Yama Sushi - Finally

We finally made it to Yama Sushi and after all the postponing and putting off we've had with this place in the end it turns out I was pretty excited about the whole thing. So I was pleased as punch when we got there the shutter were indeed up, inside was populated yet with enough space to seat two more slowly swelling backsides. I have had sushi many times before, I don’t think it was real sushi though, more like a western version of sushi, where everything is cooked, I’ve always enjoyed it. Steve on the other hand has put his foot down and decreed he doesn’t like it, it has no flavour (if there was anything I'd complain about it would be the unfamiliar texture).
This said he decided to follow my lead and order a bento box, containing a variety of tempura, chef’s sushi selection, steamed rice and a main of your choice served with miso soup. My choice was chicken teriyaki and Steve chose beef in Tokyo sauce. At this point I became overwhelmed by the menu and wanted to order practically everything, I also wanted the majority of the crockery too. So on top of that I ordered a couple of side dishes, salmon and bacon skewers and assorted tempura (why I ordered this I don’t know as this came with our bento boxes as well). We sipped our green tea while we waited and admired the surroundings; I pretty much love the Japanese aesthete and find the history fascinating. I’m currently reading a book about the history of Japan so maybe that inspired me to finally visit Yama Sushi and get thusly thrilled by it. First to arrive was the miso soup, I’ve always like this hearty broth, always been slightly disconcerted by the floating leaves and tofu. Then the side dishes arrived, the tempura with dipping sauce, this was great, I truly loved it, thin slices of sweet potato, courgettes and pepper with king prawns, coated in a light batter and fried, and it was delicious. This is not a descriptive word you’ll hear me say often referring to veg and I’m a keen avoider of most, but this seems to me the most excellent way to deal with it. Then came the Salmon and bacon skewers, described rather appropriately by Steve as fishy lollipops, these too were enjoyable. After the empty dishes had been cleared our bento boxes arrived, worryingly larger than the picture had made us believe. I laid in to yet more veg tempura, and tried my chicken teriyaki. The flavours were discreet but nice, the chicken however was not to my liking as it was full of gristle, the skin and accompanying fat was still on, I can’t stand the texture of this, which made it’s consumption even more tricky with my awkward handed chop sticking. I ate as much of it as I could as the flavours were fine. On the other side of the table Steve’s beef was delicious, yet again his order out did mine, this time both in flavour and substance, the Tokyo Sauce was so flavourful and deep and rich, the beef nice and chewy like larger fried strips. The sauce reminded me of a Jack Daniels sauce I once had, mmmm. The sushi selection was nigiri, a little bed of rice with fish or vegetable resting on top, mine was salmon, prawn and squid, Steve had tuna instead of salmon. I bit into the sake (salmon) nigiri and tried to break through the soft tissue with my wanting nashers, made even more difficult by the weak pincer that was holding onto the other end, I made a bit of a mess of it to be honest. The rice fell apart and I had to slurp up the rest of the salmon into my mouth as it was impossible to bite through. I’d learnt my lesson with my next piece, the squid, totally raw, I picked up the scored white piece and bit down hard, it came away fairly easily, as I chewed I was delighted by the mild fishy flavour, not by an oily coating my mouth received. I placed the rest of it down having decided not to continue and immediately picked it up again and devoured the lot without compunction. I stole the tuna nigiri off of Steve’s plate as he didn’t want any sushi, in the end he had a mouthful, has face afterwards (like that of a child eating broccoli) signalled his dislike. All in all it was pleasant. I wish I’d had the beef in Tokyo Sauce, the sushi was okay but I think I like the novelty of it rather than the food itself. Check out this awesome Bento Box Blog.

Dim Sum

We headed up the road to Yama Sushi, wanting once and for all to get it out of the way, yet we find the shutters well and truly down. Not this time. Instead we head to one of the few restaurants left on London Road, Dim Sum. Inside was so much nicer than it looks and the service was quick and courteous. Complementary prawn crackers, mmmmm, there are never quite enough of these, as we perused the menu. We ordered the mixed platter to start and when it arrived it had our old favourites along with some newbies. I ordered dragon & phoenix, he ordered mixed seafood in XO sauce. His was better than mine. It was ages ago and I can barely remember but I know that his, yet again was nicer than mine and I wish’d I’d ordered satay prawns. Apologies for the delayed and rather rubbish post, I'll try to be more prompt next time so I don't forget.

