Not Serving Blowfish, But Awesome Sushi!

Name: Blowfish Sushi & Japanese Food
Where: Sunrise-Hastings, Vancouver, BC
Cuisine: Japanese
Affordability: $5 – $15

Let me start by saying that if you ever find yourself in Vancouver, sushi and Japanese restaurants are dime a dozen. You can literally have your pick of any sushi restaurant and you will unlikely going to be wrong. There are a handful misses here and there, but Blowfish Sushi on the Hastings-Sunrise borough of Vancouver is certainly not one of them.

Located in a tiny plaza across from the Holiday Inn on Hastings St. near the PNE, Blowfish serves up a good selection of Japanese fare that was not only delicious but at a good price. I ordered the Deluxe Bento for $12.95. It comes with a choice of Beef, Chicken, Salmon or Tofu Teriyaki along with Tempura, Chicken Karage, California Rolls, Green Salad, Rice and Miso soup. I ordered the Beef Teriyaki to complete my Bento box then ordered Sunomono Salad as well and, of course, the BC roll. I can only find a good BC roll in BC, so when I am here, I take advantage of it.

Deluxe Bento Box

The beef teriyaki was nice. It had similar sauces to that served in other Japanese restaurants, but the beef here was moist and not chewy. It was medium to my liking and I can eat it with my rice. I don’t like it when I have it with my rice; and I’m done chewing the rice, but not the meat. This one was right on the money. I had their chicken teriyaki for lunch a few days later (yes, I did come back because it was really good), but it didn’t measure up to the beef. Maybe it was grilled too long and it was a little on the dry side. This could be a one off. But I would definitely recommend the beef teriyaki.

The tempura was a mix of ebi and vegetables and it was fried to nice crispy batter finish whilst moist and soft on the inside. The California rolls were nicely put together meaning it didn’t fall apart. I hate it when my rolls are loosely packed. I should be able to pick it up with my chopsticks, dip it in the soy without it falling apart on its way to my mouth ending on my shirt or my lap half the time. It had imitation crab, but the fresh avocado made up for it. Very tasty compared to some very dry and bland California rolls I’ve had in the past. I don’t really consider California rolls to be a personal favourite (and people who say they eat Japanese food followed by “I’ll have California rolls, please”, is sadly mistaken that it is). I don’t even order it unless it came with the meal like in this bento box. But I must say that I wasn’t disappointed with this one. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised. California Rolls, I think, is so mass produced now that no one even think of it having any flavour or expect it to have a flavour, but this one did.

Sunomono Salad

The Sunomono Salad was definitely worth the additional $3.75. For those not in the know its a vinegary noodle soup served cold topped with your choice of Ebi or Tako (octopus). I had mine with Tako. I love octopus and this one was good! Many people snub octopus and other cephalopods, and refuse to try it just from the looks of it.  But I find them really good if done right and this Tako was done right; it wasn’t rubbery or like biting on tires and chewy. I hope people try tako next time they are at a Japanese restaurant and I hope its good and you’ll have a good experience.

BC Roll

Now for the pièce de résistance, the BC roll! I usually prefer nigiris than rolls but “when in Rome” as they say. Blowfish’s BC roll contains grilled salmon skin, cucumber, sweet sauce, and pieces of grilled salmon as well for a mere $3.00. And boy was that worth every penny! It was everything I expected from my BC roll – moist, slightly crispy salmon skin, and an explosion of flavour. And once again, thankful that it didn’t fall apart considering it’s larger size and an inside-out type of a roll. Blowfish’s BC Roll is definitely worth a re-visit!

Overall, a very satisfying meal at Blowfish on Hastings and worth the second visit on the same week (as I mentioned previously). I was staying at the Holiday Inn across the street and walking over to get a good meal was not only convinient, it was worth it. So whenever you find yourself in the Hastings-Sunrise area or starving after a long day at the PNE, stop by Blowfish. I am more of a Nigiri and Sashimi kind of a guy instead of rolls; but the rolls and bento boxes at Blowfish was definitely a  perfect alternate.

