salmon | Yummy Ventures

Ginza Sushi Marui (銀座寿司処まる伊)

Posted on March 12, 2017 by yummyventuresco

Overall taste: 8.75/10 | 2016 | 3 104 0061, 3 Chome-8-16 Ginza, Chūō-ku, Tōkyō-to 104-0061, Japan

We love this place! This is located in Ginza and we waited around 30 minutes to get in. They provide an English menu so it’s perfect for tourists. We found this better than the food we had in Tsukiji fish market. That being said, we didn’t try any of the famous restaurants in Tsukiji that would have taken hours of wait to get in.

IMG_20170307_223252_629 — **Tokusen Nigiri –** assorted special sushi, 16 pieces (Yen 1,800) [This is so good. When people tell you the sushi they had in Japan was much better than the ones they tried anywhere else, they’re telling the truth. The rice tasted a lot better and the proportion was just right. And look at how well-marbled the tuna was (top left)!]

IMG_20170311_184138_547 — **Dukeana chirashi-zushi** – assorted lean tuna and coger eel (anago) on rice (Yen 1,500) *[This is the first time we both tried anago. It’s similar to unagi but the meat tasted slightly sweeter and the texture was more fish-like.]*

Oishii

Posted on March 10, 2017April 26, 2017 by yummyventuresco

Overall taste: 7/10 | 2016 | 1166 Washington St #110, Boston, MA 02118

We came here during the 2016 Dine Out Boston week. We thought that the food had great presentation but the taste was pretty average.

20170307_231627 — **Choice C: Gyu Kaku Donburi** ($20) – Miso soup & salad. Grilled beef & onions on top of rice topped with sweet garlic sauce *[It tasted good, and the beef had great flavor but it was quite tough]*. Icecream *[We thought their green tea icecream tasted a little artificial and would prefer it if they used more matcha powder].*

IMG_20170307_224735_086 — **Choice D: Kaiseki Lunch** ($30) – Green salad & sesame dressing. Fresh lobster wild mushroom risotto *[This was tasteless, like white rice with a little bit of sauce, and we couldn’t taste the lobster at all]*. Crispy rock shrimp lemon aioli *[Despite it’s name, it wasn’t crispy. It was fried way before it was served and the shrimps were too tiny]*. Oishii crab cake *[Not that oishii]*. Seared wild king salmon with ikura. Spicy tuna salad in a cucumber handroll. Grilled miso black cod. Sake & rocky sushi. Hamachi & maguro sashimi. *[The rest were pretty good, but the hot dishes were already cold by the time it was served to us.]* Ice cream.

IMG_20170307_222403_897 — **Choice E: Pork Belly Ramen** ($20) – Green salad & sesame dressing. Ramen noodle soup *[It was quite bland and we would have preferred more pork flavour in the soup]*. Pork belly. Napa cabbage. Fresh egg. Icecream

Saltie Girl

Posted on February 4, 2017March 16, 2017 by yummyventuresco

Overall taste: 8.75/10 | 2017 | 281 Dartmouth St, Boston, MA 02116

+++ = highly recommend | – – – = do not recommend

This is our favourite restaurant is Boston so far!

img_20170201_170514_124 — **+++ Pineapple** – elyx, yuzu, lemongrass, citrus soda (for two, $21) *[We thought lemongrass would give it a weird taste, but it’s extremely subtle. We really like it but if you prefer your alcohol strong, this is not for you]*

afterfocus_1485405798425 — **Ahi tuna poke –** soy / sesame / ginger / togarashi / coconut rice ($22) *[It’s good, but it’s something we can make ourselves at home]*

afterfocus_1485405320788 — **+++ Uni benedict toast –** sunny side up quail egg / hollandaise / brioche ($18) [This is really good; everything from the brioche, hollandaise sauce, quail egg to uni. If would have been better if they use Santa Barbara uni (which they sell separately) instead of Maine uni. I wonder if we could request that and pay more for it]

afterfocus_1485437755717 — **– – – Tuna carpaccio –** pickled hon-shimeji mushrooms / house ponzu / fresh herbs ($18) *[This is okay, but it’s something you can get in a lot of Japanese restaurants. We also found the ponzu sauce to be overpowering.]*

afterfocus_1485438547388 — **Torched salmon belly –** avocado / cucumber / green apple / miso glaze ($16) [We actually couldn’t taste the miso glaze. The sauce they used tasted more like unagi sauce. They burnt the salmon skin and the top layer of avocado intentionally to give it a smokey taste. Jeff really likes it but Lynn is not a fan of the charcoal taste.]

afterfocus_1485550364832 — **+++ Hand-chopped dry aged steak tartare –** truffle aioli / buttered brioche / quail egg / parmesan ($16) *[We mentioned before that we’re big fans of steak tartare and this is the best we’ve had in Boston. This dish is the main reason we gave such a high rating to this restaurant]*

Love Art Sushi

Posted on January 28, 2017February 12, 2017 by yummyventuresco

Overall Taste: 6.5 | 2017 | 1 Haviland St, Boston, MA 02115

We were invited for their complimentary tasting event, but we try to stay as objective as we can. They are still having a soft opening now, and their grand opening will be in a few weeks.

We thought that the sushi rice was too bland; it almost tasted like white rice with no added vinegar, salt, or sugar. The raw fish was at room-temperature and that really bothered us as it should be cool (sashimis are usually removed from the fridge just prior to serving).

However, we like the flexibility of being able to choose your own combination of toppings, mix-ins, and sauce. We also liked their Japanese matcha latte and Taro tea, which were creamy and not overly sweet (bottomlesss house drinks for $3.06).

Pictured above: Large bowl ($6.12). Toppings – tuna, salmon, masago, avocado (+$1.65 each). Complimentary mix-ins – scallions, roasted garlic, red onion. Sauce: creamy garlic. (Total price: $12.72)

Large bowl ($6.12). **Toppings – salmon, spicy tuna, masago** (+$1.65 each). Complimentary mix-ins: scallions, roasted garlic, shiitaki. Sauce: unagi eel sauce. Flame seared at no additional charge. (Total price: $11.07) *[They definitely did not sear it for long enough. The sauce on top was warm but the fish was still completely raw]*

Irashai

Posted on January 16, 2017February 12, 2017 by yummyventuresco

Overall taste: 8/10 | 2017 | 8 Kneeland St, Boston, MA 02111

I wasn’t expecting much when I walked into the restaurant as there wasn’t that many customers. Luckily, I was proven wrong. I really love 2 of the 3 dishes I ordered and everything is reasonably priced.

+++ = highly recommend | – – – = do not recommend