Kura Sushi Shinagawa Station

Although not exclusively available in Japan, Kura Sushi is still one of the more popular and well-known spots for conveyor belt sushi.  We've had it before in the the Seattle area and it was "fine".  One cannot expect high-calibre sushi at a place like Kura.  Rather, it offers up decent eats at a reasonable price.  Also, there is the novelty of it all, which to many, is more important than the food quality.  We decided to hit up the location near Shinagawa Station since we were staying at the nearby Tokyo Marriott.  Best to make an online reservation, so you can merely enter the number into the terminal once you walk into the restaurant.  That will put you a bit further up in the existing queue at the restaurant.  When your number is called, you go to another terminal and have a ticket printed out.  This will indicate your table number and your final bill when you go pay.

Once at your assigned table (that you go find yourself), there are eating utensils and soy sauce located underneath 2 panels in the middle of the table.  You can help yourself to water at the station near the washroom.  You can make yourself a cup of green tea with the hot water dispenser at the table along with supplied green tea powder.  You have 2 options as to how you want to acquire your food.  You can wait for it to snake its way to you or order off the tablet at your table.  Those dishes will arrive on the upper track right to your table when ready.  Any empty plates must be deposited into the "counting device" at the end of the table closest to the conveyor belt.  This way, they will know how much you have eaten.  The printed ticket can be scanned at the machines before you leave.  Then you will be charged accordingly.  We grabbed some Salmon Belly and Salmon from the conveyor belt to start.  As you can see in the picture above, the slices of fish were predictably thin and sliced a bit haphazardly.  For the price, that was to be expected.  In terms of quality, it was fine, but definitely a bit lacking due to the fish-to-rice ratio.  Salmon Belly was buttery though.

The next 3 items consisted of Horse Mackerel, Bonito and Albacore.  I felt the bonito was more substantial in terms of the cut and hence, was quite good.  The fishiness of bonito was nicely tempered by the sharp ginger.  Same could be said about the Mackerel as it definitely had a sweet flavour.  As for the tuna, it was still thin, but the overall surface area was enough to compliment the chewy sushi rice.  The tuna was soft and slightly sweet.

I guess we were hungry since we were furiously grabbing things as they passed by.  We got the Aged Medium-Fatty Tuna, Large-Cut Fatty Vinegared Mackerel and Seafood Salad.  Tuna was actually decent with a nice sheen and soft texture.  Flavour was a bit weak though.  Mackerel had a tangy flavour and definitely a taste of the sea.  Dressed in mayo, the seafood salad was sweet and there was enough of it to balance the rice.

Of course we had to get the Scallops.  With a bunch of marinated bay scallops and shiso leaf on top, we had to eat the scallops and rice separately.  Once inside our mouths, it ate quite nice as the scallops were buttery and sweet while the rice added the contrast in texture.  Soft and lightly-sweet, the Conger Eel was texturally on point.  I did have to use some soy and wasabi with this as it was very subtle.

We had the generic-looking Tamago and it was texturally on the firmer side.  Wasn't a fan of it.  The Shrimp with mayo was dressed in a considerable amount and hence ate saucy.  It was rather sweet though and the texture was light.  What I really enjoyed from this round of plates was the Tuna & Pickled Daikon Radish.  The buttery soft mashed tuna was slightly sweet and fresh.  Crunch and tang from the pickles really brought this alive.

We moved from one crab salad to the Real Crab with Mayo.  As you can see above, the amount of crab was fairly generous and we found actual chunks rather than just shredded meat.  It was fluffy and slightly sweet with a nice gob of sweet mayo.  Something a bit different, we had the Tuna with Avocado & Cheese.  Once again, the mashed tuna was buttery and melted-in-our-mouths.  Creamy avocado too while the cheese added a bit of umami.  Not my favourite but my daughter loved it (she loves cheese...).

Onto 2 items that were cooked but for some reason or another, I really enjoyed.  The Hamburg Steak was merely a minced patty, sauced and topped with kewpie mayo.  Despite being rather soft, I liked the tender processed meat with a sweet and savoury profile.  The Eel & Omelette definitely had some custardy textures from the soft cooked egg.  Eel was sweet and buttery soft.  Nice little bite that had a good mouth-feel.

