D A I S A N H A R U M I

When we were planning for our trip to Japan, the key thing that we had in mind was food. Where were we going to get some great food and how do we get it. That was the key question. Me and Janice are sushi lovers so naturally, when we were planning to go to Japan, we were at a loss as to which sushi-ya to try. While we would have loved to give Saito, Sawada, Mizutani or Jiro a try, we could only afford to eat at that level so many times before we went way over our budget. We read about Daisan Harumi as a cheaper and easier to book alternative so we thought we would give it a try. This place was no slouch either, being ranked the 19th best sushi restaurant in Tokyo by Tabelog (Japanese review site) in October 2013.

Daisan Harumi
Tokyo, Minato-ku, Shinbashi 1-17-7

This was our first taste of Japan as we arrived in Narita at 5pm and our reservation was at 7:30pm – let’s just say it was a mad rush to get there on time. We did not even have the time to go to the hotel to drop our bags off so unfortunately we carried our two big luggages with us into the restaurant – they were nice enough to accommodate though I would not recommend doing that (restaurants in Japan are typically very, very small). We went with the omakase (chef’s specialty/choice) as we often do at any good sushi restaurant. We started with sashimi which included Ika, Red Snapper, and Flounder. We then feasted on an assortment of nigiri to get an idea of the amazing variety that Japan is privy to. One of my favourite dishes surprisingly was the grilled unagi however. Small bite size pieces which just melted in your mouth. The smokiness from the grilled char marks was delicious! Daisan Harumi is a fairly foreigner friendly intro to high end sushi – the chef’s assistant even brought out cards which explained the types of fish that we were eating in English! The chef himself though, did not speak very much English at all so conversation during the meal was a bit difficult.

The meal was a good one to get us started in our culinary journey in Japan but over the course of our trip, we started to realize that we did not enjoy Daisan Harumi as much as we did other restaurants. The price per person was about $185 USD and for that amount, while we were relatively full, we did not get blown away by the food. Perhaps we are sushi snobs and had very high expectations and therefore we left a bit underwhelmed. Still, compared to Shiro’s in Seattle and Sushi Sam’s in San Francisco, Daisan Harumi ranks right up there with the two of them. Sushi Yasuda in New York served sushi that was more to our liking however. We went to five different sushi restaurants on our trip and here’s how I would rank them:

1. Sushi Iwa (by a country mile)
2. Sushi Dai
3. Daisan Harumi
4. Sushi Midori
5. Sushi Zanmai

P A T R I C I A S

A few weeks ago, we moved to Melbourne. Whenever you make a move from your home town, where your friends and family are, there is always mixed feelings. You miss the comforts of home. For us, Vancouver had everything, including great food and good coffee (if you know where to look). So what do we do to make ourselves at home? We seek out good coffee. After all, we had heard from every one who had been there that the coffee was pretty darn good there. Let's just say, having tried the coffee here, it is one less reason to be home sick.

We went to Patricia's on our first week here and could immediately tell that I wouldn't be missing the coffee back in Vancouver. This place was a little hard to find (like everything in Melbourne, the good places are hidden in some laneway or alley) but we were glad that we did. I would confidently say that this place serves up better coffee than anything we have. The only dangerous thing is that it is only a 3 minute walk from work...

p a t r i c i a ' s

N A P A V A L L E Y

As part of our California vacation, we knew that we had to visit the wine country. We are by no means wine conniosseurs, but we would not say no to a good bottle of full bodied red wine of the shiraz, syrah, cabernet, or zinfandel variety. Wine is just one of those things that is very subjective. Anyone professing to be an expert in all varietals would be lying but it doesn't stop people from exploring and trying different types. That's the best part about wine is that just when you think you know what you like, you'll come across a bottle that will just open your eyes (and your taste buds) to a whole new sensation. Needless to say, I will have a wine cellar in my house in the future!


