[Dine-Out] Calgary: Koto Sushi Lounge November 30, 2012

3 words.

Do. Not. Like.

I’ve come here a couple of times before with the Groupon voucher (obviously no posts on those because I’m an awful blogger). The times I’ve used the Groupon vouchers, the food was fine. I mean, you can’t really complain about $30 restaurant sushi. Like, even if the food wasn’t that great, it was still good enough for super cheap sushi.

But a whoolllleeee different story when it’s $60, full-price sushi.

So, tonight we went there for dinner. I really wanted sushi and it was between Koto and food court sushi because I was really really hungry and needed food that was within 5 minutes of the mall.

We ordered 4 pieces of sushi and 4 rolls. Yes, we are only 2 people. Again, we were really hungry. Yes, we ate it all, but it wasn’t enjoyable.

[L to R] Shichimi Spicy Prawn, Dragon

The Shichimi Spicy Prawn, according to the menu, Japan traditional spice, chopped prawn mixed with spicy mayo, tempura prawn, mayo, tobiko, sweet eel sauce, and seaweed powder. One of the main things I don’t like about all these ‘fancy rolls’ is the unnecessary addition of unnecessary ingredients. I mean, why do we need more mayo when there’s already spicy mayo. Also, “chopped prawn mixed with spicy mayo” gives the impression of majority prawns, minority mayo. Noooot 90% mayo and 10% shrimp paste. The main thing that made this unenjoyable: stale tempura prawn in the middle. Like super stale. Like probably cooked it during the lunch rush stale.

Dragon, according to the menu, grilled giant eel, avocado, tempura prawn, mayo, tobiko, eel sauce, and sesame seed. I think their menu is wrong, there was no tempura prawn in this roll. And their “giant” eel was super not giant (see above). Nothing overly wrong with this one.

[Clockwise from Top L] Tamago, Volcano Calamari Maki, Saba, BC Salmon Skin Maki

First of all, the tamago tasted weird. I read somewhere that tamago is a good gauge of how good a sushi restaurant is. It’s probably more accurate for sushi restaurants actually in Japan, but nevertheless. I had half a bite and it tasted so weird that I had to give the rest to the bf so he could try. His words: “It tastes like pollock, like imitation crab meat“. Soooo, ya. Weird.

The Volcano Calamari was okay. Albacore tuna, calamari, cucumber, and volcano sauce. Meh, mediocre. Too much sauce. Rice was too starchy.

The saba was only also okay. I’m a firm believer that mackerel should come with grated ginger and sliced scallions. It just seems like the chef is lazy when it doesn’t.

Guilty pleasure = BC rolls. I really like these little suckers with the salmon skin. This was so. not. good. The salmon skin was limp and cold. Definitely not fresh. Stale like the tempura shrimp. Probably cooked during the same lunch rush period. Could’ve even been Thursday’s lunch rush period.

So. Never eating here again. I’m having the worst case of meal regret. I think I would’ve even preferred mall sushi. At least my wallet would be last affected by it…

KOTO SUSHI LOUNGE
435 4 Avenue Southwest
Calgary, AB T2P 0J4
(403) 457-2898

[Dine-Out] Seattle: Mashiko Seattle Sushi October 21, 2012

Saving the best meal we had in Seattle for last: Our ridiculously delicious omakase. For a unbelievably reasonable price (everything compared to Calgary prices is a steal, HEY-OH), we were treated to, by far, the best food we had in Seattle.

We sat at the bar so we could watch the chefs hard at work.

Munchies

We got a lovely little bowl of Japanese Arare to snack on while we patiently waited for our sustainable sea-feast.

Gorgeous fish on display

We started off with some bundles of Pacific Smelt with Pickled Carrots & Daikon Sprouts:

Salty and Briny and Deliciouuuus

Gorgeous close up:

To Die For

More fish:

So many different types!

Scallop Sashimi with Yuzu Tobiko:

Cute presentation!

The yuzu tobiko added a nice hint of citrus to the melt-in-your-mouth scallops.

Next was Sake Poached Oysters Marinated in Olive Oil:

So Smooth…

This is probably tie for my favourite preparation for oysters. Obviously this takes a lot more skill than shucking a raw oyster. So I guess raw oysters are my favourite in terms of ease of preparation, but this, man, if I could eat this everyday, I would.

Black Alaskan Rockfish Sashimi with Ponzu and Shiso Oil:

First time having Black Rockfish, and let me tell you, it won’t be my last

Fresh Oregon Based Shrimp & Cherry Tomato Salad:

If only I could have a salad like this everyday, sigh…

This shrimp was unbelievably sweet. Like the sweetest (in a good way) shrimp I think I will ever have in my life. Don’t even know how that’s possible.

