East is East

Restaurant: East is East

Cuisine: Middle Eastern/Indian/Persian/South East Asian/Fusion

Last visited: January 23, 2010
Area: Vancouver, BC (Kitsilano)

3243 West Broadway
Range: $10-20

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 3.5

Service: 3.5

Ambiance: 6

Overall: 4.5

Additional comments:

• Serves a variety of Middle Eastern/South East Asian cuisine
• Very authentic atmosphere – Persian rugs, wooden benches
• Upstairs is way nicer – sunroom and “lay down” seats
• Atmosphere better and more authentic than food
• Great drinks, “Eastern Shakes” – very unique
• Affordable
• Busy during lunch and packed during dinner
• Line-ups
• Popular for lunch time take-out
• Middle Eastern 101 food – very mild
• Chefs trained in mainly Afghan cooking
  
• Popular for Middle Eastern themed event nights
• Attracts locals, especially neighbourhood locals
• Live Middle Eastern music
• Complimentary ginger Chai tea
• Vegan/Vegetarian options
• Dairy free options
• Organic options

**Recommendation: Nutty Gypsy Eastern Shake, Dhaalcha soup, Eastern Plate – specifically the Afghan eggplant, minced beef kebab

I’ve been to East is East on a few occasions before I started reviewing, so this is actually my 3^rd visit. To be honest, I’m more attracted to the atmosphere and ambiance than I am to the food. Really bluntly, East is East is jack of all trades but master at none. It's not bad though! The food is on the whole good, but also quite “meh”. It’s hard to say it specializes in anything, because it doesn’t really. They serve Middle Eastern food: Persian and Afghan, and then South East Asian: Thai and Tibetan, and last but not least, Indian food. Everything tastes like the watered down version of the real thing. It’s quite Westernized, like “Martha Stewart’s” version of Thai food or “Uncle Ben’s” idea of fried rice. They cater to a Western market so it is Middle Eastern food for “white people”.

I’d categorize the cuisine as “Middle Eastern Fusion” and so does the restaurant. Nothing every reached its full potential and everything seemed bland, especially if you’re familiar with that particular cuisine and how it’s authentically served. I would come back because I love the atmosphere and for the price you pay it’s really reasonable. It’s a great place for “beginners” because everything is mild and it’s also a great introduction to Middle Eastern cuisine if you’ve never tried it.

I’ve been to one of East is East’s event nights and I will 100% vouge for it being a great experience! I felt like a hippie in some Middle Eastern country. There’s fantastic entertainment and it’s one of the most culturally satisfying events I’ve been to at a restaurant.

On the table:

Complimentary Ginger Chai

• I love how they give little shots of Chai as you wait and even when you’re seated. It's quite spicy and very ginger-y. I've never had ginger in my Chai even when made by Indian people. It was good though!

Rangoon Rain Yogurt Lassi 5/6

• Peach, lychee, pineapple, banana, coconut Single: $4.50 Double: $5.50
• This was like a pina colada and almost a dessert. It was sweet, but not too sweet and I really liked it!
• I could taste the banana, coconut, and pineapple the most.
• I didn’t notice the peach and I could only taste the lychee if I looked for it.

Peshawari Bazaar 1.5/6

• Cucumber, mint, salt, cumin Single: $4.50 Double: $5.50
• I wasn’t a fan of this and I like trying exotic/“different” things. The ingredients are definitely a unique combination, but I just didn’t like the flavour as much.
• The main taste is cucumber and it tasted like tzatziki in drink form. It is refreshing though.

**Nutty Gypsy Eastern Shake 6/6

• Mixed nuts, cardamom, cinnamon, chocolate Single: $4.50 Double: $5.50
• Made with ice cream & organic 1% or frozen yogurt & soymilk.
• I don’t have a photo of this one but it was the best one of the 3! I would come back for this drink. It tasted like a nutty Middle Eastern version of an Oreo milkshake! I loved it!
• I want to try and reinvent this at home. This was like a dessert too!

