Restaurant: Shiro Sushi Vancouver

Shiro Sushi is one of the real Japanese restaurant on Cambie.
We went there this spring before we had to Oakridge Mall  in Vancouver.

Shiro Sushi Vancouver

The sushi and Nigiri both taste very nice and authentic, not the North American taste.
Lunch set also offers good value and came with a huge "Pocky" chocolate stick.

The staff were friendly on the phone and in person, and I will go there again.

Bento Lunch Box: Port Belly Egg Wrap (Slices)

Another one creative idea from my wife:
For today's lunch box, she wrapped a cooked egg with seasoned pork belly meat and sliced them.

I am not sure how she keep them sticking together so well, but they are delicious.

If you are wondering what is on the rice, it is cooked chicken liver.
For some people or cultures, you will think "yuck".
However, if you are used to eating it, it is quite a delicacy and very nutritious.

I enjoyed today's lunch as usual!  Thanks to my wife.

bento Lunch Box: Omuraisu (Omelette Rice) with Gratin

Gratin is a French cuisine that is very popular in Japan and various style exists.
It is a local food from the Dauphine region of France and traditionally, there are 4 french styles exists.

Omuraisu, meaning Omelette Rice in Japanese, is very popular as well!
It can be seen in any western style restaurant in Japan and has become a set menu.

My wife has combined the two in my lunch box today (without the egg).

She mixed in different kinds of cheese in the gratin, and it was absolutely delicious.
The omuraisu contains mixed vegetables and slices of ham.
My co-workers kept staring at my lunch box as usual...

Too bad only my lunch boxes grab attention, not me...haha

Bento Lunch Box: Curry Croquette with Mexican Four Cheese

My wife made a croquette lunch box today.

The croquette is made of mashed potatoes and a type of cheese called, "Mexcian Four Cheese".
You can buy this type of cheese in any major supermarket in the US.
The one we bought is made by Kraft.
Curry croquette tastes wonderful with the mixed cheese. (I can see different colors of cheese inside, too!)
The tastes mixed together quite well.

Bento Lunch Box Curry Croquette with Mexican Four Cheese

On the rice, it has the Japanese sprinkle seaweed and Nori (cut seaweed) and Taiwanese Bamboo Shoot pieces.  On the side, we have scrambled eggs and broccoli.  On the Curry Croquette, she used "Okonomiyaki" sauce (Japanese pancake) sauce for extra taste.

Bento Lunch Box: Chicken Cheese Sushi Roll

My wife made this creative "chicken cheese roll bento".
First, she cut the chicken breast meat into small pieces.
Then, just like rolling a sushi roll.  She put the cheese stick in the center of the chicken meat spread and rolled.
The end product is as the following:

lunch box: chicken cheese sushi roll

The cheese in the center might be hard to see because of the brightness of the picture but it was delicious.

Bento Lunch Box: Asparagus Wrapped by Meat Patty

My wife created a second version of asparagus lunch bento.

This time, she made a long meat patty roll and inside, she put asparagus in the roll.
Once the meat patty roll is cooked, she cut it into 6 pieces evenly, just like sushi rolls.

It taste good with rice and veggies on the side!

Bento Lunch Box: Garlic Mayonnaise Shrimp

Here is one lunch box I did not upload for a while.

In the picture:  Japanese fried rice with dried seaweed, garlic mayonnaise shrimps, broccoli, egg and chicken.
Excellent taste!

Bento Lunch Box: Shrimp Tempura & Seaweed Egg Wrap

This week, my wife has another creative arrangement for my lunch box:

Shrimp Tempura with Seaweed Egg Wrap.

As you can see, the egg rolls have seaweeds within them.
Seaweed is a very important part of the Japanese diet.
Not only it is an important part of the food culture (because it is an island nation),
It is very healthy.

There are all kinds of seaweed dishes that oriental cultures enjoy.
To enjoy seafood, you have to enjoy both the plants and the fish stocks.

Now, the oriental people usually enjoy eating all kinds of seaweed.
For people from other cultures, they don't enjoy it because they are not used to the taste.

Just like spice tea, I did not grow up to drink it, so I am not used to it at all.
I grow up drinking all kinds of oriental tea:  Pu-er, green tea, sencha, oolong, etc.
It was a part of life.  It is kind of funny to hear comments such as "it is bitter".
Well, the English tea is bitter, too, without sugar, but I enjoy it.

Creative Cooking: Onion Ring Port Patty

My wife tries all kinds of creative cooking mixing different ideas and cultures all the time.
This time, I don't know what I should call this dish.  :)
Onion Ring Pork Patty?  haha...

We also bought new Corelle dish.

The onion ring is prepared by cutting the center of the onion out.
Then, pork patty is put in with seasoning on the top.
The pork is prepared the same way as you prepare a hamburger patty.

