The Soup Meister's Nephew

Okay, here is a classic spot located at Lonsdale Quay - The Soup Meister's Nephew.  What?  Wait...  Wasn't this The Soup Meister???  Sadly, he passed away, but his nephew took over and is using the original recipes.  That is definitely a relief for me as I've always enjoyed their soups.  There is something homemade about them (because they are), which makes them healthier, but still hearty.  Jackie and I were invited to revisit an ol' favourite on a very wet day in Raincover.

The best example of their soups being less commercialized and "healthier" is with the Boston Seafood Chowder.  I found it to be more broth-like and since it was thickened with starch rather than a roux, it was less heavy.  Sure, it wasn't creamy per se, but I could easily finish the bowl due to this.  This was pretty chunky with tender potatoes, little cubes of fish and clams.  I decided to kick it up a few notches and added hot sauce.  

Filled with more ingredients than broth, the Steak & Vegetable Soup was a homemade version of Chunky Soup.  The broth was meaty, well-seasoned and peppery.  The veggies were soft but still retained some texture.  I could taste the natural sweetness of the veggies as well as the beef in the broth.  About that beef, it was lean, but had been cooked down enough that it was tender.  Texturally, it was on the drier side though, but I guess it was better than overly fatty cuts.

With a squash and root vegetable base, the Winter Harvest was the heartiest soup of the bunch.  So warming and comforting, this was definitely the best for a rainy day.  The natural sweetness of the components were able to shine while being balanced by the savoury herbs and seasoning.  This was the thickest soup by virtue of natural thickeners of the ingredients.  There was also some rice and chicken to compliment.

Lastly, the Moroccan Chickpea was the most exotic-tasting soup.  It was thanks to the spices that gave it an earthiness and aromatics.  Once again, the veggies were cooked through, but not mushy.  The chick peas also had some bite left.  To give more texture, we found some black-eyed peas too.  Another healthy soup the nourished our soul.  Oh, and each soup came with a fresh roll from Cobs next door.  You could choose from white, whole wheat or focaccia.

Of course you can get all the soups to go served hot, but another way to enjoy them is to buy them in packaged containers for you to heat up at home.  They have all their favourites in both small and large sizes.  It can make for a convenient meal or in the larger containers, soup to share!  In addition, they have hummus and salad dressings.  Nice to see the Nephew has kept it in the family and didn't changes things.  We can still get the same hearty soups that also includes a freshly-baked roll.  Can't go wrong with that, especially when the weather is getting colder.  Go check them out!

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

The Good:
- Hearty, homemade soups
- A bowl is quite a bit of food!
- You can get all their soups to heat up later (from their display fridge)

The Bad:
- Maybe not rich enough compared to other soups, but they don't do it that way  

Sushi Mahana

Remember from my last post where I mentioned that most Omakase experiences run you $250+ per person in the Lower Mainland?  Let's talk about one of those shall we?  Viv and I recently visited Sushi Mahana out in North Vancouver where they have been receiving quite the accolades.  Chef Hiroshi Hoshiko presents a Kyushu-style sushi Omakase that focuses on mainly whitefish and shellfish.  When we arrived, we were greeted warmly by owner Yuki Aida.  We sampled some Sake and ultimately, I went for the Sake paring with my meal.

Now about that meal...  We began with the Surinagashi which is a fish soup that features seasonal vegetables.  This was full of umaminess and a sweet fishiness.  Definitely impactful but still subtle at the same time.  From there we moved onto the Ainame (Ling Cod) with Sudachi.  Not that I would be surprised, but the fish was beautifully cut and displayed a nice sheen.  It was lightly sweet with a semi-firm, yet buttery texture.  The sudachi provided citrus to compliment while a bit of salt really elevated the nigiri.

Striking in presentation, the Tenshi No Ebi (Paradise Prawn) featured both cooked and raw components hence the contrast in colour.  I found the prawn to be super sweet while having both a soft texture (raw) and firm texture (cooked).  On top, we found some aromatic egg yolk powder.  With uni and multicoloured sesame seeds on top, the Aka Ika (Squid) was bright and fresh with natural sweetness.  We found some lime and a touch of spice giving way to the nuttiness of the sesame seeds.