Khichri 2/6

• Brown dill rice with ground beef, spinach and mushrooms topped with dehydrated yogurt, tomato and onions $13.50 This isn't listed on their online menu.
• It tasted like basmati rice pilaf with mildly Afghan spiced minced meat. It kind of tasted like spaghetti bolognaise with very subtle Afghan spices like cumin seeds.
  
• The dehydrated yogurt is just a yogurt they buy from a grocery store and it tastes like goat's yogurt. I don't like it because it's very gamey and makes the minced beef taste like gamey minced lamb.
  
• It was ok, but nothing too special. I would think it was good if they used plain yogurt. I would get bored eating the whole thing because it was big enough to be a main.

Tibetan Mantu 1.5/6

• Dumplings stuffed with chives, green onions & herbs. Topped with dehydrated yogurt, chick peas and sprouts $13.50. This isn’t listed on their online menu either.
• This can easily be a main as well. It’s one of their most popular appetizers.
• The “dumplings” are actually more like ravioli. I think there are 5 of them. The filling tastes like frozen spinach and parsley. Besides a strong parsley taste, the filling was so cooked down they lost their texture and flavour and became quite bland.
• The ravioli and the dish overall was too soft and soupy for me. The dumpling skin seemed overcooked so it didn't help the mushiness.
• The dish looks great but I actually didn’t like it because of the dehydrated yogurt again. It tasted like goat’s yogurt. The menu states “vegetarian” so I was not expecting to taste meat – the gaminess from the yogurt was just overpowering.
• It was served in a tomato based butter chicken-like sauce so it was savoury, tangy and then just very gamey.
• 

Eastern Roti Roll 3.5/6

• Our roti rolls are made with organic vegetables and meats. Each roll comes with baby green salad, lentil soup, yogurt-mint sauce, and your choice of lentil rice or Afghan rice (with carrots and raisins). Single: $11.50 Double: $14.50
• They have a lot of varieties for their Eastern rolls and this item is popular for lunch or take-out because they’re easy to eat. It’s like a Middle Eastern burrito.
• It’s more worth it to order the Eastern Plate because it’s pretty much an item from the Eastern plate rolled up in a roti.
• I find the roti really dry and thin, it tastes like a whole wheat tortilla rather than a traditional homemade roti.

**Eastern Plate

• Eastern plate is served with dhal soup, salad, roti, Afghan and coconut rice. Chose any 2 of the following items to complete the plate $19
• This is totally worth it and hands down what you should order if you want to try everything. They used to only let you chose 2 and you could keep getting refills of those 2. However now you can order ANY 2 options and keep getting refills as long as it’s 2 at a time. (Prevents wastage, which is good).
• It’s pretty much a buffet, but an Eastern Plate is meant for one person.
• The dishes are relatively small, so for one person you would be pretty full after trying 4 things. I tried everything!
• Miso Salmon 3.5/6
• New item. A baked Miso salmon in coconut milk, lime leaves, and red and green Thai curry. It's the bowl on the very left.
• It’s very creamy and I couldn’t taste the Miso at all. I think they were going for a Japanese/Thai/Indian fusion? I couldn't even taste the coconut milk and I though it was more Indian tasting.It was almost like a sweeter butter chicken sauce.
• I don't feel like the salmon was baked or had a baked flavour. It seemed like it was just stewed. It was chunks of salmon and there were bones throughout all the chunks. You could eat them, but they were distracting enough for me to pull out.
• Minced Beef Kebab 4/6
• Minced organic beef with mushroom, tomato, green pepper and herbs. (No picture, but it looks like meatballs in tomato spaghetti sauce with veggies)
• This was really good, but also not Indian/Middle Eastern at all. It tasted Italian. It was basically meatballs in a tomato bolognaise type sauce. I wanted to eat it with pasta…but the rice worked. It tasted like the Khichri appetizer.
• I think this was supposed to be Persian/Afghan?
• Organic Lamb Kebab 1/6
• Organic lamb roasted in ginger, onion, garlic, and mint and tomato with a 5 spiced curry. It's the the bowl in the middle. (Miso salmon on the left)
• I didn't try this one becuase there was a general consensus around the table that it was gamey. So I just didn't bother becuase I really hate gamey.
• Saag Paneer 1/6
• Whipped spinach and paneer (Indian cheese) with mushrooms.
• Vegetarian. The bowl on the very right.
• This was very bland and almost tasted like defrosted frozen spinach. I have never seen saag look like this. It was not good. There were no flavours at all. It seems like canned saag with shredded packaged paneer on top.
• Saag at almost ANY Indian restaurant would have been better than this.
• Chicken Marsala 3/6
• Organic chicken in creamy marsala and herbs. It's the smaller bowl in the middle.
  
