Location: 12251 No. 1 Road, Richmond
Cuisine: Japanese, Sushi, Teppanyaki, Seafood
Price range: $20+
Date of visit: March 8, 2014
Atmosphere: 3/5
Staff/service: 4.5/5
Food variety: 5/5
Food quality: 1/5
Buck worthy? 1/5
Since it was a
10-course meal for 2 people ($59 + taxes and gratuity), I figured it might not be enough for the three of us, so we ordered an
Uni Sashimi ($8.95) on the side. For a restaurant located conveniently next to the harbour, I was
greatly disappointed at the low quality of their uni. It was
not fresh. It
smelled and tasted a bit garbage-y too-- I was concerned about eating it =/ So besides the presentation... there was nothing noteworthy about this.
We also ordered a
Tuna Kama ($0.99) because they ran out of salmon kama. For such a price I didn't expect much, but it came as a large portion. However, as I always say,
quality over quantity when it comes to food. I worried for my whole family if we'd survive the night after this
rotten piece of fish. My dad said it was
over-cooked, dry, and wasn't fresh. He could taste the garbage-y taste to it and it was rotting. ALRIGHT THEN.
First the meal came with
2 miso soups and
4 pieces of California roll and
4 pieces of yam tempura roll (this was 3 dishes out of the 10 courses). I couldn't really taste any mayo in the California roll but I guess that's healthier-- didn't help the flavoring though. Yam tempura roll was limp and oily =(
The
stir-fried veggies tasted good but it was
smothered in oil. Cooked nicely though!
Our seafood cooking (
2 Lobster tails, 2 salmon pieces)~
So he added butter, then more butter, and finished off cooking with extra oil. Wowwww. Anyways, the
lobster was very buttery and tasty, a bit overcooked and
not super fresh. The s
almon was a tiny piece =/ Like-- seriously?! Anyways this was also oil smothered with a bit of garlic,
well done. (I split my portion with my mom though, so this is only half)
Onto the meat. It was
2 pieces of New York Steak. These were
decently sized and I was happy about the marbling I saw on them.
Some
fire display for fun, but probably
burnt the steak a bit too much, although nonetheless entertaining.
As I nibbled on my
steak bites (he cut them up, this time I got the full portion cuz daddy doesn't eat beef), I noted that it was a bit...
rotten to the bite. I thought it was because it wasn't fully cooked, it was around 60% cooked? However, my mom noticed it too and we determined it was the meat itself that was... ROTTING. How many things have been rotting so far?! Again
lots of oil in this, taste was nothing special.
With the little chunks of fat at the end of our steak he set aside, the
fried rice was cooked with it.
Loads of oil and butter added TO this FAT. Gosh the rice was and
oily mess =( I was so full from the oil that I couldn't eat much of the rice, but this was one of the fresher items of the meal, and it tasted half-decent.
Since a couple arrived at the same teppanyaki table, the chef combined our
bean sprouts with theirs and made this cute heart =P
Annnd the finished bean sprouts (they were very fresh btw). Just again, very
oily and the same
salt+pepper seasoning.
Drab. (This was two servings)
Cleaning after cooking!
Finally, the last course to our meal:
Green Tea and Mango Ice Cream. They gave us an
extra on the house, how nice of them =) I liked the mango more than the green tea because I was so stuffed and the mango was more tangy ^-^
Would I come here again? HELL NO. I worry about the health of my family and I believe
we can afford to eat food that's not rotting-- for this price anyways.
We walked away paying around $25 each, which isn't cheap. The
chef was a funny guy and the teppanyaki show was great, but if the food doesn't make the cut, it doesn't matter how great it is to watch this guy =( They also
gave me a "VIP" discount card for 50% off meals-- wonder why they need to cut their prices so much eh.
Restaurant: Pepper Lunch Canada (visit their website here)
TheVoice recommended Kobe Beef Burger and Sliced Angus Steak ($12.95), and Adorables ordered it (and didn't take a picture, shame on him). It was actually quite a good portion, the beef burger was moist and full of umami. The sliced Angus steak was similarly tender and juicy, went super well with the rice.
I got their Pork Pepper Rice ($8.50) and combo'd it up to get miso soup and pop for $2.75. The pork was raw and cooking, when i flipped it over, it was a nice golden color. Sizzle sizzle! Deliciously juicy, but I added extra garlic sauce (came in a bottle) which was a bad idea. The whole thing became too salty =/ It came with rice in the middle, corn, some beige paste, and pepper. Tasty where I didn't over sauce =P It was big enough that I couldn't finish it myself.
I would say it's good food for the price, with some fun to it. They come really quickly too, so the longest part was waiting for a table! TheVoice said that the crazy expensive dishes aren't worth it though, heard something similar from another friend too, so I would say, stick to the basics! It's solid. Sizzle on!
