Kishimoto Japanese Kitchen & Sushi Bar - My Miku Alternative

I know, I know... almost every Vancouverite has been to Kishimoto at least once except for me. Misu recently recommended this restaurant saying it is one of her favourite sushi joints so it was the perfect time to go!

Kishimoto is known for their flame torched sushi made famous by another popular Vancouver restaurant called Miku. It's an incredibly decadent piece of box pressed sushi with charcoal infused mayo on top as flavouring. 

Instead of paying $15 at Miku, you can get the same roll at Kishimoto for $11.75!

Mochi Agedashi ($9.75) is essentially glutinous rice balls tossed in the fryer with tempura batter. The texture was super interesting, crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside, but that didn't totally justify the price. 

I've never heard of Fiddlehead Tempura ($9.95) before so I convinced our table to give it a try. Fiddleheads are young ferns and is often cooked as a vegetable side. This tempura was paired with matcha sea salt which gave it a nice earthy salt kick. Other than that, there wasn't much taste and was also quite expensive for ten bucks. What you see in this photo is all we got.

From left top and clockwise: Hamachili Roll ($8.95), Salmon Oshisushi ($11.75), Seafood Roll ($6.95), and Ebi Oshisushi ($11.75)

The Salmon Oshisushi was absolutely mouthwatering and tasted pretty much exactly like the one at Miku. The buttery smokey mayo is out of this world when combined with spicy jalapeno and raw salmon. This is a must try item at Kishimoto!

I enjoyed the Hamachili Roll as well but it definitely does not compare to the flame torched variety.

The Sashimi Salad ($10.95) comes in a big bowl so it's a nice item to share. There are pieces of octopus, chopped scallop, tuna, and salmon.

 The Chicken Karaage ($6.75) was nicely fried and came in five medium sized pieces. It was pretty good but nothing outstanding.

Overall, Kishimoto is an excellent alternative to the fine dining restaurants like Miku or Minami. You can get the same type of aburi sushi for a cheaper price and a more homey ambiance. Just be prepared to wait because they don't take resos and the restaurant is VERY small!

Service Rating: 3/5
Food Rating: 3.5/5
Price: $$$

Overall Rating: 3/5

Happy Eating!

Read More

Peaked Pies - Mother of Pies

Recently there has been an abundance of speciality pie shops in Vancouver (ie. Aussie Pie Guy, The Pie Hole,  The Pie Shoppe) and now Whistler has followed suit.

I did a quick search on Urbanspoon for places to eat in Whistler and found an interestingly high rating for a new place called Peaked Pies. They are located right by Elements and Splitz Grill.

Peaked Pies was created by Kerri & Alex who wanted to bring the traditional Aussie Meat Pie to Whistler patrons all year long. They use only the freshest ingredients and bake their pies in-house daily.

They have a wide variety of pies including Vegetable Medley, Beef Curry, Thai Chicken Satay, Steak Bacon & Cheese...etc. You can also choose to "peak" your pie (approx $3 more) to get a scoop of mash potatoes, mash peas, and a scoop of gravy on top.

Their pies looked lovely on display and the "Chunky Pepper Steak" totally called my name.

And of course, I peaked my pie!! Hehe.  The Chunky Pepper Steak Pie ($9.75) was filled with diced AA Canadian steak, onions, brown gravy, and a crap load of pepper!! Seriously if you are a pepper lover like me, you will NOT be disappointed.

It was my first time trying mushy green peas and boy was it delicious. The hearty combination of gravy, peas, mash potato, and steak brought back nostalgic memories and feelings of home.

I highly recommend Peaked Pies for lunch or a quick snack next time you travel to Whistler because their meat pies will blow your mind! Also make sure to get yours 'peaked' or else you won't get the full experience!

Service Rating: 3/5
Food Rating: 5/5
Price: $-$$

Overall Rating: 4.5/5

Happy Eating!

 

Read More

Joe's Grill - All American Breakfast

Joe's Grill is a classic breakfast joint on West 4th and I've read many a post on their toasts, eggs, bacon..etc. I didn't understand what makes them stand out from all the rest so I decided to go with my coworkers Bing and Robot to find out.

To our surprise, there was a GIGANTIC line up in front of the restaurant. They told us it would be about 20 minutes or so but it turned out to be 45 minutes. Needless to say, we were hangry (hungry + angry) by the time we sat down.

They have their usual egg items, pancakes, bennys, and wraps.

Bing ordered one of the Omelettes ($9.35) and it consisted of three eggs, panfried potatoes, and toast. He thought it was pretty good.

Robot got the Mimosa and The Basic ($6.85) which had two eggs, bacon, panfried potatoes, and toast. She said it was pretty good and satisfied her bacon craving.

I felt like a big ol' steak for breakfast that day so I went all out and got the New York Steak ($13.95). It looks pretty good in the picture but the 6oz grade 'A' steak was actually very thin and slightly tough. I absolutely did not think it was worth the $16 (including tax and tips) because I can easily find something similar at a HK Style Cafe for $8.

After this visit, I still don't understand why Joe's Grill has endless line ups. Their breakfasts tasted okay with above average prices.

Service Rating: 2.5/5
Food Rating: 2/5
Price: $$

Overall Rating: 2/5

Happy Eating!