Yuen Shan

We inadvertently celebrated Chinese New Year at Yeun Shan, by that I mean we’d not realised till afterwards that it was actually Chinese New Year, or Valentines Day. Ooops. The table we were sat at had a hot plate thing in the middle and a large and slightly off-putting extractor overhead. We were compelled to order from the £4.95 lunch menu, the thankfully shorter lunch menu. I decided to be daring and order wonton soup. Steve ordered Sweet and Sour Chicken. And as soon as both arrived I realised I’d made a heinous mistake. My watery noodles were what I expected yet ridiculously unsatisfying when compared to the flavourful and bright looking dish opposite. The insipid soups' only flavour came from the soppy wonton, and I've quickly become conscious that my love affair with Chinese dumplings was swiftly waning. Instead of ‘little parcels of heaven’ I find the texture vaguely grotesque, both the innards and the outtards, especially in this broth, the parcels completely broke down and practically melted. The meat inside, which I once found revelatory, I now find rough textured, salty and off-puttingly pink. I think I may have over done it and sickened myself with them. Instead of eating my own I ate surreptitiously off of the other plate – to begin with was a delight, but after some time it was rather too sweet, not enough sour. It was a shame.

Saim Inter Thai Restuarant

The clock is winding slowly down, not stopping, we’re just taking our time as it’s coming to an end. There are fewer and fewer places left and we’re still putting off Yama Sushi, maybe next time. Instead we went to Sian Inter, a Thai restaurant, the few times I’ve walked past it I’ve noticed that the dishes are embellished with peculiar carved vegetable flora and I was eager to investigate. We entered into the empty restaurant, it smelled fishy, I wondered whether it was the food or the fish tank with huge goldfish. We quickly ordered our bottle of wine and began looking at the large menu. As usual we feared our task, choosing food, was too great. The mammoth menu got the better of us and we fell back onto our tried and tested method, the set menu, menu B. Kicking it off with our old friend the mixed starter. The delicious platter arrived consisting of, Gai Satay, Po Pia Tord, Gung Hom Pla, Tord Man Pla and Kha Nom Pang Na Gai. All were great, the fish cakes were fresh and zingy, prawn toast is becoming a new favourite, accompanied with some of the gluiest looking sweet chilli dipping sauce I’ve ever encountered, it was slightly of-putting though not enough to deter. I was so eager to consume the delivered goods I think I may have burnt some of the skin off the roof of my mouth. Still good though. The second course was delivered by the lovely waitress, Gaeng Kiew Warn Gai (Chicken and Aubergine Green curry), Ped Sam Rod (Duck in Tamarind Sauce) and Guay Tiew Pud Thai (Stir fried noodles with prawns) served with fragrant rice. All three of these dishes were great. The curry was nice and hot and sour, if not slightly too sweet. Not too sure about the soggy aubergine though. The duck was a little too fatty for me and the tamarind sauce, which I don't think I've had before was nice, if not slightly too sweet. The noodles were great, they’d absorbed that familiar slightly scorched flavour/smell combo you get with stir-fried food cooked in a much used wok. Was loving the different combination of textures as you bit through the soft noodles, the crunchy bean sprouts, and succulent prawns, this was also slightly too sweet. This meal was one of those occasions where you think that the dish you’re eating is your favourite, until you try the next one in line and then that one is your favourite. All were very enjoyable, I was hoping there’d be some left to box up and take home but alas all was devoured. Next we were given the dessert of the day, the waitress introduced it as tarot custard pudding and explained tarot was like a sweet potato. Honestly it was scrumptious, since eating it I’ve looked up the recipe and am planning a visit to the local Chinese supermarket to purchase me some taro, a great way to end the meal, as it wasn’t too sickly or even slightly too sweet.