guu richmond (revist): still just as guu'd

what a (non) surprise! guu richmond again! i purchased this big city deals voucher for bubble tea at estea express in the food court which was expiring very soon so i had to go to aberdeen two weeks in a row. well last week we already ate at the food court so the only other place is...guu! 

still just as good (or even better) than last time since my palate is starting to be open to newer flavours. i used to order ONE thing only at japanese restaurants being udon but now i love raw fish and anything deep fried and battered. we decided to try two new appies in addition to our regular box and were very pleased with our lunch meal! 

salmon yukke ($3.80) - chopped salmon sashimi with garlic teriyaki, pine nuts and green onion served with prawn crackers - this was our first time trying this and BOY WAS IT DELICIOUS

they give you a quail egg to mix into the salmon then you scoop it on the prawn crackers and the flavours will just pop all over your mouth. the garlic sauce is amazing and at this price, i would order 100 times again! (ps. if you dont really like slimy, this is not for you!)

4.75/5

takoyaki ($4.50): deep fried octopus ball with tonkatsu sauce and mustard mayo - i was a little disappointed to see it deep fried instead of grilled but i was stupid not to read the description. this was delicious although a little lacking on the bonito flakes. they had huge pieces of octopus inside and the mustard added a good contrast to the sweet tonkatsu sauce. 

4.35/5

sushi box: tuna, surf clam and salmon sushi, salmon and scallop sashimi, california roll, egg, grilled mackerel, chicken karaage and rice - just as good as i remembered. they changed the sushi/sashimi without ever mentioning it but i dont think thats a huge deal.

4.5/5

overall: guu is dang guu'd and although their menu isnt the largest, they do have a lot of lunch boxes and choices so if you like rice, fish or deep fried foods, YOU HAVE TO GO HERE.

sushi mania: awesome sushi lunch deals!

in one of the last days before summer was over, me and my friends went to sushi maina for a japanese lunch before heading down to the aritzia warehouse sale. 

found on main street more towards the west, this little shop looks a bit like a warehouse from the outside. the small dining area was only about half full when we went in and the food came quickly.

we saw that there were some lunch specials but stupidly said, "oh it just comes with miso soup, we dont want miso soup" so we ordered but then realized that we could save almost 3 dollars if we ordered from the combo so we got asked the server if she could basically change our entire order and she did. they did it so politely and pleasantly that it made my whole experience so much better. 

even though service is not always that important to me, really good service makes a lasting impression and makes me want to return. ANYWAYS, back to the food.

lots of special rolls and we tried one which was AMAZING. the other rolls are good, not huge but not skimpy on the filling either. 

agadashi tofu ($3.95) - this was pretty good but a small portion. nothing amazing.

3.5/5

BIGBANG roll ($7.95) : crab meat, avocado, cucumber topped with seared tuna - this was a bit pricy but so delicious. essentially a cali roll topped with a bit of torched tuna. i could eat this all day 

4.5/5

yam tempura roll, spicy salmon roll and california roll ($8.95) - this was a great deal as each roll was 3-4 dollars and you get a miso soup with it too! they dont pack on too much rice which is my biggest pet peeve with sushi and the filling is enough to call it sushi and not rice bomb. 

yam tempura roll: 3.5/5

spicy salmon roll: 3.75/5

california roll: 3.25/5 (a tad dry)

salmon avocado roll ($3.50) - a staple when we eat sushi. this was very good with lots of ripe avocado

3.95/5 

alaska roll ($3.95) - much like the ones from sushi town or sushi garden, it was packed with avocado then topped with salmon and a citrus-y sauce. i personally like this one more than sushi garden because that one gives WAY less salmon but the sauce here has less garlic flavour 

4/5

chicken kaarage ($3.95) - boneless and not over battered just the way i like it but a bit expensive for the portion size.

3.85/5

overall: good sushi with a reasonable price (and great lunch deal!) but not too impressed with the sizes for cooked food. 

nishiki: revist...or re take out order

because nishiki is so close to my house, we often get take out and they introduced a whole bunch of special rolls which arent too expensive so my mom and i tried a few of them over 2 different visits.

again, nishiki isnt bad. its very chinese-style with the rice being quite dense and not very flavourful but i love sauce on sushi and it masks the rice issues. the tempura is fresh fried when you order the roll which i love but it makes the roll a bit warm. some of the rolls get really pricey and its not really worth it. 

top: cambie roll ($7.99): prawn tempura, yam, avocado and crispy bits with spicy sauce - this was just okay. their dynamite roll is basically the same without the crispy bits and costs a lot less so i would go with that instead 

3/5

bottom: killarney roll ($8.99): prawn tempura, spicy tuna, fresh mango - pretty good! this one was better than the cambie but i think $9 is A LOT for the ingredients in this roll. 

3.75/5

golden california roll ($5.49) : deep fried california roll - this was the first place i ever tried deep fried rolls so it has sentimental value but taste is VERY chinese. still delicious though 

3.75/5

top: spicy salmon roll ($4.50?) - pretty good for spicy salmon but i think it might be siracha ontop there or something similar. expensive though.

3/5

bottom: waikiki ($8.99): prawn tempura, salmon, spicy tuna - my mom LOVED this roll and honestly, this one is pretty good. the salmon on top is pretty substantial and of all the special rolls ive tried this is one of the best but warning! there is a wasabi sauce ontop that was not in the description and it was SPICY 

3.85/5

cattle cafe: pick and choose your noodle

i absolutely LOVE noodles. from pho to udon to basically anything that isnt rice, i love and cattle cafe satisfies my craving perfectly. everybody probably knows already but they're popular for their noodle combo where you choose a soup base, a noodle, 2 toppings and add $2 for up to 2 side dishes. it also comes with a drink which you can upgrade to bubble tea! they also have amazing egg waffles and french toast that are worth trying!  my favourite location is the richmond one, just tastes better to me, but it's pretty consistent across the locations but here is my usual order minus the additional sides. 

mango slush with mango stars 

noodle combo ($8.50): tomato pumpkin fish soup (so good!) rice noodles with beef brisket and something fish for my mom (: it also comes with mushroom and napa cabbage which makes me very happy since i LOVE my veggies!