Roy’s Waikiki, 226 Lewers St., Honolulu, HI

Roy’s Waikiki

226 Lewers St., Honolulu, HI

Roy’s in Waikiki is located right near the action in the Waikiki beachwalk neighbourhood. First started in Hollywood, California in 1984, Roy soon decided to head back to his hometown to open a restaurant in 1988. Roy’s is now a successful gourmet chain with restaurants all over the Hawaiian Islands and the rest of the United States. Their Hawaiian menu features local ingredients and Asian Fusion flavours. It was perfect for our sushi craving and love for sake.

Roy’s Waikiki, 226 Lewers St., Honolulu, HI

We started off our meal with a bottle of Ginjo sake, imported from Japan, it was light, easy drinking. This particular sake was delicate and fragrant in flavour and more of the soft and sweet side of the flavour palate as opposed to full bodied, dry, heavier sakes I’ve tried. It was a nice refreshing way to start our meal. I’ve always preferred drinking sake ice cold as opposed to warm, especially in tropical places.

Juntao roll, Roy’s Waikiki, 226 Lewers St., Honolulu, HI

For our sushi craving, we ordered a couple of rolls. The Juntao roll was filled with tempura pork belly, cucumber, wasabi, aioli and dressed with some citrus ponzu gelee. They love ponzu sauce here on the Island, it’s present in many dishes and all the poke we have had was doused in the stuff. The pork belly was juicy in this roll, but there was only enough of it in each bite to tease our taste buds.

The Frying dragon roll, Roy’s Waikiki, 226 Lewers St., Honolulu, HI

Our favourite roll was the “Frying Dragon,” filled with unagi, avocado, miso butterfish, macadamia nuts, and spicy wasabi sauce. This roll was amazing, it was gorgeous on the plate and I loved the crunchy outer crust. The unagi was also salty and delicious and even though the roll was thick, the big slices of sushi rolls held together as we ate, no crumbling rice here.

The Frying Dragon roll, Roy’s Waikiki, 226 Lewers St., Honolulu, HI

Next up, I had to try some traditional Hawaiian poke. We ordered the traditional big eye ahi poke, it was mixed in with Maui onion, ogo, inamona, chili and sprinkled with Hawaiian salt. Poke is a traditional Hawaiian dish consisting of cubed raw fish, traditionally tuna dressed with sea salt, crushed inamona (a nut called candlenut in the walnut family), soy sauce, sesame oil and chili pepper. I’ve seen enough episodes of Top Chef to want to try this stuff. I had imagined it tasting like the sashimi salad we have in Vancouver, we were surprised to find that the poke was extremely salty. There were actually giant specs of Hawaiian salt that we spotted on the fish. The extreme saltiness in this dish definitely jolted our taste buds awake. Each bite left a lingering numbing feeling on our tongues as the Hawaiian salt melted away.

Poke, Roy’s Waikiki, 226 Lewers St., Honolulu, HI

Wanting to sample as many items on the menu as possible, we ordered Roy’s Beach Walk Trio which had three of the chef’s signature dishes: Hibachi grilled salmon, macadamia nut crusted white fish and the critically acclaimed misoyaki butterfish served with a side of rice.

Roy’s Beach Walk Trio, Roy’s Waikiki, 226 Lewers St., Honolulu, HI

We had heard rave reviews about the butterfish. When we told people we were eating at Roy’s, the misoyaki butterfish came up in conversation. We can see why, the butterfish was definitely the star of the trio. It had that incomparable ‘melt-in-your-mouth’ smooth, rich goodness to each bite. The fish was fragrant and beautiful in the dish, and tasted even better than it looked. The flavours were deep and seductive, salty, sweet with a hint of nuttiness. There is also a full order of the misoyaki butterfish offered on the menu too.

Misoyaki butterfish, Roy’s Waikiki, 226 Lewers St., Honolulu, HI

The hibachi grilled salmon was no competition for that epic butterfish. Used to eating lots of salmon in Vancouver, we were very picky about the fish so we found Roy’s rendition only average and verging on the dry side. The flavours were fresh but the dish definitely didn’t have that elusive “je ne se quoi” element that made the misoyaki butterfish so memorable.

