OZen Japanese Restaurant

Typically, when we want good value sushi (that is actually decent), we look at places such as Sushi Garden or Sushi Town.   Sure, there are others, but I won't list them all here.  However, as much as the 2 aforementioned spots are acceptable for casual eats, there are limitations as to how satisfied you will be.  What I mean by that is that their menu is fairly basic with not a lot of unique dishes.  I'm not going to get into the argument about them not being Japanese-run because I don't care who makes my food, as long as it is prepared properly.  This brings us to OZen Japanese located in the T&T shopping complex on 152nd.  Taking over from Maguro, they offer large portions of well-made dishes that are reasonably-priced.

Before we got to the larger plates, we started with the Assorted Tempura.  Now this was a pretty large portion despite not being a main.  It consisted of 4 ebi, 2 yam and 1 piece each of sweet potato, kaboucha and asparagus.  The batter was relatively light while being crispy on the outside.  It was easy on the greasiness, even after biting into each item.  The ebi was buttery and sweet with a slight snap.  The other items were fully cooked while not being mushy.

We had something a bit different in the Deep Fried Sablefish Collar.  Now I've had kama many times before, but not battered and deep fried like this.  Personally, I enjoy grilled kama, but this was still good.  Due to the fact it was fatty sablefish and also that the batter locked in the moisture, the meat was super juicy and buttery.   It was also well-seasoned, only needing a squeeze from that lemon for acidity.

Neatly arranged on a sushi boat, we had the Assorted Sashimi.  This was plenty appetizing to look at with fresh slices of fish.  Colour and sheen were appealing with the hamachi being the best of the bunch.  It was super buttery with a natural sweetness with a taste of the sea.  We also found tuna, red tuna, Atlantic salmon, hokkigai, saba and tako as well.  As much as Atlantic salmon gets a bad rap, I liked this one as it was soft and fatty.

We didn't end there with the raw stuff as we also added the Deluxe Nigiri Combo consisting of Atlantic salmon, tuna, ebi, tamago, sockeye salmon, hamachi tako, unagi, ika, chopped scallop and ikura.  Much like the sashimi, the fish was fresh and visually-appealing.  They ate well too, with once again, the hamachi being the highlight.  But the salmon (both kinds) were good too as well as the tamago.  It was fluffy and layered properly.

For our one specialty roll, we selected the Aburi Popping Roll consisting of a imitation crab, cucumber and aburi salmon inside with aburi sauce, tobiko and jalapeno on the outside.  I found this quite pleasant with chewy sushi rice (that was also not laid on too thick) encasing soft salmon and creamy imitation crab mix.  The aburi sauce on the outside was creamy with a bit of a tang.  Since it was torched, it was caramelized with some smokiness.

On the topic of aburi sushi, we went for both the Aburi Saba and Aburi Salmon Oshi.  As you can see, the torching was evenly distributed.  Hence, we got the smokiness right off the bat with each bite.  The creaminess of the mayo-based sauce complimented the fish.  About that fish, the slice of saba and salmon was thick enough for impact.  Really liked the flavour of the saba as it was richer than the salmon.  I thought the jalapeno pepper slice could've been thinner though.

Now the best things to order here are actually "Sets".  For their Unagi Donburi Set, you can see that they include a considerable amount of food.  For $34.40, you get a large bowl of chewy rice topped with buttery slices of sauced unagi.  Then you also receive salad, miso soup, agedashi tofu, karaage, chawanmushi tsukemono and daily dish (this one was aburi oshi).  The unagi was buttery and soft with enough glaze to help flavour the rice.  Side dishes were solid where the karaage was juicy with crispy rendered skin.

We also ordered the Grilled Gindara Kama Set consisting of salad, miso soup, karaage, agedashi tofu, chawanmushi, onigiri and aburi oshi.  So I got my wish for grilled sablefish collar and it was fantastic.  Nicely marinated, these were buttery and flavourful with smokiness and caramelizatoin.  Sides were essentially same as the other set.  Overall, the food at OZen is above average and well-portioned.  Prices are reasonable for what you get too.

