November
16
2011
Feeling like I may have overstepped things with my recent praise for Wow Sushi, I decided to try out Tokyo Sushi House on St. Joseph Street. It’s in the same neighborhood. With the sushi bar taking up most of the space, and a notable lack of photos of a million types of uramaki on the windows, I figured it would be fighting in the same weight class.
Plus, a colleague recommended the place a long time ago.
My first impression walking on was mixed. The place looked nice. The sushi bar looked inviting. The itamae greeted me. I took off my jacket and sat down. As I sat down though, I noticed a small pile of dirty dishes next to the itamae’s station. That was not a good sign, however homey and rustic the decor had been.
OK. No problems. Just note that detail and move on.
I asked what was particularly good and fresh today. A younger man who took the second station behind the counter answered, “salmon, tuna, yellowtail, uni, all good!” Hmm. Thanks.
Still undaunted, I ordered a selection of nigiri-zushi to put the place through its paces: tamago (egg) of course, ika (squid), hamachi (yellowtail), uni (sea urchin), and aji (jack/horse mackerel). The itamae threw in some tai (sea bream), on the house.
As I waited for the food, I noticed that service was rather lackluster. My tea was delivered almost grudgingly by the waitress, and the itamae had to ask her 3 times to bring me my miso soup. I was the only customer at the time, so it certainly wasn’t an issue of the server being overloaded.
The tamago was absolutely kickass in terms of taste. It was soft, smooth, sweet, warm and pleasantly eggy. However, it was decidedly supersized. Not the shari (rice), but the egg! I could just barely eat it in one bite. In fact, the nori “seatbelt” didn’t even wrap all the way around. Tasty, definite kudos there, but not sized right.
The ika likewise was a big thing. Maybe a little too chewy still, even though the itamae had scored it. Interestingly lemony because the itamae had squeezed a bit of lemon juice on top.
The hamachi was sweet, just the right size, properly assembled with a bit of wasabi inside. Nicely done indeed.
The uni was good, but not perfect for two notable reasons. Yes, it was garnished nicely with a bit of cucumber, a pretty visual touch. However, the nori was chewy because it had absorbed moisture – sure, from the shari itself, but that wasn’t the issue. The nori was all stored in open containers at the counter. It had been absorbing moisture from the air for who knows how long.
The other issue was a matter of counter presentation.
I know that most sushi joints buy their uni in packages. They don’t extract the roe out of the sea urchins themselves. It is, however, still not very nice to see the itamae bring out the plastic packaging tray that they come in right onto his counter in plain sight for all to see. That doesn’t do a whole lot to enhance the dining experience.
The aji, I’m sorry to report, was borderline. Yes it was a big size, nicely scored, with a bit of garnish top and looked pretty, but the taste was not up to par. Aji isn’t a popular item, I take it, but this fish was pushing it in terms of freshness. The aji was also pre-fileted, so I didn’t get the pleasure of seeing the itamae fillet the small fish right in front of me. That, however, is a very small detail compared to the freshness issue.
The tai was flame-seared, wonderfully aromatic, and sweet. It was easily the best item I had. Very enjoyable, very, very nice.
As I finished my meal, the head itamae asked me about the meal. I told him that the tamago and tai were wonderfully tasty. I wasn’t lying, just not saying everything.
Would I recommend Tokyo Sushi House? No, I would not. I’m not going back. In my opinion, Tokyo Sushi doesn’t pass muster. I appreciate the complimentary tai and enjoyed it immensely, but the dirty plates, borderline aji, and reluctant service are signs of deeper issues that I won’t overlook.
The tamago aside, you’ll much better fare and far more cheerful service at Wow Sushi just two blocks and a bit to the north.
November
15
2011
My close friend Cliff is a man of many accolades. No, you won’t find him on any printed Who’s Who list – he’s not your prototypical model of achievement that every mother points their kids towards. He’s just not your typical kind of guy – either in the way he is or the path he has chosen to walk.
He is a truly special individual, and I am truly, truly honoured to be his friend for quite a few years now.