We moved onto a more robust fish after the aka ika with the Aji (Horse Mackerel).  Showing off the knife skills of the chef, the aji was beautifully presented.  It was sweet and fishy (in a good way).  There was a light brush of soy which was complimented by the aromatic and sweet basil on top. Ending this portion of the menu, we were served the Gindara (Sablefish).  The warm sablefish was flaky and buttery.  Nice contrast of textures with the chewy rice and the crispy nori.  The sharpness of the onions was balanced by sweetness and saltiness.

To start our next portion of the menu, we were served the Hotate & Zuwai Gani with local vegetables.  Presented in a crispy shell (figuratively and literally), we found little bites of scallop and snow crab mixed with yuzu, sesame paste and maple syrup.  There was plenty of sweetness going around as well as acidity.  The crispy shell provided textural contrast.  On the side, we had baby corn, fig, grape and mushroom. 

Topped with the same multicoloured sesame seeds as the Ika, we had the Suzuki (Sea Bass) nigiri.  There was some chew to this with a fresh taste of the sea.  This was complimented by the nuttiness of the sesame.  With beautiful sea grapes on top, the Shima-Aji (Stripe Jack) was buttery with a snap.  It was sweet with elements of the sea.  Loved the crunch from the sea grape as well as the salty sea-tasting elements to it.

Continuing on with the whitefish, we had the Kijihata (Grouper), topped with pickled kiku flower.  With a firmer and chewier texture, the grouper was lightly sweet and had definite subtly.  The pickled flower did provide some impact to the nigiri.  The Tachiuo (Swordfish) was comparatively more impactful where the sweetness and appealing fishiness came through.  It was slightly smoky from the torching (of the skin).  This was further enhanced by the sweet tang of the ume plum and tanginess of the myoga.

From here, we transitioned into the 3rd part of the meal starting with the Tako (Octopus).  This was cooked perfectly where it was tender with a wonderful chewiness.  It was naturally sweet and was accompanied by a mountain yam puree with spice.  Then we went onto 3 types of bluefin tuna beginning with the Akami.  Being the leanest part of the fish, this was predictably more meaty.  However, by virtue of being bluefin tuna, it was still buttery soft and sweet.  Nice fishiness and just enough brush of soy.  There was some crunch from the shiso seeds too.

Heading up the spectrum of butteriness, we moved onto the Chutoro (getting closer to fatty part of the fish).  Naturally, this was more buttery and flavourful.  Remember, most of the flavour in any meat is from the fat!  With black garlic on top, there was some fermented umaminess going on.  So we then had the fattiest part of the bluefin (the belly) being the Ohtoro topped with nori and yuzu peel. This was literally melting at room temperature.  Super buttery and lots of tasty fishiness.  We got some bitter tanginess from the yuzu peel and umami from the nori.

The final dish in this 3rd portion of the menu was the Kegani (Hairy Crab) served in a covered bowl that revealed warm, fluffy and bouncy crab.  There was chewy rice to go with the ample amount of crab while all of it sat in a sweet buttery broth.  Not only did the broth flavour the crab, the rice happily soaked it up.  Loved the pops of subtle tanginess from the berries strewn around.  This was topped with a crispy zucchini blossom.

The 4th portion of the menu began with the Renkon (Lotus Root) where the beautiful green colour of the shiso leaf peaked through the thinly sliced lotus root. The lotus root had a delicate crunch that was also a bit tangy.  The herbaceousness of the shiso leaf came through after the initial tang.  Next, we had the Tekkamaki featuring a big piece of tuna inside while the whole thing was topped with uni and ikura.  With the first bite, the creamy sweetness of the uni came through while the tuna was soft and sweet.  Rice was perfectly chewy.

