Umami Burger (San Francisco) - Real Juicy Meat

During my trip to San Fran, Rae and I stopped by Umami Burger because it was close to our apartment. I always just knew of this restaurant as an LA hipster burger joint with a cool "U" stamp on their burger buns.

They seem to be quite popular with line ups spewing onto the streets on a random weekday afternoon.

It's quite casual inside with lots of booths and tables. It kind of reminds me of Romers Burger Bar from Vancouver.

Obviously, their most famous burger is called the Umami Burger but they surprisingly have quite a few options for those that don't feel like eating beef. They've covered all their bases with black bean patties, ahi tuna for fish lovers, and even some 'manlier' patties like the Manly Burger.

Rae and I both got some beer to wash down our burger with. I opted for the highly alcoholic Golden Monkey (9% alc.) and she got a brown pale ale of some kind that she really liked. They also gave us a plate with four different types of aiolis, sauces, and homemade ketchup. We didn't know what they were for, so we kind of just dipped our fries in it.

We both wanted to try the original so we got the classic Umami Burger ($11.50) which has parmesan frico, shiitake mushrooms, roasted tomato, caramelized onions, and Umami house ketchup.

Our server praised their chain for using only the most local, organic, and fresh ingredients which include the ground beef they use to make the patty with. That's why all patties are served medium rare unless specified. 

I got the burger as is so as you can see, it was quite rare. It's a little freaky to see your burger patty so pink because it looks you'll get salmonella. LOL. It was delicious though and the 'fresh' ingredients really did shine through. One thing Rae and I both noticed though, were the lack of toppings. We literally got two slivers of mushrooms on each burger and that's it.

Last but not least, I ordered a side of Truffle Fries ($5.50) to add some carbs to my diet. Also, if truffle fries are on the menu, I have to try it at least once. These ones were disappointing though. The truffle was only infused in the cheese and the cheese solidified quite quickly after it was brought out so the whole thing was one clumpy mess. Not recommended.

All in all, Umami Burger is solid if you want to just try their burgers and beers. Their burgers are unlike any burger I've tried before and is way beyond the quality of the ones at A&W or Earls. Skip the truffle fries though, they're just not worth it.

Service Rating: 4.5/5

Food Rating: 3.5/5

Price: $$-$$$

Overall Rating: 3.5/5

Happy Eating!

this has nothing to do with Umami but I wish I could do this with my brows :D

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Sushirrito (San Francisco) - Please Bring This to Vancouver!!!

When I was on vacay with Rae in San Fran, there was one place on my list that I could not leave without trying. It's called Sushirrito (combination of sushi and burrito) and it's an original concept from San Fran. I can see this going big in Vancouver...unfortunately, it's not available here in the north so you'll have to travel to San Fran to try out these super cool sushi burritos.

 This one's called Salmon Samba ($10.00 USD) and it has oven baked agave soy salmon, tempura asparagus, namasu cucumber, butter lettuce, avocado, pepitas, wasabi dust, and teri-mayo. The agave soy salmon brought sweet flavours to the roll which was interesting. The crunchy tempura asparagus also brought the crunch factor, so all in all, it was a pretty good roll!

If you are to try Sushirrito and you can only get one roll, get the Geisha's Kiss ($12.00 USD). It's definitely the best tasting sushi roll/ burrito I've ever tasted in my life. It has yellowfin tuna (hand-line caught), tamago, piquillo peppers, yuzu tobiko, lotus chips, namasu cucumber, butter lettuce, avocado, and sesame white soya.

On a hot summer day, this was pure heaven. I was pleasantly surprised by the large chunks of high quality tuna, the crisp of the lotus root chips, and the burst of delicious flavours from the sesame soya and piquillo peppers. When I thoroughly enjoy what I'm eating, I continuously nod my head in delight and won't say a word. This was worthy of that.

In conclusion, GO TO SUSHIRRITO!! SO DELICIOUSSSS!!

Service Rating: 4/5
Food Rating: 5/5
Price: $$

Overall Rating: 5/5

Happy Eating!

     
      I would be this happy if someone gave me Sushiritto for my birthday XD

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VanVan Izakaya - Russian Roulette Takoyaki!

VanVan Izakaya is an izakaya (Japanese pub) serving up beer and Japanese tapas on Robson street. I've passed by this location many times before but never stopped to give it a try.

Disclaimer: Chinese Bites kindly invited me to a tasting event at Van Van Izakaya along with a few other bloggers. Even though the food was complimentary, the view and opinion of the dishes are my own.

This is their whole izakaya menu. It has everything from sashimi, to salads, to deep fried items...etc. The coolest item on the menu was the Russian Roulette Takoyaki. More on that later. :)

Started off with a Takowasabi ($3.80). It's essentially chopped up raw octopus mixed with wasabi. It tastes amazing wrapped up in seaweed (nori)!

