Toshi Sushi: Eggplant like candy

Having heard great things about this place from SexyNapkins, I was stoked to try it out with Adorables.

Restaurant: Toshi Sushi

Location: 181 East 16th Avenue, Vancouver
Cuisine: Japanese, Sushi
Price range: $15-20





Date of visit: June 26, 2014
Atmosphere: 4/5
Staff/service: 4/5
Food variety: 5/5
Food quality: 4.5/5
Buck worthy? 4.5/5

Walking in, it was packed! Wrote out name down and proceeded to wait for an hour for spots =( At least it gave us time to check out what were popular items being ordered ^-^ We saw someone order a Nasu Dengaku ($5.75) so we got one too. This was a baked eggplant which was soft, moist, and sweet! Although I'm slightly allergic to eggplant, this was delicious. I especially liked the peel, as it was chewy-- like candy!

We also order a Nigiri & Roll combo ($11.95), which consisted of 6 nigiri and a choice of one roll (out of three).

I chose the BC roll, which interestingly carrots in there. Full of veggies and salmon skin, this was quite good. The nigiri are random but I asked them to not have ebi so I think they switched it out for smth else :) Sizes were good, and the fish was fresh.

Lastly, we ordered a Nigiri combo ($13.95), which was basically 10 pieces of nigiri. Not a bad price and they gave us some pricier pieces like the hamachi and kanpachi which were fresh and delicious. I'm starting to take a liking to kanpachi =P Again, the rice was good and proportional.

Aside from the long wait, this wasn't a bad place for sushi. Prices were reasonable, service was friendly, and sushi was authentic.

Basho: No bashings to my wallet here!

Early for work, I thought about Basho, and didn't realize it was so close to work! Happily I wandered in for a quick bite before work.

Restaurant: Basho Cafe (visit their website here)

Location: 2007 East Hastings Street, Vancouver
Cuisine: Japanese, Cafe, Coffee/Tea, Breakfast/Brunch
Price range: $5-15





Date of visit: June 21, 2014
Atmosphere: 4/5
Staff/service: 4/5
Food variety: 2/5
Food quality: 3.75/5
Buck worthy? 5/5

Being in the afternoon, I got their Afternoon Set ($5.00), which included pastries and a matcha latte. Quite a good deal considering most drinks nowadays at cafes are around $5 =P

The matcha latte was aesthetically pleasing with a typical leaf shape. Rich matcha flavor but I found it too milky. The matcha was a bit gritty at the top but other than that one of the better matcha lattes I've had.

Now these treats, the cookie was a very normal chocolate cookie with almond slices. The cake was... boring sponge cake styled and just sweet. Moist and fluffy, but nothing special. Now the brownie mochi thing was unique. It was a brownie that was extra chewy and moist with a hint of matcha. Again there was a bit of gritty texture, but I really liked this little baked good =)

You order at the front then find yourself a spot and they deliver your food to you. Quite nice of a place to grab a bite to eat and chill for a bit. Car show at work!

. . . And surprise flower shower from Adorables <3

Spoon Kitchen: Keep spooning!

Took us a while to finally arrive here, but here we are! Heard lots of good things about Spoon Kitchen from SexyNapkins, so I decided to snag the coupon deal from BigCityPerks and try it out with Adorables.

Restaurant: Spoon Kitchen (visit their website here)

Location: 1909 W. 4th Avenue, Vancouver
Cuisine: Thai, Malaysian
Price range: $15-20





Date of visit: June 17, 2014
Atmosphere: 4/5
Staff/service: 3.5/5
Food variety: 5/5
Food quality: 3.75/5
Buck worthy? 4.5/5

So the dealio online said 9 courses, but after asking the waiter, he said it was a typo, and it was $25 for 8-course meal for 2 people. I was fine with that, since there was no point arguing anyways xD First to arrive were the appetizers (3 courses).

There was Thai Shrimp Cakes, which were very crispy and fresh. Crispy Fried Calamari was tender and moist inside but I prefer it to be crispier on the outside; the sauces complimented both dishes well. Then there was Roti Canai with coconut curry dipping sauce, both very generic and average. I enjoyed this dish a lot though =)

The Shredded Mango Salad with lime dressing arrived shortly after. It was hard to find the mango, and when I did, they weren't very good. The mango was hard and tart. The whole salad was tart actually. And hard. There were carrots, cucumber, shallots, jicama and mango.