Colourful and vibrant, the Kinmedai (Golden Eye Snapper) featured torched skin.  Therefore, we had immediate smokiness that gave way to a buttery texture with a slight bite.  I found the fish mildly sweet while amped by the watermelon radish with tanginess.  Next up, the Anago (Seawater Eel) was lightly brushed with sauce and then garnished with sudachi zest.  It was buttery soft and sweet due to the glaze.  Although there was zest on top, it was rather subtle.

Ending off this portion of the menu, we had the Miso Soup and a piece of Tamago.  So you might be wondering why we were having miso soup at the end of our meal...  Well, it actually helps in the digestion, so after eating sushi is a good plan.  This particular miso soup was rich with fermented flavours.  It was salty but sweet at the same time.  As for the Tamago, it was brûléed on top.  Therefore, we had a hit of smoky and sweet to go with the custardy texture of the egg.

For dessert and the final part of our Omakase experience, we had the Hojicha Ice Cream with Purple Yam Mont Blanc.  Loved the gorgeous puple colour of the yam, but also sweetness it imparted.  The creamy ice cream was nutty and sweet while the crunch from the rice crackers was welcomed.  Overall, the Omakase at Sushi Mahana is excellent with expertly-prepared bites that were respected by the chef.  Definitely worth the $250.00 and belongs in the higher-end of Omakase experiences in the Lower Mainland.

The Good:
- Passionate staff from the Owner to the chef
- Quality ingredients
- Expertly-prepared

The Bad:
- Not really anything here other than the fact you need to have that kind of money to enjoy it?

Sushi Bella (North Vancouver)

I'm not sure if you have noticed, but AYCE (All-You-Can-Eat) is making a comeback in the GVRD.  It was all the rage in the 90's up until the early 2000's, but then many of the AYCE spots began to disappear.  Now we have an array of AYCE yakiniku, hot pot and Japanese.  We even see the non-buffet endless brunch at ARC Dining.  Is it because of the economy and inflation?  Do people regard AYCE a good value considering that it costs just as much, if not more, to dine a la carte?  Not really sure, but I must shamelessly admit that I do enjoy the occasional AYCE just for the variety.  I go in with reasonable expectations (shocking how many people do not and then complain afterwards).  That we did when Jackie and I visited Sushi Bella for lunch. 

To get a sense of the menu, we ordered almost everything starting with Edamame, Green Salad, Sunomono, Spicy Tofu and Agedashi Tofu.  Not a whole lot to say about these as they were pretty standard.  I thought the sunomono was nicely sweet and tangy with al dente noodles.  The tofu was a bit stiff for both dishes.  Next set of dishes included the Ebi/Veggie Tempura, Fried Gyoza and Chicken Karaage.  Although the batter was a bit thick, the tempura still ate quite well and crispy.  The gyoza were crunchy with a moist filling.  Also crispy, the chicken karaage was juicy while properly seasoned.

Although not cut in a particularly attractive manner, the Atlantic Salmon & Albacore Tuna Sashimi were decent with a pleasant texture and sheen.  We got a bunch of Nigiri as well including Chopped Scallop, Inari, Tamago, Salmon, Ebi and Tuna.  Again, these were quite typical for AYCE with a little less ingredient-to-rice ratio.  With that being said, the chopped scallop was quite good with a buttery texture and tasty mayo mix.  The sushi rice was decent, being chewy with not too much moisture.  Would've liked a bit more seasoning though.

Also had the Spicy Sashimi and it featured fairly large chunks of fish.  Texture was fine and the sauce was sweet and slightly spicy.  We ordered a selection of Sushi Cones that consisted of the Spicy Salmon Cone, Spicy Tuna Cone, Negitoro Cone, Chopped Scallop Cone, Spicy Chopped Scallop Cone, California Cone, Yam Tempura Cone and Dynamite Cone.  Since we had to take pictures, the nori had softened up. To be fair, they were still crispy when they arrived.  I thought there was a good amount of ingredient-to-rice ratio in these and they were worth ordering.  I particularly enjoyed the scallop cones as well as the spicy cones.  These had the most moisture and flavour.