• This was good and probably the closest to authentic for me. It used to be a "light" marsala, but they changed it to a "creamy" one.
• They used dark chicken meat with the skin which I didn’t like. At least there were no bones, but still the skin should be removed. I wish they used chicken breast.
• This tasted like a less rich version of butter chicken and was quite tangy. The spices were there although it wasn’t very spicy. Everything is relatively mild here.
• Afghan Eggplant 5/6
• Baked eggplant sautéed with herbs, onions, garlic and sundried tomatoes.
• Vegetarian. It's the bowl on the right.
• This was the best one! It stood out because everything else was just good and this one was better than good.
• The eggplants were very sautéed, tender, and stringy - didn't seem baked.
• This one didn’t really taste Middle Eastern either…it was like more like Italian again! It was eggplant stewed in a tomato marinara sauce with very subtle spices.
• The eggplant comes up in a lot of pictures because we kept reordering it. They also serve it with raita which is basically yogurt. So the dish is quite tangy.
• Peas and Cheese 3/6
• Peas, paneer cheese and potato mixed and spiced.
• Vegetarian. It’s the bowl on the right. (Eggplant on the left)
  
• The fact that it’s called “Peas and Cheese” and not “Paneer” highlights the western take on the menu and recipe.
• It was a very westernized version of a typical Indian dish. It was good though! It was basically a very creamy and rich butter chicken type sauce but it has no meat.
• The peas are frozen Green Giant peas and I like them better than the canned mushy peas most Indian restaurants will use. Although traditional, using those, I like Green Giant ones better. There were lots too!
• The cheese is like cottage cheese, there’s chunks of it and it’s very light and mild tasting. It's bought and not made in house though.
• Thai Tofu 2.5/6
• New item. Tofu, red peppers, lime leaves, and ginger in a sweet and sour mango green curry. I don’t have the exact description because it’s not on the menu online. It's the bowl in the front.
• This was another very Westernized take, but this time with Thai food. It was quite mild and the curry sauce was packaged and a bit too watery. I actually found it quite bland although it was obvious it was Thai…just a tame Thai. The sauce was actually quite sweet because of the mango. I actually didn't find it sour.
• Alu Gobi 4/6
• Cauliflower and potato in a tangy tomato coconut sauce. Vegetarian.
  
• I don't have a photo but it looked just like the Miso Salmon, but instead of salmon it was cauliflower. They sauces tastes almost the same, but the Alu Gobi is sweeter.
  
• This was a good one. The cauliflower is nice and tender and the sauce is again that butter chicken sauce, which seems like their standard sauce.
  
• Mango Butternut Squash 1/6
• Butternut squash and mango cooked with coconut milk. ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon and curry leaves. Vegetarian.(no photo)
• If you have a baby you can feed it this. It was seriously pureed canned mango and butternut squash. It was really sweet especially with the added coconut milk and tasted like baby food.
• I love both ingredients so it was a very disappointing dish.
• I could barely taste the curry leaves or spices. It wasn't spicy at all.
  
