I’ve said it a number of times on the blog and I’ll say it again: I’m a sucker for cute, seasonal things and I adore celebratory occasions. So in lieu of Valentine’s Day next Monday, I’m starting a series today entitled “The Keys to My Heart” that will profile some of my favourite foods and indulgences, and I’ll be running it for the next 4 days until the big day! 😀 And by “big day”, I mean a day of good food and lots of cute and pretty things! Some people feel that Valentine’s Day is cliché, overrated, and well…stupid. In the traditional sense, it can definitely seem archaic, but I like to think of Valentine’s Day as a day to simply enjoy the company of people you love, as well as indulging in your favourite treats and activities. I think I’ll treat myself to a lip gloss shopping trip in the very near future to celebrate.
First up in the Keys To My Heart series: my favourite spicy salmon sushi rolls!! *prances around the room* Now you all know how much I love my sushi and how many different kinds I’ve tried. Out of all the places I’ve been to so far and all the spicy salmon varieties I’ve ordered, the spicy salmon roll bento box at Japanese Express in the upper level food court in Pacific is the BEST! For $7.95, you get a bento box with 12 rolls, a side salad, and a tea. The buttery, melt-in-your-mouth salmon is surrounded by a ring of crunchy tempura, and with the dollop (or as I like to think of it, a little pool of spicy heaven) of spicy sauce on each roll, it’s like a crunchy, spicy party in your mouth. The texture and heat are so good! And the rice is perfect too – not mushy and not hard.
I’m known for taking itty bitty bites of things, but for these rolls, you put the whole shebang in your mouth and wiggle and savour, even as you’re puffing from the heat, haha! 😀 I cannot get over how amazing the sauce is in combination with the rolls and I suppose my love for it makes sense considering how much I love sauce on stuff! I have such a weakness for the different kinds of spicy sauce and mayo sushi places use for their rolls, mmm.
And if you’re interested in another really good menu item, I definitely recommend the hand rolls! You get a set of three: one salmon, one California (crab meat, cucumber, and avocado), and one bbq eel. These are truly quality hand rolls in size, taste, and texture with the crunchy, crispy seaweed and grainy rice. The slices of salmon sashimi, crab meat, and avocado are so fresh and thick, and the bbq eel is yumminess! I’ve had bbq eel in rolls before, twice, but for whatever reason, the bbq eel in this pocket of a hand roll tasted so much better! It has the texture of grilled salmon, soft and not dry in the least. I’m actually really happy to have found these great sushi items. You get skeptical of the quality of food in food courts, especially when so much of it is imitation, but these dishes deliver. Yay!
I absolutely cannot wait to scrapbook my little heart out real soon, so expect a ton of new layouts in the next 2 weeks! I’m really excited to do some special Valentine’s-related posts for the blog in the next few days too, so I hope you all enjoy this series!
*****
Pacific Mall is located at 4300 Steeles Ave. East, right at the intersection of Kennedy Rd. and Steeles. Pacific Heritage Town is on the upper level and houses a food court with traditional Chinese, Shanghai, and Japanese and sushi, as well as a bakery and plenty of bubble tea and Chinese snack vendors. Japanese Express is located further into the food court right by the stage and podium where the emperor chair is.
Thank you to my sweetie Richard for the Heritage Town photo, and thank you to Cait for inspiring me with the title of this series!
Ate by Ate 