Sushi in the South

Oh dear.

Dan had warned me not to have too high expectations about Asian cuisine. Having both lived a few years in Asia, and having been surrounded by an excellent array of good quality Asian restaurants in Victoria and Vancouver (there is a huge Asian population there, so much so that Vancouver is often referred to as "Wangcouver"), we have an appreciation for Asian done well.

I'm sure it is true of every cuisine that gets exported and adulterated. The new cuisine gets blended with the tastes and cooking styles of the local environment.

When Dan asked me what I wanted for dinner on Wednesday night, I said "sushi". Having tried Kinston's offerings, Dan decided we would be better off trying Greenville instead. A place called Wasabi 88 was recommended, so we went there.

The parking lot was full, so that was a good sign. When we walked in we were told there would be about a 30 minute wait. Was it worth it?

It turned out to be only a 20 minute wait, and we sat down to look at a very confusing menu. They call themselves an "Asian Bistro", so they had a blend of Thai, Chinese, and other Asian-sounding dishes on the menu. The only drink menu was for cocktails and sake (there is a great tradition of having beer in Japanese restaurants, but there was no beer here). We asked for green tea.

The tea came in a traditional pot with two small drinking bowls that felt like they were made of metal, which made the tea too hot to even pick up at first, but really that was the best part of the whole experience. Then our server came by and asked if we wanted sugar for our tea. I could not help the look of horror on my face and said NO!, and I think our poor guy was taken aback at my emphatic reaction. I tweeted this exchange and a number of Southerners responded strongly, defending 'sweet tea' (It's a thing around here).

There was a deal on at this restaurant for buy one sushi roll, get one free. When our server was explaining to us which menu items were applicable, he offered to split the bill for us. (Why would he offer that? Could he not tell we were married?) We said no thanks, that won't be necessary. We puzzled over why there would be catfish and tilapia (the crappiest of crappy fish) in sushi.

The hot and sour soup came. It wasn't bad, maybe a bit too gelatinous, and with button mushrooms. My friend Jeni makes a far better hot & sour soup (I miss you Jeni!)

Now when you order a sushi roll that costs $14, you expect it to be big, right? We were used to small rolls in Japan and Canada, but for the fancy ones with lots of stuff, those rolls are usually big. This is what came out.

I think this was the first time I had ever been served sushi on a round plate. It was beautifully displayed to be sure, it looked wonderful. The taste however was disappointing. A gal came by and asked us if we wanted soy sauce. Of course! The wasabi was quite wimpy, it was no wonder they gave such a big portion of it.

Thus, before we were halfway done our meal, we cheerfully declared to each other that we would never need to eat here again. Our server came by and once again offered to split the check. What? Maybe that's what the rest of their clientele does but dude, we even have matching wedding rings. Perhaps he was just young.

I think we will, however, investigate and sample all the Asian restaurants in the area over time. We are both quite proficient in cooking Asian cuisine if we can find the right ingredients, so I expect we'll be doing some entertaining on this front.

Yarnsalad today

Today's yarnsalad featured an extra big portion of lunch.

Let me explain.

There is a great restaurant right across the street from the hospital where I work called SoBo. Seriously - even with my weak arm I could throw a rock and hit the place from the front step of the hospital, it's that close. It's a beloved establishment. As you might imagine, it is frequented by hospital staff and this week at lunch hour, the conversation topic has pretty much revolved around their menu.

Today I decided to order lunch from them. My coworker had me order something for her too. I ordered:
Bison Burger $3.5
Killer Fish Taco $6.5
Green Salad $6

At a price of $3.5 for a Bison burger, I assumed it was a mini-burger, which was perfect given my sampling of their food. My coworker ordered one too. I figured with tax, the order would come to about $21.

I was presented with a bill of $40. Shock! No no no, The Bison burger was only supposed to be $3.5 each, not $14. The server went and grabbed Artie, the owner. He came out and apologized for the mix-up, was glad I pointed out the error on the website, and asked how we could rectify this. That was easy. I would take one of the burgers and split it with my coworker. No problem. The bill ended up being a bit more than I expected, but not as much as it was originally!

I will be honest here. After hearing everyone rave about the food, I was prepared to be wowed. I don't really want to refer to myself as a 'foodie' or a 'gourmet', but I guess my taste in food reflects that I am. Dan, my husband, is a really good cook. So good that I am often disappointed when we go to restaurants that other people rate highly. I'm sorry to say, SoBo didn't meet my expectations.

I'll start with the Bison burger. I was warned when I ordered it that they were, in fact, out of bison and using beef instead. That's fine. I like beef. It was basically a beef brisket po'boy sandwich, but it really it pales in comparison to what I'm used to having been to Pig BBQ Joint in Colwood & Victoria. Sorry SoBo, your sandwich only gets a 5 out of 10. You need more sauce, crispier onion rings, and while the 'slaw' was good, it wasn't a real slaw.

Then was the Killer Fish Taco. I don't know what was 'killer' about it, other than it was spicy. All it was was a hard taco shell with spicy hot fish in it, served with a side of fruit salsa (apple, pineapple, red bell pepper, cilantro) and refried beans. The fish was extremely dry and not very flavourful. I guess I'm spoiled after having such good fresh fish out here. Also, if you've ever had a Fish Taco from Tacofino, you're pretty much ruined for fish tacos everywhere.

Now the salad gets a high rating. I love salads. Especially good ones. Dan makes some amazing salads, so I get them fairly regularly. SoBo's salad had some very healthy feeling greens in it, shreds of carrot and beet, and a whole bunch of sprouted legumes. It was delicious. I would order just that salad (though a bigger size) and be happy.

I wish I was more impressed, and to be fair, I've never had a sit-down meal at SoBo, it's always been take out. I'd like to try their pizzas. Apparently their drinks are excellent. I'll have to save up for it, because this is not a cheap restaurant.