Poached Hawaiian Abaloni with Dried Kelp & Stomach:

Love the in shell presentation

First of all, I love abalone. And second of all, the inclusion of the stomach just made this dish that much more delicious. The kelp and the stomach gave the whole dish a very lovely seaweed-y, slightly bitter taste. Very complex flavours.

The bf and I were fighting over the stomach in the shell, believe it or not

Next, Local Albacore Tataki Salad:

Refreshing, but…

If I had to pick one, this was probably my least favourite of all the dishes. It was a very competently prepared dish, it just wasn’t nearly as exciting as the ones we’ve had leading up to it OR the ones we had following it.

Back to the exciting, White king Salmon Tartare with Avocado & Capers:

Love the little quail egg!

The quail egg acted as a nice binder and added a smoothness to the dish:

Delish

On to the SUSHI! (YAY)

From left to right, Giant Pacific Octopus, Northwest Albacore Toro, Yellow Fin Tuna:

A plate of friggin perfection

The Toro

Octo

This was the best octopus I have ever eaten. Anywhere. The stuff in Calgary just does not compare. I’ve never had octopus cooked this perfectly before, the meat wasn’t chewy, it was this nice tenderness that I did not think was possible with octopus. This probably ruined Octopus for me since I will probably never find a place in Calgary that will compare…

Yellowfin

Saba “Box” Sushi with House Marinated Ikura:

I <3 IKURA

Ikura is my favourite type of fish eggs, I love the burst of briny-ness in your mouth when you pop ‘em! Box Sushi is just a traditional form of sushi known to Osaka. The major different between Hakozushi and normal sushi is that all the ingredients used for the Hako are either cooked or brined. Saba = perfect Hakozushi ingredient.

Look at all its briny goodness…

Next course….came in the cutest serve-ware ever!

C00-coo (that’s the noise owls make, FYI)

Chawanmushi with Mushroom & Salmon:

I absolutely adore steamed egg

I wish more places in Calgary would put Chawanmushi on their menus…

Finally, we finished our ridiculous feast of a meal with Coconut Fried Brownie (from Bakery Nouveau) with Green Tea Ice Cream:

<3 the mint leaves

The brownies were a little heavy for me (keep in mind that I’m not a chocolate fan though), but the matcha ice-cream was deliciously bitter.

MASHIKO SEATTLE SUSHI
4725 California Southwest
Seattle WA 98116
(206) 935-4339

[Quick Bite] Seattle: Seattle Uwajimaya September 29, 2012

Stopped by Uwajimaya for some light browsing. But, of course, I had to grab something to eat as well.

Got a piece of spam musubi. Obviously this was nothing compared to the one at Marination Station. I realize that it looks kind of sad in the picture but it was actually not too bad.

$1.29

I also got a japanese bento box to supplement my lone spam musubi.

$5.99

It is food court food, so I wasn’t expecting to be blown away or anything, but it actually wasn’t too bad. The tempura shrimp was kind of limp and soggy, but the rest of it was good – especially for only $6. In the top left corner is a small salad. Going clockwise, there was a sushi roll type of thing wrapped around ham and tamago. Next to it is some beef and lotus root (FYI – I <3 lotus root). Then there was the tempura shrimp and grilled shrimp. Under the grilled shrimp was tonkatsu.To the left of the broccoli was some chicken karaage. And finally in the bottom left corner – a couple pieces of salmon. I loved all the different types of food I got to eat for just 6 dollas.

The bf got some Korean grub from one of the little food court places around the parameter of the building.

Probably around $10

I definitely think what I got was better value for the money, especially because of the variety. The bf liked his choice though, it was hugely portioned and meaty. Top left going clockwise – kimchi, pickled bean sprouts, hot sauce, dumplings, a huge pile of meat (chicken…?), and delicious, delicious white rice.

For dessert I got this Cyrus O’Leary sour cream lemon pie:

$2.89

This was kind of expensive now that I think about it.

Kind of sort of line a cheesecake?

I wish we had a Uwajimaya in Calgary…

SEATTLE UWAJIMAYA
600 5th Avenue South
Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 624-6248

[Quick Bite] Seattle: Marination Station August 31, 2012

Man, was this hard to find. That’s what I get for just grabbing the address off of google and not going on its website. Its website clearly clarifies that in order to get your fill of Hawaiian/Korean/Mexican goodness, you’d have to make your way to the second floor. Didn’t see that and walked up and down the block literally 20 times.