 

Read More

Richmond Night Market - That Night Market Food Tho

Richmond Night Market is back at it again this year with its insane parking, claustrophobic food isles, cheap cellphone cases, and lively atmosphere.

As much as I hate paying the entrance fee, the disgustingly gross amount of people you have to share space with, and the impossible parking lot, I still return year after year. Sigh.. I will never learn. :P

This year, instead of the Rubber Duckie theme, it's called "Candy Kingdom". Remember, I'm talking about the Richmond Night Market in Bridgeport near Riverrock, not the one near IKEA.

My friends and I arrived at about 7 or 8pm and already there was a ton of people. 

This booth is called Enough Chicken and is basically deep fried deliciousness. Ai reen ordered the Super Big Big Chicken Fillet ($6.50) and said it was really good.

Siu Mai (Pork Dumplings) and Har Gow (Shrimp Dumplings) are the common dim sum items to get at Richmond Night Market if you don't eat dim sum often.

The Spicy Fish Balls are available at just about any dim sum booth and costs about $4-5. They make for a great snack! Just make sure you have a drink with you at the same time because those balls are spicy!

Oh, Icy Bar... how I love and hate you so. This booth has got to be one of the most popular stands at the Summer Night Market (for good reason) which means their line up to just order is 20 people long. Their signature mango shaved ice/drink is absolutely delicious and is a must get item when visiting the night market.

The Tapioca Mango Icy ($5.00) contains coconut milk, evaporated and condensed milk, tapioca, fresh mango, and mango puree. SO GOOD.

I think this booth is called "More Fusion Wrap"? I believe they specialize in Asian style wraps made with the flaky green onion pancake.

Ai Reen got the Egg and Shredded Pork Wrap ($6) without the shredded pork. So it's actually just egg and wrap. She said it was a bit bland and only okay, which is to be expected considering there is no saltiness from the pork.

I saw Shaka Shaka Deep Fried Squid attracting a lot of people but I didn't get anything because it seemed a bit pricey.

Mogu is a food truck usually situated in downtown Vancouver but they brought their shop to the Richmond Night Market. They have a really smart strategy of selling only one signature item: their Sweet and Spicy Chicken Karaage ($5/$7/$12).

We chose a Jumbo ($12) to share and it was ginormous! This picture really doesn't do it justice so you'll just have to see it to believe it.

Their chicken is extremely moist, juicy, and fresh off the fryer. Their sweet and spicy sauce is to-die-for. You can go no wrong at Mogu.

All in all, the Richmond Night Market is worth making the trek here for because it's lively 'Hong Kong' street style atmosphere is unlike anything else in Vancouver.

Click to see my previous Richmond Night Market and Summer Night Market experiences.
Click to see my post on Hong Kong street food.

Happy Eating!

 

Read More

Jade Seafood Restaurant - Only Come Here For The Honeycomb Brown Sugar Cake

Funny enough, I've lived in Richmond all my life and I've never once attempted The Jade Seafood Restaurant on Alexandra road. 

This is a popular local spot for dim sum and Alaskan king crab. Their most famous dish (and the dish that I was itching to try) is their Brown Sugar Rice Cake that resembles a honeycomb.

Their dim sum menu at a glance. Prices are around the mid to high range I'd say.

First off, I have to say their service was atrocious and the cleanliness of the tables and cutlery were off-putting. We found dirty cups, tea leaves stuck to the outside of the teapot, dirty tablecloths, and our waiter was non-existent.

Anyways, their Steamed Mushroom Dumpling ($4.98) is one of their most popular dim sum items and for good reason. The abundance of mixed mushrooms and the hint of truffle oil really brought the flavours to life. I loved this dish.

The Steamed Fish Maw with Fish Paste ($5.68) on the other hand, was quite disappointing. They must have overworked the shrimp paste because it tasted bland and completely void of the bouncy texture you get when biting into real plump shrimp.

If they can serve this Steamed Brown Sugar Rice Cake ($3.98) at the food court or another dim sum restaurant... that'd be great. I absolutely loved this bouncy, slightly sweet, honeycomb cake but I wish it was offered at a different restaurant! This is a must try item. The texture of the 'honeycomb' on your tongue is quite the experience.

  

I really liked how the Fried Chicken Knee (~$7-8) was served with edamame. It was fried in fresh oil and had a very clean crisp taste.

I saw another blogger try this so I decided to order the Steamed Rice Roll with Fish Paste ($5.38) as well. The texture was surprisingly soft..too soft for my liking but I can imagine some people enjoying this.

 I had high hopes for the Durian Glutinous Rice Dumpling ($3.98). Unfortunately, it fell short of expectations.

As you can see, the rice dumpling aka 'mochi' is filled completely with whipped cream. I would say in the entire dumpling there was only 20% durian. Such a let down.

All in all, my experience here was quite a let down. Not only was the bad service enough to keep me from ever coming back, 80% of the food we ordered was merely passable. In a highly competitive dim sum market like Richmond/Vancouver, there are so many better options out there.

Check out Western Lake for my BEST dim sum experience ever.

Service Rating: 1/5
Food Rating: 3/5
Price: $$

Overall Rating: 2/5

Happy Eating!

 

Read More