Hibachi grilled salmon, Roy’s Waikiki, 226 Lewers St., Honolulu, HI

The macadamia nut crusted white fish was totally lacking a sauce. I love macadamia nuts or what they call here in Hawaii mac nuts. But I’ve found that restaurants don’t do much to dress up the nut, they just chop it up and sprinkle it on top of fish, pancakes or whatever else. The flavours of the mac nuts are incredible but this dish was missing something to melt the mac nut flavours into the white fish. The crispy crust on the white fish featured mac nuts but the crust did nothing to enhance the delicate flavours of the fish.

Macadamia nut crusted white fish, Roy’s Waikiki, 226 Lewers St., Honolulu, HI

Our server asked us three times whether or not we wanted dessert, the strange thing was, he kept asking us in the beginning of the meal. We found out this was because the desserts take up to 30 minutes to prepare, the pastries are probably made-to-order.

Pineapple upside down cake, Roy’s Waikiki, 226 Lewers St., Honolulu, HI

We chose the pineapple upside-down cake which turned out to be a gorgeous little golden cake with lots of sweet, caramelized pineapples and a buttery crust. It was the perfect sweet finish to a lovely meal.

Pineapple upside cake, Roy’s Waikiki, 226 Lewers St., Honolulu, HI

Roy’s Waikiki, 226 Lewers St., Honolulu, HI

Since Roy’s is located in the heart of downtown Waikiki, we got to enjoy a nice evening stroll along the beach walk.

Top Chef Texas Finale

O Lounge inside Coast

1054 Alberni Street, Vancouver

Rick and I went back to Coast for the Top Chef Texas Finale viewing party held in O Lounge. We sat with buddies, Kevin, Grace and Bennett. I am actually a huge fan of the Top Chef series and usually follow the show religiously. I was too busy this time around to watch every episode, I actually haven’t watched since one of the early episodes when one of the competitors just about cut off his finger but still kept cooking. Too bad he didn’t make it to the finale! The two Finale chefs were Paul and Sarah. About five minutes into the show, I was already rooting for Paul. His dishes seemed so much more appealing and I loved how he married the classic and upscale with the comfort, i.e., his congee, slow scrambled eggs and the uni. I was drooling as the camera panned in for the glamour shot of that dish. And that dessert! Who just whips out some liquid nitrogen as a quick fix? What a pro! I loved that he was able to impress the judges just with the foam on his dessert and puffed rice! I am a sucker for puffed rice. I was thrilled when Paul was crowned Top Chef Texas!

I still haven’t figured out why but the Finale for Top Chef Texas was filmed in both Coast and Black + Blue (still on my eating wish list!). It was wonderful to see Vancouver restaurants get such high profile exposure though! Go Canada!

I confess that I was very distracted by the delicious appetizers being passed around throughout the show. Some of the snacks were the same mini bites served at last week’s Dining out for Life fundraiser. There was also a refreshing, fruity, light white wine being served as the house wine. And they were very speedy on topping up our glasses. Literally, I’d take one sip, put the glass down and two seconds later, the glass was full again. If that’s not good service, I don’t know what is.

A nice, light vegetarian appy was the beets and blue cheese salad bite, sweet, juicy and a little salty from the cheese. It was a little awkward to eat for a klutz like myself but it was still very tasty!

I also enjoyed the little spoonfuls of tuna with lychee and a little bath of sesame oil. The tuna was silky and smooth.

I was impressed by the sushi rolls too! The two types was a fresh tasting mango California roll with a soft and sweet slice of mango right on top. The spicy ahi tuna roll lit my tongue on fire right away but everyone else seemed to think it was pretty mild. Thanks, Kevin for letting me highjack your Canon DSLR for the sharp pics!

My favourite appies of the night were the breaded oyster patty sliders. We were almost fighting over them as picnic boards of them kept disappearing quickly around us. Despite being small, these sliders were packed with flavour. The oyster meat patty was tender, flavourful with a slight (but delicious) briny finish and the bread was soft and delicate. We were actually still snacking on these after the Finale was over.

I would totally go back to O Lounge for these yummy sliders alone!

Tojo's, 1133 West Broadway, Vancouver, Canada

Tojo’s

1133 West Broadway, Vancouver, Canada

From the kitchen of the Chef who reportedly invented the California Roll also comes the most innovative Japanese dishes made from the freshest ingredients I’ve ever tasted. I finally visited Tojo’s and found that the famous restaurant is everything it’s cracked up to be, exceeding my expectations and opening up my palate to new flavours. I honestly don’t know how I can go back to eating regular sushi any more.

