Hyack Sushi

IMG by ukijojo on 500px.com

Disclosure: All food and beverages were complimentary, but all opinions are my own.

Last week, we were invited to a tasting at Hyack Sushi which is located in New West. The location is perfect because it is just across the street from the New West skytrain station! The restaurant only opened for a few months but already has steady traffic. The space used to be a school but they have fully renovated the space to fit a kitchen and dining area. One great thing is that there is free parking in the back

 

IMG by ukijojo on 500px.com

Bingtanbok

To start, we got to try one of their newest imports from Korea, the Bingtanbok which is from Baesangmyun Brewery Co. The drink is a black raspberry wine and reminded me of the black currant Ribena drink. With only 7% alcohol content, this fruity drink is perfect for those who dislike the strong alcohol flavour.

 

IMG by ukijojo on 500px.com

Deep Fried Poached Egg

The first item we tried was the Deep Fried Poached Egg. The sous-vide egg is cooked so the yolk is runny. The egg is then battered and deep fried and topped with some spicy mayo. A must try!

 

IMG by ukijojo on 500px.com

Gyu Katsu

The Gyu Katsu is a dish I don’t find at too many spots in Vancouver, but I remember seeing this a lot in Japan. Triple A beef is battered with the usual pork katsu batter and cut into slices. As you can see, the inside is still raw. They provide you with a little stove at your table and you can then place the meat on the grill to sear it as much as you’d like. FOr myself, I like my beef medium rare, so I found a quick 1 minute on each side as already sufficient so the center was still a beautiful light pink. The beef itself was very tender and it was served with three sauces including the sesame and salt, home made teriyaki, and traditional tonkatsu sauce.

 

IMG by ukijojo on 500px.com

Aburi Nigiri Set

If you’re looking for some sushi, there are plenty of options available. We were able to try the Chef’s selction of Aburi Nigiri Set. This included aburi tuna, salmon, salmon bomb (salmon wrapped around chopped scallop), ika (squid), hotate (scallop), and ebi (cooked shrimp).

 

IMG by ukijojo on 500px.com

Spicy Chirashi Don

The Spicy Chirashi Don is visually appetizing! A variety of sashimi including salmon, tuna, octopus, and tamago sits on top of some greens. The dish is served with a bowl of rice and a large amount of Korean sweet and spicy sauce (gochujang). You can eat it just as a normal sashimi salad because the fish is pretty fresh, but you can also drizzle the spicy sauce on top if you want bit of kick. The sauce is not overly spicy as there is a bit of sweetness to it. I usually prefer to have a regular chirashi don without any sauce though since you can taste the freshness of the fish. This is good for those who enjoy some more flavour and spice to their food.

 

IMG by SophiaHo on 500px.com

Aburi Salmon Oshi

Another aburi dish was the Aburi Salmon Oshi. Don’t expect this to taste like the ones at Miku because it is definitely a different take on that dish. This one is more saucy and even has some cream cheese in it. It makes the dish very creamy without having that oily texture. This dish is probably not to be eaten alone, but to be shared as it can be a little too saucy, but it’s good!

 

IMG by ukijojo on 500px.com

Chawanmushi

Last but not least, Hyack Sushi will have a special Sablefish Set from December 17 – 24th just in time for Christmas. The set includes the Chwanmushi which is a steamed egg with vegetables. So silky smooth!

 

IMG by SophiaHo on 500px.com

Sablefish Miso Soup

The set also includes the Sablefish Miso Soup which is an upgrade to their traditional miso soup. This one has sablefish meat and kelp included. The broth is much lighter but the sweetness from the fish comes through. The only thing I dislike is that the fish still has bones, so you need to be careful with it. But I definitely prefer this over the usual salty miso soup.

 

IMG by SophiaHo on 500px.com

Sablefish

And the star of the set is the Sablefish which comes with deep fried amaebi served with mint yogurt. The fish is miso glazed and well marinated without being too salty or sweet. The fish was so buttery smooth! This set which includes rice, miso soup, chawanmushi and the fish is only $24.99 so a great deal if you’re looking for something a little more special during the holidays.

 

IMG by SophiaHo on 500px.com

Overall, a great new spot in New West perfect for both those who skytrain or drive. The spot serves up food that isn’t too fancy, but the dishes are beautifully presented and prices are reasonable. Will be back when I’m in the area again!

If the Christmas sablefish set menu is something you’re interested, then be sure to enter the giveaway that Hyack is currently hosting on their Instagram account! To enter, see details here: https://www.instagram.com/p/BcfYHYZFpx2/?taken-by=hyacksushi

 

Hyack Sushi Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Advertisement

Wild Rice

IMG by ukijojo on 500px.com

Note: All food and beverages were complimentary, but all opinions are my own.

