FIRST Blog! Review of Kiriri

With all of our gastronomic experiences and adventures, I figured I should start blogging again so we could share all the places we have been and to remember what we have done. A blog would be more appropriate then just simply uploading all our pictures on Facebook. So here goes the first post.

KIRIRI - Aug 31, 2012.

Earlier in the week, I made reservations to do Omakase at Kiriri. I've heard numerous reviews about this little Japanese restaurant. Despite the fact that place is 1.6km away from home, we have never been. It's tucked away in the corner of Garden City and Blundell in Richmond. For those who are wondering what "Omakase" is, it means "I'll leave it to you." In other words, its chef's choice as to what he is going to serve you. You must go in with an open mind and you literally have no idea what you are going to eat until it comes to your table. The menu starts at $50 per person upwards. The price you pay will determine the amount of dishes you get to try, the quality of the sashimi, the creativity of the dishes and how many things will be served to you that is not listed on the menu. We are adventurous and I'm picky about my fish, so we picked something that is about mid range, $75 each. If you do choose to do the Omakase as well, make sure you call ahead of time before the date you intend to go, that way, it allows the chef enough time to get inspired before determining what he is going to prepare for your dinner.

Appetizer Tray

Knowing that we were going to stuff ourselves with more than 8 different items at the very least, we decided to be healthy and walk there. Upon arrival, we noticed this authentic Japanese restaurant was very small. We were greeted and seated at a table near the sushi bar. I would have preferred to be seated at the bar so we could interact with the sushi chefs and see what they are doing. Looking around, the decor was simple, in fact. I don't really remember anything on their yellow-orange walls. We ordered a large Asahi to quench our thirst. For those who know us well, alcohol always enhances the experience! We were told our appetizers will be on their way shortly. From my previous omakase experience, I expected them to bring out one dish at a time. But to my surprise, the first SEVEN things came out all at once on our wooden tray. The display of each item, visually was quite simple yet neat. Our variety of appies included: egg and cucumber salad, watercress in a cold soup broth, uni, pressed sushi, monk fish liver, sea cucumber, some type of sashimi (I forgot the name of the fish, but it comes from the fatty belly part of the fish), and tamago wrapped unagi.

I dove right in, I was hungry and ready to eat. I tried the egg and cucumber salad first. Just like regular egg salad, nothing out of the ordinary, however, the cucumber was quite crisp adding some texture to the dish.

The watercress was next. I wasn't really expecting much, actually for some reason I anticipated it to tasted like spinach swirling in soup, like runny gomae. After tasting it, it was completely the opposite! It was so fresh and refreshing, it's the perfect appetizer for a hot summer night. The cold broth that it swirled in had a very delicate flavor, just light enough to compliment the watercress. 

The pickled sea cucumber was next. When I first looked at it, I felt a bit apprehensive because it looked like Takowasabi (octopus in wasabi), Will LOVES that stuff, but unfortunately, I don't share the same feeling. The sea cucumber had a firm, chewy texture. It tasted a lot more better than I had anticipated, it was quite enjoyable indeed. At this point, we were both pretty happy with our meal.

Up next was the sashimi in vinaigrette like sauce. It was very light, it reminded me of negitoro, it must have been the green onions it was topped with. The freshness of the fish was amazing, and it's a very important quality to me. Uni was also served on this appetizer tray, this is another one of Will's favorite and one that I'm not so sure about. The last time I tried it, I didn't really enjoy it but ate it anyway (to be polite), I figured I should give it another chance. The uni sat on this foamy flavored substance inside a clam shell. Will said to slurp it one and its a texture thing. I did as he said and to my surprise, it was really good, but it still felt a bit on the slimey side. I tried not to think too much about it, or I might not like the idea of it anymore. 

Next up was the tamago wrapped uni. I rarely ever order tamago, but how this was served was really good. We wondered why restaurants don't do this more often!! 

Once the appetizers were done, the sashimi came out! Again, it was served all at once and as you can see there was about seven varieties again. There was an assortment of salmon, tuna, amaebi, tai, aji, geoduck, and hamachi. As I mentioned before, freshness is important and they certainly met that requirement! The presentation was done very well. Everything tasted wonderful, but geoduck made us laugh. As we are used to eating that thinly sliced, we were not prepared for the claw! As visually not appealing as it was, it still tasted good. I think we still prefer the thinly sliced version. We had a good laugh over this before we finally bit in to it.

 

The next thing served was mushroom soup. This is the most creatively served soup we've ever had! It came in a little tea pot. You are supposed to pour the soup out into the little cup and sip, then eat the contents inside.

At this point, we were starting to get full, and we started to wonder when the food was going to stop coming. But just as thought came, so did the next course. This was one of the dishes Will enjoyed the most. It's simply fried Japanese pumpkin tempura with carrot, mushroom and Chinese broccoli (which looked like gai lan to me). It wasn't in regular tempura sauce, it sat in some type of ponzu. I think the pumpkin was baked before it was fried, which made the colour and texture really good!

 

The food continues to come. On the table next was sake marinated black cod with shimenji mushrooms. I'm pretty picky about my cooked fish and there are only a few that I truly enjoy. With that being said, I can definitely add black cod to my list of fish I'd eat. It has this buttery taste to it, and I think that is what makes it so enjoyable!

 

Seeing that we could barely hold in anymore food, our server walks over and advises that there are only two courses left. A bit sad that dinner is coming to an end but a bit relieved as we had no more space. Cold Japanese udon was served. This wasn't the regular thick noodle you'd normally see, but this was thin and flat, it reminded me of rice or pho noodles. 

I think the noodles were cooked in green tea. It's definitely different and a change from the regular zaru soba.

Finally, the last course was desert. We were asked what flavor ice cream we wanted. At first, there was a thought of disappointment thinking "What? A plain scoop of ice cream is all I'm getting after this spectacular dinner?" I went for the green tea, and Will had sesame. Luckily, what was served was not what I had thought. Dinner did end spectacularly with the ice cream amitsu (not sure how to spell it right).

 

The ice cream was served in this tea cup. It sat on top of some fresh fruits, some red bean paste and some type of gelatinous material. It reminded me of the Chinese three bean dessert with the red beans and jack fruit and etc.  It was absolutely delicious. This is another thing Will said he would come back for. Lucky for him, this is on their regular menu.

Having eaten 18 different things for dinner, I can say that we were truly satisfied. The service was very friendly and the food was absolutely amazing. In comparison to Will's last omakase experience at Miku, he actually enjoyed this one much more. Will we come back again? Definitely! Next time, we will take a gander and their regular menu. I have faith that it will be as good as chef's choice!