Shiro Japanese Restaurant: Stunning Salmon Sashimi Rose

For me, there are so far two Japanese restaurants in Vancouver that serve the freshest ingredients. One being Ajisai Sushi Bar and the other one is Shiro. Similar to Aijisai Sushi Bar, they are also very busy and they don't take reservations. So prepare to wait if you go at a popular time, as the place is relatively small. 

Shiro Japanese Restaurant

Shiro (Cambie and 17th Ave.)

You can sit at the sushi bar where you can watch the chefs prepare the dishes infront of your eyes.

Shiro sushi bar

Now, before I go on to the food, I'd like to mention that I really like their toasted rice green tea. It tastes different than the green tea from other Japanese restaurants and I'm going to say it's probably more authentic even though I'm not sure what that exactly means. I also like how their cups are customized to their restaurant. (Bonus points for that). Now on to a more exciting topic. I ordered the salmon don and I was not one bit disappointed. 

Salmon don

First, the salmon don is visually stunning. Just look at that rose. Look at the colour of the fish. Wow. It wasn't like the average fatty smooth salmon sashmi. The wasabi is homemade and goes great with the fish and the Japanese rice. If you get this for lunch, you also get a miso soup. Not too fond of miso soups and haven't had enough to tell if this one was any special.

Of course the salmon rose deserves a close-up. Beautiful. There's actually alot of pieces of salmon so I was very satisfied. This was around $12 and is great for salmon sashimi lovers or those who only eat raw salmon (like myself).

Salmon sashimi rose

My friend got the chirashi don. Again, visually stunning. I think I've been paying more attention to food presentation (thanks to MasterChef). My friend absolutely loved it because everything was so fresh.

Chirashi don

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FlyOver Canada: The Ultimate Virtual Flying Experience

I've always wanted to fly over Canada! FlyOver Canada is a new attraction site in Vancouver and I'm so happy I was able to attend the advanced with my family. Thank you Virgin Radio for the tickets! 

The whole experience lasts 30 minutes, starting with a pre-show, "Uplift!" created especially for FlyOver Canada by Moment Factory. It's meant for participants to stand and watch as it's shown on a 360° screen showing the landscapes of Canada and lives of 4 Canadians. After that, we entered into the pre-boarding zone where we watched a brief safety video. And now, the flight ride. It was absolutely beyond amazing and unfortunately pictures/videos were not prohibited (duh!) so the following pictures do not do justice. More reasons for you to go and experience it yourself! 

seats

seats

We were seated in to comfortable seats - nothing like economy flight seats, but also obviously not like business class either. (You wouldn't want to be lying down.) Then the gates drop and the row of seats move outward, into the "sky" and I heard some screams (including my own).

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Gold Train Express II (火車頭牛肉粉): Fast and Satisfying

I often refer to restaurants by their location rather than their names. Sometimes it's because I can't read the Chinese name, difficult to pronounce, or simply just difficult to remember. Gold Train Express II is one of them. Actually, the front of the restaurant looks like this... (picture below) so their name is hard to identify from the noise if you're just walking pass. 

In fact, they abbreviated it to "GT Express II". But why would you not just refer to this place as "the beef noodle soup place" at the Sasamat stop of the B-line? It's super convenient as the B-line stops right infront of it (if you're coming from UBC. I've been here a few times for a quick and satisfying dinner as a studying break too. And you guessed it, it won't hurt your wallet either. What more can a student ask for?! 

Weird, I never noticed these TVs with different channels on them before. I seem to be noticing more things about a restaurant since I've started this blog and when I'm taking more pictures. 

Interior of Gold Train Express II

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