Napa Valley is also a beautiful place. As we drove through the country side, we encountered winery after winery. The summer meant that there had been very little rain, resulting in a landscape that was quite dry. Aside from the trees which provided the much needed green, you could tell that the grass had its better days. The drive was only a little over 2 hours from San Francisco as we stayed in the town of Calistoga, a short drive up north from St. Helena. Our accommodations could not have been better. Our choice was the Pink Mansion (literally pink on the outside). Don't let the color confuse you however, this bed and breakfast boast plenty of character and delivered some fantastic breakfasts. The interior was beautiful and classically done. All in all, it was a great stay and we would recommend this place to anyone. We were very glad that we chose to stay here instead of in the town of Napa to be honest with you!


W I N E R I E S

Anyway, back to the red stuff. There are just so many to consider when you go into the Napa Valley / Sonoma Valley region. If you are like us, you will have some trouble figuring out which ones to go to in the amount of time that you had. I can't help you with that decision since everyone's taste for wine differs but here are some of the ones that we visited:

/ Alpha Omega: Probably the location of our favorite red. This is not a brand that I had heard of before coming here but based on a recommendation from our host, we decided to give it a go. At first I thought the recommendation was a bit biased because she said she had a friend work here but boy are we glad we took that recommendation. Great service by the staff as they comped our wine tasting but we ended up buying a $88 bottle anyway (I don't usually buy anything over $50 so that should say something). They do not distribute the vast majority of their wines so you have to go to the winery to get a tasting. Simply put - come here!


/ Duck Horn: A beautiful location, this winery would be easy to miss if you didn't know where the turnoff was. The house was very... how would you say... homey? It has a bit of a large beach cottage feel to it with a fantastic patio. Even in the 30 degree heat, you could sit comfortably in the patio with the shade and the breeze blowing through. The red's are very bold, forward and aggressive. Very old world in its preparation, the merlots and cabernet's were really quite good. Each bottle here is at least $75 and up though so be prepared to fork up a bit if you like the wine.


/ Paraduxx: The sister winery to Duck Horn, we decided to give this a try as they specialized in red blends. We really enjoyed our tasting here, not only because of the service but because of the wine itself too. Served with some great cows milk cheese and some salty crackers, we sat down and enjoyed their cabernet, merlot and zinfandel blends. Smooth and complex, their wines were fantastic. We ended up buying a couple of bottles from here.


/ Sterling: Not much to say about this one. Come here for the view, not the wine.


/ V Sattui: We didn't get a chance to try the wine as we were rushing to get to our Duck Horn reservation but we did enjoy our BBQ picnic on the grounds!


Overall we had a great time visiting the wineries here. Still though, there were so many that we did not have time to see. Oh well, that's our reason for coming again!

F O O D

What would be a trip to Napa without a visit to Bouchon Bakery? Located in the town of Yountville, this place had quite the line up outside. The macarons were enormous and quite good. Is it as good as those in Paris? Probably not but in North America, I would say that these are right up there at the top.


That same day we also had a chance to eat at Ad Hoc. The menu is small and changes frequently. This is not one of those fancy schmancy restaurants where you have to worry about impressions. For all the talk and hype, this place has a very casual atmosphere and the food is low key but huge on flavor.


O V E R A L L

We had such a great time in wine country. We spent about 4 days here which was ample time. We just needed some time away from the city and Napa provided some quiet time for the both of us.

L A S T W E E K I N V A N C O U V E R

What would you eat if you had a week left in Vancouver?

Packing up your bags and leaving your home town can be scary. It is a good thing that both me and J have done this once before so we know what to expect for the most part but it is because we know that we made a list of things that we had to eat and do before hand. Australia, from all that we have heard, has amazing food, some of the world's best coffee, and a great night life. Needless to say, we are so excited to see for ourselves when we get there. But, we have some great eats in Vancouver too so we decided to hit up some places that we love and we knew that we would miss if we left without it. So what do we indulge in with just a week to go in Vancouver?

Pictures taken with a Canon 5D Mark II and iPhone 5
/ Phnom Penh: Everyone who loves food in Vancouver will know this place. Serving up Cambodian/Vietnamese cuisine, they have possibly the best chicken wings that I have ever had in my life. The holy trinity also includes the Beef Luc Lac with a fried egg on top and the butter beef. Lineups galore would not stop me from coming back here (we tried coming here about 3 times prior to our successful night and we were told the waits would be 90 minutes or more).


/ La Buca: This place may be small and out in the middle of no where, but personally I think this is probably my favorite Italian restaurant in the entire city. Seating only about 30-40 people at capacity meant that it had more of a cozy feel to it. The food tastes much like you would expect from a spectacular home made meal. Had our going away dinner here and we were all left extremely full and happy.


/ Santouka: Alright so I was so hungry that I completely forgot about taking a picture and left you with a half eaten bowl of ramen ... hopefully that tells you something about this place. I have not made my way through Japan yet but insofar as Vancouver goes, this place is up there with the best ramen in town (get the spicy miso ramen).


/ Fable: One of my very favorite places for brunch, Fable was opened by Top Chef Canada participant, Trevor Bird. The space is in the trendy West 4th, Kitsilano area but the thing that keeps me coming back is the food (as it should be). The pulled pork pancakes was my first taste at this restaurant and I gotta tell you, these are enough alone to keep you coming back. The pork was tender, sweet, and had a kick from the incorporated jalepeno. On top of all of that was the sweet tomato jam. I'm salivating just thinking about it.


/ 49th Parallel: Couldn't leave Vancouver without having coffee after dinner at 10pm. 49th Parallel is one of my favorite spots for slow coffee in the city and in many ways introduced me to the better form of that delicious black/brown liquid. For me, this place is probably one of the top 2-3 coffee joints in Vancouver! I know Melbourne will have loads to offer here though so I hope I don't miss it too much.


/ Ajisai: Ahh good old sushi. This place is one of the more traditional sushi joints in the city. All the chefs and servers are Japanese which helps with the authenticity but in all honesty, the food is pretty great. The queues can be long but the food makes it worth it. Please Melbourne, have good sushi! If not, at least Japan is close by.


/ Fresh Local Wild: Vancouver is starting to ramp up their food cart scene and one of the stars of the bunch is Fresh Local Wild. They make some amazing fish and chips (honestly better than anything I had when I lived in London, UK) and some very different but fantastic seafood chowder poutine. The fish and chip batter was light and crispy without being overly greasy.


/ Kaya: Let's just say that I love Malaysian food. There is the usual Banana Leaf to go to but when we tried this place, we liked it just a bit more. Great Hainanese chicken and roti canai. Probably one of the better kept secrets in Vancouver as they consistently serve great food but still lack the notoriety of a Banana Leaf.


/ Meat and Bread: Knowing that I was leaving, I had to have the porchetta again. Crispy... fatty... goodness...

/ Bella Gelateria: The line ups here can be crazy during the summer but this is not just another gelateria. The owner has received quite a bit of publicity lately as he won 1st place at the Florence Gelato Festival in 2012. I'm not a gelato connoisseur but this place serves up gelato that easily compares or bests those that I had when I traveled through Italy.


Last but not least though, I had to have my mom's home cooking. Growing up, I always considered myself to be very lucky. One, because my mom is a wonderful cook (she's not fancy, she just knows how to make food that makes me smile and full every time) and two, that I grew up somewhat lean so I could eat more of her food. This is without a doubt, the food that I will miss the most.

I have been lucky to have lived in Vancouver for so long. There is just so much great food here. Here's to hoping that Melbourne has the same, if not more :) Next stop, Australia!

S A N F R A N C I S C O

Since the first time I arrived in San Francisco, I have always said that if I were to move to the US, this is the city that I would want to stay. What is there not to love about this place? Fitted with Californian weather (well... Bay weather), loads and loads of amazing food options, nice people, great sense of the appreciation for being different, this is a place that provides all of that. We stayed in the city for most of the time and feasted.


A C T I V I T I E S

There is so much to do and see in this city. Having been here a few times before we did not have to go and do the same things again but some highlights from this trip included the bike ride across the golden gate bridge towards Sausalito. We also walked through Fisherman's Wharf as anyone would just because it was lively and there was a lot happening there. The Ferry Building is also something we went to see as the farmer's market was going on. So much fresh fruit, produce and flowers. Let's just say that we went a little trigger happy with our cameras here.


Shopping can be had anywhere but we were lucky to have J's Aunt and Uncle pick us up and take us to the Livermore Outlets. Lots of shops here and they were all having their July 4th sales which helped.

One of the best parts about San Francisco though is just how cool it looks. The neighborhoods, the rolling hills... My recommendation? Walk! You'll see some neat things and it gives you some time to work off the heaps of food that you will have undoubtedly gorged yourself on in this city.


F O O D

We went to a number of great restaurants while we are there. Coming from Vancouver, we are really lucky when it comes to good eats. When you're in San Francisco though, it is easier to find a good restaurant than a bad one. Here are some of the places we went to:

plow: One of my favorite places in the city for breakfast/brunch. I wrote up a blog review on this one here. A photographers paradise too as this place has such nice light and big windows.

limon: We got the chance to meet up with a friend who had just moved down to the Bay area while on this trip. Serving Peruvian food meant to be shared with the table, we loved the chicken. Definitely get that if you can come here. The prices were not bad either as you get a lot of bang for your buck. It gets busy though!

house of prime rib: If you like prime rib, this is the place to go. Old school through and through, the inside of the restaurant looks like something that came out of the late 80's. The chef will come over to your table and carve out the meat and prepare the dish right in front of you. A little pricier but we enjoyed it thoroughly.

bi-rite creamery: We heard about this place from friends and from reviews that did some great, great ice cream. Knowing how much we love gelato, we though, let's give this place a try. The line-up on a Wednesday night was about half an hour as it stretched around the corner of the block. They do not have an extraordinary amount of flavors (a good thing as it shows that they specialize and give it some thought) but it was pretty good! I still prefer Italian gelato though :).

sushi sam's: One of the top three sushi places I have eaten at in my entire life. What more needs to be said? The omakase is a must as they have such a great selection of fresh fish on a good day. Tons of returning customers you could tell that locals come here and they come here often. Read my full review here.

coffee: Being in this city, I knew there were a ton of great coffee shops. We did not get a chance to go back to Philz Coffee but we did get a chance to see some others. See the pictures below for a highlight of the better ones we went to.


A C C O M M O D A T I O N S

We stayed at the Warwick Hotel near Union Square. The hotel is very old and it showed in the hallways and in the building. Having said that, it was kept up nicely and the room was actually very decent. Close and convenient as well as affordable for what it was.

O V E R A L L

San Francisco is my favorite city in the US. I am a bit biased because I love the west coast, good food, great coffee, and the culture of creativity and innovation. While I won't be visiting again anytime soon, I am glad that we both had a chance to see this place before leaving! Next blog post: Napa Valley!

P L O W

One of the places I always recommend people to come to when they pass by San Francisco is Plow. Located somewhere in Potrero, San Francisco, this little (and by little I mean seats maybe 50 people) spot servers some great breakfast/brunch. I think I may have come here about 3 times now and I have never been disappointed. Pro's of coming here? House made sausages, amazing light, great flavors, awesome potatoes, and more amazing light. What more could a photographer... I mean foodie look for? No but seriously, come here and come here early. Line ups start by 10:30am on a weekday.

S U S H I S A M S

One of the reasons that I have such fond memories of traveling to San Francisco is the food. Actually I lied. That is the main reason that I love the city so much. I've had the pleasure of going to some good sushi restaurants in North America and Sushi Sam in San Mateo is one of them. In total I have been here three times now. The first time it absolutely blew me away. What were my impressions the next two times? It just reaffirmed my belief that this is one of the best sushi restaurants not in Japan.


Located approximately 30 minutes away from San Francisco, the restaurant appears unassuming from the outside. We went this time on a Friday afternoon for lunch and it was packed. As always, we sat at the sushi bar so that we could see how the chef works. Throughout the lunch you could tell that he was meticulous in his preparation and his hands were very quick. He was always on the go, preparing nigiri after nigiri. We ordered the omikase to test the freshness of the fish. Let's just say we were thoroughly pleased.

The thing that makes Sushi Sams special is the unique array of fishes that they have available. Honestly, by the time you get there for dinner, you may see the more popular items crossed off on their menu board (see below). We had the following: blue shrimp, butterfish, horse mackeral, copper river king salmon, long necked clam, seared toro, and fatty tuna. The pictures below will do the talking.


So how does this compare? It ranks right up there with Shiro's from Seattle which I previously reviewed. The only difference I thought was that Sushi Sam's provided more in quantity. That meant more fish and more additives. In some cases, the citrus was a little heavy on our butter fish but it wasn't so much that we thought it was bad. Sushi Yasuda in New York would still be the most authentic sushi we've experienced. Would we recommend this to anyone? Absolutely!

S H I R O

We consider ourselves to be fairly big sushi people. While we love all kinds of food, sushi is a staple in our diet. That's not really surprising seeing as how we live on the west coast; in Vancouver, you're going to find as many sushi restaurants as you would McDonald's. So when we heard from my friend that Shiro's was the place to go just south of the border, I put it on my radar right away.

For those of you that have watched the sushi documentary, Jiro's Dreams of Sushi, this place is a great alternative to flying to Japan so you can eat under the Ginza train station. For those of you that haven't watched the movie - just do. It is very artistically done and extremely interesting if you're a foodie. The chef that made the tamago, Daisuke, works here! He joined Shiro, a former apprentice of Jiro, about two years ago here, although the restaurant has been here for several decades.
Shiro is located in Seattle, a little bit away from the Pike Place Market. To get in this restaurant though, you need to get there early. Though the restaurant opens at 5:30, you're likely to be waiting a while if you get there during opening.

We both got there early (see picture of Janice below) and we had the omikaze. This restaurant is very comparable to Sushi Yasuda which we visited when we were in New York. Both are equally traditional (Shiro's even more so though given it's size and the clientele that they serve), serve amazingly fresh fish, and the chefs are all from Japan. They know their sushi and you can tell by the quality of the sushi served. Don't come here if you like modern style rolls (ie. dragon rolls, spider rolls, etc, etc), but come here if you appreciate sushi the traditional way. Some of the fish we had included, varieties of tuna and salmon, monk fish, herring, shrimp, geo duck, flounder, squid, and on and on it goes. Honestly, I would say Shiro's and Sushi Yasuda were pretty close. But I would highly recommend Shiro's and intend on coming back soon. Definitely worth the 3 hour drive! Right now, the only thing more authentic might be going to Japan's fish markets themselves.

S H I R O ' S S U S H I
2401 2nd Ave
Seattle, WA 98121

S U S H I Y A S U D A

On the second night in New York, we decided to go and get some sushi. Now, coming from Vancouver, you might think this decision a little strange. I did at first too. There is a stereotype that the west coast has the best options for sushi but after this visit, I believe I may have been mistaken.

When I knew that I was going to New York, I knew that this would be a foodie trip. We would indulge not in shopping or sight seeing, but in good food. I turned to Alice for some recommendations and this restaurant came up. Between this and Morimoto's, I was recommended this restaurant.

Located by the Grand Central Station in Manhatten, this restaurant is central for most tourists to New York. Of course we had a long day of walking around Soho so we were starving by the time we arrived. The menu was simple and typical of most japanese restaurants so we both went with the omakaze menu. The more traditional restaurants will have this option but basically, the sushi chef will give you dishes based on their recommendations. In this case, we got all nigiri style sushi ranging from raw oyster, king salmon, unagi done two ways, spanish mackeral, japanese mackeral, etc. I would highly recommend going with this option if you don't know what you would like. If you do get this option though, do try to sit at the sushi bar, it's a much better experience having the chef personally serve you and introduce each dish. Keep in mind though: no soy sauce or wasabi as the chef would want you to eat each piece as is!

Overall thoughts? It was one of the best japanese meals I have had and probably a more authentic experience than anything we have in Vancouver. The bill came up to about $130 per person but we had some warm sake too. Overall well worth it!

