Kishimoto Japanese Kitchen & Sushi Bar: I got Lucky

I love sushi! I've heard so much about Kishimoto Japanese Restaurant on Commercial Drive, so I finally decided to go. Please note that they do not take reservations and you have to walk in and write your name down! On the brighter side, they can text/call you when they have seats so you can walk around! The place is fairly small and we were told that it'd be almost an hour wait for table for 2. After waiting 15 minutes, we were going to go elsewhere and hence, we walked back to the restaurant to let the hostess know to remove our name. She did not seem disappointed as this probably happens often at this restaurant! As I was walking out the door and outside, she called me back and said they have a table ready for us as somebody else left and cancelled their table! Joy! 

Salmon Oshi (wild salmon/jalapeno/creamy sauce/cracked black pepper/torch seared)

Salmon Oshi must be one of their most popular dishes as this has popped up on my instagram numerous times! It is without a doubt that this dish is popular - it was amazingly delicious! Kishimoto is known for their reasonable prices and fantastic plating and without a doubt, I was indeed impress with their fancy plating!

Caterpillar Roll (unagi, cucumber, unagi sauce, wrapped in avocado, mayo and ikura on top 

Again, the presentation was a full 10/10. Ingredients tasted very fresh, each piece was detail oriented, and I was only wanting seconds!

Toro

To me, the toro was good, but not great. To be fair, I'm not a huge fan of tuna sashimi to begin with. For freshness, it didn't taste 10/10, maybe a 9/10. 

Unfortunately, I don't recall what this was called but it was one of their seasonal specials. This dish came on ice and while there are the sashimi pieces, the head is fried! 

3 types of sauces!

Entrance

Another look at the details put in to the Salmon Oshi dish! 

Overall, very yummy indeed. I would say Kishimoto is definitely one of my favourites in Vancouver. Not only do they have unique rolls, but also fresh and delicious. Also, for the average prices, you also get fantastic plating. Nevertheless, be prepared to wait! They are busy and popular and hence, no surprise you'll have to wait if you go during a popular time! 

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Sushi Aria: First restaurant meal of 2016!

Happy New Year! Wishing you all a year filled with happiness, good health, and good food!

My first restaurant meal this year was at Sushi Aria, which opened a few months ago. This location was a travel agency, then a modern dessert place, and finally a sushi place now. Situated between Copa Cafe and Corner 23, and across from Landmark Hot Pot, I think it's perfect to have a sushi restaurant in this area. We came here on a Saturday evening without reservations, and we were seated quickly!

Sushi Aria

Menu

Agedashi tofu $4.75

The agedashi tofu was lightly fried and gave off a nice crispy outer layer even when dipped into the sauce.

Salmon teriyaki with rice $8.95

The salmon teriyaki was nicely cooked and still maintained a smooth texture. This plate had lots of bean sprouts (yay for veggies!), however, I think it had too much pepper. The pepper made this dish a little overly spicy.

Chopped scallop roll $3.95

The chopped scallop roll was satisfying as it was filled with lots of scallop! I also liked how there isn't too much rice on the roll.

Alaska combo $8.95

The Alaska combo came with 2 salmon nigiri, 1 tuna nigiri, 1 ebi nigiri, and a full order of Alaska roll. Alaska roll is usually my go-to sushi roll because I love California roll and I love salmon sashimi. So, Alaska roll is just the perfect combination for me. However, where's the imitation crab meat in this Alaska roll?! Even though it was filled with chunks of avocado, which made this roll creamy, it just didn't taste right without the imitation crab meat. As you can see, there's something on top of the Alaska rolls (and no, I'm not referring to the salmon), but the mushy, creamy-like orangey which I have yet to figure out what it is. My friend says it's crushed tempura.

