Shima-Ya

Shima-Ya was highly recommended by one set of friends and not by another, so we decided to visit it ourselves.

Run by Japanese, I believe the restaurant only sits about 20 at full capacity. Needless to say, I saw the owner turn away a few customers and a few of them decided to order take out instead. While we were waiting, there were also many phone calls for take out.

As usual we started with a Tako Sashimi. I must say the chef is quite talented at running the place. Despite the volume of take out orders, he got our sashimi out quite quickly. The Tako was good. It had a good crunch to it, and was creamy without being slimy.

We noticed they have Battera sushi, so we decided to order the Saba since they don't have Shioyaki here and we wanted our saba fix.

Unfortunately, it did not blow me away. The ratio of rice to fish was not well balanced and so the flavour of the Saba was lost in the rice. I ended up halving the amount of rice in order to taste the Saba.

They had a few nigiri combos, so we ordered two deluxe combos, which comes with nine pieces of nigiri and a tuna roll. From left to right top: tuna, ika (squid), hamachi (yellow tail), saba (mackerel), salmon, and Hokkigai (clam). From left to right bottom: tamago (egg), ebi (shrimp), and ikura (salmon roe).

The fish was generally prepared well. The tuna was very creamy and the ika texture was one of the better prepared ones I've had in a while. The hamachi was kind of bland, but the Saba was as expected: oily, salty and fishy in a very good way. The salmon was solid, but the Hokkigai was quite tough. I wanted to like it because it was the first time I've seen it sliced into a pocket to hold the rice, but it was just too tough. The tamago was surprisingly pleasant- I'm usually not a fan. The shrimp was sweet and crunchy. As far as shrimp goes, it was quite good. The ikura, though pleasant (not fishy), was not salty enough. The tuna rolls were fine.

Overall we enjoyed the food put out in front of us. The food was worth the price. However, I was a bit disappointed in the ratio of rice to fish in both the Battera and the nigiri. For the nigiri, I basically just kept eating half the amount of rice. The amount of wasabi spread onto the nigiri was quite good though.

We don't think we will return simply because we had a really great experience at Isami, who also had much better prices.

Sushi S

We decided to try out Sushi S because it had a 3.9 rating on Zomato and was on our way to Costco. The decor was simple and it was pretty busy for a neighbourhood restaurant (i.e. nothing else around). 

I have to admit that I was initially a little disappointed that it was Korean-run because I had googled "Authentic Japanese" when I was looking for something to eat that night. But we gave them the benefit of the doubt because some other Korean-run sushi places have been good (i.e. Bella Sushi in Kits).

I started with a Seared Maguro (right) and a Seared Toro (left). I liked the addition of vinegar because it gave it a fresh taste; however, it was a little too much vinegar. It would be better if the vinegar was lightly brushed on the dish or just sprinkled on instead of pooling at the bottom of the plate. I did like the addition of the shredded daikon on top though, which gave it a bit of texture.

B had the Seared Hamachi (left) and Seared Sake (right). He agreed that there was a little bit too much vinegar, but it didn't overpower the smokiness of the sear for him like it did for me.

Of course, B had to order the Tako Sashimi. It was good, but a little soft in the middle and not as dry as we had hoped. It could be a little crunchier, but we are not mad or turned off by it.

Then we each ordered 6 more nigiri each. I only ended up with 5 (top row) because the server told me there was Kanpachi when there really wasn't any left. From left to right, I had the Toro, Big eye, Hamachi, Hotate, and Ikura. The Toro was decent, and not too fishy. The Big Eye didn't have much flavour, but the texture was quite interesting. The Hamachi was a little fisher than expected; it tasted quite metallic. The Hotate was very creamy and had a good balance of wasabi between the rice and the scallop. The Ikura was also a little fishier than expected and not as salty as I had hoped (to help contrast the fishiness).

B had the Unagi, Saba, Hokkigai, Ika, Big eye, and Hamachi (bottom row). The Unagi was okay, it had a mild smoke flavour that it could use more of and good texture. The Saba was oily, salty, and fish in a good way. The Hokkigai was fine and nothing out of the ordinary. The Ika had good texture. He agreed the Big Eye had interesting texture. The Hamachi didn't have a lot of flavour for him.

Because the server didn't tell me they ran out of the Kanpachi, they gave us two Seared Tunas on the house. It had more smoky flavour than the other ones I tried and the combination of the sauces really brought out the smoky taste.

We thought we would try out the Kanpachi Kama since it's "limited", but were kind of disappointed. The texture is like chicken, which was good, but it wasn't grilled properly and was kind of soggy.

As the Kanpachi was lacking in the saltiness and oiliness that I craved in a Saba Shioyaki, we decided to order one. Unfortunately, as you can see from the picture, it lacked the proper grill of a Saba Shioyaki. It looks and tastes more like it was toasted. The meat was tough and not flaky like it normally is. It also didn't have the saltiness I craved either. It was rather disappointing as I've had awesome grilled mackerel at Andamiro and in Seoul. I thought, even if you can't make an authentic Saba Shioyaki, Korean grilled mackerel is still tasty.

