*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*
The Good:
- Excellent wok hei (high wok heat)
- One of the best, if not the best Pad Siew in town
- That crispy pork belly!
The Bad:
- Roti could be a bit less dense
- Not unique to Sen Pad Thai, but the market food court is crazy busy at peak times, finding a table is almost impossible
Now the sashimi was awesome, but the Nagasaki Bluefin Tuna Tasting was the highlight of the meal. Again, for $48.00, we found this a good value as it featured 2 pieces each of Negitoro, Chutoro, Otoro and Akami. Believe me, this was such a treat with super buttery and sweet bluefin. My favourite was the fatty otoro followed by the soft chutoro. I could eat these 2 all day long!
Long ago, I had a wonderful higher-end Japanese meal at Zest tucked in near the corner of 16th and MacDonald. I never got to do a revisit because they closed and reopened as Stem in Burnaby. As much as I enjoyed our visit to Stem, it couldn't replicate what we experienced at Zest. Well, now we have Yuwa Japanese Cuisine occupying the old location of Zest offering up a similar experience with premium prices and high-quality food. Authentic and featuring only the best ingredients, Yuwa isn't the same as the many other run-of-the-mill Japanese spots in town (nothing wrong with those BTW).
Of course to get a sense of any Japanese restaurant (that serves sushi that is), one must try their sashimi and that we did with the Chef's Sashimi consisting of chu-toro, bluefin tuna, hamachi, sea bream, jackfish, madai and saba. This was masterfully presented on a multi-tiered plate complete with foliage and ice. I really enjoyed the chu-toro as it was buttery and literally melted in my mouth. It was sweet and fresh. The same could be said about the non-fatty belly of the bluefin as it was meaty, yet delicate. The rest of the fish was also good, but not on the same level as the bluefin tuna. Just to cover all of the bases, we also got the Chef's Omakase Nigiri featuring chu-toro, hotate, cured sea bream, seared hamachi and ika. Featuring many of the same ingredients as the sashimi, the nigiri were good with a good fish-to-rice ratio. I thought the rice was nicely chewy, albeit a touch on the dry side.
So one of the more simple dishes we ordered was the Asparagus Komeko-age that was asparagus deep fried with a rice cracker crust and served with sansho pepper salt. This was all about the textures where the rice cracker was firmly crunchy and brittle. It was a complete textural contrast to the soft, yet still not overcooked, asparagus. I would've liked to more flavour with the asparagus on its own, but then again, that is what the dip and sansho pepper salt was for. This was a deceptively delicious creation. Staying somewhat on the same theme, we had the Seasonal Assorted Tempura with purple yam, zucchini, okra, sweet potato and tiger prawn. The care put into the preparation of the tempura was obvious as the batter was light and crispy while not greasy at all. The tiger prawn were buttery with a light snap. 
Continuing on, we got the seemingly simple Jidori Dashimaki Tamago made with Maple Hills Farms free-range eggs. Although there was a bit of moisture leaking onto the plate, the omelette itself was well-prepared. I found the rolls to be even and delicate while the texture to be fluffy and airy. It was mildly seasoned and served wtih a side of grated daikon. This was actually served as a whole, but we cut it up for the picture (it looked better...). For our one maki roll, we had the Canadian Lobster Roll with mango, mayo, sliced cucumber, tobiko and lobster bisque sauce. This was attractive and fresh, but we felt the amount of lobster was either lacking and/or got lost compared to the other ingredients. There wasn't anything inherently wrong with the roll, it just wasn't that interesting nor impactful. Even the lobster bisque wasn't as aromatic as we would've expected.
Some more robust items came in the form of the Beef Suji Nikomi and Duck Udon. Consisting of beef tendon and daikon, the beef suji nikomi was slow-stewed for 48 hours in a shoyu stock. The result was something very Chinese-tasting, but good nonetheless. Unlike the Chinese version, this was much more subtle and delicate. It wasn't salty, rather we could taste the sweetness of the daikon and the gelatinous texture of the soft tendon. As for the duck udon, the shoyu dashi mirin broth was lightly sweet with subtle umaminess. The noodles were slippery and perfectly textured (chewy, not soft). I thought the duck was excellent being tender and meaty. Overall, I thought the meal at Yuwa was good with carefully prepared food. Flavours were delicate and well-thought out. However, due to the pricing, our expectations were justifiably high and we felt Yuwa could and should be even better.
For those who care, authentic Japanese eats is somewhat of a unicorn in the GVRD. Most of the Japanese spots in town are not operated by Japanese. Now that also can be a fallacy since not all Chinese-run Chinese restaurants are good (same with all other types of cuisine). However, being Japanese owned and operated is a start. From there we can assess whether they are good in addition to being legit. So finally I was able to make it out to Kiriri Japanese Cuisine out in Richmond (it has been there for awhile) when I met up with Aussie and family (visiting from, you guessed it, Australia).