Tojo’s is located in the most unassuming, low-key spot on West Broadway across from Toys “R” Us, away from the trendy Yaletown restaurant scene and the hustle and bustle of the downtown core. Upon entering Tojo’s, we found the restaurant space to be much more spacious than it looks from the outside. The high ceilings, dim lighting, and warm wood furnishings creates a wonderfully serene, peaceful and intimate dining space. I can see why foodies travel from all over the world for the Tojo experience.

Tucked away on a back wall near the washrooms are all of Chef Tojo’s awards.

We ordered the Omakase which means we entrusted the chef to arrange our meal based on our likes, dislikes and the freshest ingredients of the day. After taking our drink orders, our server asked us if we had any food allergies or preferences before beginning the meal. I had to admit that I couldn’t handle anything too spicy. And I had to order the hotate (scallop) nigiri sushi. I wasn’t going to dine at Tojo’s without trying the scallop sushi!

I ordered the Tojo-tini cocktail, a refreshing mixture of sake and shochu vodka. The drink turned out to be more mild than I expected with cool, clean flavours that actually cleansed my palate between each course.

First up was Tojo’s tuna sashami with special sesame and wasabi sauce. The first thing I noticed was the presentation, The dish was gorgeous, the powder pink tuna, speckled with toasted sesame seeds with a bright green tuft of chopped green onions perched on top. I wanted to gobble up this dish right away but I savoured it to appreciate every delicate layer of flavour and texture. The crunch of the green onions contrasted with the silkiness of the tuna and the sweet and slightly nutty sauce tied the whole dish together. There were some strong hits of wasabi as I got to the bottom of the bowl, thank goodness my Tojo-tini cocktail served as a cooling element.

The seafood salad was something else. Again, I was blown away by the presentation. Chef Tojo takes the concept of using the plate as a canvas to another level, creating magic with just a few simple but ultra fresh ingredients. The salad consisted of smoked salmon (one of my favourite foods!), a very thin strip of octopus balanced on top of fresh greens, cucumber and cooked squid drizzled with sweet and creamy dressing. The smoked salmon was delicious, smooth, velvety with deep smoky salmon flavours. The octopus and the cooked squid were both amazingly tender and soft. The thin blanket of octopus picked up the dressing perfectly. The little pieces of squid had a little bit of bite to them but for the most part, they were the softest, least chewy pieces of cooked squid I’ve ever tasted.

I was thrilled that the next dish was Tojo’s famed halibut cheek. One of the coolest things about ordering Omakase is that each course is a surprise. I could smell the halibut cheeks as soon as they were placed on the table. This was our first warm dish of the meal, and the fragrant, homey smells of the creamy teriyaki garlic sauce was extremely inviting.

The halibut cheek was flaky and tender, easily giving away to gentle pokes of my chopsticks. Despite the distinct halibut flavours, the meat also picked up the creamy teriyaki sauce beautifully.

The halibut cheek was accompanied by a very flavourful mound of mushrooms that soaked up the teriyaki sauce like little sponges. I nearly loved the mushrooms as much as the halibut, and I don’t even normally like mushrooms.

Mushrooms also played a role in our next dish: Suntan tuna, red tuna wrapped in nori seaweed with a crunchy tempura crust, a teaspoon of sour plum sauce and a pile of moist and tender mushrooms. Needless to say the thick slices of tuna were beautiful, dramatic red centers surrounded by a ring of powder pink cooked meat. The tempura crust was crispy and crunchy against velvety tuna meat. The punchy, sour sauce also brought out the tuna’s natural sweetness.

I know the mushrooms were only a sidekick in this dish, but I ate every single piece. The mushrooms were soft and flavourful with a sweet and sour taste from the sauce. I have no idea what Chef Tojo does with his mushrooms but he has definitely converted me from a mushroom hater to a big mushroom fan.