Finally! Beat the rain too, look at that grey sky…

For my meal, I ordered the Kalbi taco and the spam musubi. Honestly, the spam musubi was the only reason I wanted to eat here. I love me some spam. Sure, sure, some of you might think it’s gross, but growing up in Hong Kong, it was a staple that we ate. You have to pan fry it so that the outer bits are all crispy and delicious. Don’t knock it until you try it the right way!

SPAM SPAM SPAM 

A spam musubi is pretty much spam sushi. Hawaiians love it, I love it, the bf loved it and tried to steal it from me. Rice, spam, seaweed. Simple salty goodness that is almost like a comfort food. Apparently, the Marination Station doesn’t have the spam musubi as a regular menu item, so if when you’re there and it’s on the menu, ORDER IT. If you’re going to try spam, might as well try it in sushi form.

I also got the Kalbi taco, a flour tortilla filled with tender short ribs marinated in a soy-based marinade.  This was good, but I would’ve rather eaten more spam musubi.

The bf also got a Kalbi taco and he changed things up with ordering a spicy pork taco as well. The spicy pork is likened to the classic Korean bulgogi.

This plate is missing something…hmmm….maybe a little SPAM?!

MARINATION STATION
1412 Harvard Avenue
Seattle, WA 98122

[Dine-Out] Calgary: Mango Shiva (Big Taste 2012) August 22, 2012

The Big Taste lunch @ Mango Shiva was a super good deal since it was only $15.

Mango Citrus Herb Salad

This was one of the freshest salad I’ve ever eaten. I’m a mango fiend, so pretty much anything with mangos in it will win me over. But the combination of Bengali spiced cucumber, cilantro, mint, mango, cherry tomatoes, baked paneer and toasted nuts was unbelievable. Everything was just right, the cucumbers brought in a nice hint of spice, the toasted nuts added crunch, and the mango citrus dressing just brought the whole salad together. Best. Salad. Ever.

I got the Tandoori Chicken Naan Flatbread:

Flatbread = Practically a Pizza

This was a fairly sized pizza, I think I only ate 3/4 of it and gave the rest to the bf. This was topped with sautéed onions, peppers, cilantro, mango chutney, mozzarella, and spiced yogurt. This was kind of a let down after the amazing salad. Whoever put the sauce on was waaaay too heavy handed. I couldn’t even pick up a slice of pizza without the whole thing drooping. I had to knife and fork this thing. Very heavy and very saucy.

The bf got the spicy lamb burger

Served with Pakoras

The patty on this burger was almost non-existent. Mango Shiva was definitely skimming on the meat. The big bed of greens on top of the bun was probably just to hide how small the patty was. Bf was not happy about that. The burger came with a side of pakoras. Those were tasty, wouldn’t have complained if Mango Shiva would have put more on the plate.

The bf got the Gulab Jamun:

Do Not Like

I knew, from previous experiences, that I do not like this dessert, but the bf has never had it so he ordered it. Traditionally they are made by deep frying a batter mixed with flour and milk solids. I’m not sure if Mango Shiva makes them the traditional way or just with the powder stuff that can be bought at ethnic stores these days. The bf also did not like these. They are very sweet (as they were soaked in rose and cardamom syrup) and has an odd mushy texture.

For dessert I got the Basmati rice pudding:

Yum Yum

This was definitely the better of the two desserts. The reason that this $15 menu is such a great deal is because the dessert course also came with traditional Indian chai, Masala.

Masala Chai

Our waitress was not aware of the complimentary Chai when we asked for it. We had to point it out on the menu for her. I hate it when that happens, its embarrassing and awkward for both parties.

MANGO SHIVA
218 8th Avenue Southwest
Calgary, AB T2P 1B5
(403) 532-8980

[Take-Out] Calgary: Bento Nouveau October 15, 2011

The bf and I have been getting sushi from the food court sushi place down in TD Square. Sometimes we just don’t feel like cooking at home or spending a lot of money dining at a restaurant. This place on the 4th floor is great though, an hour before they close, they will offer their sushi at 30% off. They’ve been doing this so far, one time we went, it was buy one get one free, but I don’t see why they would stop offering the discount. They have to get ride of that day’s sushi, and I have to eat dinner, totally a win-win situation!

This is the summer combo:

$9.99 Regular Price

Obviously the quality is not as good as in restaurants, but not bad for about $7.00! It’s still way better than the sushi you get a grocery stores though. I find the rice you get from the grocery store sushi is always dry and hard. At least here, the rice is still soft, it’s cold, but it’s good enough!