• It would be good in a trifle or used as a spread or condiment.
• Chickpeas 2/6
• Chick peas, onions, tomato, herbs & spices. Vegetarian.
• This was a very Western take on Channa Masala – another classic Indian dish.
• It was creamy, but again very mild in spices and was that same butter chicken sauce but not as sweet. It was creamier than the chicken marsala. The chicken marsala had more spices and flavour though.
• Dhal soup
• This is pretty much a lentil soup with vegetables and Indian spices. It's the top left bowl.
• For a more authentic version you can get it at Mayuri South Indian Cuisine.
• This one is good too though although it is very westernized. It’s very mild, but there are lots of ingredients and it’s hearty and thicker than the real deal.
• It was almost like Campbell’s version of dhal soup…but I did like it!
• Afghan rice, coconut rice, roti, stuffed naan
• Afghan rice: this was good, but again light on the spices. There were carrots and raisins in it too.
• Coconut rice: I couldn’t taste the coconut at all. Tastes like plain basmati.
• Roti: Again it was like a whole wheat tortilla shell. It was almost stale and not fresh.
• Boulani: I liked these! This was an Afghan "pita" stuffed with a thin layer of potatoes, onions and herbs. Very aromatic and tasty.
  

This dinner was a Vancouver Food Bloggers dinner. It was great meeting you all!

Melody (GourmetFury)
Jonathan (Food and Tell)
Jessica and Mark (Yum-O-Rama)
Sherman (Sherman’s Food Adventures) - Thanks for organizing!
Kim (I’m Only Here for the Food!) - Thanks for sharing your photos!
Joyce & Frank (Van Foodies)
TS (eating_club Vancouver)
Jenny (My Secret Eden)
Kevin (604Foodtography)
Anita (La Petite Foodie)
Jennifer & Ricky (My Secret Eden)
Victoria (Victoria's Food Secrets)
Darina (Gratinee)

Empanada Hut

Restaurant: Empanada Hut
Cuisine: Spanish/South American/Latin

Last visited: November 10, 09

Area: Richmond, BC

5300 No 3 Road (In Lansdowne Mall food court)

Price Range: $10 or less

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 4

Service: 4

Ambiance: n/a

Overall: 4

Additional comments:

• Family owned and operated
• Authentic
• Specializes in Empanadas
• Homemade pastry/filling
• Very professional
• Baked empanadas
• Limited menu
• Combo Empanda deals
  
• Best eaten hot and upon order
• Could have better ratio of ingredients
• Solid choice for Lansdowne Mall food court

**Recommendation: Chicken Empanda, Beef Empanada (didn't try, but must be comparable to chicken)

Every country has their version of an Empanada or stuffed pastry/bread. There's a Portuguese, Brazilian, Spanish, Mexican, Cuban, and the list goes on, versions of the Empanada. The family that runs Empanada Hut are from South America and their version of the Empanada comes from Chile. They really focus on making the best Empandas because it's basically the only thing they sell. From the pastry to the stuffing everything is homemade and baked daily. Unlike Mexican Empandas, which are perhaps more available in North America, these aren't stuffed with potatoes, peas and carrots etc. It was a nice change and for food court standards it's a great choice.

One of my concerns (this might be a bit picky since it is a food court place) is that the Empanadas do sit under heat lamps throughout the day. Even under heat lamps they still tasted great, and they are definitely best eaten hot. Nothing was burnt, soggy, or dry so in that sense the heat lamp doesn't bother me. I can only imagine how good they are hot and fresh out of the oven.

On the table:

• **Chicken Empanada 4/6
• Baked homemade pastry stuffed with chicken onions, corn and olives.
• I liked this one the best. It was almost like a Latin-style chicken pot pie.
• It was stuffed quite decently and saucy, but not so saucy that it was dripping or making the pastry soggy. The sauce is a house mix of what tastes like taco seasonings. There was tons of sautee onions which they kind of used as a filler and only a few corn kernels.
• There was also one random black olive in each Empanada. I almost thought it was a mistake. I think they should have chopped up the black olives and dispersed it more evenly throughout the filling. You can tell they stuff the Empanada and tuck a single olive in last minute.
• The pastry is really soft, almost like puff pastry, but it's not flaky. It's made with butter, flour and probably shortening. It's the perfect thickness to hold all the filling without breaking. The edges are a little thick, but it's because of the folding which is understandable.