Well, I assume most people would have bought their hamburgers from the frozen section of the supermarket.

Obviously, that will not work here.
 However, this is an easy dish to make with simple ingredients.

Bento Lunch Box: Creative Tempura Combo

My wife made a really creative tempura combo box today, which included several kinds of Japanese tempura.
There are 4 kinds of tempura in this picture:
Tempura Chicken, tempura asparagus, tempura cheese and tempura okra.
When it is warm, the tempura cheese melts in your mouth and is absolutely delicious.

The good thing with tempura is that as long as you have the tempura mix, you can experiment on what you want to wrap.  One can also put different kind of cheese in the middle for different tastes.

Now, depending on your taste and the culture background, you might find these more or less tasty and acceptable.

The picture above also includes salted sesame rice, scrambled egg with chive and broccoli.

Bento Lunch Box: Asparagus Pork Roll

I haven't been uploading my daily bento box that my wife made and I should do that more often.
Here is one themed bento with asparagus rolls.  The outer layer is made of "butabara", meaning pork belly in Japanese. 

The asparagus is steamed first, then it is wrapped in raw sliced pork.
Next, the roll is fried with salt and pepper for seasoned taste.
The picture does not look that good because it is from my cellphone.
However, the dish tastes excellent!! yum!

Bento Lunch Box: Spring Roll

Last week, my wife was trying out using some spring roll dole to make own spring rolls.
They turned out delicious and actually, you can use the spring roll wraps to wrap different kind of food.
Last time, when we went to a western restaurant, the chef there used it to wrap flavored mashed potatoes.
(and it taste great!)

Here, my wife included one of my favourite Taiwanese pickled lettuce.
Taiwanese people, like Japanese people, love all kinds of pickled or preserved (dried) food items.
Sometimes, the styles are different but they taste great. 
Things from bamboo, mushroom, lettuce, radish...all kinds of vegetables.
I would recommend people trying them out.  (made in Taiwan recommended for quality control)

Bento Lunch Box: Saba Bento

Here is another Bento box with a kind of fish called Saba, called "Mackerel" in English. 
This kind of fish comes with a bitter taste (similar to swordfish?)
However, if you don't mind the slight bitterness.  It is delicious.

Bento Lunch Box: Tonkatsu Mushroom Bento

My wife started making cute and tasty bento boxes for my son going to daycare, and I don't know how she finds the energy to do this.  Here is a cute bento for tonkatsu and mushroom.  Everyday, she is being very creative on creating these kind of art.  My co-workers kept on praising her work as well.  (not sure if it is only a conversation maker...)  However, I am the one who enjoys it everyday.

Bento Lunch Box: Chili Sauce Shrimp

I really have to catch up to my bento posts because my wife kept on making delicious Bento for me for lunch and I don't have the time to post them.

This is a Chili Sauce and Shrimp Bento she made.

I know both pictures don't show exactly.  However, at the left upper corner, you can see she used the tofu nigiri sushi's skin and wrapped and cooked meat, egg and vegetable inside.  I know the picture is not the best, but it is a beautiful and delicious side dish.

My Son's Bento Box

My wife also makes cute bento box for my son to carry to the kindergarten.  I really appreciate the time she takes to design and think about the different styles of cuisines she cooks and puts in everyday for our lunches.

This box contains rice balls with "nori" drawings, asian style fried chicken, egg and broccoli.
I hope my son enjoyed this one.

Bento Lunch Box: Nibuta Bento

In Japan and Taiwan, lots of food such as meat, egg, tofu, tempura, etc are often marinated in soy sauce. 
Soy Sauce marinated pork is called, "Nibuta" in Japan.  Last week, my wife made this "Nibuta" bento for me for lunch.  It was delicious....

Bento Lunch Box: Tonkatsu Bento

Today's Bento is Tonkatsu Bento.  Deep Fried Pork Cutlet on rice.  There are variations of this: Chicken katsu, curry katsu, etc.

Bento Lunch Box: Terimayo Bento

My bento box today is "terimayo bento" (teriyaki mayonnaise).  The main section is Terimayo chicken and the chicken was already soaked with teriyaki sauce from the previous day.  With some extra sauce and some mayonnaise on top, this dish is excellent for a lunch bento.

Bento Lunch Box: Chicken Kara-age Bento

Kara-age　(から揚げ） means food items deep fried.  In Japan, many items can be deep fried: fish, pork, chicken, seafood, etc.  Chicken kara-age is a popular dish that is often offered in restaurants and supermarkets.  Here, the bento is made with kara-age, fries, egg (with green onions) and broccoli.  The sprinkles on top are actually flavoured seasoning, "furikake", commonly used on top of rice.