Staying with cooked nigiri, we had the impressively plated Beef Kalbi with garlic mayo.  Although there was a considerable amount of fat, the beef was still a bit chewy.  It did taste good though with sweet savouriness.  Nice crunch from the topping.  Giving out takowasabi vibes, the Scallop Mantle with wasabi had bite and also crunch from the pickles.  Loved the texture of the mantle as it packed in plenty of chewiness and elasticity as well as plenty of sweetness.

A few more items included the Kura French Fries and Fried Chicken Cartilage.  Fries were crispy, but nothing else special about them.  Coated in breading, the chicken knees had a nice crunch, but maybe could've used less coating.  Moving away from rice, we did get an order of the Sashimi.  Things had a nice sheen and were about we expected.  Decent quality for the price.  That pretty much sums up our experience at Kura.  I've had much better conveyor-belt sushi in Japan and *spoiler alert* we had even better later on this trip.  But if you want something predictable and cheap, Kura does the job.

The Good:

- Cheap

- Easy for tourists, especially ones with kids

- Decent

The Bad:

- There is much better to be found in Japan

ANA Premium Economy (LAX - HND)

Last year, we splurged and ponied up for business class on ANA.  Sure, it was the older product and we didn't get to experience "The Room" on their reconfigured 777 planes.  However, we enjoyed the space, cuisine and top-notch service.  Little did we know, it was necessary as Viv broke her leg and would've never been able to sit in economy.  This time around, we tried to finish our interrupted vacay, but went for Premium Economy on ANA.  Other than the actual seat and elevated cuisine, PE on ANA includes many of the same perks as Business including priority check-in, baggage and boarding.  As mentioned in my previous post, they also include lounge access.  This is actually an outlier as most airlines do not offer lounge access for PE.  Considering that we got to visit the ANA lounge at Haneda for our outbound flight, that was a real treat (we had access to the Star Alliance Lounge at LAX for our inbound flight)  For about half the price of business, PE is great for most people since the seats are spacious and recline quite a bit.  

We decided to book the the 2 back rows of PE, where they only have 3 rows to start with.  My kids sat in the first row when we returned last year and they didn't like the screen being so far away and also that they had to stow their personal item in the overhead storage (while taking off and landing).  As you can see, the leg room is pretty good at seat pitch at 38 inches for our Boeing 777-300ER.  Width measured at 19.3 inches.  There is a footrest available but I always find it uncomfortable, so I never use it.  I do like the leg rest that extends when you recline the seat though.

So PE is served the same food as economy and that isn't a bad thing.  Sure, it isn't the multicourse kaiseki-style meals in business, but remember the price difference.  Viv and I got one each of the lunch offerings.  The first was the Beef & Pork Hamburger Steak with rice and veggies.  Sides were the same for both being a orzo salad with smoked salmon, cold noodle with egg and sauteed greens and a green salad.  The other option was the Grilled Chicken on Rice with veggies and tamago.  Both meals were fine and did the trick.  Nothing amazing, but not terrible either.  I thought the chicken was the better of the two as the meat was tender.

In between meals, we were offered a snack in the form of either an Instant Noodle or Instant Rice Soup.  Of course we got both and despite being instant, these were not incredibly salty.  They were still flavourful though with measured sweetness.  For me, I preferred the soup as it was rather refreshing with bits of chewy rice.  As for the noodles, the veggies on top added crunch while there was a bit of spice.

I didn't end up sleeping much on the flight as it left in the afternoon, so I watched a few movies from the limited selection available.  Two hours before landing, we were served our second meal.  I selected the Beef Keema curry rice gratin-style while Viv had the Sauteed Chicken with noodles and a ginger garlic sauce.  Both came with a mac salad with ham and tomato as well as a small muffin.  We thought the chicken was the better dish here as it was tender and flavourful.  The beef was tasty too but on the drier side.

On our return flight, we were served a snack shortly after takeoff.  It consisted of a half Corned Beef Sandwich with some rice crackers and a bottle of water.  Nothing too interesting but better than their mayonnaise croissant of the past.  If anyone was a bit snackish during the time between this and our meal before landing, there was Pretz, cookies, water and bananas available in the galley.  I did end up eating some bananas.