• Seafood Empanada 3.5/6
  
• Baked homemade pastry stuffed with baby clams, baby shrimp, chopped scallop, onions and olives.
  
• Again it was only one olive... that started to get annoying because I liked eating it with the olive. But since there was only one I only got one bite with olive in it with each Empanada.
• This was good, but not as good as the chicken one. I think it could have been much better, but they used a lot of onions as filler to replace the seafood.
  I'm sure when they make it at home it's a 100 times better. All the seafood was kind of minced up to the size of the onions so I lost a lot of the texture.
• Spinach and Feta 2.5/6
• This was definitely the most stuffed Empanada out of the 3.
  
• It was packed with tons and tons of spinach. There was hardly any Feta in it though which was kind of disappointing. I missed that salty creaminess Feta brings to the table. It was actually kind of wet, yet the pastry still wasn't soggy. If they hadn't skimped on the Feta this could have been a 4/6. Even better would be if they mixed in some chopped olives!

Shabusen Yakiniku House

Restaurant: Shabusen Yakiniku House - Sushi & Korean BBQ
Cuisine: Japanese/Sushi/Korean BBQ/Buffet

Last visited: October 19, 09
Area: Vancouver, BC - Downtown (2 locations in Vancouver)

755 Burrard Street

Price Range: $20-30 ($23 dinner buffet price)

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 2

Service: 2.5

Ambiance: 2.5

Overall: 2.5

Additional comments:

• Offers Korean BBQ and popular Japanese items/sashimi
  
• Owned and operated by Chinese
• Not authentic Japanese sushi
• Typical all-you-can-eat/buffet standards
  
• Busy/crowded/line-ups
• Good for large groups
  
• Reservations recommended
• Lunch buffet $13 11-2:30pm
• Dinner buffet $23 5-10:30pm
• Open everyday

**Recommendation: n/a

What can I really say? It's another all-you-can-eat Japanese place except it also features all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ as well. It's convenient and good for large groups, not a bad deal, but I wouldn't pick it. It's not quite for me, but I'm not their target market either.

Compared to other all-you-can-eat places it's only better because you get you're Korean BBQ. The variety is decent with all your standard items but the quality and execution is better at others places.

Is the food at least good? Well it's all-you-can-eat for $23...it's not going to be gourmet, but it's not dog food either...although it doesn't look appetizing. It's very basic, slightly below average, and a rough assembly.

I've divided my review into 2 parts because it was too much to digest...ha! Love the pun.
1) Not deep-fried items
2) Deep fried items

As a side note, what I really liked about Shabusen is that they minimize waste by offering 1 piece ordering.

On the table:

• Kimchi 1.5/6
• Spicy preserved cabbage. A traditional Korean appetizer.
• It wasn't authentic here and the colour is off. It wasn't marinated/preserved long enough so the flavour was not strong enough. It was decently spicy, but not flavourful.
• The cabbage was cut too big, and it and I couldn't see any garlic bits, which there has to be.
• Gommae 1/6
• Spinach with what's supposed to be sesame sauce, but there was almost no sauce. It was very bland.
• Ohitashi 1.5/6
• A traditional Japanese appetizer: boiled spinach with soy sauce and Mirin or rice wine vinegar.
• This is simple, I prefer the gommae. Traditionally it should be served with bonito flakes.They didn't really do a bad job because it is a simple recipe, but I think they just used soy, it wasn't tangy enough.

• Sunomono Salad 1.5/6
• A traditional Japanese vermicelli salad appetizer soaked in vinegar, sugar and Mirin. Served with cucumbers and carrots.
  
