Irashai Grill
Irashai Grill is located in Coal Harbour close to the waterfront. It is a contemporary Japanese restaurant that offers classic dishes with a modern twist. The first thing I noticed about the decor was the predominantly red tone, and the lighting was dim but not overly so. I always forget to bring my camera when I eat out, but this time I actually remembered! I turned on my camera, all excited, when... I realized that I forgot to put my memory card back inside >_<" Once again, I was going to have to take crappy pics with my cell phone. The first dish we had was the salmon sashimi ($9). The salmon was really fresh and fatty.
Then we had 3 sushi rolls. Roll #1 was the Alaska crab leg roll ($14) made with Alaska king crab, mango and masago. The roll was then deep fried with tempura batter and garnished with lemon mayo. This was the first time I've had fried sushi, and I liked it quite a bit. But I found the mayo to be too overpowering such that I couldn't really taste the crab meat.
Roll #2 was the spicy tuna roll ($5). I always order this dish because it's tasty and usually quite cheap.
Roll #3 was the poisonous spider volcano ($12). It was a twist on the regular spider roll. Apart from soft shell crab, the roll also contained cream cheese and asparagus. Cheese was sprinkled on top and it was baked lightly until the cheese had melted. The presentation was quite impressive, but the cheese was too strong making it difficult to savour the other ingredients.
After the sushi rolls, we had the pearl chicken karaage ($7). It was similar to popcorn chicken, but fried with rice crackers instead of batter. The dish came with a sauce that had a layer of oil floating on top of a black substance. I'm not sure what it was, but it tasted similar to balsamic vinegar and oil. It was not bad, but deep fried chicken paired with oily sauce was too much for me...
Next we had yakisoba with chicken ($10). The noodles were quite good and the seasoning was done just right. But the chicken was overcooked and not tender at all.
For dessert I had the maccha creme brulee ($5.50). The maccha custard was rich and creamy, but the sugar on top was majorly burnt and made the dessert very bitter. That added to the fact the portion was tiny, I would say it's not worth trying for $5.50.
All the prices listed are approximate since I don't remember the exact numbers. It was an enjoyable dinner, but the prices are a bit high for the quality. The food was above average, but nothing really stood out. And I couldn't believe that they actually charge for green tea ($1 per person). This is the first Japanese restaurant I've been to that does not offer complimentary green tea with the meal. I think the restaurant should focus on being a tapas bar instead of trying to be a traditional dining venue.
Then we had 3 sushi rolls. Roll #1 was the Alaska crab leg roll ($14) made with Alaska king crab, mango and masago. The roll was then deep fried with tempura batter and garnished with lemon mayo. This was the first time I've had fried sushi, and I liked it quite a bit. But I found the mayo to be too overpowering such that I couldn't really taste the crab meat.
Roll #2 was the spicy tuna roll ($5). I always order this dish because it's tasty and usually quite cheap.
Roll #3 was the poisonous spider volcano ($12). It was a twist on the regular spider roll. Apart from soft shell crab, the roll also contained cream cheese and asparagus. Cheese was sprinkled on top and it was baked lightly until the cheese had melted. The presentation was quite impressive, but the cheese was too strong making it difficult to savour the other ingredients.
After the sushi rolls, we had the pearl chicken karaage ($7). It was similar to popcorn chicken, but fried with rice crackers instead of batter. The dish came with a sauce that had a layer of oil floating on top of a black substance. I'm not sure what it was, but it tasted similar to balsamic vinegar and oil. It was not bad, but deep fried chicken paired with oily sauce was too much for me...
Next we had yakisoba with chicken ($10). The noodles were quite good and the seasoning was done just right. But the chicken was overcooked and not tender at all.
For dessert I had the maccha creme brulee ($5.50). The maccha custard was rich and creamy, but the sugar on top was majorly burnt and made the dessert very bitter. That added to the fact the portion was tiny, I would say it's not worth trying for $5.50.
All the prices listed are approximate since I don't remember the exact numbers. It was an enjoyable dinner, but the prices are a bit high for the quality. The food was above average, but nothing really stood out. And I couldn't believe that they actually charge for green tea ($1 per person). This is the first Japanese restaurant I've been to that does not offer complimentary green tea with the meal. I think the restaurant should focus on being a tapas bar instead of trying to be a traditional dining venue.
No comments: