Friday, May 14, 2010

Suggestions for future posts and Octopus Garden review

Well that was an insane week! I am quite glad that it's over!
The bad news is that the Canucks are out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The good news is that the Habs beat the defending champions, the Penguins!!
I'm quite sad that the Canucks once again lost to the Blackhawks, I don't believe it's cos we're a less talented team but rather we lack the directions we needed to beat them. It might just be AV's time to go....
Ah well, guess we all cheer for the Habs now!

This week I:
  • watched Iron Man 2 - it was good but not as good as the first one xD
  • ate at Octopus Garden - photos at bottom of this post
  • shopped for summer clothes - all boring
  • visited the kitten adoption centre - We're getting kittens!!!!
  • spent a grand total of $140 on skincare and cosmetics - T.T the "no buy" failed epically
  • made googly eyes at the gorgeous weather outside from my office window
I am off to the boonies next week for work, but I'm hoping to do a couple of posts this weekend so that you guys won't miss me too much xD (as if!)
Which brings me to the topic of this post; what would you like to see on this blog?
I'm going through a bit of a creative stump and nothing is forthcoming right now. Any suggestions? special requests?


I finally got to eat at Octopus Garden! it's located right by Kits Beach in Vancouver and every single time we've gone there it's been completely full with a wait list of at least 1 1/2 hours! even this time round it took us an entire week to make a booking >_>
First up, this place is authentic Japanese, the waitresses are dressed in yukatas and the chef hollers his welcome when you walk in (I am still not used to this xD, the bf said I'll have to get used to it if I'm gonna go eat in Japan. He said he doesn't feel right unless he's shouting out his orders xD)
I gotta say, the place is a tad pricey; dinner for the two of us came to about $150 and we didn't have ANY alcohol! Tea is traditionally free at every Asian restaurant you go to, but this place charges $3.50 for it. OK it was pear flavoured tea but still $3.50?! The food was good, but other than the pretty presentation, I feel I could've gotten food of the same caliber at a number of other Japanese restaurants e.g. Kiyo, Toshi, Irashai, even Sushi Garden. I think people go to this restaurant for the ambiance, their deco is really unique! you feel like you're eating at a small guest house in the Japanese country side! and the owners must really have a thing for octopi (octopuses?), they have an entire display cabinet, outside the toilet, completely dedicated to octopus paraphernalia! I have decided to name the chef "Tako-san" xD
That being said, the waitresses are friendly and attentive, although I don't think Mama-san was too impressed with me when I got candle wax all over her octopus chopstick holder xD.
All in all, this is not your regular sushi joint, but I'll recommend giving this place a try as their Omakase are really a unique experience!
Our tea

Salmon tataki salad - it's small but really good!

The chef sent us complimentary uni shooters. If I remember correctly, it contains rice, mountain potatoes, uni, and was topped with a quail egg! sounds bloody gross but was SO SO SO GOOD!

House specialty - tofu miso soup. It was really good! I loved how the sweetness of soy milk blended with the saltiness of the miso

Our sashimi plate.

Haha, the leaf reminded me of a certain forest spirit...xD


I believe this was braised fish cheek. The sauce was so yummy!!!

Our "wagyu" beef - in reality American Angus >_> it was a bit chewy...I prefer the ones from Kingyo!

Our uni and black cod sushi, plus an "Olympic" roll in the shape of an Inukshuk xD how appropriate! We love Inukshuks!

The bf was still not full so he ordered some more. Spot prawn, Toro, and Foie gras sushi.

There is NO spoon. (you'll only get this if you've watched The Matrix xD)

10 comments:

  1. Haha, I love the Inukshuk. And love the reference to Totoro XD Snoezig!

    Everything looks so yummy, but yes judging by American/Canadian standards it does seem a bit pricey.

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  2. food galore! the uni shooters look interesting...

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  3. Hee hee...you look so cute. :) Love the grub pics! Nice week wrap-up too. Can't wait to see your new kittens!

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  4. You make me hungry! 150 bucks for sushi is expensive but I'm glad the food was good.

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  5. Err your blog layout is mega cute!

    Shouting japanese cooks eh? Have you ever tried Guu? They have 4 locations (i think) and each one has a specialty! I love their yuuke it's AMAZING! Plus the wait times are not nearly as extreme!

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  6. ooh totoro! the uni shooters looks ....interesting haha..all the food looks yummy!

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  7. Aw it's so cool how you like hockey! I always wanted to get into sports but I don't understand anything haha.

    Sorry for my long hiatus from commenting, just got back into blogging. Oh my gosh, congratulations on getting kittens! It's such a big step, love cats.

    Wah all the food pictures look amazing and super delicious! Aw you look so cute and pretty posing with the leaf. :)

    Your post made me so hungry. ^^

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  8. look at that tower of sushi.... this is not good looking at food before lunch esp when there is no sushi restaurant nearby!!

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  9. I love the little octopus chopstick rest! and the spoooooon! I think I'm enjoying pics of all the utensils more than the food...the wooden cups and plates remind me of a tea set I had when I was a kid!

    I gave in to temptation and my "low-buy" totally failed...but I'm trying to redeem myself now that I've got a crapload of new products to try, haha.

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  10. oooh totoro! I love totoro! And yeah tea for $3.50 is a rip off, it shoudl be free. unless it's like really exotic tea... my no buy totally failed too -_- hehe

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