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There once was a new sushi bar called Maumi located on Bute near Davie. When it first opened, the menu consisted of the usual items including sashimi, nigiri and rolls as well as some cooked items. One could even get the stuff to go. There were also a few small tables including a sushi bar. Then, things changed. Away with the rolls and sashimi, then the tables and heck, no take out. How about just 10 seats at a sushi bar and other than a few appies, only an Omakase menu consisting of either 10 or 12 pieces of nigiri? Well, that is what Sushi Bar Maumi is about. Fresh fish flown in 5 times a week from Tsukiji Market and prepared by sushi master Maumi Ozaki (with 20 years experience from Japan).
Viv and I decided to check the place out by doing a few things, such as making a reservation and arriving on time. If you do neither, don't plan on eating there. Second, I made sure to only take pictures of the food, pictures of anything else is strictly not allowed. Onto the food shall we? Starting off with some cooked items, we tried the Black Tiger Tempura. This was a well-executed dish with fresh prawns that were meaty and buttery. The batter was medium-thick, yet cooked all-the-way-through and lightly crispy (while not oily). We also had 2 bowls of their Ara Miso Soup which was nicely balanced. There was a good fishiness to the broth that was sweet and slightly briny. The miso itself was only in the background which was fine by us.
Moving onto the main event, I decided on the Omakase Nigiri Premium for $60.00 while Viv had the $40.00 Omakase. We were started off with the Black Sea Bream where we could taste the natural flavours with a slight chew. The light brush of sauce provided a rich background sweetness that didn't interfere with the clean flavours of the fish. Buttery and sweet while not mushy, the Spot Prawn was on point. Normally, I'm not a huge fan of squid sashimi, but the Flying Squid was actually quite good. It was firm and sweet with not much in the way of sliminess.
Another treat was the Hotate from Hokkaido as it was buttery and intensely sweet (compared to the fish). I liked the texture as there was a slight rebound rather than being plain soft. The gift that kept on giving (well, a gift we paid handsomely for...) continued with the Shimaji that sported a buttery snap-like bounce. There was an appealing fishiness that was bright and upfront. One of the 2 "extra" items in the Premium Omakase was the Blue Fin Tuna. This was worth the money in my opinion as it was soft and melted-in-my-mouth with a sweet taste of the sea.
Onto the next 3, it featured the second of the "extra" items in the Uni from Hokkaido. I personally love uni and sometimes the stuff we get here in Vancouver can be rather flavourless. Not this one as it was luscious and clean-tasting. To the left of the uni was the Kinmedai or Splendid Alfonsino. It was soft with a slight resistance while bright and mildly fishy (in a good way). In the back was the Grey Mullet which was firm and chewy. It was more flavourful in a sweet fishy manner than the rest.
The last set of nigiri consisted of Aji, Kanpachi and Sea Eel. With a buttery light snap, the aji was super sweet complimented by the sharpness of the usual condiment of ginger and green onion. Commonly known as Amberjack, the kanpachi sported a light chewiness with a briny clean finish. Lastly, the eel was soft with just enough sauce that didn't inhibit the brininess. There was abit of background smokiness. As for the sushi rice, we felt it was on point with a balanced texture being chewy while still moist. It was fairly mild tasting allowing the fish to be the featured flavour.
Of course when we have spot prawn, we also have Fried Shrimp Heads. These were done right being crunchy and completely edible without chewy portions. They were lightly seasoned as well. To complete our meal, we also got a Kashira Shioyaki Madai. This was grilled nicely with crispy skin and meat that was not overdone. It was also lightly seasoned. In the end, the entire bill came to $140.00 before tip. Expensive? Fairly, but the place is not for the value-conscious nor those wanting sushi rolls with enough sauce for a BBQ dinner. Come here for simple, no nonsense and well-made nigiri. Worth every penny IMO.
The Good:
- Fresh and well-prepared
- No nonsense and without blinking lights and such
- Do one thing right and do it well
The Bad:
- Not cheap, but reasonable with all things considered
- Only 10 seats, reserve or don't bother
- Not a negative per se, but respect the chef, he's focused
Ever since Miss Y went full-throttle with her paleo diet, it has become increasingly difficult to eat out. Sure, we have visited the odd Japanese restaurant and did mostly sashimi and have also done a few oyster bars. However, to find prepared and composed dishes, especially for an entire meal has been almost impossible. Interestingly, PidGin offers up a tasting menu that can almost be classified as paleo except for a few things here and there. Miss Y and I checked it out on a whim as the other options were pretty boring.
