Shima Sushi

250.590.7370

1218 Wharf St.

http://www.shimasushivictoria.ca/

After MUCH persistence from NL, my family and I finally made it to Shima Sushi! There were a few of us so I will focus mostly on my food, and note on whatever else I nibbled on from others' plates!

As always, started with green tea and goma-ae!! Green tea was nice, a sencha. Goma-ae was similar to Kaz Sushi on Store St. with a sweeter sesame sauce than I prefer. Very beautifully prepared though!

I was also able to sample the tuna sashimi which was heavenly! From the one piece I tried, it was very .. I don't even have the words. It tops my views on Ebizo's tuna sashimi, so that's saying a lot. It deliciously melted in my mouth.

I also ordered the teriyaki beef a la carte, which was served with a miso soup (nothing special) and a side of steak sauce (yum!). It also came with some veggies: broccoli, carrots and bok choy. The veggies looked very plain, and I hesitantly ate a small piece of broccoli and it was absolutely delicious! They had some very delicate seasoning on them and I ate every piece of broccoli I could find on my hotplate! (I love broccoli)

Finally, I had a roll. Mostly because I couldn't resist. I absolutely love sushi, but I was really feeling something warm and comforting, hence the beef teriyaki. I ordered the Victoria roll: smoked salmon, crab, cream cheese, red onion, lettuce and cucumber. With those ingredients I was expecting this roll to be a flavour melting pot! I was sadly disappointed. It really didn't have a lot of flavour to it, but was obviously VERY fresh.

I was also able to try:

tempura prawns (crispy and fresh),

edamame (perfect temperature and salty),

rice with steak sauce (yum. similar to previous versions of azuma's. more similar to Japanese village)

I would definitely go back to Shima to try more things, and I would definitely give their rolls another try.

I definitely think you should try it out!!

Avalon Restaurant

250.385.2129

1075 Fort St.

On Saturday morning I was playing around with my Urbanspoon app and it always comes up with places nearby on the home screen of the app. Avalon always comes up because it is really close to our home, and I walk by it all the time on my way home from work, but it has never stood out as a place to go. It wasn't until that morning that I actually looked into it and saw it was a breakfast place, highly recommended to go to when Blue Fox is packed to the brim. (I hate Blue Fox). We decided to go for it!

My first impression walking in was overwhelming. The place is really quite small and was pretty busy at the time. It was also very stuffy, they had their fans going but it was a bit too cold out to have the door open unfortunately.

I do have to mention that the coffee was not terrible as some reviews had mentioned on Urbanspoon. It was not the best coffee, but it was good enough that I had 2 cups. The menu had lots of options, but I settled on a personal favourite of mine, a lox benny on an english muffin. SM had the basic breakfast with 2 eggs, 2 sausages and hashbrowns with a side of their oaten bread.

The above picture is what my lox benny looked like on their oaten bread which it unfortunately came out on. I asked for the english muffin and sadly it came close to 15 minutes later. SM had already finished his breakfast.

The benny was good though. The hollandaise was just how I like, not too lemony/tangy.

The hashbrowns were probably my favourite part. They were deliciously pan-fried, nice and crispy. They tasted delicious with their ketchup!

SM liked his breakfast as well. The reviews of the sausages were smack on, they are very processed.. think Denny's. Sometimes, there is something satisfying about those junky sausages though!

The service was alright. Our waitress seemed to have a bit of an attitude, but seemed genuinely apologetic for the mixup with my english muffin (not how long it took though). She seemed like a manager-type, very bossy with the other staff.

I would walk by to see what their lunch menu is like before committing to going there again.

I like the proximity of it, but would much rather go to Shine Cafe if I want a yummy breakfast.

Sen Zushi

250.385.4320

940 Fort St.

www.senzushi.com

Sen Zushi is our other favourite sushi restaurant. It's handy for us because it's only a couple blocks from our home and we've never had a bad experience.

Our meal at sushi restaurants always starts with green tea, we've become a bit of green tea snobs I must admit. The tea at Sen is quite good, a gen maicha, in a bag rather than loose.