Up to the Saba Shioyaki, we were okay with the restaurant. Everything was decent enough and service was good. But we just can't look past the failed Saba. We will likely not return. That being said, if you're in the neighbourhood and craving sushi, it's worth visiting. It could be a good "go to" for people in the neighbourhood.

Maruyama

So my favorite go-to sushi restaurant, Kimura, closed down and another sushi restaurant opened in its place: Maruyama. Apparently the chef used to work at Blue Water in Yaletown.

Decor is about the same, the benches were changed, bar table was changed, and the seating painted white. Other than that, everything was pretty much the same.

We started with the shisoleaf tempura, which was really just fried tempura batter because the leaf was so thin and light. It was a little too much and made me feel nauseous. It was also served with a cold sauce, which kind of helped cut the richness of the batter.

Of course I couldn't resist ordering the Grilled Saba. Which was pretty good. It didn't really feel as rich and oil-forward as the one from Isami at first, but after eating more (along with the shisoleaf) it was a bit nauseating.

We all ordered the $25 Omakase, which comes with 7 pieces of nigiri. Then we added two orders of 2 Blue Fin O-Toro nigiris. It came with a flounder, two types of toro and several other random fish I have forgotten the names of. The second one in the second row (I think it might be Yellow Tail) was very crunchy, but I also had the taste of something like eating butter.

I thought the normal Toro was actually creamier than the O-Toro, even though it was half the price. I thought the O-Toro was quite fishy and didn't leave a good taste in my mouth. If I had to order again, I would probably skip the O-Toro.

Overall the fish was properly prepared. The rice was a good small size. I enjoyed the fact that the cheaper Omakase didn't include Tamago, which I dislike, a lot. I like the fact that they even had a cheaper version of Omakase, which you don't normally get anywhere.

I will likely return with B despite the price tag. But I'm not sure how often I would visit as it is quite expensive. It's worth at least trying once.

Gallery 2.0

The AMS finally opened another Gallery in the Nest - honestly, they should've done that in the first place instead of trying something fancy. Don't mess with what works!

Obviously it looks better and cleaner than the original Gallery, but the layout is awkward for what they do. Since they don't have any "servers" waiting on particular tables / sections, they request that you take a menu and order at the bar before finding yourself a table. Kind of like eating at a food court. The POS was really slow, so the line up to order built quite quickly. After waiting in line for a bit, they opened up a second line for orders so the guy behind us jumped the queue and ordered first. We ordered a little after that and found ourselves a table. The manager was quite on the ball and brought us cutlery right away, but we didn't get water until we asked for it when the food arrived. There wasn't a station for us to pour our own water like we used to be able to at the original Gallery.

I had the Po' boy with a side salad. The Po' boy was pretty good. The chicken was tender and moist and the breading was still crispy despite being sandwiched between sauce and tomatoes. The salad was only lightly dressed, which was perfect for me. The only downside to the salad was the huge slices of pepper that doesn't really fit in your mouth in one bite. Whoever prepared it needs to work on their knife skills.

My friend had the fish and chips. She said the fish was well seasoned and well prepared. The fish was moist and cooked well and the breading was crispy. There were a couple negatives to her plate: the fries were too soft and didn't have any texture; and the plate only came with mayonnaise and ketchup, no tartar sauce at all.

The food came out relatively quickly after we ordered and a couple guys came to check up on us during the meal, so service was generally better than expected. I would probably come back here over koerner's simply because I can actually finish a meal and get back to work on time.

Isami Sushi

Went to Isami because Google Maps showed it was the nearest restaurant with a high rating. Reviews also said it was pricy and family run. Both are true. However, given that I've recently stated I would pay more for good food, I still stand by that.

First up, Saba Shioyaki (grilled mackerel). The exterior was perfectly charred and the fish itself was perfectly grilled. The meat was moist and was oily in a good way. Only seasoned with salt, it really brought out the natural taste of the fish. At first I thought it was so small, but because the fish is so oily, it was the perfect size for two people.

Next, perfect Tako Sashimi. It wasn't slimy, but dry and crunchy; it had a nice clean fresh taste. Sliced into the perfect size, you can eat it in one bite.

The Jo Sushi combo came with 9 nigiri and a half tekka (tuna) roll. The eel and clam were so tender, they came apart in one bite. The red snapper had a great crunch to it.

The Nami Sushi combo came with a couple less nigiri and had the sweet egg nigiri.

In general, the fish tasted and felt fresh. Nothing was too fishy. A couple negatives would be: the slightly soggy seaweed, which made it tough for me personally to chew (it was fine for B); and the large block of rice that fell apart easily. Pictured below is the sweet egg nigiri which had the smallest piece of rice, which I enjoyed.

Overall I had a good experience. It was a little pricy so we won't be going TOO often, but I would recommend and return occasionally. I wish they would fill up our tea more often and without being asked to, but service was friendly and quick.