As I was going to say as part of my toast to him at his send-off dinner before he went abroad toSingaporefor the next … well, at the time we kept saying 2 years … I admire him. I admire his passion, his dedication, and his devotion.
His heart shines with goodness and vitality. Sure, we trash-talk one another when we’re playing around – it’s part of the fun when guys have friendly competition – and yeah, we’ll play small pranks on one another if the opportunity arises. Yet, that does nothing to cloud the fact that this man is a truly special individual.
That’s why it makes me so ecstatically happy that he’s found himself an absolutely wonderful woman. Truly, a wonderful wife is a blessing like no other, and I’m looking forward to being at their wedding. There is no way I am missing that wedding – absolutely no frickin’ way I’m going to miss that day in my friend’s life.
My words cannot do them justice right now. You need to see their words yourself:
Cliff’s first post from Singapore - note the last bit about his bike. He sold almost everything to his name to raise funds for his missionary work inSingapore, including his bike. The man is a triathlete – nay, an Ironman – because of his love of cycling. Selling that bike was a big, big thing for him.
Wai Jia’s post about Cliff’s long-awaited arrival in Singapore
Wai Jia’s post about the road ahead together with Cliff
These posts truly moved me. Absolutely romantic, absolutely wonderful, and absolutely real.
If you’re reading this, Cliff, you are truly, truly a blessed man. Be you, my friend, just be you – today, tomorrow, and always.
November
15
2011
It is only by spending time with someone that you really get to appreciate their strengths and their weaknesses. It is much the same with a good restaurant.
I’ve been a patron of Wow Sushi since their opening week. I’ve tried a variety of their sushi and hot dishes. I continue to go as somewhat of a regular. I am not as enthusiastic as I was at first – the honeymoon period has worn off – but I still like the place and still recommend it.
I’ll do my nitpicks first.
- the rice, the shari is not seasoned enough
- the tamago is not seasoned enough
- the itamae do not add wasabi to the nigiri-zushi
- some of the nigiri are not made for hand-eating, even if you tell the itamae so
Rice is the core and the key to sushi. Yes, if you have fish it must be fresh and of great quality, but that is an if. Contrary to popular belief, sushi is not all about the fish. You can have real sushi without any raw fish, and without any fish at all. It is the seasoned rice, the shari, that makes sushi what it is, for historical as well as practical reasons.
The shari at Wow Sushi is not adequately seasoned to stand on its own. This is readily apparent if you go with a lighter topping. To Sam’s credit, he ask me once for more detailed feedback, and he accepted my comments about the rice and its seasoning. Nothing has changed though – it is the house style, and if only one isolated customer (who keeps coming back, btw) says anything about it, why go through the extra trouble of seasoning it more?
My comments about the tamago are similar. Its rather bland. At least the texture is nice – light, fluffy and smooth. Then again, tamago is not something something too many customers will order.
No wasabi in the nigiri-zushi? Why? I know why – so many customers drown their sushi in soy-wasabi muck that it wouldn’t matter to them whether the itamae has added wasabi under the neta (topping).
Every time but once, I sit at the sushi bar. It’s really the place to be if you’re there for sushi, not for chatting. Part of the reason why is because you get your sushi right as the itamae makes it. Another reason is so that you can interact with the itamae and he (it’s almost invariably a he) can tailor there sushi to best match you, the customer.
What follows is really just one side of the coin, and I’ll talk about the other side later. The nigiri-zushi at Wow is very often decorated with some kind of garnish. One thing this does is it makes it difficult to eat the nigiri with your hands. It almost forces you to use chopsticks. So, one time I told Sam that I prefer to eat sushi with my hands. “With your fingers. Hai. That is the typical Japanese way.”
Cool. I didn’t want to tell the man how to do his job, so I left it at that. Unfortunately, there was no change to the nigiri. It was still garnished right where I’d put my index finger to flip the nigiri over in order to gaze it with soya sauce. I believe that first piece also didn’t hold together too well for me.
Call me picky, if you will, but I believe it’s the details that separate excellence from that which is merely “good”.
So now what makes Wow Sushi good? What are the good points?
