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?

Tekkaba

It seems to me that there are places that offer Premium Omakase experiences in Vancouver more than ever.  Maybe our palates and experience has levelled up to the point where we can appreciate these meals for what they are (which is a combination of the freshest ingredients, prepared expertly and artfully).  However, these meals come at a price and usually $250+ per person.  That is not really an affordable option considering the economy as it stands.  Yet, there is one place that charges only $118.00 a person and it's located in Downtown.  Sure, Tekkaba will never be confused with Okeya Kyujiro, but at 1/3rd the price and reasonable expectations, it is truly a steal.

In fact, you can even go with the $78.00 Dinner Omakase that has just as many courses, but just with different items.  Now that is an even bigger steal.  For our Omakase, we started with the Chawanmushi with some ground pistachio & pumpkin seeds and Ichiban sauce.  This was purely just egg without other components hidden within.  As you can see, the steamed egg was not watery nor bubbly.  Hence, it was silky and smooth with some background sweetness.

For our next course, we had the Beef Tartar Salad made with AAA beef tenderloin.  On the side, there was a organic spring mix tossed with a Japanese fruit dressing (made with 12 types of fruit) and drizzled with balsamic.  As you can imagine, the dressing was naturally sweet and needed the balsamic to balance it out.  As for the beef tartar, it was buttery soft with a definite spiciness.  There was a cracker and chip to use as a vessel for the tartar.  Good crunch on both.

We had the Sweet Prawn Tempura for our next course and it came with dendashi sauce.  It came in two pieces with one being the tail (without shell, except the very tip of the tail) and the other being the head.  Since the head was fried with a tempura batter, the shell wasn't able to fully cook until it was crunchy.  Hence, I couldn't actually eat it.  Rather, I ate the antenna and the insides.  For the tail, it was buttery and sweet.  The batter was super crispy and light.

From the tempura, we moved onto Traditional Japanese-Style Clam Soup with garlic and green onion.  Although this looked pretty simple, the broth itself was both subtle and impactful at the same time.  The brininess and sweetness of the clam really came through in the broth.  It wasn't a strong flavour, but enough to create impact in our minds (if that makes sense).  The green onion added some brightness to the soup.  As for the clams, they were plump and buttery.

Onto the Sashimi course, we were presented with one piece each of the Madai, Hamachi and Bluefin.  To compliment this, we had matcha salt, ginger and real wasabi.  We were encouraged to use the matcha salt with the madai.  The bitter-saltiness really did compliment the sweetness of the firm fish.  The hamachi was aged for 7 days and it showed in terms of its rich fishiness and the buttery texture.  As for the bluefin, it was aged 5 days and it had its umistakable strong sweet fishiness.  Being the akami, the bluefin was meatier, but still buttery soft.

We had two hand rolls next consisting of Uni and Fuagra (Foie Gras).  Well, it was suffice to say that these were a treat.  Sweet and creamy the uni was lightly torched where it heightened the sweetness while still imparting a smokiness.  The warm rice was still appealingly chewy.  As for the foie gras, it was also torched and topped with some tobiko caviar.  Also fatty and buttery, this was a bit smoky and slightly sweet. As part of the same course as the hand rolls, we were also served two pieces of Atemaki.  From what I can gather, one was chopped hamachi and the other was some type of whitefish, maybe hirame?  Whatever the case, these were nice little bites.

For those keeping track, we moved onto Step 7 of our meal with three nigiri including Hirame, Kinmedai and Saba.  Topped with shiso pesto aged for 3 months, there was definite sweetness.  The hirmae had a halibut-like texture being firm.  As for the kinmedai, it was beautiful and was subtle in flavour with a clear taste of the sea.  With the saba, it came with so lemon juice and it was at its mackerel best with an appealing fishiness.  It was nicely torched on the top.

Our next course consisted of Aburi Nigiri.  The Hotate was served in a shell while doused in lemon butter.  The rice was actually served on the side with some tobiko caviar.  The trick here was to sandwich the rice in betwen the split hotate.  This was absolutely delicious with buttery soft and sweet scallop with chewy rice in the middle.  The other nigiri was more traditional with Baby Squid topped with yuzu and lemon rind.  The squid was lightly torched being smoky while the texture was crunchy and not chewy.  Nice sweetness tempered by the tanginess.

From the aburi, we had another trio of Nigiri including Bluefin with caviar, Hamachi with black truffle sauce and Shima-Aji.  The bluefin akami was still buttery and sweet even though it wasn't the toro.  It was definitely meatier and less melty.  I found the hamachi sweet and pleasantly fishy with black truffle sauce really coming through.  Lots of woodsiness and some tangy-saltiness from the olives.  Lastly, the shima-aji was fishy (in a good way) and had a slight snap before being buttery tender.