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

The Good:

- Above average eats

- Large portions

- Good value

The Bad:

- Super busy, prepare to wait

Kinton Ramen (North Vancouver)

As much as there are many locations of Kinton Ramen, I haven't been back since I first visited the one at UBC.  I remember coming away impressed that they have the great combination of quality, quantity and price.  We made our way to the North Vancouver spot right on Lonsdale, steps away from city hall.  They are currently offering their Summer Ramen Tour, featuring a selection of 3 cold noodles and one hot until August 28th, 2025.  The promotion includes a stamp card where you will earn one free ramen after 9 visits.  Also, you get an entry into a draw for a trip to Japan!

Now we made trip to North Van (which wasn't far) to try this new menu beginning with the Chilled Tsukemen.  This featured tender pork, seasoned egg and shredded nori served with a house-made dipping sauce.  We also found daikon, wasabi and scallions on the side.  First of all, the amount of al dente noodles was generous.  Definitely enough for one person to be full.  Secondly, the dip was really flavourful without being overly salty.  It had some sweetness and a nice hit of aromatic sesame.   Pork was tender and fall-apart as advertised while the egg was custardy and well-marinated.

Next, we had the Golden Chill Ramen Salad with thick noodles in a creamy sesame dressing topped with tender chicken, mini tomatoes, arugula, bamboo shoots, sweet corn, crispy noodles, and a seasoned egg.  Oh I really liked this as the sesame dressing was nutty, sweet, tangy and all things good about sesame.  The aroma from the sesame really made this dish and with little nuggets of moist chicken, each bite was similar to Chinese hand-shredded chicken with sesame sauce.  Loved the contrast of textures including the crunch from the crispy noodles on top, the sweet pop from the corn niblets and the bite from the bamboo shoots.

For those who like floral and tanginess, the Yuzu Chill Ramen would be a great choice.  It consisted of yuzu chicken broth, topped with tender chicken, mini tomatoes, arugula, bamboo shoots, lemon and seasoned egg.  This was super light and refreshing.  Something perfect for a hot summer's day.  Once again, the noodles were both plentiful and al dente.  Despite being a light-tasting broth, the flavour and impact was still there.  Each mouthful of noodles yielded umaminess and tanginess.

The last featured item from their Summer menu was the Spicy Mazemen.  This brothless creation featured warm beef, mini tomatoes, corn, arugula and a poached egg with thick noodles in a spicy house-made sauce.  This did have a kick, but not so much we couldn't taste the other ingredients.  Good chew on the noodles and the sauce had plenty of savoury elements that meshed well with the sweetness of the corn and silkiness of the egg.  

They also have a ramen combo with the choice of Gyoza or Fries as well as a choice of drink for $15.99.  I found the Gyoza to be fair standard.  This particular version was deep fried and topped with spicy mayo.  The wrapper was crispy while not overly greasy while the filling was fairly moist with pork and cabbage.  I personally would've liked dipping this into a tangy gyoza dip rather than the mayo.  The fries were the typical Cavandish starch-covered variety, but there was nothing wrong with that.  It came out crispy without potatoey insides.

We didn't stop there as we tried some of their regular menu items including the classic Pork Original with thin noodles.  This was essentially a shio broth as it was seasoned with sea salt.  There was a nice silkiness to the soup without it being too rich nor thick.  Definite pork umami vibes with enough salt for impact.  The slices of pork were buttery and soft while not overly fatty.  This also came with bamboo shoots, nori, wood ear mushrooms, green onion and seasoned egg.  Noodles were plentiful and al dente.

Next up, we tried the Chicken Miso with a rich soybean paste that had the rich fermented saltiness we are accustomed to.  Once again, the broth had a certain thickness to it but at the same time, it wasn't heavy nor greasy.  I thought the miso gave the broth more depth and impact with a pleasant funkiness.  As with the other dishes, the noodles had a nice chewiness that stood up to the broth.  This came with the same accompaniments including the custardy egg.

Our favourite of the bunch was the Beef Spicy Garlic with a huge scoop of minced garlic on top.  That in itself made the whole thing extremely garlicky with a certain sharpness.   As for the soup, naturally, it took on the garlic flavour but it was already inherently spicy.  It was not too harsh, so we could taste the different layers including the smokiness of the chili pepper and the umaminess of the base pork soup.  Suffice to was one of the, if not the most, impactful of the bunch.

