Koto Izakaya Sushi & Robata

May 25, 2014May 25, 2014Leave a comment

Chopped Scallop Roll People keep talking about how amazing Koto Izakaya is for their value, so I finally decided to give it a try. Unfortunately, I didn’t try their late-night menu, which is when people usually go there since the food is imposingly really cheap. For their regular dinner menu, I didn’t find the prices to be a super good value. Average priced, but the quality isn’t superb. First, we had the Chopped Scallop Roll. It was filled with a lot of chopped scallop and topped with tons of tobiko and sesame seeds. The rice to filling ratio was pretty decent also. Toro Nigiri Next, we got some Toro Nigiri. This was actually pretty decent. However, I wouldn’t say the sashimi was packed on the rice too well. It was quite sloppy. The toro sashimi itself was very fatty and fresh though. Pretty good for the price you pay. Mentaiko Udon The Mentaiko Udon was a huge disappointment. It was simply udon with mentaiko on top. That wasn’t the real problem though. The problem was the mentaiko were all clumped together. It’s like they bought these cheap mentaiko that came in a paste or something and hadn’t treated it so they would split up. So at points, you would be eating a huge clump of mentaiko and it would be really salty. Lastly, we chose two specialty rolls. Koto doesn’t have a website so I couldn’t find their menu names. The one in the front was a roll topped with salmon sashimi, avocado, and massago. It also came with a spicy sauce, so no soy sauce was needed. Behind, we had a roll filled essentially like a dynamite roll, with deep fried prawns, and topped with unagi, avocado, orange and black tobiko. These were both pretty decent, but just as specialty rolls are usually, they were much more pricey. Overall, I thought Koto was just average. I guess it would a much better value for late-night, but I have yet to try. Don’t expect much service here though. It’s pretty slow and you have to wave your hand furiously to be noticed. They literally walk by you without looking. There’s also limited parking, so that might be a problem if it’s really packed.

Charcoal Sushi & BBQ (Revisit #2)

May 18, 2014May 22, 2014Leave a comment

Sockeye Salmon Sashimi

Finally, we can get down to my Vancouver posts! I’m literally 5 months behind now…but I’m sure I can catch up quite quickly! Got home after a 14 hour flight and ended up passing out on my bed while waiting for my dad to come home from work. He woke me up and off we went to have some Japanese food that I had been missing for so long. We ended up at Charcoal, which was packed as usual. First, we got the Sockeye Salmon Sashimi. I was actually a bit disappointed with this. I found that the salmon was still sort of frozen and hadn’t been defrosted yet. It was still fresh and had a great texture, but it seemed to lack preparation. It’s also quite pricey for 4 pieces.

Chopped Scallop Roll and Dynamite Roll

I had been craving my Chopped Scallop Roll for the 4 months away. This did not disappoint me, and it was filled with lots of scallop. Dad got the Dynamite Roll, which was typical. Nothing too special, but filled with a good amount of fillings and a nice balance of rice.

Tokyo Roll

Lastly, we got one of the specialty rolls. We chose the Tokyo Roll, which was extremely colourful. It was filled with prawn tempura, cucumber slices, and tobiko. On top, it was layered with salmon sashimi and a nice mayo and spicy sauce. The best part about these rolls is you don’t need to use soy sauce, since it’s designed to be just eaten on its own.

I was honestly falling asleep from jet lag during dinner, but it was definitely a prime example of good Richmond sushi! Charcoal never disappoints!

Ningbo Seafood Restaurant 寧波海鮮酒家

May 27, 2013May 27, 2013Leave a comment

For Mother’s Day, my mom of course wanted Chinese food. She suggested we try Ningbo Seafood Restaurant since it is fairly new and we haven’t had Ning Bo cuisine before. The restaurant is located at Parker Place and you can enter from inside the mall or outside.

Even though we made reservations, we still needed to wait a while. We arrived at the restaurant and there wasn’t a hostess to greet us for more than 5 minutes. Service definitely lacks at the restaurant and they seemed to be understaffed on this busy day.

Chinese Mushroom with Bean Curd Roll

First we got the Chinese Mushroom with Bean Curd Roll. This was decent, but also quite typical. Nothing too special. The bean curd was cooked tender and the mushrooms inside gave it a good chew and flavour.

Dried Bamboo Shoot with Mushrooms

My mom wanted to try the Dried Bamboo Shoot with Mushrooms. Although the flavour was good, the texture of the mushrooms was way too tough to chew on. Only the dried bamboo shoots were chewable, but the mushrooms which were long and stringy were way over cooked.