Thanks to VancityTastes, I was invited to a media tasting for the launch of Wild Rice‘s new summer patio menu. Wild Rice used to have a location in Vancouver, but now it is located at the River Market in New West. I don’t frequent New West, so I had never actually been to the River Market and was surprised to see that the area is right in front of the waterfront. With the warm weather now, they have opened up their patio, which is right in front of the water. What a beautiful space to enjoy your meal!

IMG by ukijojo on 500px.com

You can also choose to sit indoors, where there is both a dining area and a lounge if you’re looking for a quick bite and drinks. The interior is dimly lit with modern decor and the best part is their open kitchen concept. You can sit at the lounge and want the chefs do their thing. Wild Rice is known for the fact that they make their dishes as you order. That means nothing sits under a heat lamp and nothing is reheated. They also source their ingredients from local farms and partners with Ocean Wise for seafood. We also learned that the owner learned cooking from his grandma, so all dishes have an Asian flare and are meant to be shared. I’d say that the owner has put his own twist and modernized the traditional dishes, so is more Asian fusion.

IMG by ukijojo on 500px.com
Gin & Tonic

To start, we had a Gin & Tonic. This was rosemary infused, featuring a Victoria premium cocktail gin and mixed with tonic water.

IMG by ukijojo on 500px.com
 
Vegan Kale Caesar Salad

As for food, we started with a Vegan Kale Caesar Salad which featured a cashew tofu dressing, roasted garlic, crispy chickpeas, olives, red onion, and balsamic reduction. The kale tasted fresh and crispy, but the star was definitely the crispy chickpeas. I think they might have been fried, because they were super light and addicting! And I don’t even usually like to eat chickpeas since I find it to be too dense. Overall, the salad was light and refreshing, perfect for the warm weather.

IMG by ukijojo on 500px.com
Gluten Free Polenta Fries

The Gluten Free Polenta Fries were a beautiful golden yellow and was battered with cornmeal, topped with green onion, and served with a side of chili aioli. Personally, I am not a huge fan of polenta because of how dense it often is. For me, I found the fries to be dense and the cornmeal texture to be a little overwhelming. However, that chili aioli was addicting, and complemented the fries well so they weren’t as heavy feeling.

IMG by ukijojo on 500px.com
Vegetable Potstickers

The Vegetable Potsticks were all perfectly wrapped and pinched and pan fried to a beautiful golden brown. The filling includes smoked tofu, napa cabbage, shiitake mushroom, and carrot. To dip, there was a ponzu dressing on the side which gave some acidity.

IMG by ukijojo on 500px.com

Gluten Free Salt & Pepper Squid

My favourite of the night was the Gluten Free Salt & Pepper Squid. The squid is lightly battered and fried, then topped with jalapenos, grilled lime, house tartar. The squid was not tough at all, but just the right chewy bouncy texture.

IMG by ukijojo on 500px.com

Berry Mojito

Switching up my drink, I tried the Berry Mojito which featured crushed bramble berries, mint, lime, and rum. For me, the drink was very fruity so I could barely taste the alcohol. You could easily drink many of these without noticing the alcohol! Dangerous!

IMG by ukijojo on 500px.com

Chicken Adobo Steamed Buns

A new menu item they just added are the Chicken Adobo Steamed Buns. These Chinatown baos come with a soy braised soft boiled egg, house pickles, and roasted garlic. The flavours were great, but I think many of us were confused as to why the buns were only filled with the chicken adobo near the bottom. The bun was soft and fluffy, but we just thought the construction of the bun was a bit odd.

IMG by ukijojo on 500px.com

Mini Poke Bowl

The last savoury dish was the Mini Poke Bowl. This features ocean-wise salmon on scallion verde rice, onions, roasted cherry tomatoes, spicy pineapple, cucumber and seaweed. Definitely not the authentic poke, but the flavours worked together with a nice kick from the spiced pineapples. I also liked how there was a soy marinade throughout the rice and not just at the top. I always find it difficult to mix all the ingredients together, so it’s nice that the soy is throughout the rice so you don’t end up with just plain rice at the bottom.

IMG by ukijojo on 500px.com

Twisted Fashion

To finish, we had the Twisted Fashion which featured bourbon, ginger reduction, and orange bitters. A much stronger drink, this is not for everyone. I actually quite enjoyed this as it had a hint of ginger which brought bit of sweetness to it.

IMG by ukijojo on 500px.com

Gluten Free Chocolate Cake

For dessert, we had the Gluten Free Chocolate Cake which was served with raspberry sauce and mint ice cream from Tre Galli Gelato Cafe from next door. I think the cake is normally served with chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream, but not sure why it got switched up. The mint ice cream was great, but I think the vanilla ice cream would have been a better pairing. The cake was a delicious molten-like cake and many of the bloggers had more than one serving!