Spicy Tuna Roll $6.99

All the prices I’ve listed are regular prices!

Salmon Delight Combo 9.99

Usually one of the bigger combo is enough food for me for dinner. But we like to get two each so we have more variety, and then we end up being way too full, lol, so gluttonous.

Black Dragon 8.49

Close up

BBQ Salmon Roll 7.99

Dinner for two:

All Together

Bento Nouveau
Core Shopping Food Court, Level 4
751 – 3 Street SW
Calgary, AB T2P 4K8
(403) 232-6808

[Dine-Out] Calgary: Fuji Yama Japanese Restaurant August 26, 2011

Grabbed a quick dinner at Fuji Yama with a friend. I’ve actually never eaten in here before, the location of the restaurant never appealed to me. It’s in a stand alone building, next to a car rental place and a basement dim sum place. The interior of the restaurant is actually quite nicely decorated & spacious. Soooo….I guess I was wrong…

-____-”

We ordered the Ika Sugatayaki to start:

Grilled Squid for $8.95

The squid was quite good, it had a really nice smokey flavour.

And then we ordered a few rolls to share. I don’t recall what the name of these rolls were because they’re not posted on their website (what the what?!). I’m such an awful food blogger, I know.

This is a soft shell crab roll topped with mangoes and black tobiko:

Soft Shell Crab Roll

I was pleasantly surprised when this came out. As you can see from the pictures, the soft shell crab is actually quite meaty. Other places where I’ve had soft shell crab rolls always try to skimp and stick the skinny legs in. You can actually taste the crab in this roll, look at it! The meat is like half the roll. And they are generous with the tobiko too! Thumbs up!!

We also tried their Dragon Roll (I think), that’s the one on the left topped with avocado and tobiko. The roll itself is stuffed with unagi. Mmm…I love unagi, even though it’s not a sustainable fish. I shall try to eat less of it…

The ones on the right consists of two different rolls even though they look the same. One was rolled with salmon and cream cheese, and the other one had Japanese basil rolled into it. I actually didn’t like the one with the basil in it, it gave the roll an odd taste. Would not recommend.

Rolls Rolls Rolls

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, I was in Seattle all last week! But, the upside of that is I’ll have lots of Seattle posts to put up!!

FUJI YAMA JAPANESE RESTAURANT
118 5 Avenue Southeast
Calgary, AB T2G 5E3
(403) 266-1068

[Quick Bites] Calgary: Taste of Calgary 2010 August 10, 2011

Since Taste of Calgary 2011 is coming up this weekend, I thought I’d do a recap of the 2010 festival for those people that are thinking of going, but are not sure what to expect.

I would definitely recommend not going on an empty stomach. Even though the tickets are cheap ($0.75 last year, $1.00 this year), it does add up, and the portion sizes aren’t exactly filling. It’s a fun event to walk around and to see what everyone has to offer, but it’s definitely not a place to get dinner (unless you want to spend like $50.00 on sample-sized food).

Cute Little Mascot~

We got two items from Shibuya last year:

Japanese Beef Curry Rice

This was 6 tickets ($4.50), it was decently sized, but if you compare it to any food court curry rice, it’s of course, much smaller in portion. I remember this being good but was disappointed in the lack of beef.

We also got a Japdog for 6 tickets as well:

Japdog

This if of course nothing like the real deal, no choices for a start, and also you’re paying almost $5.00 for half a hot dog…. -___-”

We got some pizza from The White Spot:

Italian Sausage Flatbread

This was actually quite good. As you can see they were very generous with the toppings and this only cost 2 tickets ($1.50)!!

The bf wanted some sausage from The Heritage Deli:

Polish Garlic Sausage

This was 3 tickets ($2.25). We were both quite disappointed but the portion size. This was barely worth $2.25…

The last & most satisfying dish we got was from Nubian Express:

African Styled Grilled Beef with Rice

This is the only dish that I felt was worth 6 tickets ($4.50). The lady at the booth even gave me some plantain to try because I didn’t know what it was.