May Be A Hit With The College Crowd, But…

Name: Okinawa Sushi
Where: Sudbury, ON
Cuisine: Japanese
Affordability: All You Can Eat – $13-$15 for Lunch; $13-$22 for Dinner

Okinawa Sushi Japanese Restaurant in Sudbury District may be a hit with its young college clientele, but I give it a failed ‘E’ for effort.

Japanese-like, is what I’d term it, restaurants are popping up in the small town of Sudbury, I’m told, catering to its growing Asian community with the explosion of it’s young college clientele. Generally a mining town, coined as the Nickel Capital of the World, now attracting international business tourism, Sudbury is expanding its culinary horizons with the demands by offering international cuisine to it’s visitors. Of course, that is always exciting to any town especially to Sudbury’s humble size (3200km sq. with a population of approximately 160,000).

Shrimp Tempura

Not much is known about Okinawa Japanese Restaurant since it has only been opened a few months ago according to the hotel staff. None of them working that evening have never even been to Okinawa to say if it was good or not. Odd since it is literally next door to the Holiday Inn Hotel Sudbury. So let me give you the lowdown.

The decor is plain with attempts to create an Asian-insipired restaurant with picture frames of geishas and other cheap Asian art work on it’s walls. A lucky golden Maneki Neko greets you at the door with it’s waving paw as if to say hello and welcome to my restaurant. I was sat right away with the lone table left in the restaurant placed between the sushi prep area and the main dining area. There was no decor in the restaurant, like I said, so it felt like I was sitting in the middle of a hall. The tables were arranged in a cafeteria-like setting and because of it’s high ceilings, it felt like one big empty space and I was sitting alone in the middle of it so everyone can watch me. Certainly, this is not the place to be dining someone special or to enjoy a semi-private dinner. There was not one Shoji screen to separate any table. I did think to myself that it’s busy enough that its food must be good for the crowd to be this big and restaurant this busy on a Monday. Given, it’s a holiday Monday, but regardless. Too bad it wasn’t the case…

Sushi Plate

I ordered two shrimp tempura to start. A staple for me when dining Japanese. I’m used to larger shrimps but this was an “All You Can Eat” so I thought it would be to my advantage because it will allow me to order more. And honestly, it was about the only thing I ordered again from the menu of over 120 items. And that’s only because it was at least in proper rice-flour batter and cooked so you can’t go wrong.

Sashimi Plate

I ordered a few items from their sushi selection which arrived on this plate. The portions were really small that I am no longer thinking that it’s to my advantage. If you notice the sake (salmon), it appears as though it was cut thick and properly. Actually, it was not. It was so thinly filleted that it was almost see through. It only appeared thick because it wrapped the rice underneath it. And it didn’t even taste fresh! Fish used for sushi is usually flash-frozen after being caught and cleaned to minimize degrading, but this tasted as if it had been frozen, defrosted, frozen again, then defrosted again, then served. And every single fish on this plate tasted the same way.

Dragon Roll

Next on the chopping block, literally, is this sashimi plate. The sushi should have been fair warning to not even eat this, but there was a charge for not eating what you ordered. And I was just too afraid how much the charge was for that. Again, very tiny portions and just as “fresh” as the fish from the other plate. Nothing further can be said, positive or negative, well, maybe more negative, but after the freshness issues, I don’t think I need to keep dwelling on that.

I also ordered a Dragon Roll, which didn’t resemble one, from the Maki selection but that too, in it’s simplest form, was disappointing.

BBQ Eel Rice

So, with all this disappointment of the raw dishes, I decided on filling up with something cooked. And who can go wrong with rice? They seem to offer a few rice dishes including fried ones and dishes with infused flavours; or at least read as such. I ordered, the BBQ Eel Rice and that’s exactly what I got. About two spoonful of steamed rice with “BBQ” eel on top drizzled with premixed BBQ sauce. Reading it off the menu sounded exciting and tasty, but what came was not. I guess I should have expected it, but I was really hoping for this dining experience to turn around.