We thought the Chicken Gristle Karaage ($4.80) was the same as 'deep fried chicken knee' dishes we normally order at dim sum. How wrong we were. They were pure cartilage which made it a little difficult to eat. I prefer some more meat with the cartilage.

 For $8.80, I didn't think the Ebi Mayo was really worth it to be honest. It was good, but not amazing.

The Russian Roulette Takoyaki ($6.80)!!! I highly recommend this dish as a fun thing to do with your friends. One of the takoyaki balls is filled with wasabi but you don't know which one it is. Watch one of your buddies squirm in pain when they get the ball of wasabi!

The Beef Short Ribs ($9.80) were pretty good.

I really enjoyed the citrus fresh flavours of the Pork Jowl with Japanese Citrus ($8.80). Definitely recommended!

We really really didn't like the Korean Style Vegetable Pancake ($8.80) because it was mainly dough.

Tuna, Scallop, and Salmon Sashimi ($8.80 each)

I quite enjoyed the Marinated Jellyfish ($4.80). It had a great crunchy texture but was a little over seasoned.

More Salmon Sashimi ($8.80) and Marinated Mackerel ($7.80).

I LOVED the Scallop Sashimi!! So fresh, so big.

I didn't try the Deep Fried Chicken Thigh Karaage ($6.80) but I heard it was good!

Whole Squid with Teriyaki Sauce ($8.80) was deeeelicious. It was especially good with the mayo/togarashi spice.

I didn't expect this Curry Poutine ($6.80) to beat the Japanese poutine from Cafe de L'Orangerie so I wasn't surprised when I was right.

Japanese Old Style Omelette ($8.80) was like an Okonomiyaki but made with only egg.

The Chopped Raw Tuna Rice Bowl ($6.80) was delicious and paired very well with the immense amounts of green onion.

I'm not a fan of natto so the Chopped Raw Tuna with Natto ($7.80) was something I tried to avoid. However, if you like natto, this would be a pretty good dish!

For a restaurant that does not specialize in ramen, their Tonkotsu Ramen ($9.80) was surprisingly delicious. It was a rich and fatty broth, but boy was it flavourful.

My favourite dessert item was their Green Tea Soy Milk Pudding ($4.80). It had the consistency of very very soft pudding.

I didn't enjoy the Rice Cake wrapped in Red Bean ($4.80) because the rice cake was a little wet and melty. It didn't hold together as well as I would've liked.

The Matcha Ice-Cream ($4.00) was really authentic and had great amounts of matcha flavour!

All in all, VanVan Izakaya serves up some good izakaya dishes. It's a little pricey because it's on Robson, but it's worth it just to try the Russian Roulette Takoyaki!

Service Rating: N/A

Food Rating: 3/5

Price: $$-$$$

Overall Rating: 3/5

Happy Eating!

          when your friend gets the wasabi takoyaki...

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McDonalds - McLobster is Here!!!

For the past month, McDonalds Canada has been running a campaign called "Great Canadian Taste Adventure" which features five 'regional flavours" of Canada including the maple and bacon poutine, a chocolate nanaimo sundae, McLobster, Western BBQ burger, and Cottage country chicken.


All of these items are only available for a limited time. I didn't care too much for the other products, but I was REALLY looking forward to the McLobster.


The McLobster is available from June 17th to June 30th and features 100% Canadian Atlantic lobster meat with celery, lemon flavoured mayo, and shredded lettuce on a bun. This version of the 'lobster roll' has been offered in Atlantic Canada for over 10 years and it's the first time it's been offered in all the McDonalds locations across the country.

 The sandwich alone is $7.49 so it's a little pricier than the other sandwiches on their menu. It's to be expected though, they are using real lobster meat.

The bun they use for the McLobster is not the traditional hot dog bun you'd see on a Maine Lobster roll. It was fluffy though and I thought it was a great choice of bun consider how delicate the the lobster mixture was.

As you can see, they don't pack your lobster roll full of the lobster mixture. It's just enough to coat most of the bun but not really.

I took it out of the box and toasted it in my conventional oven. It made a big difference and gave the roll a good crisp on the edges.

Halfway into my McLobster, I actually noticed quite a few large chunks of the crustacean!

At the end of the day, it is a average lobster roll for $7.50 CAD and a good snack (not meal, because it's too darn small!) from McDonalds. Since it's a specialty item and I normally can't find lobster rolls in Vancouver, I might try it once or twice more before it's gone forever. :P

Service Rating: N/A
Food Rating: 3/5
Price: $

Overall Rating: 3/5

Happy Eating!


                                            Tee hee!

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