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! 

Read More

Sushi California (Broadway): Great rolls, but not great for long conversations

Every time I pass by Sushi California, whether it's 12pm, 4pm or 7pm, it's always packed. Hence, I just had to see what it was all about as I knew the previous restaurant at this same location had very little business since that area has many restaurants already. 

I went right when they opened and so we were seated quickly. Upon skimming through their menu, I already noticed why it may be so popular - their prices are very reasonable. I decided to get the Crunch House Roll and the Box Sushi. 

Crunch House Roll consisted of crab meat, avocado, tuna, salmon, wrapped and deep fried $4.50

Box Sushi had smoked salmon, shrimp, scallop, avocado and sliced lemon $4.95

Crunch House Roll and Box Sushi

The Crunch House roll was definitely phenomenal. Everything tastes better when deep friend. Outside was nice and crunch, while inside was filled with soft yummy crab meat.

The Box Sushi may look nice with the slice of lemon, but I didn't want to eat the peel so I had to take that off one by one. There was also very barely noticeable scallop. This is the first ever box sushi I've had and while I do agree that the presentation looks very nice, the chunk of rice is proportionally too much, as shown below.

Crunch House Roll and Box Sushi

Yes, there's a small bit of avocado in the middle of the rice (it's not wasabi).

Box Sushi

Crunch house roll  

Add caption

The Assorted Sashimi platter was beautifully presented.

Assorted Sashimi $14.95

Takoyaki is great for sharing as an appetizer, but I felt like these takoyaki here are small.

Takoyaki $3.95

By the time when we were done and on our way out, the restaurant was already full and had people waiting for seats! 

For such unique and creative rolls at super reasonable prices, I'd definitely come back here. Not to mention that it's super convenient and transit-friendly! However, I do not recommend this place if you're looking for a long chat with a friend or date, because they'll have people waiting for your seats. Nevertheless, you could go across the street to Marulilu Cafe or across Cambie street to Moii Cafe to carry on the conversation!

Read More

Ken's Chinese Restaurant 南軒中西美食: Chinese-Style Afternoon Tea

Sometimes, I just want to go to a Hong Kong style cafe because they're fast, affordable, yummy, and satisfying. Well, not as fast as the ones in Hong Kong....except there might be a line up for seats in Hong Kong since there's always so many people, everywhere, all the time.

Here, afternoons are usually pretty quiet for restaurants. That's why Ken's Chinese Restaurant has a special offer of 10% off starting at 2:30pm to 5pm. I ordered from their Special Set menu which comes with soup of the day and a drink. I got one of my favourites of all time... 

Baked seafood rice

Yes, that's right - baked seafood rice! Just looked at how nicely it's baked. Now let's dissect it a bit.

baked seafood rice

What's in it? Big shrimps (or are those prawns? I can't tell),  slices of fish and squid, scallops, mushrooms - all covered in melted cheese and creamy sauce. Wow, I think I just made it sound better than it tasted. But you can never go wrong with the baked seafood rice, it's like the complete package for a seafood fan.  

As a lover of thick noodles, I also chose the Shanghai Stir fried noodles. Now this was mostly noodles - it could have definitely use more meat/cabbage. 

Shanghai stir-fried noodles 上海粗炒面

Getting a set meal makes me feel complete. For soup of the day, I got to choose vegetable or creamy soup and I chose the creamy soup. Now it does not look very good and it wasn't. It was kind of watered-down. Optimistically, at least it didn't fill me up before the main dishes came.

Soup of the day - creamy soup

As for drinks, you can choose from the typical list of drinks at a Hong Kong style cafe in cold/hot:  

- Hong Kong style milk tea 港式奶茶

- Hong Kong style coffee

- Hong Kong style half coffee half tea 鴛鴦

- Hong Kong style lemon tea

- Lemon and honey 

- Almond 杏仁霜

- Ovaltine 阿華田

- Horlicks 好立克

... and the list goes on....

Hong Kong style milk tea 

Almond drink 杏仁霜

 I believed the entire bill came to less than $20. I've also heard of their late night dinner with all you can eat congee. In Cantonese, that's probably called "siu yeh" Hahaha. They're opened until 1am - perfect for those night owls! I'd loved to come by here on a late night for "siu yeh" :)

Read More