Finally came the sushi dishes – what I had been waiting for! Arranged beautifully on our plates was a selection of nigiri sushi and rolls. Without hesitation we tried the Golden Roll first: crab, scallop, salmon and sweet shrimp rolled up in sushi rice and Tojo’s trademark silk-thin egg crepe. I’ve read that Chef Tojo started using egg crepe for his rolls to appeal to diners with seaweed allergies. I do not have a seaweed allergy but I would still eat a billion of Chef Tojo’s Golden Rolls. I can’t even begin to describe how amazing this little roll is. The ultra thin egg, light as a feather but as soft and fluffy as a cloud encasing the freshest, most moist seafood mixed in with al dente sushi rice, a dab of Japanese mayo and crunchy roe. The flavours literally exploded in my mouth.

Next up, we tried the red snapper nigiri sushi. What we noticed about the nigiri sushi at Tojo’s is the thin strip of Japanese herb he slips in between the perfectly formed sushi rice and the slice of sashimi. The herb has a fresh basil flavour to it, it acted as a palate cleanser and a great hit of cool freshness against the spicy dab of wasabi under the fish. The red snapper was delicious, tender, smooth and fresh.

The Great Canadian Roll sported a brilliantly red piece of smoked salmon on top of a roll filled with tender lobster and asparagus. It was rich, delicious and incredible. The ingredients were so simple but since the seafood was so fresh, the flavours were notches above what is served at standard sushi restaurants.

The saba (mackerel) nigiri sushi was seductively shiny on the plate. I have to admit that the heavy mackerel flavour was pretty overpowering, especially after we had just eaten a more delicate fish, the red snapper. But I enjoyed it, the texture was wonderful, the skin full of slick and smooth fish oil and the meat underneath was slippery but moist.

Nearly standing up to the mackerel flavours was the hirame (flounder) nigiri that we tried next. The flounder meat was tender and I’m sure delicate in flavour. But the wasabi on this piece of sushi was pretty heavy handed, you can actually see the green glob through the nearly translucent white fish in the picture. We probably should have ordered this one without the wasabi.

And finally, we tried the hotate (scallop) nigiri sushi that I ordered. It was everything that I had hoped for: soft, buttery and meaty scallop. It practically melted in my mouth.

Here’s another thing, the ingredients are so fresh and delicious at Tojo’s that they didn’t need any other enhancements. I didn’t touch the soy sauce bottle once while enjoying the nigiri sushi.

Lastly, we tried Tojo’s original spicy tuna roll. Here’s what he does differently: the roll is stuffed with a spicy tuna mixture and sculpted on top of the roll is a non-spicy piece of tuna sashimi. I was apprehensive to try this roll since admittedly, spicy food makes my eyes water. But even I could handle this roll, the fresh sweetness from the tuna balances out the spices. And that piece of soft, non-spicy tuna on top really curbed the spiciness too.

Our last roll consisted of more of my favourite ingredient: scallops! A variation of the California roll, this was Tojo’s Pacific Northwest roll with West coast Dungeness crab and avocado rolled up with sushi rice, seaweed and scallop on top with golden flying fish roe.

The golden flying fish roe on top of the rolls were firmer than the red fish roe.

Again, we found the pieces of scallop on top of the roll, fresh, soft and buttery, rich in flavour and paired amazingly with the tender crab inside the roll. And again, I didn’t use soy sauce. I didn’t have to, my taste buds were too distracted by all the different flavours and textures jammed into one little roll to even notice there was no soy sauce.

Before dessert, we managed to squeeze in one more of Tojo’s ‘must-trys’: the Toro sashimi. There was one good thing and one bad thing about eating this. The bad thing: I can never eat toro sashimi again unless it’s at Tojo’s. The good thing: this was the most delicious toro sashimi I’ve ever eaten, the way it was sliced, in thin, fragile strips, the way it melted in my mouth, and the subtle and delicate flavours that gracefully swirled on my tongue before I swallowed. I’m pretty sure this is something only Tojo can create.

Thankfully, I still had room for dessert. Good thing too because dessert was equally delicious: black sesame panna cotta with a soft sesame cookie and a sweet shot of plum liquor. I love Chef Tojo’s playful twist on a traditional Italian dessert. The sesame not only gave the panna cotta a deep sexy purple colour but also gave the sweet, creamy custard an extra kick of rich, nutty flavour. The extremely sweet and sharp plum liquor only enhanced the panna cotta flavours and that little sesame cookie was the perfect topper on a flawless meal.