I've been to PiDGin before, but never as an actual meal since it was either a media preview of some sort or a food tour. Besides, it was a good time to come back due to a change in chefs. We started with some Daily Pickles accompanied by an Oyster Shot with apple granita and horseradish. I loved the crunch of the carrots and cucumber that was fairly tart with a touch of sweetness. The shiitake mushrooms were on point being buttery and spiked with a sweet soy marinade. Sweet, briny and nose-blowing spicy from the horseradish, the oyster shot was a nice wake-me-up amuse for the meal.
Nicely plated, the Smoked Taramasalata with nori paste and onsen egg exhibited subtle yet impactful flavours. When mixed together, the creamy mixture was richly salty without being salty (if that makes sense). The brininess from the fish roe might've had something to do with that as well as the umaminess of the nori. Although simple and consisting of vegetables, the Green Beans and Cauliflower dressed with XO sauce and slivered almonds was on point. The veggies were prepared beautifully where the beans were crunchy while not being raw and the cauliflower was caramelized and still firm. The hit of salty spiciness from the XO woke the dish up as there wasn't too much salt used. Loved the crunch of the almonds as well.
Another simple, yet well-executed fish was the Mushrooms with snap peas in a yuzu brown butter sauce accompanied by an ajitama duck egg. Tender and buttery in texture, the mushrooms were bathed in a aromatic butter sauce that had a hint of acidity. Loved the crunch of the sweet snap peas as a textural contrast. We found the egg to be on point being well-marinated and runny. Onto some meat, we had the Pan-Seared Trout with bonito buttersauce and Swiss chard. Just barely cooked through, the trout was moist and flaky while a little on the salty side. The skin was lightly crispy, yet mostly soft. As for the Swiss chard, it was wilted slightly being well-seasoned and crisp.
Our last savoury item was fantastic in the Lamb Rump with dulse puree, lamb fat kale and candied walnut. Medium-rare and tender throughout, the lamb was truly beautiful and well-seasoned. It was further enhanced by the smoky and salty dulse puree. As a benefactor of the lamb fat, the kale exhibited a certain body and richness while still being vibrant and chewy. The sweet crunch of the walnuts added both texture and an extra layer of flavour to balance out the saltiness. For dessert, we were served a Black Sesame Cake with rhubarb foam, rhubarb segments and white chocolate drizzle. Sure, the cake was rather dry since there was no flour nor egg used, but it was nutty and aromatic. The other wet ingredients made up for it, especially the purposefully sweet white chocolate. Overall, we were quite impressed with the food and service at PiDGin, definitely worth a return visit.
The Good:
- On point execution
- Reasonably-priced
- Excellent service
The Bad:
- Area is of course sketchy
I'm sure you're quite familiar with the soft-serve ice cream craze that has hit our city in the past year or so. In fact, we've seen some pretty innovative and crazy stuff with liquid nitrogen ice cream setting up shop. However, for some odd reason, I personally have seemed to have missed something along the way. UYU, the 2nd place to offer gourmet soft-serve in town opened up nearly a year ago, but I just never got around to trying it. Once again, it took an invite for me to get my butt into gear. We were there to try some of their new products including the classics as well.
We tried the new stuff first in the Matcha White Iced Chocolate and Iced Belgian Chocolate Hazelnut. The first thing I noticed was that they weren't too heavy. There was still some creaminess, yet in a drinkable manner. I found the chocolate hazelnut to be on the sweeter side packing a good amount of initial chocolate flavour and finishing off as well. On the other hand, the matcha was less sweet (still sweet though) with a light and appealing bitterness. Again, it wasn't overly heavy and was actually rather refreshing. My favourite was actually the Signature UYU Cereal Milkshake (the one with cereal on top). Sure, it was definitely sweet, but the crunch from the cereal provided a nice texture to the not-too-thick beverage. The Belgian Chocolate Milkshake was similar in consistency, but much richer in flavour. I would say this was the sweetest drink of the bunch.
Of course we were not visiting UYU without giving their soft-serve a try right? We ended up trying all of the available flavours including the Classic Milk with cereal, dried raspberries and drizzle. Compared to the others made with Avalon milk, the one at UYU was definitely lighter and only semi-sweet. Depending on your personal preference, this could be just right or not as rich as the other places. We also tried the Earl Grey with dried blueberries and nuts. This was on point with a definite hit of bitterness that wasn't too strong, but at the same time stood up both to the soft-serve and to the addition of toppings.