IMG by ukijojo on 500px.com

Overall, the new summer menu at Wild Rice features a colourful array of light, refreshing dishes. Many of their dishes are also perfect for vegetarians or those who require gluten-free dishes. With such a nice patio and waterfront view, this makes a great summer patio spot for drinks and dishes.

Wild Rice Market Bistro Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Victoria Sushi

After seeing everyone posting pictures of Victoria Sushi, I decided to visit with my family. I liked it so much that I returned a second time recently! Anyways, Victoria Sushi is located in New Westminster in a residential neighbourhood. Apartment buildings actually sit on top of the restaurant. Because of where it’s situated, it can be quite difficult to find parking during peak hours, although they have an garage that’s connected to the apartment but for customers of retailers.

Kabocha Korroke

The restaurant is Korean run, so they aren’t known for traditional nigiris and such. We started off with some appies, like the Kabocha Korroke. Kabocha is an Asian variety of squash and is overlooked often but has become a popular ingredient in cooking today. I loved how they battered mashed kabocha and deep fried it. The tangy sauce along with the sweet squash was perfect! They also have this at Guu which is just as good!

Atlantic Salmon Sashimi

My parents love sashimi and for some reason, they always go for the Atlantic Salmon Sashimi. I guess it’s because of how fresh salmon is in Vancouver! Also, salmon is a fatty fish known to be a great brain food because of all the vitamins and omega-3 essential fatty acids it provides, so remember to eat lots! I was pleasantly surprised at how fresh the salmon sashimi they offered here. Very reasonably priced with the portions cut to a good size. I hate it when the cut is so large that I feel sick eating it, but I also hate it when the pieces are so small I keep longing for more! These were just right.

Mango Scallop Roll

Onto some of their creative rolls we tried, which included the Mango Scallop Roll. This was essentially your scallop roll but topped with a fresh ripe slice of mango, some avocado, a caper, and some Japanese mayo. Light and refreshing.

Aburi Tobiko Roll

One of my favourite rolls was the Aburi Tobiko Roll. This was essentially a California roll but filled with salmon sashimi and topped generously with tobiko and mayo and lightly seared with a flame on top to melt the mayo. What results is delicious sushi that practically melts in your mouth! A must order!

Salmon Oshi and Scallop Oshi

All the food we had tried were pretty good, but what we came here for was the oshi sushi! If you’re new to the wonders of sushi, then you may be confused over all the different types of sushi. However, with Miku and Minami making the aburi oshi sushi famous in Vancouver, it has literally become the hype here. Everyone is searching for an aburi salmon oshi sushi just as good as Miku’s to be exact! Well, here at Victoria, they do a pretty darn good version of this. We also tried their Scallop Oshi which again is so creamy and melts in your mouth!

Salmon Oshi

We loved the Salmon Oshi so much that we ordered a second order… A layer of salmon sashimi is placed on a rectangular formed rice and topped with mayo. The sushi is then lightly seared on top with a torch so that the mayo melts and the salmon is slightly torched. It’s then topped with a slice of jalapeno pepper to give it that kick. You end up getting a very creamy and smoky piece of sushi that melts in your mouth! Compared to Miku though, I still enjoy Miku’s more. I think it’s the secret sauce they put on that’s so hard to recreate. However, the price of this was only around $10-11 whereas Miku costs $16. So I’d say for the price, Victoria Sushi does a pretty good job.

Aburi Beef Oshi

Continuing on with the oshi trend, we tried the Aburi Beef Oshi. This was the same concept but with beef tataki, red pepper, a genourous amount of mayo and a piece of fried garlic chip. Another worthy dish!

Chicken Yaki Soba

Since S is not a huge fan of sashimi and fish in sushi…(he likes the boring stuff…), he ordered the Chicken Yaki Soba. This was a huge dish with great flavour without being too salty. I quite enjoyed the chewy texture of the soba noodles. Great for sharing.

Overall, we really enjoyed Victoria Sushi, hence we have already made a revisit! It may be quite far for some, but even for myself, it’s less than 30 minutes drive from Richmond, so it’s not that bad when you compare it to Downtown. Service can be a bit slow during peak times (the second time we went, it was late in the afternoon, so they were super quick), but the service is friendly and they try their best with the limited staff and chefs they have. The restaurant itself is quite small, so call in advance for reservations to guarantee you a spot!

Pros:
– Great alternative to Miku’s aburi salmon oshi at lower price
– Creative rolls are on well executed

Cons:
– Service can be a bit slow during peak hours
– Make sure to make reservations as can get packed!

Price Range: $10-30

1: Terrible 2: Poor 3: Average 4: Good 5: Excellent

Food: 4 Service: 2.5 Ambiance: 3 Parking: 2 Overall: 4

Victoria Sushi Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato