Sushi Hachi 鮨八 – Mom & Pop does it right

On Friday I had the pleasure of getting off work early, which gave me some time to plan where to eat for dinner. After a bit of reading on the interweb reviews, and reaffirming with a bit of googlin and flickrin, I was set on Sushi Hachi 鮨八 in Richmond. (map)

The address is on Odlin, but Sushi Hachi is actually a part of Pacific Plaza and faces Cambie street. The interior is a cozy size, seating about two dozen, which is about a half dozen too many to manage comfortably for the Mom and Pop owners that staff this place. As a result, the mom darts from table to table at a Tokyo subway-esque pace while the pop is stationed at the sushi counter.

Their menu has the regular sushi rolls and sashimi, along with a few delicacies, such as Shiokara (Squid guts), Ankimo (Fish Liver….think fois gras of the sea), and a variety of fish imported from Japan.

Miso soup is a separate order, and has got enough flavor to stand out. I think the secret is a piece of pre-grilled fish in the bowl.

The Oden (on the menu as Japanese hot pot) had a bevy stewed goods soaking in a sweet broth, almost a meal in itself. I highly recommend this one as its a pretty good and not found at a lot of places.

I was expecting a few tentacles when I ordered the BBQ Squid, but instead got the whole squid! These were nicely done with enough of a chew make it interesting, but not tough. We couldn’t finish the whole thing, and half of it ended up being a late night snack, which went well with some beer.

My fiancee isn’t a fan of sashimi, so we tried a few of their rolls. The spicy scallop and real crab roll (not shown) were good, and the house roll was just fully packed with good stuff. This was a huge order for two people, we were stuffed but still had a box to take home.

The food is of consistent high quality from the green tea to the pieces of ginger on the plate. Dinner for two came to less than $40.

Food: 8.7/10

Likelihood of returning: high

Sushi Hachi is a busy place, so reservations are recommended. (604 207-2882)

One Pic Post – Nissin Seasfood Cup Noodle

When you don’t have the time or pocket change to go out for a restaurant prepared meal, there’s always the option of eating dehydrated rations out of a styrofoam cup. If you feel guilty about not consuming any of the 4 basic foods during a meal, don’t be. Over 5 billion servings of instant noodles are eaten each year by Japan alone.

That’s 40 per person, or 1/10 of a package a day. The Japanese are a perfectly healthy group of people, so there’s really nothing to worry about if you have one once in a while.

Nissin has been making instant ramen under the Cup Noodle label for 50 years, and was in fact the inventors of the noodle and cup package. There’s an incredible variety of flavors for cup noodles, but unfortunately here in Canada we don’t get to see very many of them.

This particular Seafood variation (only available in China/HK) is found in T&T supermarkets in Richmond, and usually when you do find it on the shelf, there’s only a handful of the regular sized cups left.

For $1.79, you get a cup chock full of noodles and flavoring bits, enough for an afternoon snack. The yellow ball bits you see in the picture seems to explode MSG into your mouth (that’s a good thing).
I could not slurp the soup due to its saltiness, and had to water it down with more water after eating some of the noodles, which are cooked al dente after only 3 minutes.
Other than having to refill the water again to enjoy the soup, this has got to be the best instant ramen I’ve ever had. You pay a premium over the other brands, but you’re rewarded with an unostentatious, superior cup of noodle.

Ramen Rating: 9.7/10

Anyone else have a favorite noodle they’d gladly use as meal replacement?