Hokkaido - Chinatown

So on Valentine's Day, my friend and I decided to try Hokkaido in Chinatown since she is going away for over a month. This is a new all you can eat Japanese restaurant that replaced Fuji Yama, and can give Sushi Tokyo in Dragon City some much needed competition in all you can eat sushi in downtown. Sadly, the restaurant is not that great given its price.. (Note: this is a long post/rant, you been warned)

A pot of tea to guide you through the long post

The decor didn't seem to have changed much from Fuji Yama to Hokkaido. The restaurant wasn't that busy at 5:30PM. There was only three tables including us. It seemed like there was another table but it was just the staff/owner eating. We sat down and given the menu. The hostess came by for our drinks and that was the end of speedy service. 

We waited a good 10 minutes for the waitress to come back and take our order despite the fact that there was only 3 tables to wait on, all of which are on the same side of the restaurant. After our order was taken, we waited at least another 15 minutes for our salads to come by. They are just seaweed salad that you can buy in a frozen pack from T&T, and a simple lettuce salad with dressing on top. Not much assembly necessary yet it took what seemed to be forever. After our salad came, the wait for the rest of the food seemed to be longer. We were so hungry by the time the food finally arrived in what seemed to be ages. I am pretty sure we waited a good 30 minutes before our food arrived.

Seaweed salad & house salad

I was not impressed with the food. They seemed to be badly done. The chefs appeared to be Chinese chefs who have a basic idea on how to make a sushi.

I ordered Ika, which is squid sushi. It is my absolute favourite, I always order it at any restaurants I go to that have it on the menu. You can really tell the chef's ability to make quality sushi in how they prepare ika. Ika is hard to prepare because it is squid. Squid has that slimy connective tissue on the inside that just will not break apart when you bite into it. You need to cook it to a point where it is still crunchy to the bite but easy enough to swallow. I have been to restaurants where the connective tissue was not removed and I ended up almost choking because I was not expecting the entire piece to be going down my throat. I am pretty sure that was Sakana Grill back when they still served Ika on their menu. (this is also a Chinese run Japanese restaurant so it makes sense)  I been to restaurants where it is not slimy but it lost that crunch so you just have a limp piece of squid that was not very interesting. I also had delicious ika in Calgary, where just three lines or a grid scored into the ika that made the entire sushi so delicious I dream about it. Mostly, I had this at Wa's on 16th and Centre Street, but sadly I think they closed down permanently. They were a real Japanese run restaurant. I think I am getting a little out of hand with my love for ika.

From top left, clock wise. Mackerel (?), tuna, ika, salmon skin roll, spicy tuna roll

Back to the topic, as you can see in the picture, the ika is not well prepared at all. The piece of squid is comparably smaller than the rice. Ika done correctly should cover the top and partially the side of the sushi. It varies depending on the chef but it should still at least cover a portion. As you can see from the picture, it does not even cover the top of the sushi. This was not great ika, though I did order two more. Just because I love it and it is not the worst I had. In the same picture, you can also tell how the chef's skill in rolled sushi is pretty bad. If they were good, the sushi pieces would not be so uneven and toppling over like that. The roll on the right is grilled salmon skin roll. It was good except for the fact that the skin was a bit tough so I had trouble swallowing without giving a few more bites.

Sushi pizza

I tried the sushi pizza as I never tried it before. I  was not expecting what I got. Which was a freshly deep fried flattened rice ball topped with sashimi, avocado and two sauces. I liked the deep fried rice part but I was not happy with the topping. I hate to say it, but they were stingy with the fish. The pieces were small and thin. They did not even cover all of the surface. I had a piece of "pizza" that had no fish on it at all. I was also concerned that they would be serving super hot piece of rice with sashimi that should be served cold. I flipped over the fish and saw the bottom was completely cooked. I was not happy.

Agedashi tofu (deep fried tofu served in a sauce)

 In the time we were eating, only three more tables came in. Yet we still had trouble flagging down a waitress for a copy of the menu and then to order. We also saw a table where the girl had to go up to the waitress and ask for a copy of the menu and head straight to the kitchen attempting to order. That was kind of ridiculous. I worked at a busy Chinese restaurant for years and have never seen a service this bad at a full house plus take out lines out the door.

Tako bits and magi taro noodles

I also tried the octopus in clear noodles (magic taro noodles, they are just made from these taro and is supposedly no calories so it is great for people on a diet). This was also disappointing. The sauce was the only good part, it is vinegar and sugar so it opens up your appetite. The octopus pieces are tiny and chopped up, there was barely any noodles in there. It was just a two bite appetizer, I think I was expecting too much.

From top, clock wise. Salmon skin hand roll, unagi, ika, tako, surf clam, mackerel and salmon

Second round of sushi, again the ika is barely covering the top of the rice. It was basically a rice ball topped with a piece of squid. I tried the octopus as well as it is also a difficult dish to perfect as it can be overcooked and becomes chewy. As soon as the dish came, I did not have high hopes for it. As you can see from the picture, the piece is slightly pinkish purple. You know why it is that colour? It is because the chef does not know which side to present. A normal Tako sushi is white in the centre and purple around the edge. The white comes from the inside of the octopus leg and the purple is from the outside. In this instance, the chef decided not to waste the edge piece of a tako and used it on a sushi. If he just flipped it over with the white side showing, I wouldn't even have noticed it. Though, even if he flipped it over, the sushi would not be great either. It was just soggy and chewy.

Chicken Udon

Salmon Cheek

I forgot which kind of roll it is. (sorry)

Overall, the service at Hokkaido was not great.. I would consider it borderline terrible. Simply based on the slow service at a half filled restaurant. The chefs are not great, and need a lesson in sushi making and presentation. For $40 a person, I can go to a better restaurant like Fuji Yama with better food and service.

Mango ice cream