Nabeyaki udon $6.95

I thought the Nabeyaki udon was one of the best nabeyaki udons I've had. The udon noodles were done just the way I liked them - a little bit chewy and the soup was rich. However, it was lacking a bit in terms of toppings as it basically only had chicken, mushrooms, and little veggies. I must comment on the way they thinly sliced the carrots because it complemented the noodles well. However, nabeyaki udon is not complete without fish cakes!

One thing I really liked about this restaurant is that it is very spacious! Most of their tables are booth seats and hence, a very private space. Finally, I must mention that the waitresses were constantly filling our cups with tea. We stayed there for quite some time and I was really surprised that I had never for once needed to ask them for to refill our tea. Thank you for keeping us hydrated and warm with the green tea! 

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1/2 Roll Japanese Grill & Sushi Bar: 2 disappointments, but will try again

1/2 Roll opened not too long ago and is situated on Main street off King Edward St. We were actually planning on going to Hawker's Delight, but because that was quite packed and it didn't seem like it had air conditioning, my friend suggested we go across the street for some sushi.

1/2 Roll used to be Itadakimasu, which is where the sushi in cute little balls (that were surfacing on my Instagram) came from. Unfortunately, I never had a chance to try Itadakimasu and now it has probably changed owners and is now known as 1/2 Roll. As their name says it, this sushi restaurant allows you to order half rolls, which I think is quite nice. If you're just going with one other person (like I did), then that allows you to have more variety. However, it didn't seem like their menu was promoting the 1/2 roll concepts as when the menu came, I totally forgot that we could order half rolls.

We ended up getting takoyaki ($4.95) and a House Combo ($21.95). I don't know what happened to me, but lately I've been shy of taking food pictures. You'd think that the more you do something, the better you'd get. But this has been the other way for me. Anyways, back to the takoyaki... that was a disappointment for me. The order came with 5 takoyaki's and I thought they were too oily, the batter was too sticky, and they were quite small. I'd rather go to the night market and get some there.

On the other hand, the House Combo was quite impressive when it first came. Considering the price, I would say it's a cheap eat. From left to right in the picture: House roll, dynamite roll, spicy tuna roll, California roll, tuna roll, sockeye salmon roll, tuna and salmon sushi. This definitely was able to fill us both up. However, even though the salmon looks good, it had a slight fishy taste to it....which leads me to think that it isn't so fresh.

House Combo

One thing I have to get at a sushi restaurant is green tea. Not only do I love having sushi with green tea, but I think the green tea that they serve can say a lot about a sushi restaurant. (Though, I'm still trying to figure out what it is saying.) Usually, I'd prefer genmaicha (green tea with roasted rice) with my sushi. This restaurant served more of a matcha green tea, which was still very good and tasted authentic. In addition, I really liked their cute ceramic cups.


I really liked the wallpaper in this restaurant. It brought a nice sense of environment that made me feel like I wasn't in Vancouver. I did hear that these were from Itadakimasu, the previous restaurant. Is that true?

One thing I found that was a little unique/weird about this restaurant is this table. It's kind of smack right in the middle of the restaurant and it holds some toothpicks, a plant, candies, and their business card. 

Even though the takoyaki and the salmon sashimi were a disappointment, I'd still come back to this restaurant to try other things offered on their menu. Plus, they have reasonable prices and provided a pleasant customer experience.

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Rain or Shine Ice-Cream: Is Ice-cream even weather dependent?

I first noticed Rain or Shine Ice-Cream on 4th street where they had a huge line up on a rainy day, all jokes aside. Then I noticed they had recently opened a second location in Cambie Village on Cambie and 18th.

Ice-cream has recently gain popularity in Vancouver with gelato slightly trailing behind. But really, who can resist ice-cream? Even I have to admit I'm suddenly more attracted to ice-cream too. In fact, I don't think ice-cream is even weather dependent. 