• The flavour was alright, but there was no baby shrimp or anything on the top. Even a little frozen one would have been good. A lot of all-you-cat-eat places will include at least a couple baby shrimps.
• Salmon/Tuna Sashimi 3/6
• Fresh, but the quality of the tuna is pretty poor.
• Hamachi/Toro/Tomago Nigiri 3/6
  
• Hamachi/yellow fin tuna: the quality wasn't great. Not as smooth, cold or clean tasting.
  
• Toro/tuna belly: not bad. Has a richer/creamier/heartier texture than tuna.
  
• Tomago: a bit overcooked and dry. Tastes like it's been sitting there. Flavour wasn't bad though.
• California Roll/BC Roll 2/6
• The sushi rice isn't good here. There wasn't enough flavour in the rice and it was really poorly presented and executred even for an all-you-can-eat place.
  
• California roll: Too much rice around the roll and wasn't wrapped tight enough so it fell apart.
  
• BC roll: not a fan. Salmon skin was soggy. Lettuce wasn't as fresh, it had wilted leaves.
• Alaska Roll 3/6
  
• My favourite out of all the ones we ordered. It's not bad, but it was cut really really thin.
• Special Shrimp Roll 2/6
• Shrimp, imitation lobster and chopped scallop I think. It was alright.
• Chopped Scallop Cone
  
• I didn't try it.
• Vegetable Teriyaki 3/6
  
• It was actually freshly cut veggies, I thought they would have just bought the bag of pre-cut veggies. They give you a lot too and it tasted fresh. They weren't sauteed long enough though and because they were big pieces it was more on the raw side.
  
• It's lightly coated with Teriyaki sauce which is watered down and very bland. The sauce was probably bottled and watered down. No salt and pepper either.
• Salmon Teriyaki 3/6
• Frozen salmon fillets and it actually wasn't overcooked even though it looks like it. It wasn't marinated with teriyaki sauce, the sauce was just poured on top and served. It actually tasted pretty good.
  
• 
• BBQ Beef Short Rib 3/3
  
• It was well-marinated as in overnight - but the sauce was just packaged sauce or generic sauce.
• I didn't need any additional dipping sauce but it was very very oily and greasy. I could taste the canola oil. I grilled my corn on the BBQ after and my corn was super greasy from the short ribs.

Dinner didn't end here, to see the rest of it visit the 2nd part of the review: The deep fried part.

Yoko Sushi

Restaurant: Yoko Sushi

Cuisine: Japanese/Sushi

Last visited: October 22, 09
Area: Coquitlam, BC

1001 Austin ave

Price Range: $10-20

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 3.5

Service: 4

Ambiance: 3

Overall: 3.5

Additional comments:

• Owned and operated by Koreans
• Not really authentic - "Westerner's sushi"
• Clean, friendly, trendy for area
• Sashimi/Sushi/Donburi/Noodles/Meals
• Set meals/Bento boxes/Sushi platters
  
• Some specialty rolls
• Lunch specials 11am-4pm
• Can customize your own roll upon request
• Attracts locals within the area
• Dine in/Take-out
• Open everyday 11am-12am

**Recommendation: House Green Salad, Gomae, House roll, Yoko roll

Curious to try: Korean Chirashi "Donburi": sashimi, vegetables and rice mixed with spicy sauce $10.95

I've come here on several occasions and it's not really because the food is exceptional, but it's clean, comfortable, somewhat trendy, reasonably priced, and the food is good and well-prepared even though it's not "authentically" Japanese. The food tastes pretty good, but it's almost too perfect - kind of like ordering a Kung Pao Chicken bowl at an American chain restaurant - it's usually pretty good, but just not authentic.

It's only been around for about a year and it's owned and operated by a young group of Koreans. It attracts Westerners and Koreans around the area. The presentation is nice and the food is fresh so it's a good choice if you're around and craving sushi. It's decently busy during dinner, but you'll never be waiting in a line.