We ended up getting the Takoyaki as well as the Pork Donburi as sides for our ramen.  Topped with the usual kewpie mayo, tonkatsu sauce and bonito flakes, these were as typical as they could get.  Now that doesn't mean they weren't good though.  They were fluffy in the middle while sporting a slightly crispy exterior.  As for the donburi, it featured chewy rice that had the rice moisture content.  It was topped with enough tender and salty pork to be present in every scoop of rice.  

To compliment our Summer ramen bowls, we had some drinks including the Orange Lemonade, Virgin Mojito and Sake Lemonade.  By looks alone, these may appear refreshing and yup, they were definitely so.  With just enough sweetness to balance the tang, the orange lemonade would satisfy those looking for a non-alcoholic beverage to go with their ramen.  The mojito was less sweet with the usual herbaceous hit.  The one alcoholic drink we had was the sake lemonade, which was fruity and lightly sweet with the brightness of sake.  Overall, the food and drinks at Kinton are solid, well-portioned and reasonably-priced.  This is something that I can go for on any night of the week.  I will be back soon!

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

The Good:

- Solid eats

- Well-portioned

- Reasonable pricing

The Bad:

- Parking in the area is limited

404 Coffee Lab

If you have been following any form of social media, you might remember the long lines at 404 Coffee when they initially opened.  Located in a small enclave within the recently shuttered Ramen One, 404 Coffee specializes in Asian-inspired coffee and desserts.  They have a walk-up take out window facing busy Broadway just across the street from the Canada Line station.  Now they are expanding into the space vacated by Ramen One and offering a small dine-in menu.  Jackie and I dropped by to check it out.

Of course the first order of business was to sample their Matcha Lovers Menu with the Dirty Matcha Cream Latte, Mango Matcha Latte, Strawberry Matcha Cream Latte and Yuzu Matcha Cream Latte.  I found all of them creamy and smooth with the slight bitterness of matcha.  With the addition of fruit, it lightened things up and added sweetness.  My favourite was the mango as it was tropical-tasting while balanced by the matcha.  However, the best of the bunch was the Dirty Matcha as it added rich coffee to the mix.  Hence it was full-bodied, aromatic, nutty and creamy.   On the end, this was the Einspanner Latte, which was also rich and creamy.  Lots of coffee impact, but not bitter.  Rather, it went down smooth with balancing sweetness.

On their food menu, they have a $6.00 Breakfast Special where you can choose from 6 different "snacks" and from 7 drinks.  For the one pictured, it was a Mentaiko Onigiri with an Iced Americano.   The onigiri had nicely textured rice and plenty of mentaiko mayo for flavour and moisture.  We also tried the Karaage Sando (for $2.00 more) and it was quite good.  There was more than enough juicy seasoned chicken within the soft hot dog bun while dressed with terimayo and nori.  For $1.00 more, you could have a latte or cappuccino rather than the basic coffee.

Sure, they have specialty coffees and some snacks, but interestingly, they also have bigger dishes as well.  These included Rustic Smoked Duck and Street-Style Takoyaki with tomato pasta.  These dishes were served in large portions and I especially enjoyed the duck.  There was an abundance of moist slices of smoked duck atop perfectly al dente pasta.  The tomato sauce was unique as it had some umaminess to go with the slight tang and sweetness.  However, there was something really savoury about it.  As for the Street-Style Takoyaki, it was the same pasta but with some fried squid dressed in unagi sauce and kewpie mayo.

Also available on the menu, we found a selection of Japanese curry.  We ended up choosing the Tempura Curry featuring 3 large ebi tempura.  All mains came with a side salad.  This was rather surprising as I wouldn't have expected such a solid curry at this spot.  It had a nice viscosity and was full of earthiness, sweetness and umaminess.  The rice was dry enough to accept the curry beautifully.  The 3 ebi tempura were crispy with a buttery piece of shrimp inside.

