Osaka Sushi

Osaka Sushi
1951 Oak Bay Ave.
250.590.6650

Another delicious recommendation from NL. Thank youuuu very much!
We first visited Osaka about a week ago and very quickly visited again within the last week!

Fresh, delicious sushi.

We are always looking to see if anyone else's tuna sashimi comes close to Ebizo's so we tend to try it at new sushi places. Osaka's tuna sashimi was quite good, better than some other places in Victoria which will remain unnamed. It was a nice refreshing cold, slightly fishy but not overwhelming and almost had the same melty-texture of Ebizo's. Ebizo still takes the cake for tuna sashimi in Victoria.

We chose 3 rolls to share.. they had a great menu to choose from. Though, some of their specialty rolls were quite expensive. We got 2 from that list, and one from their regular maki rolls.
First, and my personal favourite, was the Green Dragon roll, a specialty roll. A regular tempura prawn roll with mayo, topped with avocado. I find tempura rolls can sometimes lose their crispiness, but this one was so crispy, topped with the mayo and extremely fresh avocado, the roll was surprisingly very creamy. Great flavour and texture. We got this the second time around as well :)
Second, my next favourite, was the Spicy Ahi and Avocado roll. Their spicy mayo is to die for!!! Such a perfect spice kick and very creamy. Again, the extremely fresh avocado topped this roll off. I found the ahi was a little off for me, but SM loved it. Our second time around we got the regular Spicy Tuna and Avocado roll which was also very delicious.
Third, SM's favourite, was another specialty roll.. I believe it was called the Osaka special roll. I think it had tuna sashimi and cucumber inside, topped with red cabbage and seaweed salad. It was very different and pretty tasty, just not quite worth the price.

Our 2nd time back, we tried their California roll -deep-fried style (which they offer on about 3 different maki rolls). We weren't very impressed with the cali roll, the crispiness of the deep-fried style was yummy and we decided we would try it again with a different roll, but the cali itself was a little tasteless.

Our first time was on a Monday, which is free Miso Soup day. I highly recommend going on a Monday because it can't get much better than free miso soup. But they do have specials every day of the week.
Sadly, the place has been VERY quiet each time we have gone, one of which was a Saturday night!! Please, please, pleaseeee check out Osaka Sushi and keep them in business!

We will definitely be bringing our families along for the ride to try the deeeeliciousss Osaka Sushi, right in your backyard and friendly Oak Bay :)

Update! We have been frequenting Osaka sushi very regularly now. The waitresses and sushi chef know us well!! Our new favourites which we recommend you trying are the hand cones!! Love this place and am so happy to see that it is getting more and more popular each time we go!

Lady Marmalade

Lady Marmalade
608 Johnson St.
250.381.2872
ladymarmalade.ca


A bit of a hipster joint, Lady Marmalade has a seat-yourself kind of atmosphere. After continually hearing great things about the All-Day Breakfast/All-Day Lunch cafe, we decided we must check it out.

I have to skip right to the food, because I'm salivating just thinking about it......

Sadly, their website only has their Toronto menu on it, which surprisingly does not have the delicious sandwich we BOTH ordered.
It was a breakfast sandwich, served on french bread. It came with scrambled eggs, bacon, avocado, cheddar cheese and a delicious mayo that is escaping me right now. (it also comes with cilantro mayo, but I dislike cilantro).
To top it off, it came with pan-fried potatoes and a delicious salad with dressing similar to the ginger dressing at Japanese Village.

The service was nice at the restaurant. Our waitress was very pleasant and attentive with coffee re-fills. I have noticed extremely mixed reviews on Urbanspoon for Lady Marmalade's service, so I think I will have to go again, (darn!! ;p) to really stick by my claim of good service.
I might mention that we did go during the holiday season/boxing week and it wasn't overly busy and the staff were very pleasant. A good sign, in my opinion.

We will definitely be going back... yummmm......!

