Today we went to a new Sushi bar someone had recommended from Facebook.
Hello, again. My dad and I, and sometimes my mom comes along too, have been going out on the town to find some of the best not so popular cheap eats, mostly family-owned, restaurants that we can find. We go out almost every day, finding some new little place, or big place, to tell you about and review the food and prices.
Today we went to another very in-expensive sushi place. I’m surprised at how many I keep finding, when in my mind sushi is usually really expensive!! Actually, someone from Facebook recommended this one, but still I’m surprised. First it was one, then two, and now three in-expensive sushi restaurants that serve amazing food? Wow! But, anyways, I’m getting sidetracked. The place we went to today is called Sakura Sushi, located on Instituto Politecnico Nacional 1451, and the longitude latitude location is 20.67716504508632, -105.22268667838802. They can do deliveries to surrounding areas for free, or to the rest of PV for a small fee, which varies depending on the driver.
Sakura Sushi is a Japanese restaurant, though it’s not very traditional. I don’t mean it in a bad way, as they don’t claim to be either, in fact I’m saying it in a nice way. They have very yummy food, some traditionally Japanese, while others are more Mexican, or even Chinese, but all of their ingredients are good quality, and they make really good quality food here. Also, all the chefs are very obviously very good at their job, and have plenty of experience.
I got a Bola De Fuego, or fireball, which is a fried rice ball that has surimi, which is a seafood product that imitates crab, cucumbers, avocados, and other veggies inside, and with it I got an iced tea. The first thing I noticed when I saw this giant ball is that surrounding it was a salad made of lettuce, tomato, cucumber, carrots, and beets. It didn’t say salad on the menu, so I didn’t get why it came with a salad, but it was a nice presentation so I figured it was that. The rice ball had a super crisp and crunchy appearance, and when I stabbed my fork into it, I literally heard it crunch. It wasn’t anywhere near burning hot, but the fresh crunchiness to it made it seem like it was removed from the fryer only seconds ago. Then I tasted it, and commented to my dad that this was the best rice ball I’ve had here yet because it is made out of sushi rice, not regular rice. Even high-end places that try to be very traditional don’t use sushi rice in rice balls, at least not the ones I’ve been to. Though this place, a tiny Japanese fusion place on a little corner, that isn’t even trying to be traditional, had the traditional rice! They put in the extra effort and expense to use this rice, which is more than double the price of regular rice. Also, they had a real Japanese gas rice-cooker, the type that needs constant monitoring and skill, not the electric type that you simply press a button and walk away.
But, back to my delicious food. The cucumber and other veggies were very cool and crisp, though not in a refrigerated way, simply in a fresh vegetable way, and the surimi crab was super soft and boy was it good! Crab is my favorite type of shellfish, and maybe even my favorite type of seafood, and this surimi crab was delicious! Sometimes imitation crab meat can taste so fakey, but this was really rich and tasty. With the rich meat and the thick, sticky, and semi-sweet rice I got so full less than half the way through, and then I realized what the salad was for. Now, I normally do not like beet, but I caught myself picking up thin veggie shreds including the beet to cut the thickness of the super rich rice ball, which allowed me to then finish almost all of it.
My dad, as he always does, ordered his drink before anything else, and asked the friendly waitress what flavor she had. She responded with Jamaica, and he went with that, even before she got to finish. But, she continued to say that they also had ice tea and Calpico. Calpico? What in the world is calpico? Well, of course my dad asked about it, right? Wrong. My bonehead dad just ordered a liter! A liter of some strange drink he’d never tasted!! A normal person might ask for a little taste, or at least get a small glass of it, but not him. Neither of us had any idea what it was or even if it was alcoholic or not, so I was the adult in the situation and looked it up. Calpico, also known as Calpis or Calpis Soda, is a Japanese non-carbonated soft drink made out of dry milk, lactic acid, lactic fermentation, and water and/or milk. It’s normally sold as a concentrate that then has to be diluted by a liquid, which is where the water and/or milk comes in, though some grocery stores in Japan sell it pre-made. But heck, you could use coffee to turn the thick, syrup-like liquid into a drink, which actually sounds like it could be tasty. The calpico they had was made with milk and water, and it was very interesting, to say the least. It had a flavor similar to horchata, but it was much less sweeter, so maybe more like something in between horchata and Yakult. Also, when I tasted it, it felt soft and sweet, but once I swallowed, it left my mouth dry?? It reminded me of the non-Newtonian fluid you can make with corn starch. Calpico is definitely an acquired taste, but definitely something you should try.
To eat, my dad got Yakimeshi, which is stir-fried rice that comes with vegetables and your choice of proteins. My dad got shrimp! My dad tasted the rice, and said it was perfectly seasoned. The vegetables were super crisp, while still being properly cooked and warm. And the shrimp were absolutely perfectly cooked!! It was obviously cooked separately from the vegetables, so they weren’t overcooked, nor were they undercooked! Also, everything was perfectly seasoned! It was an absolutely delicious plate of food!
Sakura Sushi is a pretty small place, but they still have a few tables for you to sit at. And while we were there, a lot of orders went out the door for delivery, so that’s great! Also, the kitchen is pretty small, too, yet none of the chefs seem crowded or stressed. Like I said before, they have experience, and are very good at their job. One more thing, there is a big park and stadium right across from them, so you can order your food and take it over, or they even said they’ll deliver food into the park.
If you enjoyed this article, and would like to recommend a place that you know about, then please let me know. Or, if you are an owner yourself of a place that you would like to see written about, contact me.
And to see the rest of my food reviews go to the Dining Out section here in Vallarta Bay Times.