Of course we had some dessert too with Coffee Parfait, Once in a Blue Moon and Caramel Mocha Affogato.  At the core of each dessert was the creamy and rich soft-serve.  It was on the sweeter side, but the natural milk flavour did come through.  I particularly enjoyed the simplicity of the blueberry sundae where there was a ridiculous amount of soft-serve with crunchy blueberries and blueberry sauce.  The affogato was also awesome where their aromatic and strong coffee blended well with the milky soft-serve.  Loved that there was much more soft-serve than coffee, as it remained very much an ice cream with just coffee flavour, rather than turning into a melted mess.  The coffee parfait was on the sweeter side due to the layers of coffee jelly, espresso cake, chocolate sauce and cereal.  Definitely lots of rich coffee flavour while having the same creaminess of the soft-serve.  These desserts are something that I would definitely come back for, but the drinks are even better as they are rich and flavourful.  I wouldn't sleep on the food either as the plates were large and also appealing.  Nice use of the old Ramen One spot!

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

The Good:

- Drinks are seriously good

- Soft-serve is creamy and milky

- Food is decent too

The Bad:

- Due to the setup of Ramen One, the seating is a bit awkward for more than 2 people

Edokko Nigiri Sushi

We have an overwhelming amount of Japanese restaurants in the GVRD.  So much so, it would take you over 3 years just to visit all of them if you were to eat out every day.  However, as many of you already know, less than 10% of them are actually Japanese-run.  Now, don't get me wrong, just because they are Japanese-run, that doesn't guarantee anything.  However, it does mean that the food is more simple and of course, authentic.  As much as I enjoy specialty rolls with sauces and fried things on them, that is usually a fusion creation of some sort.  Recently, I made 2 visits to Edokko Nigiri Sushi out in Richmond.  They are most certainly authentic and also feature some pretty interesting items.

During my first visit, we had a few smaller items including the Spinach Gomae.  Sure, this was a simple few bites, but it was done right.  Tender with some crunch, the spinach was at its optimal doneness.  It was dressed lightly with a mildly sweet sesame dressing that was nutty and aromatic while not being too overwhelming.  In addition to the regular version, we also ordered the Uni Seafood Chawanmushi.  This featured ikura, snow crab and uni atop a silky steamed egg.  It was delicate with only a hint of dashi.  The beautiful seafood on top made this a bit more special than the regular version they have on the menu.

Continuing with my first visit, I decided to try their Edokko Special (half portion) with various pieces of sashimi, nagaimo, cucumber, ginger and shiso.  This was a very subtle-tasting roll with the shiso standing out with its herbal and minty flavour.  I thought the layer of rice was a bit thick, yet at the same time, it wasn't an issue since it was beautifully textured with a chewiness.  On my next visit, I had the Futomaki (also half version) with the usual components.  Although I loved the sushi rice, I would've preferred less of it (as mentioned with the Edokko Special).  With that being said, the pickles and mushroom did provide enough flavour for the roll to stand on its own.  Served along the Futomaki was Saba Battera.  The pressed sushi was good since it employed the same sushi rice and the balanced amount of saba was flavourful.

On that note, we also had the Salmon Battera and it was comparable to some of the best in the city.  The salmon was buttery and complimented the chewy rice while the torched mayo-based sauce was a bit tangy, smoky and sweet.  There was the requisite thinly-sliced jalapeno on top.  Also had the Dynamite Roll and Chopped Scallop Roll.  Both had a generous amount of filling where the tempura ebi was huge while the delicate scallops were sweet.  As you can see, we had a selection of Nigiri including Chopped Scallop, Toro, Chutoro and Kanpachi.  They were well-constructed and the sashimi had a nice sheen and textures were on point.  The Tamago was also quite good being fluffy, moist and sweet.

On my initial visit, I also ordered a selection of Nigiri including Hokkaido Uni, Chopped Scallop, Chutoro and Otoro.  The uni was fabulous being bright, sweet and creamy.  Chutoro was buttery and sweet while the Otoro was curiously chewy in spots.  Other parts were melt-in-my-mouth buttery.  It had the brightness from the sea in every bite.  Second visit yielded some Toro and Atlantic Salmon Sashimi.  Once again, nice sheen on the slices and they were perfectly bite-sized.  Soft texture on both and naturally sweet.

