Sherman's Food Adventures: Shiro

Shiro

*Under new ownership*

For the second time this week, I took my daughter out for lunch. We visited a place I haven't been to in quite sometime - Shiro. Since she's only 2-years old, it's not as simple as it sounds. As mentioned in the Red Chilli post, there is a lot of baggage (literally) that accompanies her. Yet, that was not the most challenging thing I faced. Rather, with the extremely tight parking lot, I almost mashed my front rim along the curb. I'll refrain from parking in the lot next time. I value my rims very much! We were lucky to arrive early enough to have a choice between a table or the sushi bar. I choose the sushi bar since I didn't want to take up a big table between the both of us. Moreover, I just like watching the sushi chef at work.

Predictably, I started with the Wild Salmon Sashimi (I seem to do this every time at a Japanese restaurant). Not only was each slice glistening with freshness, it was sweet and delicious. It's hard to describe; but the salmon had the right "bounce" or elasticity when I bit into it. If you look at the dish, there is something strange. No, it doesn't say Kawawa on the plate; rather, the wasabi is of the freshly grated variety. Not many places offer this. I know Tojo's does; however, I'm not sure of many more places that do. All I can say is that the wasabi was hawt! A good thing really. Not that watered-down crap you'd find at impostor Japanese restaurants.

Alright, I think if you read this blog enough, you know what's next. Yes, the Nigiri. I promise that I'll mix it up a bit the next time I eat Japanese! I got one each of Tuna, Scallop, Unagi and Inari. Once again, the items were fresh and the rice was well made. No complaints here. I also got a combo which had a little of everything. It came with an Udon which my daughter liked. For me, Udon is nothing really all that exciting. This one was alright, the noodles were still chewy, while the broth was a bit weak. I thought the Tempura was pretty good. The batter was not too thick and it was crispy. I didn't get to try the prawn tempura because my daughter ate them both. You can see that she knows how to eat, unlike my son who eats nothing. I ate the rest of the veggie tempura and it was a bit on the oily side.

The combo also included one BC Roll and one Tekka Maki. I'm not a huge fan of tekka maki; but the fish was fresh. I wasn't a huge fan of the BC roll. This maybe a personal preference; but I felt that there was too much salmon (like that really should be a problem...). It was heavy to eat. A small plate of Broccoli Gomae accompanied the set meal and it was fantastic. The broccoli was still crisp while there were roasted sesame seeds which was quite aromatic. It's nice to see that it wasn't soaked with sesame dressing, typically found in unauthentic Japanese restaurants. I still remember the one I got at Sushi Garden which was disgusting.

So it was another successful meal with my daughter, who was both behaved and ate a good amount of food. It was a bit odd sitting with her at the sushi bar; but it was amusing at the same time. Luckily I arrived early because the place got packed pretty quickly and a lineup started to build as we were packing up to leave. The service was friendly and efficient, while the sushi came out pretty quickly. The cooked food took a bit more time since the small restaurant was quite busy. I really shouldn't complain because the food was good and if it requires more time, so be it.

The Good:
- Freshly grated wasabi
- Fresh and well-prepared sushi
- Friendly service

The Bad:
- It's cramped in there
- Parking lot is equally cramped

Shiro on Urbanspoon

10 comments:

Chris said...

Maybe it was the trip, the people, the memories or something else. But my favorite, and best, sushi experience in Vancouver was at Shiro. An amazing night that I still think about. Thanks for the post Sherman, it brings back a great feeling.

Sherman Chan said...

Hey Chris, I with you about the food at Shiro. It was pretty darn good. The freshly grated wasabi will keep me going back!

Art Vandelay said...

I was hoping that you wouldn't review Shiro's. Now that you have, the lineups are going to get longer.

Sherman Chan said...

They had me at "freshly grated Wasabi". I couldn't resist...

Anson said...

What time did you go to Shiro to avoid the lineups?

Sherman Chan said...

Anson, I went at 11:30am. Don't know for dinner though.

Yukirat said...

Over a year late but I need to comment on this post
There are a lot of expensive-ass restaurants catering to the posher-than-thou crowd, but Shiro's is the place to go for serious sushi.

Shiro Okano is a fantastic person (yes, that does affect a restaurant's quality) with deep knowledge of fish and food technique. If you want to pay for a restaurant's $80 plates and sky-high rent, go ahead, but I've been going to Shiro's forever and it never disappoints.

Sherman Chan said...

Yukirat. Agreed.

S.J said...

What makes you say they had freshly grated wasabi? I called the restaurant and asked about this, and they said they do not, and never have served freshly grated REAL wasabi.

Sherman Chan said...

@S.J. How about zooming in on my picture of the wasabi and how about I know someone who works there? Is that good enough? Now I haven't been there in awhile but I know what I ate and have proof...

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