Update! We did go back to Lady Marmalade and weren't as impressed by the breakfast sandwich the second time around. The salad and dressing were still delicious.

Big Wheel Burger - Burgers Take Over Victoria PT.1!

Big Wheel Burger
341 Cook St.
250.381.0050
bigwheelburger.com

"Big Wheel Burger provides the best quality burgers, shakes, sodas and fries through local, sustainable and environmentally friendly resources."

This is Big Wheel Burger's slogan on their website. It's inspiring, makes you feel better about eating burgers and helping your local community.
After seeing reviews on Urbanspoon which were very unfavourable and hearing through family friends to avoid it at all cost, we decided "how bad could it be? let's find out!"

We weren't over the moon with our experience. The staff is friendly and they take your name to call out your order, which I'm always kind of happy about. It personalizes your experience!

Now, time for the food. The food was a bit of a disappointment, I must say.
The patty is definitely homemade, not a cookie cutter patty you'd find anywhere else. It was very chunky and uneven in shape. Not a whole lot of flavour. The cheese on the burger was pretty tasteless as well. Fresh lettuce and a small helping of slightly tasty mayo, the burger was generally pretty bland. Beside their pop machines, which are self-serve, there are a selection of condiments you may add to your burger. Onions, relish, banana peppers and so on. The bun could be a bit more substantial, as the fresh patty juices kinda made it soggy.
The fries were nicely cooked. Golden brown and soft on the inside, slightly seasoned. They weren't a huge disappointment.

Overall, I think if you're feeling like burgers, don't want to go for the whole Pink Bicycle sha-bang!, and are interested in helping your local community, try them out. But don't expect a whole lot of food for the prices you're paying. For $1-2 more, you could have the portions of Pink Bicycle or Bin 4.
If they were to drop their prices, we would consider going back. But for what you get, it isn't quite worth it.

Stay tuned for Burgers Take Over Victoria PT.2!!!

Update! We re-visited Big Wheel burger not too long ago and very much enjoyed our 2nd experience. We tried the famous milkshakes and agree they are pretty fantastic! We would definitely go back again :)

Welcome to 2012!!

Wow, 2012 has arrived!!
In my very expert opinion (not!), I have decided to announce a food trend for 2012!


One word...


CHIPOTLE.


It's everywhere this year!! I think it will be big all year!
Embrace the smokey taste of chipotle for a little kick in your step ;)


Have a great year everyone!
xoxox.

Odyssia's in Sidney

Odyssia's (Steak House)
Sidney : 9785 5th Street
250.656.5596


We don't make it out to Sidney too much, but when we do it is customary to make a trip to Odyssia's for Greek food. I was a little shocked to see that it was called Odyssia's Steak House because I have never seen anyone order steak here. The Greek food is by far the BEST I have ever had in Victoria.


Every time we go, we get three basic Greek food items: the Calamari, Houmous and Pita, and the Spanakopita. (The Greek Salad is also delish... but I have no picture.)


Let's start with the Calamari.

You know how Calamari always seems to be chewy in Victoria? Well, a small venture out to Sidney will have you eating the most tender calamari ever. After eating it, you will find it extremely hard to eat calamari anywhere else again, so beware! It is perfectly fried, drizzled with freshly chopped red onion and paired with a refreshing tzatziki.

Next up, the Houmous and Pita.

I am personally not a BIG fan of Odyssia's houmous and pita, mostly because I find the houmous a bit bland. I like a really flavourful, garlic-y houmous. The pita paired with it is quite delicious though, nice and thick, lightly buttered.


Next, and probably my favourite, is the Spanakopita.

After craving this, I have tried the Spanakopita in many downtown cafes and absolutely nothing compares. The flavours are perfectly mingled, and the crust perfectly crisp. The spinach and feta in this are so fresh, you can taste that it was made that day.


I mentioned the greek salad, but having no picture, I will try my best to explain. I guess greek salad generally looks the same. Cucumbers, red onion, green peppers and tomatoes (that are so fresh they have changed my opinion about them) combine deliciously with their vinaigrette.


