Sushitei Hondoriten

Walking around the Hiroshima Hondori, we were debating where to eat for lunch.  We briefly considered one of the lineups for Okonomiyaki but we didn't have that much time.  Ichiran was another option, but been there, done that.  Finally, we settled on a local chain in Sushitei Hondoriten.  Sure, it isn't the most premier sushi in town, but with limited time, we were not being too picky.  After walking upstairs, we were quickly seated and after perusing the menu, it was pretty simple with a few sushi combos available. 

My daughter decided to go for her usual in the Seafood Chirashi.  This was fully-loaded with tamago, unagi, hamachi, salmon, shima aji, hotate, akami, snow crab, ebi, tako and ikura.  Yes, this was filling and plenty satisfying.  As you can see from the picture, things were fresh with a nice sheen.  Indeed it was as the flavours were clean and sweet.   Tamago on the lighter side and not as layered as we would've liked though.

My son ended up with the Ikura Kobore while I had the Variety Set.  Both were somewhat similar except for a few minor differences.  They both had unagi, ebi, mirugai, tamago, akami, shima aji, chutoro, ika, uni and ikura.  The difference was that the Variety Set had hamachi and salmon while the Ikura Kobore had more ikura.  Again, nicely constructed nigiri featuring clean flavours and textures.

For Viv, she had the Sushi & Tempura Set which included a Clam Red Miso Soup.  This was a rather large bowl and in fact, we all had one.  Nice rich and fermented flavours with plenty of umami without actually being salty.  Didn't get a lot of brininess, but the clams themselves were buttery.  As for the Tempura, the batter was super light and crispy.  Things were cooked just right.

For her sushi plate, she had tamago, ebi, salmon, ikura, unagi, ika, akami and hamachi.   What has said about the nigiri has already been said, but I thought this set was a good value consider it included the soup, tempura and sushi.  Overall, we were satisfied with the sushi we had at Sushitei and it was well-priced too.  Service was a bit hit and miss as we had a hard time getting more tea and water.  Otherwise, this is a good option for those who aren't too picky about their sushi restaurants.

The Good:

- Fresh

- Not expensive

- Easy to get a table

The Bad:

- Service was a bit hit and miss

Mawashizushi KATSU

As much as conveyor belt sushi can be both a gimmick and also a poor experience; that is usually reserved for places in North America.  Sure, you can probably find a decent spot if you are in the know, but for all the ones I've been to locally, they have been "meh".  That can happen in Japan too, but there is a much better chance in finding a good one rather than not.  So we took the short walk from our hotel to Mawashizushi KATSU located in the Yokohama Sky Building.  This place has pretty high ratings for its quality, affordability and great service.  Naturally, there was a lineup when we arrived, but all you have to do is enter your details into the machine at the front, it spits out a ticket and it won't be long until you are seated.  If you want to be right at the bar, make sure you choose that option.

Once seated. each seat has its own water, condiments and touch pad (to order items you don't see coming around on the conveyor belts).  We were a bit hungry and wasted little time in grabbing some dishes.  The trick here is that each plate colour represents different pricing.  They will add up the amount of each dish and then you will be charged accordingly.   Two of the items we had right away was the Salmon Toro and Unagi Nigiri.  Nice amount of fish-to-rice ratio.  Salmon was buttery soft while the unagi was also soft and sweet from the glaze

Since the place was so busy, the conveyor belt was looking rather bare and we snagged whatever we could get our hands on.  That happened to be both the Aburi Toro Sadine and Plum Toro Sardine.  We also had one without plum sauce as well.  These were surprisingly buttery soft and not that fishy.  The sear on top helped activate some of the fats creating a nice aroma. It also lightly crisped up the skin.  There was some salt, hence this didn't need any soy.  Also, the first set of sardine nigiri had some grated daikon and ponzu which added a nice tangy brightness.  Even more tangy and sweet, the plum really had an impact.  I actually enjoyed the plain one the most as I could actually taste the sardine with the fatty belly.

Another item we were able to retrieve from the conveyor belt was the Aburi Engawa.  This was quite the treat and we actually got a few more of these.  Essentially the seared dorsal fin meat on a halibut, this was super buttery with just a bit of rebound.  A touch of lemon salt added the right amount of flavour and acidity.  A must try!  After that, we had some Tamagoyaki and it was decently layered and also relatively fluffy with balanced sweetness.

By now, we were getting a bit impatient with waiting for what we really wanted, so we went to the touch pad and ordered both the Hotate Nigiri and the Hotate Kobashira Gunkan.  These arrive separately on a track adjacent to the conveyor belt.   Both of these were good in their own right.  With the larger scallop, we had more sweetness and a uniform texture.  With the smaller scallops and wrapped in seaweed, we had differing textures and possibly just a bit less sweetness.

Continuing on the theme of ordering things in pairs that are similar, we had the Crab Salad Gunkan and the Snow Crab Gunkan.  Yes, both are "crab" but one was only real.  Believe it or not, I much preferred the imitation crab salad version more.  This is not a surprise to anyone who knows me because I find real crab in sushi is often lost.  The crab salad was creamy and full of salty sweetness.  For the snow crab, it was light, fluffy and mildly briny.  I had to eat this without anything so I would not lose the natural crab flavour. 

Sporting a beautiful colour, the Hamachi Nigiri was as good as it appeared.  It was a nice portion of fish compared to the chewy sushi rice.  Hence, it was impactful with a taste of the sea, sweetness and butteriness.  Very simple but good.  Next, we had the Negitoro which featured a boatload of buttery tuna belly with just a bit of green onion on top.  As the picture shows, not all of it looked like the actual belly, so we had some alternating textures.

We ordered two cooked items as well including the Chicken Karaage and the Geso Karaage.  We found the chicken karaage to be decent with a thin and crispy potato starch coating.  It was lightly seasoned and had a hint of ginger.  As for the squid tentacles, they were more aggressively coated and hence were super crunchy.  Inside, the squid was still bouncy and moist.  This was well-seasoned and with a squeeze of lemon, it was rather addictive.

Two really nice bites were available on the conveyor belt, going around and around.  We finally bit and got the Torched Rosy Seabass and Torched Salmon Toro.  These were two very different pieces of fish, but they had one major thing in common.  They were both extremely buttery and soft.  Due to the torching, the fats were activated being aromatic and flavourful.  Not much needed to be added as the natural flavours were enough.

Normally, I wouldn't order a Shortrib Gunkan, but we ended up trying it anyways (partly because my son loves shortrib).  It was not bad since the shortrib was tender (with a chew) while completely marinated.  Through the touch pad we got the Salmon Sashimi as well.  This was pretty much standard, but still quite good.  The slices were of a good size and the texture was buttery with some bite.  It was mildly sweet.

Finally, we got to dessert and we ended up with Vanilla and Chocolate Soft Serve as well as some Matcha Ice Cream.  These were okay, not as creamy as I would've liked them to be, but they did the trick.  At least they weren't that sweet.  Overall, we really enjoyed our meal at Mawashizushi KATSU.  Lots of selection and if you wanted something specific, you can just order it.  Quality is great for the price.  It only cost us $100.00CAD for the 4 of us and we actually ordered multiple dishes of the same item.  Will be back next time we are in Japan!

The Good:
- Inexpensive
- Good quality with all things considered
- Efficient operation

The Bad:
- Most of the items you may want will be taken before it gets to you (but you can order it)
- Lineups are a thing here

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

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