Beef Teriyaki

Even with the Beef Teriyaki, the dishes failed to come together. With these cooked dishes, my expectations failed once more. And with that, I decided I could no longer subject my taste buds and stomach to any other on-slaught of this less than mediocre food.

I ordered ice cream to top off my dining. I figured, ice cream must be from a manufacturer and not made in this restaurant, so it can’t be that bad. I ordered green tea ice cream, which I usually enjoy after a good Japanese meal. What arrived was this neon green glob that tasted nowhere near green tea. Proper green tea ice cream usually tastes like green tea, which I sometimes equate to tasting like it’s fresh cut lawn. I know, you’d say “How is that supposed to be good?” But it is; it provides a perfect ending to the salty taste of the soy. But this green ice cream concoction had a flavour unidentifiable to that of a green tea, fresh cut lawn, leaves or anything. It was cold and that was about the only thing I can say positive about it.

Green Tea Ice Cream

Overall, this dining experience was a a flop from the very get-go. Maybe the staff at Holiday Inn was telling me something but did not want to say it directly when they said “None of us had been there.” Lessons learned I suppose. My only fear is that this restaurant will continue to operate with such disregard and disrespect to the Japanese cuisine and no one will know better. I hope the people of Sudbury will try Japanese food outside of their town and have an experience of what this wonderful cuisine has to offer. Maybe even learn to use chopsticks; the majority of people eating was using a fork to eat so clearly, much exposure to the culture is required. Maybe the other two Japanese restaurants in town offered better food, but I was just too afraid to find out.

The Dox: Part Deux

Name: The DOX Restaurant and Lounge
Where: Kingston, ON
Cuisine: Canadian/American/Regional
Affordability: $10 – $30 per entrée

I decided to give The DOX another chance at impressing me during dinner service. I felt it would be rather unfair to give them a critique for a breakfast service that seemed very generic.

I was sat right away, as the dinner service has just started. I picked a table by the windows that had a nice view of the lake. Since I was staying at the hotel, I was offered a complimentary appetizer with my meal. I ordered the Blacked Atlantic Scallops, which I was told would be a bit on the spicy side. I ordered it anyway as the other selections seems too filling to be followed by a full dinner. I couldn’t imagine the kitchen being busy since I was the only patron at this time, however, my appetizer took it’s time getting made and making it to my table.

Blackened Atlantic Scallops

I was excited when it finally arrived at my table; probably partly because I was really hungry at this point or because of it’s presentation. The so-called tropical salsa set in the middle of the plate was nice. It didn’t seem that they opened a can of fruit cocktail and try to pass it off as homemade as detailed on the menu. But I didn’t really know if I were to dip my scallops on it, as it was not a cream base; it was chopped tropical fruits that could potentially be eaten separately than accompanying the scallops as intended. And I did just that but not before trying the blackened scallops with it. The flavours of the tropical salsa didn’t really go very well with the blackened scallops. It didn’t heighten or underline any notes of the scallops’ flavour. All I noticed was it decreased the overpowering spice of the dish, which was probably what it meant to do. The scallops were too spicy for my liking. They were not curry-like spicy, they were pepper-spicy. It was just hot and burning on your tongue without offering any kind of other flavour. The consistency of the scallops was okay, but I’ve had better and the sizes were too small. Coined as “Atlantic Scallops”, I think Digby (Nova Scotia), the scallops’ capital of the world, would not be so pleased to be associated with this dish. Digby Scallops are not only usually large in size but they are also very plump – the ones I had when I was in Digby anyway.