Rain or Shine Ice-cream has really unique flavours including "the keepers" (London fog, honey lavender, salted caramel, etc.) and "the seasonals" (rosemary olive oil with candied pine nuts, powell street dive bomb porter, rhubarb ginger streusel, etc.) You'll probably have a hard time choosing which flavour to get, but thank goodness, you can ask them for a sample before ordering. One scoop is $4.50 and add 50 cents and you get another scoop of another flavour. We decided to get the Flight (4 flavours) for $9. 

The Flight (4 flavours) $9

From left to right: Rhubarb ginger streusel, Salted Caramel, Blueberry Balsamic, Rosemary Olive oil with candied pine nuts.

Rhubarb ginger streusel: if you like ginger, go for it. It was not very flavourful, but you can definitely  taste the ginger and there were also bits of ginger in there

Salted Caramel: It's what its name says. It was both sweet and salty at the same time, which definitely played with my tastebuds. It was a tad too sweet for my liking. We did notice that out of the 4, this one probably had the highest melting rate. Is it because there's salt in it so that lowers the melting point? 

Blueberry balsamic: Very unique and my second favourite out of the 4. You can definitely taste both the blueberry flavour and balsamic vinegar. They go together quite well and the blueberry flavour did not taste powdery or fake, but like actual blueberries. 

Rosemary olive oil with candied pine nuts: My favourite out of the 4. The rosemary flavour was very unique and the pine nuts in the ice-cream made it super tasty. I've never tasted ice-cream quite like this one! 

Their ice-cream is made fresh with natural and whole ingredients right in house. Doesn't that sound healthy? With natural and whole ingredients and unique flavours, it is no question that this place will have customers coming back rain or shine! 

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Shishinori: Hungry for More

Recently, I've noticed that Shishinori has been hitting Urbanspoon's homepage top ten "Talk of the Town" list. After browsing through a couple of food pictures, I was sold. Shishinori is a small and cute restaurant located on Cambie near Save-On-Foods. This restaurant reminded me of Marulilu Cafe, a nearby cafe that's also fairly cute. Even both are Japanese, their menus are completely different. 

It was the pictures of all the different and refreshing salads that attracted me to this place. As I'm trying to include lots more vegetables into my diet, I find it quite difficult to do that in typical restaurants. So, I decided to come here for dinner on a Sunday night. I got their wild salmon paradise bowl and I loved it, especially the appetizing dressing. This bowl contained brown rice, edamame beans, alfalfa sprouts, carrots, grape tomatoes, spinach, red radish, half an egg, and pieces of salmon sashimi. 

wild salmon paradise bowl $10.50

wild salmon paradise bowl

I loved how they have brown rice instead of white rice in this dish! Even though I enjoyed this dish, I was definitely not full. I wish there was more rice in it to go with the dressing as there was like just a small scoop of rice. (or perhaps I'm just a big eater) Oh, and there could also be a bit more salmon too.

wild salmon paradise bowl

The second dish we got was the ahi tuna carpaccio bowl. With any order, you can simply add $2.50 make it into a meal, in which you'll get a drink and miso soup or dessert.

ahi tuna carpaccio bowl with enoki portobello mushroom miso soup and green tea $12 + $2.50

I found that the ahi tuna was a little bland. Again, this "meal" was fairly small, and it seemed more like an appetizer to me.

ahi tuna carpaccio

Besides the presentation of the food, another aspect I really liked of this place is the wooden utensils and cutleries that they used. On the wall, they also have a projector that plays anime. As winter is creeping around the corner, I'd advise you to wear more if you are planning to visit this place! They had their doors wide open to show that they are indeed, open. However, I got chilly sitting there so I asked if they could close the doors. They told me they'd turn on the heat higher because they wanted to keep the door opened, but I didn't feel a difference. 

I'd definitely be come back to Shishinori to try other dishes or to even have the wild salmon paradise bowl again. Though portions are small and I wouldn't really say prices are cheap, but they are affordable and a much healthier choice. 

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Twisted Fork Bistro: I ate for free!