Okay, you might know my personal bias against anything banana and desserts. So it is by no surprise that I was only mildly interested in the Banana with dried raspberries and banana chips. I found the banana flavour to be impactful, so it was aromatic and sweet. I'm sure banana-lovers would prefer this and also any Minions running amok, but I'll gladly stick to the original and earl grey. So if I focus on the items I did like, the soft serve was rich, yet relatively light. It wasn't overly sweet, which was fine by me. On the other hand, if you want to satisfy your sweet tooth, the milkshakes and ice chocolates would be up your alley.
*All ice cream and beverages were complimentary*
The Good:
- Soft serve not overly sweet
- Lighter than the others
- Totally customizable
The Bad:
- For me personally, not sure about the banana flavour
- Again, for me, the Milkshakes and Ice Chocolates could be a touch less sweet
Posts
There once was a new sushi bar called Maumi located on Bute near Davie. When it first opened, the menu consisted of the usual items including sashimi, nigiri and rolls as well as some cooked items. One could even get the stuff to go. There were also a few small tables including a sushi bar. Then, things changed. Away with the rolls and sashimi, then the tables and heck, no take out. How about just 10 seats at a sushi bar and other than a few appies, only an Omakase menu consisting of either 10 or 12 pieces of nigiri? Well, that is what Sushi Bar Maumi is about. Fresh fish flown in 5 times a week from Tsukiji Market and prepared by sushi master Maumi Ozaki (with 20 years experience from Japan).
Viv and I decided to check the place out by doing a few things, such as making a reservation and arriving on time. If you do neither, don't plan on eating there. Second, I made sure to only take pictures of the food, pictures of anything else is strictly not allowed. Onto the food shall we? Starting off with some cooked items, we tried the Black Tiger Tempura. This was a well-executed dish with fresh prawns that were meaty and buttery. The batter was medium-thick, yet cooked all-the-way-through and lightly crispy (while not oily). We also had 2 bowls of their Ara Miso Soup which was nicely balanced. There was a good fishiness to the broth that was sweet and slightly briny. The miso itself was only in the background which was fine by us.
Moving onto the main event, I decided on the Omakase Nigiri Premium for $60.00 while Viv had the $40.00 Omakase. We were started off with the Black Sea Bream where we could taste the natural flavours with a slight chew. The light brush of sauce provided a rich background sweetness that didn't interfere with the clean flavours of the fish. Buttery and sweet while not mushy, the Spot Prawn was on point. Normally, I'm not a huge fan of squid sashimi, but the Flying Squid was actually quite good. It was firm and sweet with not much in the way of sliminess. 
Another treat was the Hotate from Hokkaido as it was buttery and intensely sweet (compared to the fish). I liked the texture as there was a slight rebound rather than being plain soft. The gift that kept on giving (well, a gift we paid handsomely for...) continued with the Shimaji that sported a buttery snap-like bounce. There was an appealing fishiness that was bright and upfront. One of the 2 "extra" items in the Premium Omakase was the Blue Fin Tuna. This was worth the money in my opinion as it was soft and melted-in-my-mouth with a sweet taste of the sea.
Onto the next 3, it featured the second of the "extra" items in the Uni from Hokkaido. I personally love uni and sometimes the stuff we get here in Vancouver can be rather flavourless. Not this one as it was luscious and clean-tasting. To the left of the uni was the Kinmedai or Splendid Alfonsino. It was soft with a slight resistance while bright and mildly fishy (in a good way). In the back was the Grey Mullet which was firm and chewy. It was more flavourful in a sweet fishy manner than the rest.
The last set of nigiri consisted of Aji, Kanpachi and Sea Eel. With a buttery light snap, the aji was super sweet complimented by the sharpness of the usual condiment of ginger and green onion. Commonly known as Amberjack, the kanpachi sported a light chewiness with a briny clean finish. Lastly, the eel was soft with just enough sauce that didn't inhibit the brininess. There was abit of background smokiness. As for the sushi rice, we felt it was on point with a balanced texture being chewy while still moist. It was fairly mild tasting allowing the fish to be the featured flavour.
Of course when we have spot prawn, we also have Fried Shrimp Heads. These were done right being crunchy and completely edible without chewy portions. They were lightly seasoned as well. To complete our meal, we also got a Kashira Shioyaki Madai. This was grilled nicely with crispy skin and meat that was not overdone. It was also lightly seasoned. In the end, the entire bill came to $140.00 before tip. Expensive? Fairly, but the place is not for the value-conscious nor those wanting sushi rolls with enough sauce for a BBQ dinner. Come here for simple, no nonsense and well-made nigiri. Worth every penny IMO.