Sushi Yasuda

http://www.sushiyasuda.com/

N E W Y O R K

It occurred to us that we both had the hope of visiting New York during the Christmas season not long after knowing each other. Like many, my initial image of Christmas came from watching Home Alone 1 and 2. The shrill cries of the burglars after that succumbed to an alarming number of booby-traps placed by a little kid, the running throughout the streets of New York and Central Park in particular, and the pigeon lady was my idea of the holiday season for many a years. While we were both well older than the little boy in Home Alone, we both wanted to come to this city and satisfy our childish dreams of seeing the City during this time of year.

This trip we wanted to accomplish a few things including seeing the Rockefeller Christmas Tree, ice skate outdoors somewhere in the City, window shop just to get a glimpse of the holiday window decorations, and eat to our hearts content. Although we had both been to New York before, one of us seemed to miss out on a lot of the tourist attractions the first time around so we went and did some of that as well.

T H E C I T Y
Walking around the city, we realized how small we were. The buildings tower over you from all sides. Vancouver sure isn't like this by any means and neither is London, mind you.

T H E A C T I V I T I E S
We did a lot during our short stay in the City but without a doubt one of the highlights was seeing the Nutcracker at the Lincoln Theatre. Performed by the New York City Ballet, it was really something else. I think living in Europe introduced me to musicals and orchestras and I'm glad I got to see this after because I wouldn't have appreciated it as much had I not known what to expect. A good way to jump start the holiday cheer I think!

Among the other Christmassy things we got up to included going to the Rockefeller Center (we ice skated under the Christmas tree, went up to the top of the rock, and took a crap load of pictures), walking along the decorated 5th avenue, and eat to our hearts content.

T H E I N D U L G E N C I E S
With all the food options available in NYC, we had to come up with a list of places we wanted to try out prior to our trip. This also forced us to make reservations early considering some of the restaurants that we wanted to go to are usually booked at least one month in advance. Our list included bakeries, food trucks, diners, cafes, restaurants and food stalls at the Christmas Market. Some of the places we visited that we would recommend to anyone?

Degustation: An amazing restaurant recommended by Alice, this restaurant was located in the east village. The space was small but the food was innovative, extremely tasty, and the portions small enough that you can a variety of dishes. One of the best meals that we've ever had, hands down. We will be writing a review on this restaurant so stay tuned for that.

Sushi Yasuda: Sushi in New York when we have loads of such establishments in Vancouver? I may have doubted it at first but not anymore. The omakaze was delicious and the sushi was some of the best I've ever had. I would rival it with Sushi Sam's in San Mateo, California as the best sushi I have had the pleasure of eating.

Basso 56: I have been to this restaurant before but Janice had not. Located centrally between Times Square and Central Park, this is a small italian restaurant. I had the wild boar ragu with in-house made pasta once again and it was just as I had remembered it - delicious. She had the seafood pasta pictured below.

Clinton Street Bakery: One of the breakfast spots that I was most excited about visiting was without a doubt this restaurant. We were lucky to get a seat so quickly but soon after there was a queue out the door. We had the caramelized banana waffle and the blueberry pancakes. Sounds simple right? Well, if it is, they simply did it better than anyone else. Could rank as the best breakfast I have had anywhere in the world.

Shake Shack: One rainy afternoon, as I was pale with hunger, we visited this fast food place that is commonly compared to In and Out Burger in California. I might have been trembling at the time but I was thoroughly satisfied. Great burger and great fries. We were lucky to even get a seat, there was a ton of people there looking for them. Would definitely come back here again.

Honorable Mentions: We'll let the pictures do the talking :)

T H E A C C O M M O D A T I O N S
We stayed at the Paramount Hotel in Times Square. Affordable and extremely central. Between cabbing and taking the subway, we got to all our destinations without much of a hitch. Just one oddity we noticed? Cabs will not pick you up during certain times of the day (something like a changeover period). So if you notice that you're failing to get a cab at a point during the evening, that may be it?

T H O U G H T S
Though it was our second time in New York, I think it's safe to say that we enjoyed New York more this time around. The food we had was fantastic and I can't wait to come back again - if only for the food and coffee. This blog post turned out to be uber long so I apologize for that - it is definitely picture heavy! We hope you enjoyed it though!

We will be churning out a few restaurant reviews for this City so tune in for that soon!

Cheers,

K.