So about two hours before landing, we were offered a choice of Cheese Omelette with chicken sausage or Crab Meat & Salmon Flakes on steamed rice.  The better of the 2 was definitely the omelette.  It was surprisingly not too overdone being fluffy.  Chicken sausage was like a European wiener.  The rice was okay but the salmon and crab on top was pretty salty.  Probably intentional as our tastebuds can be muted on a plane.  Both came with fruit, green salad and smoked salmon, egg and bean salad.  Overall, the food on ANA in premium economy is no different that in economy.  So in reality, you are paying for the seat, lounge access and priority check-in.  I'm not sure if it is completely worth it since you are paying more than double the cost of an economy ticket.  Also, the seats in economy on ANA are typically more spacious than other carriers (except JAL).  But if you absolutely want an even roomier seat, then premium economy is still wonderful.

The Good:

- Lounge access and priority check-in

- Spacious and comfortable seating

- Slightly more attentive service

The Bad:

- Can be 2.5x the cost of economy

- Food served is no different than economy

Star Alliance Lounge LAX

Here is a tip - do not wait to book your plane tickets, especially to overseas destinations.  If you are hoping for the prices to drop, it is not likely to happen.  That was the case here when we were booking our flights to Japan.  Therefore, we ended up booking our flights that required us to connect out of LAX for our outbound flight.  We went with ANA again, much like last year, but instead of Business, we decided to check out their Premium Economy.  Other than not having lie-flat seats, fancy meals and dedicated service, their PE still includes priority check-in, boarding, luggage and lounge access.  Hence, we checked out the Star Alliance Lounge at LAX before our 11-hour journey.

Since this lounge serves all Star Alliance airlines, it can get a bit busy, but it is pretty decent in size with lots of seating.  There is a bar with comfortable chairs around it and beyond.  Behind this seating is the buffet area with table seating and some long high tops with power outlets.  Overall, a pretty large lounge that can handle the amount of passengers that use it.

Onto the food, there was a decent arrangement that started with a Chicken Wrap, Smoked Turkey and Caramelized Onion on a Pretzel Roll, Roasted Veggies on a Lavash Roll, Cucumber Salad and Mixed Greens.  Pretty typical stuff, but I thought the pretzel roll was quite nice with smokiness from the turkey and sweetness from the onions.  Salads were well-dressed and flavorful.  The chips in the picture above were found in the next section, along with some rolls, butter and whole fruit.

Onto the main dish of the buffet, we found Carolina Gold Glazed BBQ Chicken along with Roasted Garlic & Chive Potatoes, Garlic Herb Summer Squash and Baked Tortellini Alfredo.  Overall, these dishes did their job where the chicken was tender, but a bit sweet while the zucchini was a bit soft.  The pasta was also soft, but flavorful.  Potatoes were soft and creamy but still retained their structure.

Onto the desserts, we had some Cranberry & Carrot Cake, Fresh Fruit Salad, Cheesecake and a selection of Cheeses.  Not pictured, but at the end of the buffet, we found some crackers to go with the cheese.  The fruit was really good as all of it was ripe and sweet.  The carrot cake was moist but pretty sweet.  I liked the "Basque-like" cheesecake as it was fluffy and not overly heavy while being only mildly sweet.

The thing we were most interested in was the Noodle Bar.  It came with choice of broth and toppings.  My son decided to go for the chicken broth with pieces of chicken meat and hard-boiled egg.  No veggies for him!  Anyways, the broth was pretty bland and we surmised that he should've added some of the side seasonings.  Otherwise, it was a bowl of noodles, nothing very interesting about it.  I give them credit for offering it though.

In addition to the bar, we could help ourselves to the Soda Machine as well as wine, spirits and bottled beer.  Pretty decent selection and fully stocked.  This cannot be overstated as some lounges often neglect the soda machine where ice and syrups are out.  Washrooms were clean and spacious.  Another added bonus is the outdoor terrace where you can enjoy the sun and also watch planes takeoff and land.  Overall, the Star Alliance Lounge at LAX is above average, especially compared to many other lounges found in North America.  Only issue is that it is located pretty far from the terminal gates.

The Good:

- Large and spacious

- They keep food and beverages stocked

- Clean and modern

The Bad:

- Pretty far from the terminal gates

- Noodle bar was meh

Lucky Lily Asian Brasserie (YVR Domestic Terminal)

As much as YVR is lauded one of the best airports in North America and sometimes, the world, I thought their food options could be better.  Well, that has been changing in the past 10 years and now we see spots like Bubble Waffle Cafe, Pajo's, Salmon n' Bannock and Sal Y Limon among others.  Now we see the latest offering at YVR's Domestic Terminal in Lucky Lily Asian Brasserie by Top Chef Canada winner, Nicole Gomes.  This is not her first airport restaurant, as she has opened Wander Kitchen & Bar at Calgary International.  The menu is Pan-Asian and offers a wide-range of options to eat-in and for takeout.

