zipang provisions: looks like a bar, tastes like sushi

for my mom's birthday dinner this year, we wanted something japanese but not just sushi and not just izakaya. its getting harder and harder to find new restaurants to try! so we went to visit what i call hipster sushi at zipang provisions. the outside looks NOTHING like japanese food and will easily be passed if you're unprepared. 

asari butter clams: didn't try this but my parents thought it was good? 

nanban chicken: this was one of our favourite dishes. the deep fried chicken was covered in a tangy sauce then topped with tartar/mayo. fried up crispy, although a bit heavy, scraping off some of the white sauce made this one of the best chicken's I've had! 

4.5/5

black cactus roll ($7.80): raw tuna, tempura bits, mayo, masago and spicy sauce rolled in black sesame seeds: not bad but nothing special and a bit pricy for what we got. a thicker layer of rice than expected but i liked the crunch of the sesame seeds and freshness of the fish. 

3.25/5 

salmon oshizushi ($11.80): salmon pressed sushi with jalapeño and creamy sauce: compared to minami or kishimoto, this fell quite short. the sear didn't do much to enhance the flavour and the whole piece tasted like a salmon maki but with a bit of sauce. 

3.25/5

east meets west roll ($8.80): avocado, unagi and black pepper wrapped with proscuitto: my favourite roll of the night! the salty from the pork and the fatty sweetness of the unagi and it's sauce blended together really well! 

4.75/5

okonomiyaki ($8.80): japanese pancake with seafood bits inside. this was a bit doughy and salty but i love okonomiyaki and wasn't bad for the price! 

3.75/5 

overall: the food at zipang is a tad pricey and a hit or miss kind of place but i enjoyed my meal! what was good was REALLY GOOD. nothing was bad but it wasn't special for the price we paid. i would return to try more special rolls and their lunch sets!