I'm currently using some space in Vic West to rehearse a show for the Victoria fringe (see: aQuietSeason.com). The scary part about doing my own show is that someone out there will be reviewing it with the same critical eyes I've done to other fringe shows. But I'm pretty happy with what's been built so far, so we'll see how it goes.
And as a bonus for me, it means I can check out a couple of places in Vic West for dinner beforehand. Last week, I walked into Victoria Sushi, in Westside Village Mall. This square is just over from the Dockside Green development but has been around far longer than that new build. The Sushi restaurant is on one corner, so has plenty of natural light to offset the black and dark brown tones inside. The lighting is kind of moody in there, with diffuse light, and there are lots of glass panels with bamboo strips stuck to them...
Service didn't blow me away. I was sat on my own at a large table (six-person table) in one corner. It then took a while to get an order taken, once I had green tea served. And then a while for the food to arrive. I went for my typical choice of Pork Katsu and BC rolls.
The Katsu was served on a small bed of lettuce, with about three tablespoons of rice and a ramekin of a thick, brown sauce. The Tonkatsu sauce was the best part of the meal. It had a tingly spice and a pleasant gingery flavour, as well as being unctuous and gloopy over the breaded pork. The pork had been pounded flat o make a very thin, crisp cutlet. It was a bit dry but otherwise was okay, but nothing superb. I've had better.
The BC Rolls were also fine, but again nothing wonderful. They also arrived so late into the meal, I thought they'd forgotten about me. I have kind of forgotten about the BC rolls now, so it's a mutual disinterest. But I did note that there wasn't much of the crisp, BBQ-smokiness to the salmon skins the role. Which is the combination of flavours I love to have in my food.
I'd not pass up on Victoria Sushi if I am over there again, and the ambience did start to grow on me. But there was nothing that made me want to travel to visit. And nothing that made me completely avoid ever again
July 24, 2016
July 10, 2016
A First Nations Potluck Feast and 200 posts
This is my 200th blog post on Victoria in Person. I hope someone made a cake for me. Ah, here it is... but is looks like it got mostly eaten on the way.
The above is a pretty awesome cake made with yoghurt by the Brunette of My Acquaintance. And it was not made for this blog, but instead for a potluck. This was held outside the Mungo Martin house, next to the BC Museum, in honour of a visit from Kamloops by one of her friends. Forty of her friends and family gathered to meet up and share food from all sorts of places.
There was a massive pot of fish soup which was damn tasty. Or the portion I had without Oolichan oil (aka Grease) was. I was warned by the First Nations's folks who invited me to share the meal that it was a rather distinctive flavour and an acquired taste. Super fishy, and strong, cloying smell. Reading up on the fish itself, the smoked or fresh meat was a big part of the diet for the coastal peoples, and the oil was traded extensively into the interior. Creating the trade routes known as the 'Grease Trails'.
There was also Bannock. Bannock was a Scottish way of prepping bread, mostly by frying the dough on hot stone. It was either taken up by the First Nations or very closely aligned to a way of preparing maize before the Scots brought their version over, and the two things became aligned. In any case, the style here was plain but tasty. If you took all the bad things on a Krispy Kreme donut away (the terrible sugary coating, the nasty oil taste), and squished them down in a flat patties about the size of your palm, you'd get this Bannock. Except I'd probably eat it before you got it.
Finally, for dessert, there was Sxusem, more commonly known as Indian Ice cream. This is a whipped mix of soap berries, water and sweetners. It makes a big pink-orange frothy mousse, eaten with a spoon. Soap berries are well, soapy tasty, and bitter. The soap flavour sort of fades after the first taste, and it's a pleasant sort of bitterness, not unlike the pleasant bittering of hops in beer. What is neat is that berries are a source of saponins, that have the effect of creating the foamy mass to make the dessert. The saponins might have some positive effects on digestion and reducing inflammation, though the research is still out. The lady who gave me some of the juice left over swears by drinking some very day, diluted with water. Though she also said harvesting the berries is not the easiest thing to do either.
I'm very grateful for being part of this gathering, even if my contribution was carrying some boxes, and chopping up a salad (which was not my finest pile of greens ever...).
So here's to number 300, I'm keeping at this, Andrea!
The above is a pretty awesome cake made with yoghurt by the Brunette of My Acquaintance. And it was not made for this blog, but instead for a potluck. This was held outside the Mungo Martin house, next to the BC Museum, in honour of a visit from Kamloops by one of her friends. Forty of her friends and family gathered to meet up and share food from all sorts of places.
There was a massive pot of fish soup which was damn tasty. Or the portion I had without Oolichan oil (aka Grease) was. I was warned by the First Nations's folks who invited me to share the meal that it was a rather distinctive flavour and an acquired taste. Super fishy, and strong, cloying smell. Reading up on the fish itself, the smoked or fresh meat was a big part of the diet for the coastal peoples, and the oil was traded extensively into the interior. Creating the trade routes known as the 'Grease Trails'.
There was also Bannock. Bannock was a Scottish way of prepping bread, mostly by frying the dough on hot stone. It was either taken up by the First Nations or very closely aligned to a way of preparing maize before the Scots brought their version over, and the two things became aligned. In any case, the style here was plain but tasty. If you took all the bad things on a Krispy Kreme donut away (the terrible sugary coating, the nasty oil taste), and squished them down in a flat patties about the size of your palm, you'd get this Bannock. Except I'd probably eat it before you got it.
Finally, for dessert, there was Sxusem, more commonly known as Indian Ice cream. This is a whipped mix of soap berries, water and sweetners. It makes a big pink-orange frothy mousse, eaten with a spoon. Soap berries are well, soapy tasty, and bitter. The soap flavour sort of fades after the first taste, and it's a pleasant sort of bitterness, not unlike the pleasant bittering of hops in beer. What is neat is that berries are a source of saponins, that have the effect of creating the foamy mass to make the dessert. The saponins might have some positive effects on digestion and reducing inflammation, though the research is still out. The lady who gave me some of the juice left over swears by drinking some very day, diluted with water. Though she also said harvesting the berries is not the easiest thing to do either.
I'm very grateful for being part of this gathering, even if my contribution was carrying some boxes, and chopping up a salad (which was not my finest pile of greens ever...).
So here's to number 300, I'm keeping at this, Andrea!
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