I always start with the goma-ae at Sen because it is the best I have come across. It has the full flavour of a sesame marinade without the sauciness. Covered in sesame seeds and nicely chilled, it is delicious.

Our order fluctuates at Sen, but it usually consists of

• Dynamite Roll - really yummy. Crisp tempura prawn with a light, sweet soy sauce drizzled on it, with imitation crab, avocado, cucumber and lettuce. This roll has a lot of flavour to it, but I feel they could make it slightly longer and, therefore, the cuts thicker as it is quite flimsy.
• Kobei Maki - baby shrimp with mayo, avocado and roe. This roll is usually quite yummy and satisfies multiple needs: flavour, softness and crunch. I was slightly unsatisfied with this roll because it wasn't tightly wrapped and it was opening. The seaweed was a little chewy as well, so I found it difficult to bite into.

Other notable items on the menu: Gyoza appetizer, Victoria roll, Mango Lemonade drink.

Items we wished we hadn't tried: Goma Miso Udon, Ginger Pork.

We would love to try the sashimi sometime but unfortunately it is associated with our least favourite thing about the restaurant. The prices. The sashimi is priced at 5 pieces or 10, and the price for 5 pieces is the same price as many other restaurants who give you 8-10 pieces.

The downfalls: The price. The price. And, umm.. the price. For the prices, the quality is not quite there. The food is delicious but need not be at the escalated prices they are.

For the two of us, our meal came to $25, each.. and it wasn't a large amount of food by any means.

Ebizo Sushi

250.383.3234

604 Broughton St.

So, Ebizo Sushi made the top of my list!

It is our favourite sushi restaurant in Victoria. The service, however, could be better.. much better.

It always starts off as a driveby to see how busy it is. The night we went it didn't look too bad from the outside. We ended up waiting for approx. 25 minutes once we found parking and got inside. There were lots of empty tables that the waitstaff (only 2 people) were seemingly ignoring and not cleaning up. There were 2 groups of people behind us as well that hadn't even been checked in with.

With our hunger growing and patience dwindling, we were finally seated. We really liked our table location actually. We hadn't sat at this particular table before, a four-person table closest to the window against the wall, but we appreciated that it felt more secluded and quiet.

The first thing to be ordered, green tea. The green tea at Ebizo is the best gen maicha I have ever had. It even trumps the one I make at home. Lifting the lid of the teapot, you are overwhelmed by the smell of toasted rice. YUM!

Our ordering generally consists of the same thing every time.

• Tuna Sashimi - the absolute best in the city. Cold. Melts in your mouth, yet firm. No fishy smell or taste. Perfection.
• 2 Dynamite Rolls - every time I bite into a piece of this roll, I am amazed that something can taste so good. Crisp tempura prawn with exceptionally fresh avocado and cucumbers, finished with their homemade mayo.
• Yam Tempura Roll w/ Cream Cheese - yum. Crisp tempura yam, almost like yam fries stuffed in a roll. We add the cream cheese, and they do charge us 50 cents but it's worth it.

This time, we also started with tempura vegetables which are fresh and crisp. Veggies include: carrots, yam, zucchini, eggplant, mushrooms, green beans. I know, green beans!? They are delish.

We also tried the spicy tuna and avocado roll for the first time. SM was a fan but I was not. It was lacking in flavour, but still very fresh. Pleasant enough to eat but I gave most of my share to him.

My recommendation? Make reservations!!! Try to plan ahead to visit this wonderful restaurant. Also, have patience with the low number of waitstaff. Once you're seated, you don't really notice the lack of staff, it's when you're waiting at the door that you feel ignored. Make a reso and I'm sure you won't notice at all!

*there is also a parking lot right beside the restaurant if you don't mind paying evening parking fees.

First Post?!

Not too sure which restaurant is worthy of the first food blog post!
Will have to be one of my ultimate favourites.
Stay tuned to see what tops my list!

:) - nikki