Anyways, that’s a quick re-cap of last year’s festival. I plan on going down this year as well, but more to walk around, and less to eat (especially with the price raise!!). But, I’ll probably eat a thing or two, so look for that post soon~

TASTE OF CALGARY
Festival Plaza @ Eau Claire Market
200 Barclay Parade Southwest
Calgary, AB T2P 4R5

HERITAGE DELI
1912 – 37 Street Southwest
Calgary, AB T3E 3A3
403-686-6835

NUBIAN EXPRESS
136 Kincora Hill NW
Calgary, AB T3R 1N6
403-992-8825

SHIBUYA IZAKAYA
453 16 Avenue Northeast
Calgary, AB T2E 1K2
(403) 277-8823

THE WHITE SPOT
10440 Macleod Trail South
Calgary, AB T2J 0P8
403-278-8212

[Take-Out] Calgary: Sushi Hiro July 14, 2011

I think Sushi Hiro is one of the best sushi restaurants in Calgary, if not the best. The fish is always fresh and delicious, and the authentic decor cannot be beat! If you go during lunch time, make sure you have a reservation. The place is always jam packed with business men treating their clients~

I got some take-out sushi there during lunch one week. The quality of the fish didn’t disappoint!

Tuna & Salmon Sushi

So fresh!

This is one of my favourites:

Negitorotemaki

I love me some Temaki! I don’t know why I love hand rolls so much, but I do! This particular one is filled with scallion (negi) and chopped tuna (toro). Sooooo mouth-watering good!!

I would definitely recommend everyone go give Sushi Hiro a try!! They’re a tad expensive, but the food makes up for it!!

SUSHI HIRO
727 5 Avenue Southwest
Calgary, AB T2P 0N2
(403) 233-0605

[Dine-Out] Calgary: Maru Restaurant & Bar July 5, 2011

**Please note that what I’m posting below is no longer offered on the menu as a set, we stopped by the other day and learned that they had changed their menu.**

We started off the meal with some complimentary Korean Rice Tea, it can be served hot or cold. I don’t like it when places charge for tea (like most Japanese restaurants), I’m too used to free tea being Chinese and all.

Hyeonmi Cha?

One of the things I loved about eating at Maru was all the Banchan (Korean side dishes) that came with the meals:

Yum

From left to right: miyeok muchim (미역무침), kimchi (김치), and yoengeun jorim (연근조림). Miyeok is a seaweed that’s pickled with sweet vinegar and salt (one of my favourites!), kimchi is just the basic fermented napa cabbage, and yoengeun jorim (I think that’s right) is pickled lotus root. You can also see in the back that the meals came with a fried sardine (?) each.

The meals also came with a light salad:

Super refreshing

More normal kimchi and Dongchimi (동치미 - fermented vegetables in a white brine)

Now finally, on to the meal itself. Before this new current menu, you could order a protein dish that came with their signature Soon Tofu Soup for around $17.00, but alas, that’s no longer the case. The best thing about this combo was that you could pair the protein with any of the soups offered. That means for $17 – $19 (depending on your choice of protein), you could get their more expensive seafood soups too!

Soon Tofu is pretty much just a super soft, super silky, super custardy tofu, which, is how I like my tofu!

Spicy Kimchi Tofu Soup

I, of course, being Asian, had to take advantage of the combo, and got their more expensive seafood soup:

Spicy Seafood Soon Tofu Soup

Their soups are delicious and very expertly spiced. We had this in the summer months, but it would definitely hit the spot in our -30 winters.

Bf got the kimchi Dweji bulgogi, thinly sliced pork marinated in soy sauce, garlic, sugar, sesame oil, green onions and black pepper served on a charcoal plate.

불고기

And I got the normal bulgogi with beef:

more 불고기, minus the kimchi

Each meal also came with a side of rice:

Cute pot!

The way that Maru teaches you to eat the rice is, first, scoop the rice out into a metal bowl:

dfd

Second, pour boiling hot water into the stone pot and cover to make a rice soup. It’s almost kind of like 粥 (congee) but less cooked.

And lastly, later in the meal, you lift the lid, scrape the rice off the sides and, voilà, you have a rice soup!

Rice Soup

Overall I really liked Maru. It was one of my favourite Korean restaurants to go to because the food was great and the value of their combos were unbelievable. Now that they no longer offer the combo…it just seems a little pricey. Maybe if they never offered the combos in the first place, I’d be okay with paying what they charge now. But since they used to have it, I just don’t think it’s that great of a deal anymore!

Oh, and I should mention that they play a never-ending loop of K-Pop on their flat screens. While some people might find this obnoxious, I actually finds it adds to the atmosphere. Also, it’s fun to discuss their ridiculous matching outfits and equally ridiculous “story arcs” in their music videos.

MARU RESTAURANT & BAR
550 11 Avenue Southwest
Calgary, AB T2R 1M7
(403) 452-6278