Onto the Maki Sushi portion of our meal, we got everything and as you can see, they were constructed decently, especially for AYCE. I'm not going into each individual roll, but the highlights included the really large BC Roll with lots of ripe and creamy avocado and salmon skin (with lots of meat on it).  Shockingly, I also enjoyed the Veggie Roll with lots of crunchy beet, daikon and carrot.  All of the other rolls were decent with a fairly thin layer of rice (so they weren't trying to stuff us full of rice).

Onto some cooked food (other than the appies), we had the Teriyaki Beef, Teriyaki Chicken and Teriyaki Tofu.  Again, nothing out-of-the-ordinary here with the beef being in thin slices and drizzled with some teriyaki sauce.  I did appreciate that it wasn't doused with too much.  The beef was decently tender.  I found the chicken to be more moist and juicy (which is usually the case) while the tofu was stiff like the other items we had earlier.

Our final set of dishes were the carbs including the Tempura Udon, Veggie Yaki Soba, Chicken Yakisoba and Beef Yakisoba.  I thought the yakisoba were all quite good with chewy noodles and not being overdressed with sauce.  The udon was pretty typical and was non-offensive.  In general, the AYCE at Sushi Bella is serviceable and decent in quality.  Naturally, you need to have reasonable expectations (which means you know that it won't be comparable to the best in town).  Considering it is $32.99 for weekdays and $34.99 on weekends for lunch, this is fair pricing.

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

The Good:
- With reasonable expectations, the food quality is actually decent
- Good selection, especially for a lunch AYCE
- They didn't overload the sushi with rice

The Bad:
- Sashimi was sliced strangely (probably due to the fact they weren't the prime cuts)
- Without reasonable expectations, your experience might be different  

Seaside Provisions

Looking back at the last time I dined at Seaside Provisions, it was just prior to the pandemic.  Honestly, that seems like eons ago and I look fondly at those simpler times.  My original visit was an invite with Mijune and the meal was so good, I actually came back with my family shortly after (on my own coin).  Then the pandemic hit and well, you know what happened.  So here I am again with another invite along with Jacqueline featuring some of their new menu items and cocktails.

I've always like the cozy dining space here and we were seated right by the fireplace on some comfy couches.  We were served 3 cocktails including the Caribbean Sea (Cazadores tequila with fresh passion fruit, pineapple infusion and a flaming 151 rum),  Highlight Out (Mount Gay eclipse rum with fresh grapefruit juice, cinnamon and blood orange bitters topped with soda, garnished with an orange peel and mint crown), Raspberry Gin Sour (Bombay Bramble gin with fresh raspberries, egg whites and fresh citrus garnished with fresh raspberries).  These were all rather fruity and completely up my alley.  I particularly enjoyed the Highlight Out where it was the least strongest in alcohol and had a refreshing finish.  The Caribbean Sea was tropical and sweet but if you added the 151, this would be the strongest.  Due to the use of gin, the last cocktail was mild with a nice raspberry essence complimented by the foamy egg whites.

As for the food, we began with the Argentinian Chili Garlic Prawns seared with pablanos with torn and charred brioche.  Oh this was as good as it looked with a bevy of confit garlic as well as equal parts of spice.  The capsicum emulsion also had a sweet seafoody finish which was quite appealing, especially when we sopped it up with the texturally awesome torn bread.  It had a nutty crispiness that gave way to an airy lightness inside.  To finish off the flavour profile, the gremolata added an aromatic tangy bitterness.

Another dish with some spice was the Fried Chicken sporting a soy maple glaze topped with garlic crème fraiche.  This featured tender nuggets of fried thigh meat that was juicy and tender.  The batter was crispy while being completely flavoured by the glaze.  It wasn't as sweet as I had feared (as maple can be quite sweet) where it only provided the essence of maple complimented by equal parts savouriness and spice.  The garlic crème fraiche provided some creaminess and aromatics while the pickled red onion added crunch and extra acidity.

