The Food Ninja: Sashimi Spree @ Hokkaido Ichiba

While I was only introduced to this restaurant recently, I can easily say that it has become one of my favorite places to visit. I would not go so far as to say that the food is the best, but it is one of the best value for money places that is economical enough to allow me to indulge myself as often as I would like.

That said, I would like just point out that I did not have my regular camera with me on that day, so I had to rely on my not so trusty cell phone camera. This explains the poor quality of the shots.

Nonetheless, that was not going to stop us from enjoying our food. As usual, the go-to dish for me is the salmon sashimi. I don't know if it was a new chef that day, or just my luck, the salmon sashimi was cut into very thick slices, more so than the usual, as you can see in the picture below. That, and also the freshness really brought out the taste in the succulent and juicy fish. You could even eat it without the soy sauce and wasabi and enjoy the taste.

Normally, I would order the Kaisen Dama (Seafood Japanese Pizza), but that ends up being too filling most of the time. So we decided to go with something lighter. So I thought, what better time to try to sashimi moriawase. It turned out to be a very pleasant surprise as the sashimi was just as thick as the salmon, and the taste, just as fresh. It contained two slices of toro salmon, kampachi, and maguro each, and a small serving of sliced octopus as well as scallops. I can't say I know what the rolled up, white thing in the middle is, but honestly, it is not something I would miss.

And the final dish is also a usual. We had already mixed it up, so it looked a bit messy in the picture. But that is how salads are supposed to look. I can safely say that this is one of my favorite salad dishes of all time. It combines Hokkaido Ichiba's "special" dressing with salmon and maguro sashimi. The salad dressing tastes sweet and tangy and is stirred with some ebikko to give it a unique texture.

So there you have it, a simple meal with simple dishes. Definitely a lot more sashimi than normal people would like, but it is my favorite food, so I just can't help myself.

Verdict