Then came the main dishes (3 courses). Having arrived at the same time, I couldn't decide what to eat first! Everything was getting cold =(

Anyhow, nibbled on the House Green Beans first, they were crunchy and well-done. There was dried shrimp and tomato with some sauce. A little salty for my liking, would've been delicious with some white rice! :)

Moved onto the Gulai Seafood, which was delicious. Could've been spicier but it was plentifully packed with seafood such as squid, shrimp, fish, and mussels. The pineapple, string beans, and peppers complimented the dish well to add some color and tanginess to the sauce. The sauce itself was flavorful with spices and the coconut curry base just shone. I ended up mixing the sauce with the Nasi Goreng, and it was quite interestingly delicious.

Last of the mains was the Nasi Goreng. It was moist and appetizing, great way to finish off my meal before dessert! Tasted even better when I mixed it with the Gulai Seafood hehe =D It was sweet and sour, kinda tomato-y, rice was a bit too soft and broken though.

Finally, dessert! The Pisang Goreng turned out to be deep fried banana with ice cream. It was really good! The banana was lightly battered, crispy, and not overcooked. Ice cream cooled it down just enough in my mouth not to be burned by the freshly deep fried banana! Yum yum!

Oh! Also ordered a Guava Juice ($2.75), tasted like the Sun Tropics stuff you can get from grocery stores haha, but it wasn't too overpriced, so I was fine with it :)

Very satisfied with the meal, took some stuff home as we couldn't finish it, so I would say it's a pretty sweet deal!! Servers were nice albeit a bit hard to flag down (it was nearly empty by the time we got there).

KissMe Organics: Organic Matcha, you get what you pay for :)

Recently, I was presented with the opportunity to review this organic matcha powder from Kiss Me Organics! They were friendly and open to many of the questions I posed. It arrived on the expected date and I finally had a chance to try their matcha!

They are exclusively sold on Amazon, and they sent me a 40oz bag which is sold for $29.00 regularly. As many may still remember the tsunami in Japan that damaged some nuclear reactors, I was concerned whether this matcha would be tainted by radiation. Maria, who had contacted me in the first place, assured me that they took this into consideration, so they sought tea outside of Japan, to decrease the likelihood of their product being affected by the radiation. Their tea comes from the mountainous region of Fijian in China and is all sent to a lab in Colorado to be tested. The care they put into providing quality matcha is quite reassuring!

Alright, onto how I felt about this product! The color is duller than ceremonial grade matcha, as this was a culinary grade green tea powder. I find the flavor of the tea mild and not as fragrant as I prefer. The powder was ground very finely. Wasn't sure if I needed to use a bamboo whisk, but I used one anyways-- shall try next time to see if it'll dissolve on its own. I feel you get what you pay for, as this isn't sold at a high-end price. Probably better to be actually used for baking and shakes as compared to just water. I would like to thank Kiss Me Organics and Maria for this opportunity to review their product and all the help she's provided!

To find them, you can go on Amazon.com and search for "matcha green tea powder" and they should be the first one on the list! I'm not sure if this link will work, but try here!

http://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B00DDT116M?cache=bc201c8fe001f088d329527d5a77c7cc&pi=SY200_QL40&qid=1403387797&sr=8-1#ref=mp_s_a_1_1

Until next time!

Fishermen Sushi: Oysters Oysters Oysters

The last time I was here, it was still Sushi One! But alas, it has changed, plus, Adorables told me about a sweet deal-- instant interest.

Restaurant: Fisherman Sushi (visit their website here)

Location: 130-12251 No 1 Road, Richmond
Cuisine: Japanese, Sushi, Seafood
Price range: $10-15 per person





Date of visit: June 8, 2014
Atmosphere: 4/5
Staff/service: 4.5/5
Food variety: 5/5
Food quality: 4.5/5
Buck worthy? 4.5/5

First off, we were drawn here by the allure of oysters and trying a new place out. Little did I know these delicious little suckers were only $0.75 each. Yes!! Oysters were $0.75 per piece!! Eventually we ordered 16 to share because they were so plump, succulent, fresh, creamy, and delicious. We were only stopped by the fear of dying from zinc overdose xD I don't know how long this will go on for, but get em while they last!

Can't just get full on oysters (we wanted to), so here is some sushi from left to right: Saba ($1.50 each), Hamachi ($2.25 each), Salmon ($1.50 each), and Chopped Scallop ($1.75 each). The nigiri had great rice, perfectly seasoned and great texture. Saba was juicy but a bit "rough", hamachi was disappointing (far too fishy), salmon was average, and chopped scallop was super fresh and delicious.

Overall I really enjoyed my experience here and would definitely come back for their oysters and maybe try their other sashimi like UNI =D I believe Sapporo is also on special for $3.00, now to find out if they have happy hour =P I'm still thinking about the feel of those delicious little oysters in my mouth, mmmmmmm =u=

Hamburger $2.85: Amazing little burger!