For the adults, we began with the Hawaiian Tuna Tower with sushi rice, avocado, mango, albacore tuna and masago. Yes, this was a creative take on sushi at an authentic Japanese restaurant. But this was a whole lot better than some of the massive towers found elsewhere. What it lacked in size and quantity, it was completely made up by the fresh ingredients and careful construction. Textures were on point while the impactful flavours from the buttery tuna and ripe mango made the tower delicious. Normally I focus on the execution of the batter when it comes to Ebi Tempura, but the shrimp inside was the real star here. It was of a good size, buttery and had an appealing snap. That in itself made this a winner, but the crispy and light batter didn't disappoint either.
Of course we couldn't pass up on the Sashimi, even though the prices could make house prices look reasonable. The platter consisting of albacore tuna, sockeye salmon, red tuna and Atlantic salmon set us back $70.00. Yes, that is expensive, but worth it if you are looking for some of the finest sashimi in Greater Vancouver. The subtle sweetness of the tuna and salmon in addition to the delicate textures cannot be conveyed by the picture or the words that I've typed. Would I do this weekly? No, I need to pay my mortgage, but once in awhile, this would be worth every penny. Onto a cooked item, we had the Tonkatsu (or Pork Cutlet on the menu) served with tonkatsu sauce, lemon and Japanese mustard. The lean pork was surprisingly juicy and moist. It was firm since there was so little fat, yet it was not dry at all. The crunchy panko coating was not greasy and was fairly delicate.
In addition to my son's usual Nigiri (tamago, unagi, chopped scallop and Atlantic salmon), we got a couple of rolls. On the same platter, there was the Rainbow Roll consisting of a California roll topped with Atlantic salmon, tai, mackerel, ebi and albacore tuna. For me, this has become a pretty basic roll found on many Japanese menus in town. Once again, the impressiveness of the roll didn't lie with the visuals. Rather, it was the freshness of the ingredients and the care that was taken with its construction. Again, on point textures with the rice and fish. Something a bit different, we got the Special Spicy Salmon Roll with soy paper on the outside and finished with jalapeno. It wasn't super spicy (which is usually the case), but the jalapeno upped the spice level. Rice was nicely chewy while the soy paper added another layer of texture.
My son got ambitious and opted for the Chirashi Don consisting of hamachi, tai, albacore tuna, Atlantic salmon, ika, tako, tamago and mackerel on perfectly prepared sushi rice. Texturally, the rice was chewy without being dry and the amount of seasoning was balanced (for the type of rice that is seasoned because some versions come unseasoned). Sounded repetitive, the fish was on point with the tuna and salmon being the highlight. Strangely, my daughter had some sashimi, but then went on to have a Hot Somen. This is not something she usually orders but it featured a rich and tasty dashi. We could tell it was done the right way where the aromatics and brininess of the bonito really coming through. As you can probably guess, we enjoyed our meal very much at Kiriri despite costing a pretty penny. But this is an intermittent reminder how Japanese food is supposed to be like.
It's not often that I regret spending money watching a movie, especially one about food. However, Miss Y and I didn't know what to think after watching Burnt starring Bradley Cooper. Sure, the food in the movie appeared delicious, but the whole thing was predictable and full of clichés. It made us appreciate the movie Chef even more than before. After that, our appetites were pretty full on, so we made it out to Seto Sushi along Restaurant row aka Alexandra Rd in Richmond. 
Strangely and almost troubling, the Assorted Sashimi arrived within minutes of us ordering. Well, we chalked it up to the skill of the sushi chefs, but then again, the slices of Tai were a bit clumsy looking. Despite that, the texture was not only on point, it was one of the best snapper sashimi slices I've had in awhile. It was buttery and appealingly firm. The Sockeye salmon was equally good while the tuna was sufficiently flavourful. For our 2 rolls, we got the 1/2 Futomaki and Chopped Scallop Roll. Neatly constructed, the futomaki featured firm, yet chewy rice with enough ingredients to balance off the rice. A bit messily made, the chopped scallop roll was a bit soft, but was naturally sweet.
As simple as the Ika Yaki can be as a dish overall, it was solid. The whole squid was lightly grilled where the exterior was slightly chewy while the inside was still moist. It was simply seasoned with salt, which allowed the squid flavour to come through. We noticed that the squid itself was cleaned properly which meant the inside wasn't inundated with bits of innards. Continuing with another simple item, we had the Steamed Clams with sake. With a squeeze from the lemon wedge, there was a nice balance of natural sweetness, acidity and aroma from the sake. This went well with the barely cooked buttery and meaty Manila clams.
Lastly, we had the Ankimo which was buttery and only kissed lightly by the sea. It was dressed with a tart ponzu which kept things balanced. Furthermore, it was properly prepped and prepared where the texture was consistent. In fact, the whole meal was consistently good where thing looked and tasted like we expected it to. Pretty much what one would want from a dining experience.
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