I'm pretty hungry now, and all I want to do is drive out to Sidney for some Greek food. I highly recommend you do the same. Treat your stomach to the best!

Ayo Eat

Ayo Eat
Market Square
250.590.4231


This little gem has been around for a year and a half now, tucked away in a busy corner of Victoria's historic Market Square. I happen to work nearby, so I have been frequenting this little eatery ever since it opened. Eating my way through the menu I have become friends with the awesome owner of Ayo Eat, Ali Syahbana, best known as Bana, who is from the area of Medan, North Sumatra. He is a one-man wonder at the one and only Indonesian eatery in Victoria.


His menu is posted on the door to his one-room operation. Tucked away inside this door is everything Bana needs to prepare some delicious Indonesian food. I have tried the green curry dish with chicken many times, and while it is absolutely delicious (SM loves it) my favourite dish is a variation of the Nasi Goreng Ayam (chicken fried rice) and the Sate Ayam (chicken satay with peanut sauce). Bana is great and makes the 3 skewers of chicken satay over the chicken fried rice, topped off with his delicious peanut sauce, pickled veggies, and prawn crackers.

The peanut sauce and the pickled veggies give this dish the perfect amount of kick, which I love to cool down with the prawn crackers. The chicken skewers are so tender, and always perfectly cooked.

I recommend Ayo Eat to everyone I know that's looking for quick, delicious, healthy eats. It's like nothing else you've ever tried in Victoria.

Ayo Eat Bana! (Let's Eat Bana!)

Keep it up! Bana's optimism every day I see him is inspiring. Please visit him and try his delicious food. I guarantee you'll keep coming back for more!

*He recently added a vegetarian spring roll to his menu, so you vegetarians have no excuse not to try it out!

http://www.ayoeat.com/AyoEat/Welcome_to_Ayo_Eat.html

Dynasty Restaurant

546 Fisgard St.

250.388.6818

Dynasty is a Chinese food restaurant that doubles as an all-day dim sum restaurant! I can't remember how we came across it, possibly wanting dim sum at a non-dim-sum-time, but ever since the first time we've been hooked. This last visit was so satisfying that I knew I had to post about it, mostly because hardly anyone has voted for it on Urbanspoon. We also went on a Friday night and we were their only customers. We were a little thrown off by this because, while the restaurant hasn't ever been super busy when we've come by, there have at least been other customers.

Their dim sum menu is pretty thorough except it is missing vegetables! I like that we can order off a dim sum menu rather than it coming around on carts like at Don Mee's. Because of the lack of vegetables we ordered the green beans in black bean sauce off the regular menu. The male owner came out and told us that they unfortunately did not have enough green beans for the full order and asked if it was ok to add snap peas, which it more than definitely was! The veggies were absolutely delicious!! Crisp, fresh and yummy yummy sauce!!

Next up were our dim sum orders. We ordered the pot stickers (not pictured because they were gobbled up before I remembered to take a picture!!), pork dumplings and the chinese sausage sticky rice.

The pot stickers came with a weird pink sauce that SM said tasted like a wine reduction, so we stuck our pot stickers in the green beans for the black bean sauce! Yum! They were very crisp on the outside and deliciously seasoned on the inside.

The pork dumplings were.. like any other dumpling I think. If you try to explain a dumpling to yourself you'll understand the complexity of putting it into words!

The sticky rice is probably my favourite item of the dinner. Pan fried with chinese sausage, green onions and egg, it is full of flavour and satisfies different taste levels with the slight sweetness of the sausage and the punch of the green onion.

We were glad to see that the food was still delicious despite the quiet Friday night for them. The owners are sweethearts and were consistently checking in on us, clearing plates and topping up our waters. Even with other customers in the restaurant previous times they have been attentive.

I highly recommend checking out Dynasty if you're craving dim sum, or even check out their full Chinese/Cantonese menu.