I'm in school, damnit. So I will keep this short and sweet.
Hubbs & I went to Ichiban, a Japanese restaurant that the Wackies highly recommend as their favourite. We went with a last-minute reservation that we didn't need, because the place wasn't full. Located in a strip mall on the west end of town, the restaurant was small and humble and clean and comfortable. Very typical of many of the Japanese restaurants in town, actually.
Anyway, our drink orders (green tea) were taken right away. We got down to business and studied their menu, which was less extensive than Mikado's but still a decent size. We decided to order the sashimi boat because you could get 43 pieces for $30.95 (a great deal in our books!). We also got an order of rainbow maki (touted to be their signature dish) and some edamame.
Food came in good time, but I wasn't super-thrilled with its quality. The edamame was overcooked, so some of the beans were uber-soggy. Also, I didn't see that lovely layer of salt that usually covers my edamame. The rainbow roll was fantastic, although very heavy (filled with crunchy tempura bits and covered in avocado) and something that ought to be shared (which we did). The boat was impressive in size but not in quality nor variety. We had a lot of tuna and salmon, as well as some scallop, red snapper, octopus, and yellow tail. No shrimp at all. No roe. No eel. No fancy fish to name. And our octopus tasted like it was still thawing out (wet all along the bottom). It was relatively fresh, and a good deal, but we were sad not to get more variety in our 43 pieces (12 of which were salmon), and even sadder that our octopus was so un-tasty.
The bill came in good stead, and the server was super helpful and nice. If only the food was of better quality, this place would have been perfect! As it is, I recommend you go if you want some inexpensive, decent sashimi in a quiet place with good service. I would not recommend you go if you want the best cuts of raw fish in town. Overall, we'd definitely give Ichiban another chance, but our favourite remains Wasabi.
Rating: 7.5 / 10
Some members of my fam & I headed to Golden Rice Bowl for dim sum yesterday. We didn't get there until 1:00 p.m., so we were seated fairly shortly after arrival.
Though the place was large and relatively spacious, the restaurant was almost full and also loud, really loud, and we found it difficult to hear each other over the noise of other patrons dining at their respective round tables. The decor was sparse and simple, with pastel green walls and a generally green coloring to the whole restaurant.
The food was quite delicious, although we made careful effort not to order too many items (particularly deep fried dishes), so we didn't taste the entire spectrum of what was available. Their selection, however, was quite extensive, and definitely better than Cha for Tea's. Of note were their stewed chicken's feet, which was very tender and very "meaty," and their Chinese mustard greens, or yau choi, which was very fresh and not greasy in the least. It was perfectly cooked and I couldn't stop eating it.
Our tea server/bill collector person was quite hard to track down, which frustrated us a little and caused my mom to have to get up out of her chair and hunt them down in order to settle our bill. My mom paid, so I can't tell you if the prices were fantastic or not.
However, as an overall experience we thought Golden Rice Bowl was a lot better than we had expected, and their variety of dim sum dishes definitely impressed us. If Dynasty Restaurant is ever full and driving to Century Palace would take you too long, I would recommend Golden Rice Bowl as the third option for your weekend dim sum dining.
Rating: 8 / 10
I am in love ... with Krispy King Taber Corn. This is the sweetest, most large-kerneled yellow corn I have ever
sunk my big rabbit teeth into, and every bite is assuredly heavenly. It's a seasonal indulgence, since the Taber corn people only come out in the summer to offer their wares, and I'm pretty sure they're just about ready to pack up their side-of-the-road vendor stands and drive home pretty soon.
Until then, though, I am going to try to eat an ear a day, because this stuff is amazing and I cannot resist its sweet, crispy, juicy taste. Yum!
Oh - and if you're interested in eating Taber corn with mounds of butter, here are some recipes for various types of butters that you can make. I'm a purist, so the only thing I add is some Becel Light Margarine (if that).
And if you enjoy Peaches and Cream corn, apparently there is a bicolour Taber corn out there for you too! I have yet to try the P&C variety, but I definitely will in the next few days.
Rating: 10 / 10
Food came in good time, but I wasn't super-thrilled with its quality. The edamame was overcooked, so some of the beans were uber-soggy. Also, I didn't see that lovely layer of salt that usually covers my edamame. The rainbow roll was fantastic, although very heavy (filled with crunchy tempura bits and covered in avocado) and something that ought to be shared (which we did). The boat was impressive in size but not in quality nor variety. We had a lot of tuna and salmon, as well as some scallop, red snapper, octopus, and yellow tail. No shrimp at all. No roe. No eel. No fancy fish to name. And our octopus tasted like it was still thawing out (wet all along the bottom). It was relatively fresh, and a good deal, but we were sad not to get more variety in our 43 pieces (12 of which were salmon), and even sadder that our octopus was so un-tasty.