Staying with raw fish, we had the Chirashi Don with tuna, salmon, tamago, ebi, hotate, abalone, tako, ika, ikura, flying fish roe and red tuna.  This was a good amount of quality sashimi on top of nicely-textured and seasoned sushi rice.  On our second visit, we had the Assorted Tempura with ebi, ika, hotate and veggies.  As you can see, the batter was lightly applied to each piece.  Hence, it was crispy and not overbearing.  That meant each component could shine on its own.

At the front of their menu, they feature a Shokado Dinner with a selection of items.  Many of them we'd already had as a la carte dishes.  But for those who want variety all in one box, you would find some sweet & sour chicken, sashimi, zaru soba, tempura, gindara, salmon battera and aburi tuna nigiri.  On the side, there was chawanmushi and a seasoned rice.  This was more than enough food for one person and for $40.00, this was a good way for one person to try it all.

Yes, the place has Nirigi in its name, but another dish they are known for is their Unagi Hitsumabushi Set.  Sure, the whole top of the bowl was covered in buttery soft unagi, but there is an option to have it layered in the middle too.  We got that and literally every bite was more unagi than rice.  Nice flavour on the unagi too where it was glazed but not doused.  Hence, we got the sweetness and caramelization, but not sickingly sweet.

Another dish that caught our attention on the menu was the Kamonan Soba featuring roasted duck breast, green onion, seaweed, fish cake and tenkasu.  Although robust due to the duck, this was a subtle dish where the flavours were balanced.  The broth had depth with some background smokiness to go with the umami and sweetness.  The duck itself was super tender and had a nice brine on it.

For my first visit, we ordered dessert in the form of the Hojicha Panna Cotta.  This was quite good with a silky panna cotta that was creamy and not "jello-like".  It was mildly sweet and aromatic while the hojicha exhibited some smokiness and sweetness.  Overall, these 2 meals at Edokko were enjoyable and satisfying.  They really live up to their namesake with a wide selection of well-made Nigiri.  However, their Unagi Hitsumabushi Set is also a must order.

The Good:

- Delicious authentic nigiri

- Unagi Hitsumabushi Set

- Excellent service

The Bad:

- Maybe their maki sushi could use a bit less rice

- Hard to get a seat without a reservation

Taco Nori (Burrard Skytrain Station)

When I first laid eyes on Taco Nori (at the Richmond Night Market), I was immediately drawn to the fully stuffed Japanese tacos.  By employing a tempura fried nori shell and using sushi rice as a base, this was essentially a sushi roll re-imagined.  The great thing about the sushi taco is that it is a portable hand-held meal or snack (depending how many you have) for those on the go. I feel that their new location (just across from their food cart spot) is perfect for those on their way to and from the Skytrain station.

We sampled all of their available options including the California and the Spicy Tuna.  Before they stuff the tacos full of the main ingredient, they sauce the sushi rice with spicy mayo or wasabi mayo adding julienned cucumber and soy sauce mix with green onions and sesame seeds on top.  With a considerable amount of fluffy imitation crab salad with some tobiko, I really enjoy the California taco.  It is like a fried California roll but with much more stuff.  As for the Spicy Tuna, it is filled with meaty pieces of bright-tasting ahi tuna.  It is mildly spicy, allowing the natural sweetness of the fish come through.  I particularly like the soy sauce mix they use as it is full of umami without being too salty.

My favourite of the whole bunch is the Mango Paradise featuring Atlantic salmon, avocado, mango and imitation crab.  This has everything where the mango really brings things to life with a tangy sweetness.  You might laugh, but the addition of imitation crab make this complete since it adds the classic fluffy texture and unmistakable sweet brininess.  Next to it is the popular Spicy Salmon nori taco.  There are buttery pieces of Atlantic salmon dressed in sweet and salty soy with some kick.