The heaviest and last course was the Caviar Truffle Uni Pasta.  Yes, put all of the most luxurious items and put it in a heavy cream pasta right?  Well, it was not just that, the execution was good!  The pasta was al dente but not hard.  There was enough heavy cream to coat each strand without drowning it.  There was just enough truffle for effect and the uni and caviar provided sweetness and umaminess. Some grated parm added even more flavour to the mix.

We ended off the Omakase with some cake and we all had something different.  For me, it was a square of Oreo Cheesecake.  Pretty standard and pleasant enough.  Maybe not very creative, but it did the job.  Next to it, we had some Yuzu Tea that was clean, refreshing (despite being hot) and helped end everything by cleaning my palate.  Overall, this premium omakase is a fabulous deal.  For what you get, the pricing is a steal.  Sure, the meal isn't perfect (but nothing ever is), but the majority of the items are prepared well and are ultimately delicious.  Really, that is all that matters right?

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

The Good:
- Fabulous deal
- In general, it was tasty
- Super nice people

The Bad:
- I would prefer they do not pre-cut their sashimi
- Maybe a more creative dessert?

Mariachi Nights @ Toloache Mexican Kitchen

Here we were again at Toloache Mexican Kitchen, but not for their brunch.  We were here on a Thursday where drinks were flowing and little bites were being dished out by the kitchen.  So why was Thursday any different than other days?  Well, they had a full Mariachi Band as well as Folklorico dancers to boot.  If you can imagine, this was an outright party with people joining in on the fun and even doing a conga line.  Truly a unique experience and something I would love to do again!

To kick things off and to ensure we really did have a good time, we were served some Margaritas which were pretty tasty and inherently dangerous.  Nice balance of sweetness with the alcohol so that it went down way too easily!  Onto the share plates, we started with the Nachos.  Sure this was pretty standard with salsa, sour cream, olives, cotija cheese and jalapenos.  A bit more like Tex-Mex than true Mexican nachos, but whatever, they did the job and was just the prelude to other dishes.

Staying with tortilla chips, we had the Guacamole & Chips next and at first glance, nothing was really special about it.  But if you look closely, you will see a side of crickets.  Yep, you can have this with crunchy and nutty crickets to compliment the creamy guacamole.  Now that is different!   The Tuna Ceviche Tostada was a nice bite (or bites) where the tortilla remained crunch despite the wet ingredients.  The tuna was soft and fresh while it was nicely acidic.

Okay, the previous dishes were fine, but the really good ones came here in the form of the Cochinita Sopes and the Chorizo Croquets.  The masa shells of the sopes were slightly crispy on the outside while soft and not overly dense on the inside.  The slow-roasted pork was shredded, tender and moist.  There was a nice tanginess to it.  As for the croquets, they were crunchy while giving way to creamy filling with impactful chorizo that offered some spice.

Last 2 items were quite good in the Cochinita Sliders and the Tacos Dorados Ahogados.  Sure, the buns were from Costco, but the sliders were still delicious with the same tender pork as the sopes.  I've actually seen these buns used for a Peruvian sandwich too, so very versatile!  As for the "Taquitos", they were crunchy and topped with sour cream and tomatillo salsa.  Also quite tasty, but I decided to add more hot sauce to this to pump up the spice.

Okay, all of the food was fine and dandy but we were really here for the Mariachi Band!  Man this was awesome as this literally became a fiesta and people were dancing and singing.  The band went around the room and every section of the restaurant go their own personal performance.  For this night, they had Folklorico dancers, so it was extra lively and fun.  That is really the point of the night anyways.  As you can see, the menu is simple and not really the focus.  It is about grabbing some drinks and participating in the music and dance.  If that is what you are looking for, then this is for you!

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

The Good:
- Excellent Mariachi Band
- Fun and lively
- Food isn't expensive and you get live music!

The Bad:
- Limited menu (by design), so if you wanted a full meal, it isn't available

Published on Main

Here we are at Published on Main...  for the 8th time.  You might be wondering why I keep coming back to the place right?  Is it because it is has a Michelin Star?  Believe it or not, that has nothing to do with my decision to come here.  I've been enjoying the intricately-prepared and beautifully-plated dishes since they opened - all on my own dime.  It is because the food is inventive, creative and just different.  I've never had a bad meal here and I don't expect that to change.