Personally, I love Fried Brussels Sprouts and the one here was no exception.  It was a good portion of perfectly prepared Brussels sprouts that were crispy while still exhibiting a tender meaty centre.  They were aromatic from the deep-fry and also nicely seasoned by the red wine vinaigrette.  The parmesan espuma added a bit of creamy salty nuttiness which went well with the fried sprouts.  The spattering of crispy guanciale afforded even more umaminess as well as a salty meatiness.

Onto the most impressive dish, we were served the Petite Platter sporting 12 oysters, whole lobster, ahi tuna tataki, Argentinian prawns with guacamole, 2 pcs each of ikura, salmon and hamachi nigiri.  This was so impressive, the table next to us was wanting to devour it if we weren't (of course we would devour it!).  The oysters were Gems from Comox Valley and they were shucked properly without any shell fragments.  They were sweet with just the right amount of brininess.  Lobster was cooked right with it being sweet and exhibiting the classic bounce texture.  Absolutely loved the tataki as the kalamansi gel was super tangy with some sweetness.  We found the nigiri to be well-prepared as well while the rice was appealingly chewy.

The seafood and Japanese theme didn't end there where we were served the Trout Oshi.  By virtue of being lightly cured with house-pickled serrano peppers, the trout had inherent flavour in the form of acidity and spice.  Texturally, it was soft with a bite while the rice underneath featured discernible individual grains that were chewy. Dipped into a touch of soy and these pieces of sushi were nice little bites.

We also added the Scallops with pineapple curry, herb salad and calamansi gel.  This was a good decision as the scallops couldn't have been prepared any more perfectly.  Still slightly rare in the middle and sporting a caramelized sear, the scallops were buttery and soft while being well-seasoned.  Loved the tangy sweetness of the pineapple while the gel provided an extra shot of acidity.  The combination of ingredients also afforded the salad an appealing brightness.

Onto the mains, we had the delicious Prawn Risotto with carnaroli rice, tomato confit, parmesan foam.  Due to the use of the starchier carnaroli rice, the risotto ended up to be thicker and creamier.  I felt the risotto was firm enough with softer edges.  It was plenty flavourful from the mild tomato and the aroma of Argentinian prawns.  Of course, the cheesiness of the risotto was evident, especially from the foam.  As for the prawns, they were buttery with a minor snap texture.  They were naturally sweet with enough seasoning.

We were then presented with a Herb-Crusted Halibut with parsley, chives and basil served atop celery root puree, charred fennel and a potato fondant.  Initially, I was concerned that the piece of halibut might be overdone, but it was actually flaky and moist.  The herb crust was crispy and aromatic with a crispy exterior texture.  Loved the creamy puree as it added luxurious moisture to the fish.

Our last entree was the 6 oz Tenderloin with house-seasoned fries and peppercorn jus.  Prepared perfectly medium-rare, the steak was moist and super tender.  The peppercorn jus was impactful with a richness as well as a bite from the pepper.  Due to the starch coating, the fries were lightly crispy while being plenty potatoey on the inside.

Onto dessert, we were served 2 including the House-made Yuzu Pannacotta.  This featured a gelatin topping which provided a nice texture while adding more tanginess.  As for the pannacotta itself, it was really rich and creamy.  I would've preferred it to be a bit lighter, but that can be purely subjective.  It almost ate like a light cheesecake, but with the brightness of yuzu.

Our second dessert was the House-made Bread Pudding with dulce de leche and ice cream.  I have to say this has to be one of the best bread puddings I've had in quite some time.  Loved the crispy top that was contrasted beautifully by the tender and moist interior.  This was purposefully sweet and aromatic.  Overall, the meal at Seaside Provisions was even better than my first visit (granted that was 3 years ago). Nice to see they have continued to refine their food and kept up the focus on fresh seafood.  One of the better spots in the neighbourhood.

*All food and beverages were complimentary*

The Good:
- Fresh, well-prepared seafood
- Impactful flavours
- Cozy dining space

The Bad:
- Pannacotta could've been lighter