sushi s: perfect rice to fish ratios!

sushi s has great reviews on urban spoon and my mom asked me to choose a restaurant for a lunch of 8 people. i wasn't expecting too much but was IN LOVE when the first rolls came out and i saw the amount of rice. it was PERFECTION. i am one of those annoying people that pick off chunks of rice from sushi pieces because its just too much and at sushi s, i did that NOT ONE TIME. although the prices are a bit high, i think the quality is worth it. 

spicy salmon roll ($4): really nice big chunks of salmon and again, it was made so carefully but be warned it is actually REALLY SPICY

4.5/5

chopped scallop roll ($4): so beautifully constructed and tasted delicious

4.5/5

S roll ($10) crabmeat, prawn tempura, yam tempura, cucumber, avocado: very good combination of deep fried and sauce flavours. 

4/5 

red dragon ($12) prawn tempura, avocado, cucumber with salmon on top: beautifully constructed again, presentation was really amazing for the rolls! the flavours worked well together and it wasn't too spicy. 

4/5 

black dragon ($10) prawn tempura, avocado, cucumber with bbq eel on top: flavours the same as the top, i actually preferred this one because i now love unagi :D 

4/5 

alaska roll ($5): same concept as the sushi garden rolls but this had a way bigger piece of salmon and instead of being stuffed with avocado, it had a california roll filling. sauce onto wasn't too citrusy making the roll delicious. 

4.5/5 

not pictured: 

smoked salmon cream cheese roll (red pepper and mango) ($6): this was actually very delicious, it had the perfect balance between the different flavours and was constructed very neatly! a bit pricey though

4/5  

seafood yakisoba ($12): small portion but lots of stuff other than just the noodles! a little bit oily. 

3.75/5

bbq beef short ribs ($13.50): honestly don't remember details but they were good. 

3.5/5

spicy combo (spicy tuna, spicy salmon, spicy chopped scallop) ($11): same spicy sauce as mentioned above but used for all the rolls making it a little bit one dimensional as we couldn't even differentiate between the 3 sometimes

3/5 

overall: sushi s has really good rolls because of not only presentation but the care they put into constructing each one. none of the flavours were too overpowering except the spicy but hey, i love spicy. definitely recommend for sushi (cooked food was mediocre) that is quite a few notches up from the sushi garden variety but yes, good food comes at a higher price.

black dragon sushi: simple rolls and...fries?

summer of 2013 (almost a year ago...whoops) my friends and i decided to try black dragon sushi on kingsway since we love our sushi rolls and their menu seemed to be filled with them!

we started off with some staples that we always order:

salmon roll ($2.50) - not bad, the salmon inside wasnt extremely chopped up but rice was bland. 

2.75/5

california roll ($3.50) - haphazardly put together and bland..not very good.

2.5/5

salmon avocado roll ($3.95) - pretty full but again, rice was not good. texture and taste were poor. 

2.75/5

agadashi tofu ($3.95) - fried nice and crispy, served hot but not enough sauce. 

3.25/5

chicken kaarage ($4.95) - this was the strangest chicken kaarage i ever got at a japanese restaurant...it was like chinese deep fried chicken skin with french fries...i dont even know what to say...

1/5

maple roll ($7.25) - crab meat, cucumber and avocado topped with salmon and some mayo: this was not bad for a special roll with the price of only 8 bucks.

3/5

yam tempura roll ($3.50)

spicy salmon roll ($3.50)

for both of them, same comments as above. the filling is not bad since they dont skimp out but the rice is not very tasty. 

3/5 for both 

salmon tataki ($10.95) - this was alright as well but again, not enough sauce and didnt have too much flavour other than just the salmon.

3/5

overall, the food is fine but bland with hard/tasteless rice and there is nothing special about but the prices are quite decent. i would return to try more special rolls but would not make a special trip out of it. definition of mediocre 

2.75/5 

the one: carb-heavy portions

after church one sunday, a huge group of 15 went to the one for some food and drinks. the one is really popular because of their huge portions, especially the slushes, and the food's not bad either.

its not my favourite taiwanese place in the are (pearl house!) but it is bigger and we had some hungry people. 

japanese green milk tea with coconut jelly large size (~$6.00) -  my friend ordered this but she said it was pretty good. she was also able to pack half of it for home but its not as large as their slushes. 

no rating

dry noodle with braised beef flank, spicy ($8.95) - i have a new love for noodles without soup but with a thicker sauce instead to mix together. this was good being quite spicy and flavourful with a HUGE amount of noodles underneath that were actually a nice al dente. main complaint: the amount of meat was really little..each piece was small and there just wasnt much. 

3.85/5

overall: i would come back with a group of friends but a huge portion of just noodles to me, is not worth it. 

cinnezo: childhood cream cheese frosting

when i was a kid, cinnezo cinnamon bun samples were my favourite about going to metrotown. they were the perfect bite size to really enjoy the sweet and delicious cream cheese frosting and thick cinnamon filling. fast forward to today and they no longer do that but the entertainment book does offer a buy one get one free deal! 

original cinnamon bun (regular ~$5 each): cinnezo is like the cinnabon of canada and they are just as delicious! these are actually best eaten right when you buy them but the instructions on the side help you with reheating. 

4.25/5

they do not skimp on the filling or cream cheese and they are quite heavy but super ooey and gooey in the middle chock full of cinnamon and sugar. super indulgent dessert but a tiny piece (like the one i had below) was just the right amount.