This time around, we were a bit disappointed to see that they have temporarily removed the Chips & Dip from the menu (something to do with not being able to source the right potatoes).  So we added the Chicken Fried Maitake with garlic scape ranch as a replacement.  This is a favourite of mine and although the dip isn't exactly the same as the chips & dip, it has some similar elements without the smoked fish.  As for the mushrooms, they were buttery and light with an equally light seasoned flour with some cornmeal.  These ate much lighter than they appeared with a super crispy exterior.

One dish that they have had on the menu since the beginning is the Aebleskiver filled with stewed herbs and pine nuts.  These donuts were fluffy, yet still slightly dense at the same time.  It was a desired form of density where it added texture without being heavy.  The outside was slightly crispy.  Inside, the herbs were tender and flavourful.  What brought this all together was the herb emulsion underneath.  So creamy and subtle, but bright.

The previous 2 dishes were actually added midway through the meal since I really wanted to eat them.  We actually started with the cured Scallop with oyster cream, smoked crème fraîche, sea asparagus and summer herbs.  This was a very delicate and dish with buttery soft scallops that were intensely sweet.  The cream and crème fraîche were subtle enough to let the scallop be at the forefront.  Definitely a background smokiness and brininess, but ever so slight.

Progressing to another light and refreshing dish, we had the Dungeness Crab topped with lettuce root, and buckwheat.  It sat in a herbal tisane.  The ample amount of crab meat was fluffy and a bit bouncy.  It was sweet and briny while complimented mildly by the herb paste underneath and also the tisane.  The thinly-sliced lettuce root was bright and provided just the smallest of texture to the plate.  However, with a bit of buckwheat, this provided some unexpected crunch. 

Onto something more robust, we went with the Wagyu Carpaccio topped with sorrel, shiso, fudgy yolk, garum, crispy shallots and garlic.  As with any raw Wagyu, this wasn't exactly melt-in-my-mouth tender.  Rather, it was buttery with some chew.  The reason for this is the amount of fat.  When not cooked down, it can tend to be a bit chewy.  However, the meat itself was flavourful due to the fat and it was further amped by the garum.  There was restraint with this as it can be overwhelming salty and pungent.  Loved the silky yolk as it provided some great mouth feel.  Some background bitterness and tang was provided by the shiso and sorrel.

One of my favourite dishes of the meal was the Summer Squash atop pepita mole and topped with pepita cream and pepita & sungold macha.  The halved zucchini were cooked masterfully where it was firm, yet still completely cooked-through and tender.  Absolutely loved the seed mole where it was nutty, earthy and lightly sweet.  The macha was the star of the show here where it was mildly spicy with a smoky nuttiness.  Loved the sungold tomatoes as they had pops of sweetness.

Heading to the heavier items, we had the Chargrilled Octopus with smoked castelvetrano, chorizo vinaigrette, crispy potatoes and shaved radish.  Loved the texture with the tentacle as it was soft yet while retaining a bite and chew.  The end of the tentacle was a bit crispy and nicely charred.  Impactful with a touch of spice, the chorizo vinaigrette sported bits of meaty sausage while being nicely acidic.  The smoked olive puree was smooth, mild and of course smoky.  Adding some texture, the crispy potatoes went well with the vinaigrette.

One of the featured dishes for the night was the Summer Beans in a Maggi emulsion.  Charred and cooked perfectly, the beans were still a bit crunchy and plenty vibrant.  I could get the smoky char with some of the beans.  As for the emulsion, I was a little on the fence about it.  On one hand, I love Maggi sauce.  I practically grew up with it (love it on eggs!).  However, the creaminess of the emulsion made this dish too heavy in my opinion.  I did enjoy the umaminess though.

With our choice of fish, we went for the Roasted Manitoba Pickerel with artichokes, radish, elderflower sauce and verjus.  This was an excellent dish with the pickerel sporting uniformly crispy skin that was well-seasoned.  The fish itself was flaky and moist.  Oh that elderflower butter sauce was lightly creamy, fruity and floral.  The acidity was provided by the verjus in a balanced manner.  It complimented the buttery sauce well.

We had one last savoury dish in the BC Fire Morel Gnocchi.  Bathed in a lightly creamy truffle sauce, the gnocchi were nicely seared.  Hence, there was caramelization and also a faint smokiness.  The texture was on point being pillowy soft but not airy.  Naturally, with a good amount of morels, there was definitely earthiness and nuttiness.  However, all of this was lightened up a bit with some lemon notes.  We also found some kelp, shallots and chives in the mix.

