, the sushi rice was a big no-no. It was too tightly packed, bland, and rather dry. The sockeye salmon was mediocre and lacked a smooth texture, and to top it off, the fish-to-rice ratio was very wrong. The ikura wasn't much of a relief. The seaweed was very tough, and I actually had to use my teeth to bite open the salmon roe. Well, at least my teeth got its daily physical activity, though I wonder whether teeth need to be exercised.

Dragonfly Roll - C+

BC Roll - C+

The Dragonfly Roll was a large roll consisting of a dynamite roll with unagi and avocado on top. The roll was garnished with sesame seeds, masago, and some unagi sauce. The unagi was sliced thin and rather flimsy, but it did have a sweet flavour. However, the imitation crab meat inside was substandard and tasted a bit powdery. Finally, I got to the BC Roll, and each piece was literally as big as a hockey puck! I wasn't sure how I could tell whether the flavours worked together unless maybe I tried to do the chubby bunny challenge with it. The cooked salmon inside was soft and flaky. There was a bit of sauce on top, but the center part of the roll was quite weak in flavour. Oh, and how could we forget the bland, mushy rice on the outside?

I did not find the service particularly friendly, although it was passable and not rude either. Asakusa Sushi is a place for those who need to get full on a tight budget and aren't picky about quality. The quality of the food tends to be below average, but the portion sizes are some of the best in town. I did manage to finish all the food, but when I walked out, I felt like I would be full for days. That being said, my teeth did get a lot of exercise, so I think I should be fine...

Episode #153: Hime Sushi

Vancouver (Northwest), $$$ (Higher Priced)

Despite the very strange experiences I have had at UBC, I still love visiting the campus. This time, I wanted to visit the Asian Centre because I'm Asian. It was very cold outside, so I had to step inside the Irving Centre to warm myself up. I ended up warming up my hangry senses instead, as the whole study area was filled with the rich aroma of soups and herbs. I could not understand how everyone managed to study so diligently. As I continued my trek towards the residential buildings near the Asian Centre, the fragrance of grilled chicken filled the air. Even the garbage dump smelled like delicious barbecued food! That left me with no choice but to go on a sushi adventure immediately.

Just a 5-minute bus ride from UBC is Hime Sushi, a small but popular Korean-operated Japanese restaurant. Somehow, they managed to hide themselves very well from me. My bus stopped right in front of the restaurant, but I managed to miss it completely and walked two whole blocks astray before realizing that I was heading in the wrong direction. When I finally found the restaurant, the servers were extremely busy with what seemed like a mountain of takeout orders, and as a result, the service was a little slow at the beginning of my visit.

Miso Soup - B+

Despite the slow start to the service, they brought out my Miso Soup (a part of the Bento C) very quickly. In fact, they brought out my food so quickly that I had to borrow the table next to me. I must have gotten a few weird stares for ordering so much food. Back to the Miso Soup, it was steaming hot and garnished with green onion and tofu. 

Okonomiyaki - B+

The Okonomiyaki was neatly constructed and not large (it was just $5.95). The exterior was slightly crispy and the breading was soft. The interior tasted a lot like gyoza filling, which was dressed with a reasonable amount of Worcestershire sauce on top. 

Ocean Red Roll - B+

For my special roll, I chose the Ocean Red Roll, which consisted of marinated spicy tuna, green onions, and wild sockeye salmon. Each piece of the roll had a small piece of sockeye salmon on top, and the salmon was fresh albeit not very smooth texture-wise. They added quite a bit of spicy chili sauce to the spicy tuna, and I actually had a bit of trouble eating it. That being said, I'm not the most spice-tolerant person.

Yes... after the okonomiyaki and the special roll, I still managed to finish the whole Bento C.

Prawn Tempura - A-

The Prawn Tempura came with three prawns. The batter on the prawns was a little on the thicker side, but I liked how it was crispy and not hard. The prawns were juicy with a nice savoury flavour.

Tuna Sashimi - A-

Salmon Sashimi - A-

Tai Sashimi - A-

Freshness was apparent in all six pieces of sashimi, though the cuts were anything but generous. The Tuna Sashimi was soft and also a bit fatty. The Salmon Sashimi had a delectable buttery flavour, while the Tai Sashimi exhibited a delicate sweet flavour without being too chewy.

Unagi Don - B

The Unagi Don came with three soft pieces of unagi that were dressed with lots of teriyaki sauce. As you can see from the photo, there was a puddle of teriyaki sauce on one side. The sauce did too much of the work, and the unagi was somewhat overshadowed as a result.

Korokke (Potato Croquette) - A+

The highlight of the bento box was the Korokke, and its texture was just amazing. The breadcrumbs on the outside were crispy and not heavy or hard at all. The potato-based filling inside was very soft, with almost a melty texture, and was accentuated with a light sprinkling of herbs. A fine layer of Thousand Island dressing was the finishing touch of this irresistible croquette.

The service was friendly once the waitresses finished dealing with the massive number of takeout orders. At one point, my miso soup got caught in one of the indentations on the wooden table, which made me pour soup all over my table, my napkin, and my phone. One of the waitresses quickly came over and rescued me with a stash of napkins, and most importantly, my sushi notebook was unharmed. Hime Sushi is not the place for big portions, but the food is consistent and carefully executed.