We had a sampling of the menu that covered a wide-range of items including the Chicken Sesame Slaw.  Called "Sau See Gai" in Cantonese, this is a popular cold dish that has hand shredded chicken mixed with cabbage, celery, cucumber, pickled veggies, radish, cilantro and crispy wonton strips in a sesame soy dressing.  This was a good version where the freshness and crunch factor was high.  Chicken was tender and moist while the wonton strips countered that with a firm texture.

Next up, we had a new dish on the menu - Crispy Thai Wings.  This was the best item we tried for the meal.  Consisting of both flats and drumettes, these wings were indeed uniformly crispy.  The skin was properly rendered and nothing was flabby.  Inside, the meat was juicy and super tender.  We loved the size of the wings too as they were neither too small or large.  On the outside, the makrut lime salt added a delicious zing while dipping them into the black pepper lime dip added such brightness and a bit of bite.

We tried a super classic Sichuan dish in the Spicy Wontons.   These pork dumplings were sourced from a legit Chinatown supplier in Vancouver.  Featuring a thin wrapper, these wontons were cooked just right.  The wrapper was al dente, yet was tender enough to the chew.  Inside, the pork filling was moist and tender.  These were dressed in Sichuan peppercorns, chilli crisp and soy-garlic vinaigrette.  Nice combination of flavours, yet I could've done with more heat.  However, I'm sure they made these mild so it could appeal to all.

Our last appie was the Vietnamese Meatballs.  These house-made meatballs consisted of pork & jicama.  Hence, there was a noted bright crunch to go with the soft pork.  Underneath, we found an Asian tomato sauce that was tangy and sweet.  Another layer of sweetness came from the cooked-down onions.  Adding a bit of heat and zip, we found slices of pickled jalapeno.  I thought the addition of crispy onions was necessary since the meatballs were pretty soft.  The buttery toasted baguette provided even more crunch.

Although not listed as an appetizer, the Cold Sesame Noodles was another great dish to share with friends (one could eat it by themselves, but I recommend sharing it).  This was a good amount of chewy thin white wheat noodles sitting atop a creamy sesame sauce along with cucumber, peanuts, chili oil and scallions.  Upon tossing the noodles, it became apparent a bit more sauce would've helped in terms of texture and taste.  However, the parts of the noodles that had enough sauce was aromatic.  I think adding some of the chili crunch (upon request) would've put this dish over the top with even more texture and some smoky bite.

Since sharing one Karaage Burger would've been difficult, we were served 4 mini-versions instead.  Loved the sesame brioche bun as it was super soft and nutty.  Inside, we found a marinated chicken thigh which was juicy and completely crispy from the perfectly deep-fried coating.  We found some creamy melted havarti, crisp lettuce and spicy togarashi mayo that added everything we needed from texture, moisture and flavour.  Nice little bite.  The side of fries were crispy and had a hint of 5-spice.

We ended the savoury portion of the meal with the Bangkok Bowl.  Functionally, this was a solid red curry with mild spice, creamy aromatics and measured sweetness.  Veggies were not overdone and the rice was fragrant and chewy.  The one thing that could've been better was the chicken.  It appeared to be brined and precooked.  My guess is that it holds up better in the takeaway version from the adjacent market.  Totally understandable from a practical point-of-view.  However, the texture was not consistent with traditional chicken breast for Thai curries.

We moved onto dessert at this point and went with a HK-style cafe classic in the Hong Kong French Toast.  The method here consisted of 2 pieces of milk bread with peanut butter in the middle and coated with egg and then deep-fried.  This particular one was topped with condensed milk custard, sliced bananas and almonds. I thought it was pretty tasty with crispy edges and a soft interior texture.  I liked the contrast of salt and sweet, but would've like to see even more sweetness.  The other dessert was the Salted Lava Buns.  These were pretty textbook with a soft and fluffy bun.  Inside, the salted egg custard was plenty runny.  It was aromatic, sweet, salty and a bit nutty.  Overall, the food at Lucky Lily represents something different for the domestic traveler at YVR.   Sure, some purists might wonder about the modern takes on some classic dishes, but I believe the menu at Lucky Lilly is accessible to all for a reasonable price (given it is in the secured area of the airport).