Onto dessert, we tried one of the newer options in Le Disco.  This featured discs sitting in cassis sorbet and black currant leaf oil.  I really liked the sorbet as it was almost creamy.  I found it melty and full-of-depth.  It was only lightly sweet, but with a strong currant flavour.  The oil was thick and rich while tasting like its colour.  I found it green-tasting and rather strong.  Now about those discs...  I am on the fence with them as the texture of dark one (was that black sesame?) was pasty.  The green (matcha?) was a bit better with some grittiness while the pink (strawberry yogurt?) was creamier with some iciness.  Did I like the discs?  Not really, but I did enjoy the rest of the dessert.

However, the ol' standby, Hay, was right there to end the meal perfectly.  This classic dessert (at Published) consisted of aerated hay custard with green apple and chamomile granita.  Airy, fluffy and a bit nutty, the semi-sweet custard was brought to life with the tangy sweetness of the apple granita.  Each scoop of this encouraged us to keep eating it.  We did and that didn't take long to finish!  In fact, we gobbled up everything that was put in front of us because it was delicious and eye-catching.  This is nothing new for us and that is what keeps us coming back.  I can guarantee that it won't be long until I'm back again!

The Good:
- Creative, delicious dishes
- The plating
- The service

The Bad:
- Well things aren't cheap, but worth it IMO  

Adrian's At The Airport

Here we go with another restaurant in a strange location.  You know the type, ones that you'd find in a back alley, in a residential area, at a gas station etc...  We made our way to one of these in Adrian's at the Airport.  As the name suggests, Adrian's is located at the Langley Regional Airport.  This is not the first time I've visited a restaurant at a small airport before.  I've been to Skyhawk out at Boundary Bay Airport quite a few years back.  This time around, this was Nikita's suggestion and we love coming out to Langley for some food adventures with her and Bluebeard.

Looking over the menu, there is quite the variety with pastas, schnitzels and steak.  However, it had a prominent Greek flavour to it and as such, we started with the Calamari.  This featured a fairly light batter that was properly seasoned, but was a touch greasy. The squid itself was a touch chewy, yet it wasn't hard to eat either.  I would've preferred bigger pieces of squid though.  I did like the Tzatziki as it was creamy, tangy, garlicky and bright.

Usually, when we order Dry Ribs, they are small bites of riblets that usually aren't that tender.  However, the version here was actually chunks of baby back ribs!  Yes, not only were they meaty and tender (with a balanced amount of fat), the texture was what you expect out of ribs. The other places, the meat is too lean and hence just eats like dry pork.  These were juicy and well-seasoned while crispy on the outside.  I would gladly order these over and over again!

For my main, I went for the Mushroom Schnitzel accompanied by veggies, red cabbage and roast potatoes.  The decently-sized pork cutlet was crispy and tender with a thick mushroom gravy on top. The meat was a touch on the drier side, but he gravy really helped alleviate that with savouriness and umaminess. I liked eating it with the sweet and tangy cabbage as it cut through the richness.  I found the veggies to be cooked quite well where they weren't overdone.

Viv went a classic Greek dish in the Chicken Souvlaki consisting of 2 skewers, Greek salad, rice pilaf, roast potatoes and pita bread.  Sporting a nice char, but not burnt, the chicken was smoky and seasoned.  Being chicken breast, it was predictably a bit on the drier side.  However, the side of Tzatziki was there for a reason.  We found the salad to be really fresh while the rice was fluffy and also seasoned.  Although the potatoes were tender, we wished they were lemon potatoes instead.

For Bluebeard, he also went for a Greek dish in the Moussaka.  I was actually deciding between that the schnitzel and so was Bluebeard.  The solution was to just share our plates!  That we did and I thought the Moussaka was quite good with a creamy bechamel (that wasn't stiff) and layers of tender eggplant and potato with plenty of meat. The meat sauce was a bit tangy, but I would've liked to some more cinnamon and the bechamel could've had more nutmeg.  Otherwise, this was still a very solid version.

Nikita ended up with the NY Steak with the same sides as the other dishes.  It had some pretty good grill marks and hence it was smoky and caramelized.  She asked for medium-rare and it came out more medium.  It was still tender though and was properly rested.  Overall, the food at Adrian's is definitely fresh and feels home-made. It isn't fancy food, but it is comforting and is a great place for the family or friends to meet up.  There is a wide variety of dishes and portion sizes are good as well.

The Good:
- Things are generally well-executed
- Well-portioned
- Friendly service

The Bad:
- Food isn't fancy per se, so people have to have reasonable expectations that this is comfort
food
- On our visit, it seemed like many of the cocktails weren't available