Wandering around DT with Adorables and his "food map", we arrived at one of his destinations: a food truck located on Granville Street near Pacific Center! I had heard about this many times, and finally here!

Restaurant: Hamburger $2.85

Location: Granville Street @ Pender Street, Vancouver
Cuisine: Burgers, Western, Fast food, Food truck
Price range: <$5





Date of visit: June 3, 2014
Atmosphere: 4/5
Staff/service: 4.5/5
Food variety: 1/5
Food quality: 5/5
Buck worthy? 5/5

First I was skeptical about this raved food truck because there wasn't a crazy lineup, but I'm kinda glad now, since we didn't have to wait long for this little sucker. For $3.00, we got the Hamburger. Simple, hearty, and delicious. There was bun, mayo, lettuce (lots of it too), tomato, patty, and bun. The abundance in lettuce cut the fatty feel of the patty, and the whole burger was so juicy!! A great little snack for wandering downtown with! Definitely would recommend over a burger from McDonalds, this little cart (wo)manned by 3 ladies is not to be underestimated!

Dark Table: Let me feed you *JAB*

Sadly, there aren't any pictures associated with this post regarding the food because well, it was pitch black in there. However, I'll describe my experience here =)

Restaurant: Dark Table (visit their website here)

Location: 2611 West 4th Avenue, Vancouver
Cuisine: European, Fusion
Price range: $40+ per person





Date of visit: June 1, 2014
Atmosphere: 4.5/5
Staff/service: 4/5
Food variety: 1.5/5
Food quality: 3.5/5
Buck worthy? 5/5

I got a SocialShopper coupon for a 3-course meal for 2 people ($56.00), which was a pretty good deal, considering their normal 3 choice is $39.00. Super excited, Adorables and I were seated outside in a waiting area for our waiter as we decided on which of the main courses we wanted. The starter and dessert were surprises =)

After making our choices, we were led into the restaurant by our waiter, Albert and he quickly talked us through what to expect and what we were going to do. He described what we would experience inside and how to get him if we needed anything. However, the calling out to the waiter really loudly trick didn't really work out in the end haha =P

Regardless, we were led inside and it was PITCH BLACK. My eyes hurt after a while of trying to seek out any light (which there wasn't any except for the one line of light from the door that Adorables saw occasionally). Seated, we were given some time to chat and adjust. Our drinks arrived first, Adorables ordered a Ginger Ale ($3.25) and I got a Grapefruit Juice ($3.25). I couldn't quite believe that water was for $3.00 on the menu! Anyways, my grapefruit juice was tart and too bitter for my liking =(

Albert brought us bread, and believe me, trying to butter your bread in the dark is DIFFICULT! I got an end piece and it was rather hard, but crispy. I ended up dipping my finger into the butter by accident haha

Then came the fun starter. It was a salad of some sort, it had quinoa and then other leafy veggies. The flavors were interesting, I had some salty bits then some tangy vinaigrette parts. I don't know what greens were in there but some were also bitter and tasted like... methane. Yes. Overall it was fun poking and trying to find if I was done my salad or not!

The mains came, Adorables ordered a Surprise Dish which consisted of Yam Fries, Chicken with Cranberry Sauce, and some veggies. The fries were nice and hot! Chicken was a bit dry (or so the bit I tried). Adorables said he had his face inches from his food all meal just to feel around-- use of fingers was definitely helpful.

I ordered the Garlic Prawns with Citrus Risotto and veggies. Basically what I did was spear at my dish with my fork until I snagged something. I had a bunch of misses where I just placed the fork to my mouth and it was empty. Man, I hope no one saw that! The risotto was delicious-- creamy and moist, the flavors just jumped out at me. I couldn't stop eating-- if only I found where my risotto was on the plate! I had a few mouthfuls of grainy salt on my veggies which were a turn-off though =( There were 6 prawns on my plate, and of course, I'd try to feed Adorables who was busy trying to figure out his dish-- so JAB. Fork+prawn, meet face. They were pretty big prawns but could use better seasoning. (I packed away what I couldn't finish because I wanted dessert)

Finally, dessert was a chocolate cake of some sort. This time, Adorables got me back-- I got cake on my face. Anyways, chocolate cake was moist and sweet, quite delicious but nothing special.

We were led to a small room to pay and got to ask what we ate =)

During our dinner we got spritzed by water on the side and felt around to see where our neighbors were (the tables were empty around us after a short while so we got the chance to freely feel around). I'd say this was a really amazing experience and definitely worth coming to! Besides supporting the blind, I had lots of fun, great laughter, and a very unique experience!