- the seafood is absolutely fresh
- the nigiri sushi is truly bite-sized, the way way it’s supposed to be
- the unique touches made to some of the nigiri makes them wonderfully enjoyable
- the sushi is crafted on the plate with a keen eye for presentation
- service is wonderful
Freshness is critical when it comes to sushi. With Wow Sushi, the fish is always fresh. In fact, when I sit down at the sushi bar, the itamae will tell me what’s particularly good that day.
“Fresh uni from BC today!” ”Hamachi flown in from Japan today!” Only first rate seafood here.
Sushi, like dim sum, seems to grow in size over the years. Food that is supposed to be bite sized ends up becoming super-sized. Obviously with sushi, that usually means more rice, not more fish.
The itamae at Wow keep things there right size. It is finger food without being too small. This is a detail that matters. There is a balance between shari and tane, rice and topping. It is a holistic thing.
While, as I have mentioned, the shari is not as flavorful as I’d like, some of the nigiri at Wow is very very flavorful. Sushi isn’t really just about raw fish on rice. Very often, the fish is given special treatment behind the scenes – marinating wrapped in konbu, for example – or perhaps brushed with a little something extra after assembly. At Wow, the itamae take both approaches.
The albacore tuna (“BC tuna”), for example, is marinated overnight beforehand, and topped with a drop of garlic-infused oil before serving. It’s a strong taste that results – one that you’d probably best save for last – but it is wonderfully savory!
The ika (squid) is lightly flame-seared and topped with a thin slice of deep fried lotus root and seaweed salad. It is a wonderful little package of taste and texture.
This brings me to the next positive: the food looks great! The sushi is always presented very nicely, almost with an artistic touch. The experience of good food begins with your eyes, and here your eyes are always given a treat before you eat the food.
It’s not a fancy presentation – it’s actually rather understated – but like good minimalist art, what is there is truly beautiful.
Finally, I’m a stickler for good service. The service at Wow has always been attentive and no matter whether you’re a regular or a new customer – or even just coming in for takeout sushi – you are treated with hospitality.
Wow Sushi is not perfect. It isn’t the absolute best sushi. It is, however, very well done and authentic. That’s more than I can say about the vast majority of sushi places – including its nearby competitors.
They haven’t attained what I’d consider true excellence – and maybe that’s not what they’re gunning for – but this is one of the better places in town, it’s conveniently located at the edge of downtown, it’s a comfortable, casual environment, and it’s s good place I’d recommend and take my friends to.
November
14
2011
I’ve been working on my usuba for hours now, and I still don’t have the edge the way I want it. It’s not that I’m demanding. I just want that edge straight and dead flat, the way it’s supposed to be, and sharp. I just want the usuba’s edge to be the way it’s supposed to be. Is that too much to ask for?
If what you’ve got is a budget-priced usuba, yes, it actually is too much to ask.
At this point, I’m tired, sleepy, and going to be short on sleep for my day tomorrow. Unfortunately, I’m still not done working on this edge and it bothers me – as it has for some time now – that the edge on this thing isn’t proper yet. In fact, there may be no rectifying the edge. I’ve been working on it now for 4 hours, and I don’t think I’m going to be able to get this thing to where it ought to be before I end up trashing its specialized design.
An usuba by design is supposed to have a dead-flat edge that cuts all the veggies along its entire length as you push-cut onto a board. I haven’t used this usuba much at all in the past because I kept getting accordians with it. When I looked at the edge relative to the board, I always presumed it was the board because I would typically use an old edge-grain wooden board with this particular knife. I eventually noticed some gaps between the board and knife edge and just thought it was the board getting uneven from age and use.
Tonight, however, I decided to sharpen this knife properly for the first time. When I started, I just wanted to get the edge sharp . This time, however, I looked down the edge from tip to heel and noticed that the edge was uneven – that’s why I wasn’t getting good board contact!
This would have been nice to notice a long time ago, but certainly earlier today than when I finally and actually noticed it. I had already gone through my planned stone progression when I decided to look down the edge. When I saw the waviness and uneven edge, I just had to go fix it. Not knowing was one thing, but now that I knew about the issue, I had to do something about it.