There is a little of everything for everyone including vegetarians as the Avocucumber features the same rice base with extra cucumber and sliced avocado.  Personally, this wouldn't be my choice, but it does well with lots of creamy avocado.  Right beside it is something more up my alley in the Ahi Tuna. I really like this as the soy sauce mixture goes particularly well with the tuna.  The umami from the soy brings out the brightness and the sweetness in the tuna.

Back to another vegetarian offering in the Wakame with avocado hiding beneath it.  In all honesty, I would actually order this.  I personally love wakame salad with its sweet tanginess.  The crunch provides a nice mouth-feel that offsets the soft avocado. Another one I would consider is the Chopped Scallop with mayo and masago.  These little bay scallops are sweet and buttery while laced with enough mayo to bind them together.  The masago adds some pops of brininess.

Last but not least, the classic Salmon is another taco I wouldn't hesitate to order.  Besides, it is the standard where most people will find it approachable.  Nice buttery nuggets of salmon with the same delicious sweet, tangy and salty sauce mix.  I really enjoy the concept and think it is another way to enjoy a sushi roll/poke bowl hybrid in a handheld format.  Nice textures and flavours make it appealing and delicious.  Now, until the end of May 2025, if you show them the Instagram reel from my account, you will receive 10% off your order!

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

The Good:

- Portable deliciousness

- Nice texture on the tempura-fried nori shell

- They don't skimp on the filling

The Bad:

- Shell can be a bit greasy, so make sure you have napkins

New Fuji

Ever since my initial visit to New Fuji on West 1st, I've been meaning to go back.  Well, with Mijune back in town, it was that time!  For those who do not know, New Fuji belongs to the same group that brought us Kingyo, Raisu, Rajio and Takenaka. Hence, you know the food will be interesting and of course, delicious.   There is an obvious 80's theme going on at New Fuji with Japanese CD covers adorning the entranceway.   Prominently at the centre of the restaurant, we find a wall of glass bottles.  This all blends into the bustle of the grill where the chef pushes out many of their grilled and seared dishes.

Just like the last time, I was happy to see the Tofu Cheese arrive at our table.  This seemingly simple dish (which really is a simple dish) is one of my favourites.  It features a house-blend cheese dip that is rich and creamy while beautifully sweetened with maple syrup.  With the addition of figs, this ate very much like a dessert.  There were some cheesecake vibes going on but creamier and silkier.  Once spread onto the buttered crostinis, we had a nice textural contrast as well as a temperature contrast.

Also like my first meal here, we had the Fulffy "Rare" Unagi Omelette.  What they mean by rare is that the eggs are a bit underdone, yet not raw.  It is a fine line between the two, but they managed to perfect this here.   The eggs were truly fluffy with some moisture to keep things even more "soft".  Mixed into this, we had a generous portion of buttery unagi.  Flavours were subtle, but it had the usual sweetness of unagi sauce as well as some brightness from the chives.

We continued on with the Truffle Corn Karaage that were lightly deep-fried and tossed in truffle butter sauce.  These corn ribs were really good where it was fried enough so that the flavours had caramelized and the outside was slightly crispy while the niblets were still juicy and sweet.  The truffle flavour was subtle but definitely there while the amount of salt was just right.  From this, we had the Dashi Butter Scallops.  These large and whole Hokkaido scallops were sweet and buttery with the wonderful textural contrast of the mantle and skirt.  That sweetened soy butter was so rich and full-of-depth, but was subtle enough to not overwhelm the scallops.

With another grilled item, we had the Whole Aged Mackerel marinated in a sweetened soy Japanese BBQ sauce.  Really loved just looking at the fish as it was large and in a beautiful shade of brown.  Since it was dry aged, the meat was firmer and less moist.  However, the flavours were more pronounced as a result.  Typical of mackerel, the fishiness definitely came through.  However, since the meat was a bit drier, it was quite pleasant and provided more depth-of-flavour.   The slice of lemon was more than garnish as it provided the brightness the fish needed.