Deep Fried Fish Sticks

We wanted to get a dish of fish, so my sister suggested the Deep Fried Fish Sticks. These are made of a batter made with seaweed, hence the slight green colour. The fish inside was extremely tender and was really delicious! We all agreed that the dish should have some sort of sauce to dip with, but it didn’t come with it. Or they just forgot. Overall, this was one of my favourite dishes.

House Special Chicken

We also saw on the menu the House Special Chicken and my mom immediately wanted to get it. However, it said that you must reserve the chicken in advance as they only have limited quantities each day. We asked the server and after a while, she said that she had snatched us an order! Apparently another table said they didn’t want it anymore, so she quickly reserved it for us.It came sizzling in a large pot.

Then our server cut up the chicken for us. The meat flaked off easily. The chicken was marinated in a soy based sauce and was actually quite sweet instead of salty. The skin was cooked so it was a little crispy as well. Not bad to go with rice!

Pan Fried Braised Pork with Veggies

The Pan Fried Braised Pork with Veggies is a famous Ning Bo dish. It is basically pork belly that is braised in a very flavourful sauce. I found that the pork was a bit too tough, probably because it was overcooked. There was lots of fat attached to it, but because the meat was tough, the texture overall wasn’t that good. I’ve had much better at other restaurants before. Plus, the dish actually didn’t’ have any veggies in it when it’s stated on the menu. The sauce is great to eat with rice though.

Sesame Dumplings and Osmanthus with Rice Gluten in Wine

Lastly, for dessert, we got the Sesame Dumplings and Osmanthus with Rice Gluten in Wine. This is one of my favourite desserts because it has tons of little mochi balls! They actually don’t have sesame dumplings in this dessert, so I’m not quite sure why it’s stated in the name. The alcohol isn’t very strong in it, so it’s definitely much more sweet with the osmanthus. A large bowl, which is plenty to share with 5 people!

Overall, we all agreed that Ningbo Seafood Restaurant was just average. Service was lacking and the food wasn’t superb.

New Spicy Chili Restaurant 小四川

May 15, 2013Leave a comment

J’s home is in Sze Chuan and we always see her eating food that is drenched in red soup or chilies. I still don’t understand how she takes the heat but we finally decided to go try it out with her. She told us that New Spicy Chili Restaurant is a restaurant that serves dishes which are less spicy. Okay… sure… we’ll see about that…

The restaurant was around half empty when we arrived on a weekday afternoon, although there was a large table of diners who looked like they worked at the same office. Office lunch I suppose? Soon after, the place began to fill up though. Definitely do not expect any service whatsoever here. It is extremely hard to get the attention of the lady, and I saw her talking to the phone while speaking with another customer too… Some of us might think it’s rude, but I guess she gets her job done?

Chicken with Spicy Sauce

We started off with the Chicken with Spicy Sauce. In Chinese, the dish directly translates to Saliva Chicken. Sounds a bit gross eh, but it tasted really just like any other chicken, or perhaps it was free range chicken. However, it was drenched in a red liquid. It scared me at first, but guess what…this was probably one of the least spicy dishes we ordered. The chicken still had skin on the top, and it was topped with the spicy sauce which also consisted of the seeds inside the chilies. I didn’t dare try the chicken that was soaked at the bottom. I only grabbed the top pieces to be safe.

Sliced Beef with Special Spicy Sauce

Next up, we got the Sliced Beef with Special Spicy Sauce. This was definitely the next level of spicy! The beef was sliced thinly and was tender, and even though there didn’t seem to be as much sauce as the chicken, it was spicy! I’m guessing it was marinated in the sauce or something…

Spicy Bean Sprout

We wanted some veggies as well, so we chose the Spicy Bean Sprout, which was again topped with chilies… Funny enough, I actually began to be able to eat the food though. Either I was getting used to the spice, or my tongue was just plain numb, because I could barely taste anything by now. And so I just kept stuffing myself with food now. The Bean Sprouts are one of my favourite veggies as they are tender and easy to chew. I ended up eating a lot of this, as it was also one of the less spicy dishes.

Spicy Fish Hot Pot

The Spicy Fish Hot Pot had to be the spiciest dishes we ordered. It came in a sizzling hot pot and was literally a pot of red liquid… Inside were fish filets and potato or glass noodles. Yea, I definitely did not dare try the noodles since noodles always absorb the liquid, and there was no way I would be alive after eating that… I did try the fish, and I’m not even sure if it was hot in temperature or just spicy. Yea, I pretty much had no feelings on my taste buds by now… Fish was tender though!

