I’ve been helping out a new colleague at work – Cayenne. She wanted to take me out for lunch as a thank you. I told her it was unnecessary but she insisted. Cayenne picked one of her favourite restaurants – Sushi Bar Zipang. For this post, let’s play something that suits this extreme cold weather. What will it be? Coldplay? Vanilla Ice? Nope, let’s listen to “Put Your Back Into It” by Ice Cube.
Warning – vulgar language.
Originally Cayenne reserved a table but when we arrived, we saw it was right next to the door. The owner/chef saw Cayenne, came out and immediately gave us a better table. Throughout our meal, extra special attention was paid to her. Damn girl! I had no idea you were a VIP.
Cayenne ordered the tempura and sushi lunch special ($16.99). Ayecaramba ordered ebi fry and a California roll ($16.99). I picked the sushi lunch special ($18.99), which included a tuna maki roll, two pieces of ebi, tuna and salmon nigiri. All lunch specials include miso soup, salad or rice.
My miso soup was full of salty goodness. There were lots of tiny cubes of tofu and seaweed floating around.
The salad was not your standard greens with a splash of dressing. We received baby corn and all the vegetables were fresh and crunchy.
I was so intent on taking pictures of everyone else’s food, I forgot to take a picture of my own. Cayenne’s tempura was light and crispy. She oohed and ahhed over it and told us this is one dish she always orders at Zipang. Nice portion size too, she received two pieces of shrimp and three vegetables.
The sushi tasted fresh. I thought the rice was good, sticky in texture, the grains were firm, and the amount of vinegar and sugar in the rice was in my opinion, a taste bud pleasing balance. Out of all the sushi, the salmon was my favourite, buttery and cool.
Ayecaramba enjoyed her ebi and California rolls. I noticed she didn’t eat her potato salad. Tsk tsk. The Japanese make the best potato salad.
After lunch, I bumped into Karplop at a meeting. She told me she stopped going to Zipang because she found the food inconsistent. After she heard about my experience she said she would try Zipang again. Her go-to spot is Roku in Royal Oak. I told her I found the food at Roku inconsistent. Ha. We can talk this forever, comparing notes on our experiences and inside tidbits.
Hitting the Sauce 