I love weekend brunches, whether it's at home with my family or out with my friends. This weekend, we decided to go to Twisted Fork Bistro in Yaletown. It's a fairly small place and only have about 8 tables with an open bar. We were told that the wait was 45 minutes and we decided to wait as we had set our mind to it already. They have an electronic waiting list and you can even request a phone call or text message in which you'd be notified several minutes before your table is ready. What I don't understand is that another group came in after us, and they were offered the bar so they didn't have to wait. I would have totally be OK with sitting there. 

Twisted Fork Bistro

Why is it called Twisted Fork? I have no idea, but I think it's very unique and they actually have twisted forks as decorations which I thought was pretty cool! (But no, the forks you're given to eat with aren't twisted.)

All their brunch items are now $14.00 each. (They were $13.50 before June 2014.) I had quite a hard time choosing as I wanted to try basically everything on their menu. Finally, I decided to go with the Gruyere Baked Eggs and my friend was set on the Eggs Benedicts, but guess what was brought to me? 

Eggs Benny

Two plates of Egg Benedicts! Yup, they got my order wrong. They're so busy, they didn't seem like they wanted to make a new one for me because they said that "this is very popular and it'd be on the house, are you ok with that?" I said yes, even though I'm not a fan of bacon. I didn't mind trying their Eggs Benny, especially when they're $0 and I was starving from all the waiting. Also, I'd feel bad if they throw that plate away and have to hold up their waiting list.

Eggs Benny with bacon

Eggs Benny with bacon - toasted brioche, poached eggs, hollandaise sauce, sautéed spinach, rosti, and baked beans. Only one of my poached eggs was perfectly done; the other one was overcooked, perhaps it was sitting there a bit too long before being served and got cooked. The hollandaise sauce was perfect and I also loved the baked beans.

Eggs Benny with honey lager sausage

Eggs Benny with honey lager sausage - Basically the same as mine, but instead of bacon, my friend had chosen honey lager sausage. If I had chosen Egg Bennys, I would have gotten the honey lager sausages instead as I prefer sausages over bacon. Again, same problem with the poached eggs.

Remember to ask for their homemade ketchup! I just gotta eat rosti with ketchup (same as with fries, hash browns, etc.)

homemade ketchup

I've heard so many good things about their ("best ever") banana bread that I had to order some to go.  $4 for 2 slices which came with homemade jam and whipped cream. They packaged it nicely in a box. Their banana bread was very moist and had walnuts in them - my favourite! They were indeed very good, especially with their homemade cranberry jam, but I wasn't blown away.

Overall, I think this is a fairly cute place for brunch, but be prepare to wait or go earlier to put your name down first. The food also took about 30 minutes to arrive so there was a lot of waiting to eat here. I was pleased with the food, but I don't think it justifies the wait time entirely.

Menu

Menu

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Matcha Green Tea Waffles [Recipe]: Super easy!

I finally tried making waffles! Waffles are one of my favourites - either for breakfast, afternoon snack, or dessert! Recipe below!

Ingredients

I used the Hamilton Beach Waffle Maker. It's very easy to use, and extremely easy to clean as well. Put in batter, flip, wait, flip, done!

Matcha Green Tea Waffles

Ingredients: 

1 egg

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup milk (I used Flax Delight)

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp matcha powder
2 tbsp sugar
Topped with: Raspberries + Nestle Chocolate Syrup

Procedure:

1. In a bowl, mix together sifted flour, baking powder, matcha powder, and sugar thoroughly.

2. Make a hole in the middle and crack in the egg and pour in milk. Mix it until you get a smooth batter.

3. Depending on your waffle maker, you may want to butter the inside. Heat up the waffle maker and when ready, place 2 scoops of batter in the centre. Close the lid, wait for a minute, flip it over, and wait another 2 minutes. The waffle should be crispy on the outside, while soft in the inside.

4. Serve with chocolate syrup (or maple syrup) with fruits of your choice.

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