Sizzling Fish

I’m not exactly why they call it the Sizzling Fish (actually the menu said suzzling fish, but I’m not sure if that’s even a word), because this should simply be called grilled squid. That’s basically what it was! What the heck is sizzling fish…? Anyways, this came hot and sizzling in a pan and the squid were placed on tin foil. It smelled and reminded me of night market squid! Yum! The squid was cooked tender and the spice level was medium. A more acceptable spice, or maybe I was just getting used to all this spicy food.

Oh and a tip if you can’t take spice is to never place your food that is soaked in the red sauce on your rice. Your rice ends up being so spicy, that you can’t use it to cool you down. I also wonder how people eat here during the summer… I swear I was sweating by the end of this lunch. But for all you spicy lovers, this is the place to go! Most of these dishes are also popular Sze Chuan dishes and are also chef recommended on the menu!

Haroo (revisit)

May 14, 2013May 14, 2013Leave a comment

Appetizers – Kimchi, Seaweed, Sweet Potatoes, Bean Sprouts, Salad

For my sister’s birthday, she chose to have dinner at Haroo, which I’ve had lunch there before. So this was my first time having dinner at Haroo and I was excited to try out some of their platters which could be shared among the diners. First up, we were given appetizers, which included kimchi, a marinated seaweed, sweet potatoes, bean sprouts, and a salad. The appetizers were quite typical, but I loved the salad. The dressing seemed to be a vinaigrette which was a little sour, but so addicting! It was also presented nicely.

Congee

Each of us were also given a small bowl of congee. Apparently, you get a bowl for each dinner platter you order, and coincidentally we ordered five, so we each got our own! The congee was flavourful. It had a bit of sesame oil and was topped with both anchovy-like fish and black and white sesame. It was light and didn’t fill us up.

Bibimbab

We got a Bibimbap, which is part of the individual dinner set meals. It came with a small bowl of rice. We found this to be quite bland unless we add the red sauce which was a little sweet and spicy. This was just alright. I didn’t think it was amazing.

Japchae – stir fried potato noodle with beef & vegetable

We always get Japchae at Korean restaurants, so of course we chose to try the one at Haroo. This is essentially potato noodles which are clear and chewy, and they are stir fried with beef and vegetables. The sauce had a good consistency and the dish was flavourful overall.

Haemul Pajeon – seafood pancake

The Haemul Pajeon, which is a seafood pancake, was one of the best seafood pancakes I’ve had. The outer batter was crispy, with the inside being soft. It was also generously filled with seafood, with lots of squid and mussels. The seafood was also cooked so it was tender and easy to chew on. A must try at Haroo! The pancake also comes in two other variations: bulgogi and kimchi, which I have yet to try.

LA Galbi – marinated “AAA” sliced beef rib

We wanted some meat, so we went for the LA Galbi, which were marinated “AAA” sliced beef rib. This came sizzling hot and was a decent portion. The pieces I ate were quite tender, but my dad said some of it was tough.

Gunjung Tteokbokki – royal court rice cake with marinated beef

My sister and I love rice cakes, so we got the Gunjung Tteokbokki. I often see spicy rice cakes at Korean restaurants, but since I can’t take spice, this is the one I always get. The sauce is sweet and it is mixed with marinated beef and vegetables. Delicious!

Bulgogi Fried Rice

Since my dad loves to make his own fried rice (Chinese style), he got excited when he saw Korean style fried rice. So we ended up ordering the Bulgogi Fried Rice. It was much more moist compared to Chinese fried rice, and it definitely has much more flavours. I’m guessing it’s the garlic and onion. Mixed with some veggies, the dish was flavourful with a slight crunch. Not bad.

Overall, I was quite pleased with Haroo’s dinner menu. Don’t expect much service here as the man has limited English proficiency. You also serve yourself with water, tea, and utensils as they have a little drawer under the wooden table filled with the utensils and napkins.

Mega Sushi

May 2, 20131 Comment

Mega Sushi opened last year in Steveston Village near Gary Point Park. It’s not exactly in the village area, so it’s quite hidden unless you are on your way to Gary Point Park. Parking is limited in front of the restaurant itself, but there are quite a few free street parking across and nearby the restaurant.

We were greeted in Japanese by the waitress, but J told me they were Korean. And yes, we ended up learning that they could speak Korean. So I guess it’s not exactly authentic Japanese food. The place was quite busy on the weekday for lunch and was slowly packed with people.

Nigiri – Unagi, Red Tuna, Hamachi, Salmon

The nigiri sushi were presented nicely on the plate. They were fresh and the rice was just the perfect amount. I normally only eat salmon, but it was nice to give some of the other fish a try. The Red Tuna had a softer texture, and since I enjoy fish that has more of a bite to it, I enjoyed the Hamachi which was closer to a salmon texture.