I enjoyed their battera last time and was pleased to have all 3 of them for this meal.  This included Wagyu Long Yukhoe Pressed, Bluefin Negitoro Long Pressed and Salmon Kimchi Long Pressed Sushi.  If you look closely, there were 10 pieces in each pressed sushi.  Great for sharing and especially if you get all of them!  My favourite of the bunch was the bluefin where the buttery texture and sweetness of the fish was complimented by brightness of the green onion.  Extra texture and sweetness was provided by the chopped onions and apples.  That would be somewhat similar with the Wagyu as it also had the same compliments, except with the usual beefiness from the fat.  The crunch on top of both added a nice textural contrast.  Both also had shiso, which added some bright herbaceousness.  As for the salmon, it was both different and similar to the other 2 pressed sushi.  Sure, the seared Atlantic salmon still had a buttery texture like the others, but it was topped with chives, ikura and sweetened soy and yuzu-kosho mayo.  A good balance of salty, tangy and sweet.

One dish took awhile to come out was the Squid Ink Kamameshi Rice.  These take a bit longer  (about 30 mins) and should be ordered right away.  This featured a mix of prawns, scallops, squid legs, snow crab, clams, king oyster mushrooms, tomatoes, sliced onion on top of squid ink tomato rice.  On the side, we found chopped shiso, yuzu peels and parmesan that was folded into the rice tableside.  The result was a multitude of flavours and textures.  I found the rice a bit on the softer side, but when combined with all of the ingredients, it wasn't lacking in texture.  The yuzu peels really had a starring role as it stood out with a bitter tang.  It helped cut through the heaviness of the rice.  Loved the ample amount of well-prepared seafood, but they got a bit lost within the rice.

On the menu, the udon section takes up an entire page.  Hence, we decided to order 3 dishes including the Spicy Wagyu Miso Egg Udon.  Arriving in a bowl that was probably 4 times the necessary size (it looked impressive though!), the slippery udon was al dente with a nice chew.  The dashi broth was mildly spicy and full of umami from the kara-miso.  Loved the silky egg added to the mix of minced wagyu beef and chives.

Extremely garlicky, the Snow Crab and Mentaiko Peperoncino Yakiudon was pretty rich and creamy.  It was also spicy with the addition of red chili pepper and some spicy cod roe on the top.  Also on top was some briny snow crab along with peppery arugula.  The arugula provided the necessary counterbalance to the rich sauce.  Really enjoyed the plethora of sliced garlic as it provided aroma and a bit of sharpness.  Somehow, I thought this would've went better with a pasta than udon, but of course that would've defeated the purpose of udon menu.

Probably my favourite udon of the bunch was the Chili Rose Carbonara Yakiudon.  This was also creamy and cheesy with plenty of parmesan, mozzarella and egg yolk, but the addition of red chili pepper, Korean chili pepper and spicy bean paste, there were layers of spice.  In that sense, it didn't eat as heavy as it appeared.  Arugula on top provided some freshness to the dish and the ample prawns provided some snap texture to go with the chewy udon noodles.

We ended up getting 2 mocktails in Peach Passion Mojito and  Watermelon Gin & Tonic (without the gin of course).  Both were refreshing a nice compliment to the heavy rice and udon dishes.  For dessert, we had a trio of them including the Ichigo Cake Daifuku, Tiramisu Parfait alle Fragole and the Strawberry Molten Chocolate Cake.  I've had 2 of these desserts before and if you have noticed, there is a strawberry theme to the menu.  I loved the delicate and appealing chewiness of the mochi blanket atop the light sponge cake with a strawberry and sweet red bean paste.    The tiramisu was so light and mildly sweet.  There was some crunch added to the mix with cocoa cookie crumbles to go with the smooth mascarpone.  The layer of tart strawberry sauce provided the tang to liven up the dessert.  Lastly, the chocolate cake was rich, yet moist with a molten centre.  The addition of freeze-dried strawberries provided a light crunch while the strawberry ice cream on top cooled things down with sweet creaminess.  Overall, this second visit to New Fuji confirmed that the food is both interesting and delicious.  Love the vibe and 80's music playing in the background!

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

The Good:
- Interesting food
- Some real winners on the menu such as the pressed sushi and udon
- Nice vibe incluidng 80's music

The Bad:
- Sure, I said it was pricey in the last post, but what isn't these days?
- The squid ink rice was good, but maybe the seafood gets lost?