Before we left, we asked our server if we could take a picture with the chef. Chef Tojo is one of the only celebrity chefs found working nightly in his own restaurant. You don’t see Gordon Ramsey or Heston Blumenthal chopping onions or creating dishes at their restaurants on a nightly basis. We got the chance to thank Chef Tojo for the wonderful meal, he was jovial and humble and was more than happy to snap a few pictures with us. Obviously, I wanted to ask him if he really did invent the California roll but I was too shy. Maybe next time.

Miku Sushi #2-1055 West Hastings Street, Vancouver

Miku

#2-1055 West Hastings Street, Vancouver

This was my first experience with aburi sushi, and if you can believe it, it was love at first bite. The excellent service at Miku also added to my experience too. As soon as guests walk into the restaurant, enthusiastic and friendly greetings are shouted out by the sushi chefs behind the bar. It creates a wonderfully lively and welcoming ambiance.

Miku is famous for two things: their aburi sushi, which is seared sashimi and (served on their nigiri sushi) a special warm sauce, a tasty concoction of garlic, soy sauce and butter. I didn’t get a good picture of my favourite item off the Miku menu: the Aburi salmon sushi, third from the left in the below photo. We ordered a couple of lunch box specials and the Aburi salmon sushi pieces were the first to be gobbled up. I can’t handle the spicy slice of pepper placed on top of the sushi, but I thoroughly enjoyed the smooth and fresh piece of salmon underneath, brushed with Miku’s trademark warm sauce.

Also in the lunch box special was a collection of Miku’s other artistically lovely nigiri sushi, shrimp and tuna. Each piece was put together with such meticulous care that it seems like a shame to eat them.

We also ordered the Crunchy scallop roll, which was a traditional chopped scallop roll with aonori tempura bits sprinkled on top. My two favourite items in Japanese cuisine have got to be chopped scallop and tempura so this roll was my two favourite things rolled into one (pardon the pun). You know you are in a gourmet sushi restaurant when the rolls don’t fall apart with the grip of your chopsticks before they land in your mouth. As a global foodie city, Vancouver is filled with so many All-You-Can-Eat sushi joints and low-end sushi restaurants that sushi rolls are now ubiquitous with anything else you can find in a shopping mall food court. This might devalue sushi rolls in the Vancouver foodie landscape. It’s a shame because sushi rolls and nigiri sushi have an amazing history of being pieces of culinary art form. The technique that goes into preparing sushi rice, then placing sushi roll ingredients in a required order and quantity as well as rolling the sushi roll at a specific angle and with the precise pressure to ensure tightly rolled but not squashed rounds of aesthetically appealing and delicious sushi is an art form that may get taken for granted in Vancouver.

All I have to say about the sushi rolls at Miku, are that the rice is amazingly soft, sticky but not overly gluttonous, and they don’t overstuffed their rolls or under-stuff either, there was just the right amount of sweet and cold chopped scallop pieces in my Crunchy scallop roll for me to taste the seafood, understand the dish and also long for more when my plate was empty.

It’s very entertaining to watch the chefs behind the counter sear the sashimi with a blow torch. And the aburi sashimi comes out looking delectably stylish with a thin strip of cooked area on top, and the rest of the fish still tastes clean and fresh.

Also included in the lunch box was the most scrumptious aburi chicken I have ever tasted. It wasn’t just the tender chicken under an incredibly crispy skin but the chicken was drenched in this tangy and creamy white sauce that added an extra hit of flavour that really made the small dish memorable for me.

The tuna sashimi also came so beautifully arranged in a little bowl that I almost didn’t want to touch it. But I’m glad I did. The fish was firmer than most other tuna sashimi I’ve tasted and I liked that. I usually don’t order tuna sashmi because of the mushy, crumbly texture it can have, but this was not the case at Miku. Miku’s tuna sashimi was velvety and silky on the tongue but was also firm when I bit down so that I could taste every morsel of the delicate fish.

Lastly, I have to admit I am not a big fan of vegetables, especially not leafy green ones so I rarely order spinach goma-ae in Japanese restaurants. But the goma-ae at Miku may change my mind. The sprinkle of sesame and the sweet nutty flavour in the sauce was so tasty that it almost made me forget that I was fulfilling my vegetable requirement for the day.

I am in love with Miku’s food, service and ambiance and will definitely return for more meals that will definitely include vegetables.