Crispy’n Crunchy Roll – dynamite roll with crispy temkasu, sweet and spicy sauce

The Crispy’n Crunchy Roll was on their special roll menu, and it was essentially a dynamite roll with a twist to it. It was covered with crispy temkasu, and drizzled with a sweet and spicy sauce. It definitely had lots of crunch to it, but it still didn’t feel too oily. The hint of spice was evened out with the sweetness of the sauce, so it wasn’t too spicy.

Mega Roll – deep fried salmon and green onion with spicy mayo

We also got the Mega Roll which was also under the special roll menu. This roll had seaweed on the outside, and it was then covered with batter and lightly fried to golden. I twas topped with imitation crab mixed with a spicy mayo sauce. On the top, were tobiko and golden yellow deep fried lotus chips. The lotus chips were my favourite as they added a crunch to it! I found this roll to be a little more spicy than the previous. Definitely a mouthful of flavour.

Tuna Tataki Nigiri

Lastly, we were presented with a complementary dish to our surprise. The waitress said this was the Tuna Tataki Nigiri. A lightly seared tuna on top of rice, with a special sauce and topped with alfalfa sprouts. Quite delicious and a nice unexpected treat.

Overall, I was quite satisfied with Mega Sushi. Food and service was up to par and they have large variety of specialty rolls, which seem to be attracting customers these days. It’s good to have another addition of Japanese food in the Steveston area.

Yuu Japanese Tapas

April 13, 2013April 26, 2013Leave a comment

Originally, we had wanted to go to Sushi Hachi, but it was closed on a Sunday! So instead, we went to mall across to look for food. I’ve walked by Yuu Japanese Tapas many times, but I haven’t tried it before, so I decided to give it a try.

The place doesn’t serve authentic Japanese food, but it does offer a large menu of different Japanese snacks, noodles, and desserts. I heard the owner speaking Chinese, so I was already a bit hesitant on how good the food would be. The place is filled with young diners and families though. I’m guessing it’s because the prices are decent.

Deep Fried Boneless Chicken

First, we got the Deep Fried Boneless Chicken as our appetizer. It’s basically chicken karaage and it came with a spicy mayo. This was alright, but I found the batter a little thick.

Ramen in Special Pork Bone (Tonkatsu) Soup Base

I got the Ramen in Special Pork Bone (Tonkatsu) Soup Base. It came with Cha-Siu, corn, leeks, and an egg with a half-runny yolk. The ramen, however, wasn’t that great. It reminded me of instant ramen. The soup base on the other hand, was rich, but salty. It says on their website, that the chef makes this daily.

Unagi Fried Udon

J got the Unagi Fried Udon. He said it was just alright. It looked nice when it was presented, but I guess it wasn’t anything spectacular.

Green Tea, Red Bean Parfait

Yuu has tons of desserts that look really good on their menu. We got the Green Tea, Red Bean Parfait, but I was quite disappointed with it! The green tea ice cream on the top was decent, and I loved the mochi that came with it. What disappointed me was that the rest of the cup was just filled with whip cream! And it wasn’t even good whip cream. I was expecting layers of different snacks since it’s a parfait… Chico on Robson definitely makes better parfaits!

Overall, I left quite disappointed with the food at Yuu. I can’t say the food is bad, but I was expecting better. The service was alright, as our server was quite friendly. However, I don’t think I would be coming back. I can get better food for similar prices elsewhere.

Moxie’s Classic Grill

March 31, 2013April 27, 2013Leave a comment

Earlier in the month, I went to Moxie’s for M’s birthday. It’s located by the Sandman Hotel, but sadly I took forever trying to find the entrance to the parking lot. Silly me.

Surprisingly, it was my first time going to Moxie’s. I guess it’s because it’s located near all the hotels, and not so much Central Richmond. The service and ambiance reminded me of Earl’s and the prices are reasonable.

Meatballs Stuffed with Bocconcini – over linguine in a classic tomato sauce with fresh basil + grana padano

I couldn’t decide what to get for the longest time, but ended up going for a classic spaghetti and meatball. But with a twist! The Meatballs Stuffed with Bocconcini sounded really interesting since meatballs filled with cheese are always better! It was served over a typical linguini covered in the classic tomato sauce. It also came with two slices of garlic bread, which were really good! Sadly, the meatballs weren’t as good as I had imagined. I was hoping for some real stringy cheese oozing out, but the cheese seemed to be a clump in the middle.

Overall, food was alright. Nothing too special, but will definitely fill you up at a decent price. They also catered to our large table really well with more than 20 people. Definitely a good place to go for birthday dinners if you have a large group.