Though I thought I was done, I restarted and went down to my basic, coarse stone to re-shape the edge profile to make it flat. This has taken me quite some time.
At first I thought maybe I had messed things up on this or one of my few previous sharpening sessions with this knife. However, given how long it has taken to correct the issue – abrading away the steel to remove the high spots in the edge – I don’t think this was the case.
I think now that the edge came from the factory uneven. That’s not surprising given that this was a “budget usuba” at about $120 several years ago. Usuba are, unfortunately, a rather demanding knife to make properly. With a lower-priced knife, it just doesn’t get the kind of attention it needs from the artisans to make it as good as it can be – or even properly-made.
I can honestly say that trying to fix this edge has not been fun. I don’t recommend doing this for amusement. Not only has it eaten up most of my sleeping hours tonight, it has also ended up in my abrading away what I’m sure would normally have been a year or more’s worth of life out of my 400 grit stone.
If you’re thinking about getting an usuba, get a nice one that’s been ground properly. Don’t cheap out on the lowest priced one you can get – or even the lowest in the quality range offered by the maker. You don’t want to have to deal with a wonky edge on your usuba the way I’ve had to tonight.
Did The Gig Match the Job Posting? Hmm….
I have been doing some pretty intensive cleaning around my home, and I came upon some old job postings. These are postings for jobs that I applied for, interviewed for, and got. It’s interesting now to look back on the postings to see just how the gigs matched the postings… or not.
I’ve got two here that are particularly interesting.
This one is my favorite:
Cool, huh? Sounds exciting, huh? Yeah, I thought so too. Unfortunately this is the one gig in my work history that I refer to as the bait-and-switch. It’s the only time I’ve experienced it like this, and when I told my friends about it they had never heard of anything like this.
How different did the gig end up being? Totally. It bore no resemblance to this at all. There was nothing at all – I cannot emphasize this enough – nothing at all to do with business continuity and emergency management. That was key for me, as I was already working in the field of BCP and EM, and it was where I wanted to continue developing my professional skills and expertise. The post also had nothing to do with efforts to ramp up “excellence projects” and nothing to do with marketing strategies and tools. It did, however, have some things to do on the project oversight side. That, however, is the last thing on this list – and it wasn’t a leadership role.
I had some folks technically under me on the org chart, but it was here that I learned clearly for the first time that org charts can mean less than a sketch on a bar napkin. They were not my team and they did not report to me.
Oh well.
So, that’s the extreme case, and one that I hope you never have to experience. Be careful when interviewing for gigs. You won’t know everything, but try to find out for yourself just what the place will be like and what your role will be. Don’t take the posting at face value, and remember that the probation period works both ways. They are sussing you out, and you are sussing them out.
Here are some highlights from the other one:
This one turned out to at least meet the content of the original posting. This one is interesting in a different way from the first one. I had to “fight” to get things on track to match this spec. Not in any adversarial way, but it wasn’t what I was slotted into at the start. I wasn’t able to do anything with the outright bait-and-switch above, but this one eventually came to match in some ways what I had expected.
What isn’t here, though, is the 50% of stuff I ended up doing that wasn’t even hinted at in the posting.
That’s fine. I’m here to good work, and at least the employer ended up true to its word on what the position would be about. It was just a reminder in my history that postings really need to be taken with a grain of salt.
Most of us work for part or all of our income as employees. That makes us subject to the whims of those above us and subject to jargon-laden and head-scratchingly-ineffective HR departments.
It’s part of the game. It’s just a part that guidance counsellors in school or university aren’t going to tell you about.
In my experience thus far, keep in mind the following when you are looking for a new gig:
One of my former bosses once advised me, very early on in my working life, to build up a form of insurance as soon as possible. He advised me to quickly build up a “Fuck Off Fund”. That’s a financial savings safety net to allow you to walk away from any gig that turns out to be a bad fit for you, a bad fit for your goals, a messed-up environment or a total bait-and-switch.
Play the game as well as you can, for as long as you need to, but try to enjoy it along the way and do your best. Part of that is to understand the unwritten rules, some of the pitfalls, and some of the implicit skills that aren’t written down nicely anywhere. Have fun out there and kick some ass!