On the table:

• **House Green Salad 4/6
• Our signature house dressing $3.50

• Surprised? So was I! I never order house green salads at any restaurant. I've tried the Japanese green salad, but have never liked it until I tried this one.
• It's served with their signature house dressing, so it's homemade and really good.
• The dressing is made with a combination of apples and onions and it's nice and thick. It has the texture of pureed apples but and the flavour is sweet yet tangy at the same time. You also get that bite of finely grated onion. I would have liked more dressing though because there was a lot of salad.
• The green salad they use is really fresh and not that chopped ice berg lettuce most Japanese restaurants will serve. They used shredded romaine with some carrots and purple cabbage for colour - there wasn't one brown or wilted leaf.
• **Gomae 5/6
  
• Spinach with sesame dressing $3.95

• They make Gomae really good here. The sauce is homemade again and it's a mix of ground sesame and peanuts. Some places will only use sesame sauce, but I like it with peanuts because it's richer and gives it a deeper flavour.
• The picture looks like a lot of sauce, but it's actually the perfect amount and I love the sauce! More the merrier. It's just enough to perfectly coat each leaf after you mix it altogether.
• **House Roll 5/6
• Salmon, tuna, ebi, avocado, tamago & crab $6.95
• I really like the house roll here. They give you ebi (shrimp) and it's really rare to have this ingredient in it. Most people will use a cheaper ingredient even if they just wanted to make it bigger.
• At Yoko's they use really little rice in their house roll and give you tons of filling, which is great. However the rice is a little too wet and there' s not much flavour to it.
• Another thing they do differently is they wrap it in a soybean wrap (the yellow layer wrapped around it). The soybean wrap doesn't have much flavour, but it makes for nice presentation. It's almost like the texture of the seaweed wrapped on the inside. It kind of helps keep everything together and I really liked it.
• They drizzle it with this homemade mango sauce which was unexpected and creative. The mango was made with a mango syrup, almost like a coulis. It's sweet, but not overpowering because they didn't soak the roll with it. It wasn't really creamy and it wasn't made with mayo, but maybe evaporated milk or corn syrup, something of that sort. It was still nice and light and went well with the roll.
• It is a larger roll, as most house rolls are, but you get fresh ingredients and a lot of it. The portion of each ingredient was well balanced.
• 
• Kamikaze Roll 2/6
  
• Prawn tempura and crab with spicy tuna on top $8.95

• This was really whatever to me. The plating was nice, but that's about it. I actually expected more...especially at $8.95.
• The rice wasn't flavourful enough and the tuna wasn't spicy enough so it was kind of bland. The prawn tempura is pre-fried and they make batches at a time for the sushi chefs so we had one that had been sitting out for a bit. So it wasn't crispy and the batter was a bit soggy and not as fresh.
• The spicy tuna was pounded and got too mushy and they didn't give you enough for this roll. It was a bit inconsistent with each piece. The spicy marinade kind of tasted like Tabasco sauce and had that one dimensional flavour. This roll needed something crunchy - either green onions or cucumbers to give it that extra something. I wouldn't order it again.

• **Yoko Roll 4/6
  
• Salmon, avocado, and cream cheese then deep-fried $6.95

• I didn't order it on this occasion, but I've ordered it before and still think about it.
  
• Its a deep fried roll, and they do a good job with it. They do a great job with the deep frying and the whole thing is lightly battered and crispy when complete.
• The cream cheese gets all soft and warm and the roll literally melts in your mouth. The salmon doesn't cook so don't worry about it getting dry. The roll is creamy, rich and well-executed. A real treat, but you might want to share it because you may get sick of it if you just order that alone.
  
• 
• Vegetable Teriyaki Don 3/6
• Stir-fried mixed vegetables served over rice. Served with miso soup. $9.95

• They give you a decent amount of fresh veggies and it's a pretty big bowl.
• There's carrots, broccoli, bean sprouts, cabbage and zucchini, but it was missing mushrooms and onions - there were maybe some onions, but not enough.
  
• The sauce is a standard Teriyaki sauce, so nothing exceptional there, but still good.