Maple Mustard Chicken

The main course arrived with an equally presentable plate. I had ordered the Maple Mustard Chicken from the Chef’s Creation Menu with seasonal vegetables and steamed basmati rice. It was a 6oz chicken breast, pan seared and brushed with maple and two selections of mustard. The chicken was good. It was moist to the bone, and the maple and mustard glaze had an interesting pairing, making it sweet and tangy at the same time. However, I wish I had ordered a different carbohydrate or my meal. The basmati rice was not cooked or seemed done right. Some of the rice was hard as if half cooked and some were soft and overly moist. It was still very starchy which indicates that it wasn’t rinsed well. It could very well be the brand of the rice but if I were paying a pretty penny for my meal, I would expect a good quality basmati.

Overall, the meal was in the same level of disappointment from the breakfast dish. There are many other restaurants in the area within walking distance from the hotel that offers much better dishes for better prices. The meals at The Dox, I feel, were more of a trap to the hotel guests offering the convenience of not needing to go out to eat, and the complimentary appetizer seemed liked a good deal. Of course, something free always has a catch.

So This Breakfast You Speak Of, Hotel’s or DOX’s?

Name: The DOX Restaurant and Lounge
Where: Kingston, ON (in the lobby of Holiday Inn Waterfront Hotel)
Cuisine: Continental/Western for Breakfast
Affordability: $7.95 – $10.00 per meal

I had been getting up early every day lately and been missing breakfast service at the hotel; been having drive-thru breakfast wraps and coffee. So finally, one day, I find the opportunity for what I thought would be a good breakfast.

I was staying at the Holiday Inn Waterfront Hotel while in Kingston and The DOX restaurant is in the lobby which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. The restaurant offers two types of breakfast: a buffet and a made-to-order menu. I decided on the made-to-order as the buffet is looking slim pickings so late in the morning. I ordered the Low-Carb Swiss and Mushroom Omellete, which by the way, was served with breakfast potatoes. Going for the full on no-carb breakfast, I traded the potatoes for a side of bacon. I haven’t had bacon in over month and was really craving the salty fat it has to offer. Artery-clogging, I know, but its only once in a while. My meal came and it looks nowhere appetizing as you can see. The omellete sure was stuffed but fluffy or moist it was not. Either it had been sitting under the heaters until the side bacon was ready or it cooked for far too long. The sides, as you can see, had brown burn marks. I don’t mind the burn marks per se; at least I know it got cooked. But the presentation of the dish was amateurish. I’d expect me to fold omelettes this way, but a not a breakfast chef. The egg also looked like it was cooked on a flat frying surface that had not been thoroughly cleaned of debris from previous dishes. It’s funny how I was watching the Restaurant Makeover show on TV that talked about presentation and eggs the night before. The chef said: An egg is an egg is an egg. Which is true. The egg is the same whether you go to an expensive restaurant or your grocer. But how it’s prepared and what you do with it makes the difference in the meal. And I’d agree. This omellete was dry, overstuffed and tasted greasy. None of the fillings inside made a difference on how it tasted. The ham, swiss cheese, and mushroom offered no other hint of flavours to the dish other than the stringiness of the swiss. The three strips of bacon was further failure to this already amateur meal. I’ve had No Name bacon that tasted better. The bacon was hard to the bite…not crispy…hard! If I were to take a hammer and pound on this bacon, I would have a cheap-type bacon bits for a caesar salad. That’s the consistency and texture I was dealing with. I had to swallow it with coffee with the fear that if I don’t, it would cut my esophagus on its way down. It was like swallowing sand or little pebbles with sharp edges. The only consolation over this entire meal I’m afraid was the coffee. It was the Nabob brand and I have to say it tasted fresh brewed and not from instant.

I wouldn’t say don’t come back to the DOX for breakfast, but maybe try their buffet instead. I did the next day. Its generic hotel type continental, but at least they are safe bets; scrambled eggs (not the fake kind), sausages, fruits (fresh and off a can), brand hot and cold cereal, bread, and mass produced pancakes. But still stay away from the bacon, not for your heart health, but because this one is like eating thin rubber.

So back to my title, who is going to take the responsibility for this: Holiday Inn or The Dox?