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:

- Pricing is fair considering where it is located

- Something different

- Nice spot to hang out before your flight

The Bad:

- Not sure about the precooked chicken in the curry, but it is understandable from a functional standpoint

Charoen Krung Thai Noodle House

Is it just me or are there more and more Thai restaurants opening up these days?  Are we finally going to catch up with Portland's Thai food game?  Well, let's not put the cart in front of the horse now okay?  We still have ways to go...  However, in the GVRD, we've seen a rash of authentic Northeastern (E-Sarn) and also Central Thai restaurants popping up.  Many, if not most, are really good an have elevated the choices for Thai food.  One of the newest is Charoen Krung Thai Noodle House on East Hastings.  They feature a mainly Central Thai street food menu with the rarely seen Boat Noodles.  We didn't order that this time, but we did get a good amount of food nonetheless.

To start, we had the Deep Fried Wonton with Quail Egg.  Instead of the 6 you see in the picture, there should've been 7 wontons (they served it to us shortly after).  Really enjoyed these as the outside was crunchy and light.  Inside, the quail egg was not overdone.  The whites were not rubbery and the yolk was creamy with no dark ring.  Served on the side was some Thai sweet chili sauce.  Sure, a bit defaultish, but it went well with the wontons.

Initially, we were planning on ordering the assorted appetizer but seeing how there was only one wing of each flavour, we wanted more than that.  Hence, we got a full serving of the Classic Chicken Wings in Thai fish sauce.  Although I usually detest coated wings, these were actually pretty good.  Crispy on the outside while succulent on the inside, these wings were also flavourful with hits of brininess.  Skin wasn't completely rendered due to the coating, but I didn't mind it in this case.

If you blindfolded me and didn't tell me what I was eating, the Pad Thai would've been a really great stir-fried noodle.  The rice noodles were chewy and not clumpy while the wok hei was evident.  I definitely got aromas and the mild hit of funkiness of the fish sauce.  However, the dish was lacking the tang and sourness of tamarind as well as enough palm sugar to balance.  Noodles were slightly greasy, but then again, you can't stir fry rice noodles without it.   One minor detail was the little bits of tofu.  I personally like firmer pressed tofu than the soft fried cubes that were in the mix.  Overall a good dish, but needed much more tamarind and even some heat.

On the other hand, the Pad See Ew was excellent.  It had a definite hit of Maggi sauce which added both depth and umami.  There was noticeable wok hei where things were smoky and caramelized.  The crystal noodles were chewy and full of elasticity while not being clumpy.  Big chunks of fried tofu were delicate inside.  Vibrant and green, the gai lan was crunchy, yet cooked all-the-way through.  One of the better versions I've had of late.

Chicken Green Curry was flavourful and had impactful heat even at medium spicy.  It had the right viscosity neither being too thin or thick.  Aromatic with a touch of brininess as well as herbaceousness.   Normally, non-tenderized chicken breast is used in Thai cuisine.  Hence it tends to be a bit drier and chewier.  This version employed tenderized chicken breast.  In a vacuum, I thought this was great as the meat was bouncy.  I didn't mind it at all.  But for some purists, this would not be authentic.

We ended up getting both of their available desserts as we couldn't make up our minds.  The first one was a bit confusing due to its presentation.  Initially, we thought the Kanom Tuay (Pandan Coconut Pudding) was served in 2s but those upside down bowls were also full of pudding, hence we had four servings!  Good thing too as it was aromatic, lightly sweet and really great with the salted coconut cream (served on the side).

We also had the Mango Sticky Rice that was beautifully green from the pandan.  It was texturally on point too with a moist chewiness that wasn't mushy.  It was sweet and aromatic from the salted coconut cream.  Although not in season, whatever mango they sourced was sweet and juicy.  Overall, the food at Charoen Krung was generally delicious and well-portioned.  If I had to nitpick, the Pad Thai needed much more tamarind, palm sugar and spice.  Furthermore, despite me liking the tenderized chicken in the green curry, for others, that could be a no-no.  I'd still go back though to try the boat noodles.

The Good:

- Good wok hei

- Well-portioned

- Excellent service

The Bad:

- Pad Thai needed much more seasoning

- Tenderized chicken could be a deal-breaker for some, I didn't mind it though