Sakana Grill & O Cup

Back in December. my friend and I decide do to go to Sakana Grill to celebrate her finally finding a job! Since we used to go there for the love boat, we decided to try ordering something from their menu instead. It was a pretty good decision! 

Tataki beef

My friend had been on a diet and haven't had beef for the longest time. So to satisfy her craving we tried the Tataki beef. This is a rare beef covered in a special sauce. From the  looks of it, it's another style of Asian sesame dressing. The beef is tender but the sauce over powered its sweetness. I think I have been spoiled by my dad's cooking of steak. He managed to cook the steaks so well that the steaks taste so buttery without the usage of butter... *drool* These tataki beef does not live up to the high standard set by my dad.

I can't remember what this roll is called but it was one of the specials taped on the side of the wall. It is a sushi roll ( I can't remember the filling), lightly fried in tempura batter and covered in sriracha hot sauce and hot mayo. The tempura batter was light and crunchy and warmed up the rolls. It was really good and I really wish I remembered what was in the filling. 

Yup, another dish I totally forgot what it is. I suck. I am sorry! I think it was a special on the cover of the menu. I can't find it in their online menu. I can't remember what it is exactly. I want to say it is skewers of salmon and tuna on top of fried rice. I am sure it was delicious but what stuck in my mind was how impractical it is. The skewer was not a good vessel to transfer the food from the plate to your mouth, I just remember the fish kept on falling off. It was a good novelty item but probably wouldn't order again. 

Deluxe Assorted sashimi

Ahhh.. The star of the show. The sashimis! They are my favourite of any sushi meals. I love how there is raw scallops, tako (Octopus) as well as raw sweet shrimp. The overall selection was very fresh and tasty. The salmon slices was gigantic! I had to eat it in two bites. So good!

It don't look very good in flash

I find Sakana Grill's dinner service to be much better than their lunch and happy hour service. The food are better presented and less risk of food poisoning. (I have heard horror stories from friends getting food poisoning from their happy hour...)

After dinner, we were still peckish so we headed across Center Street to  O Cup to grab some  snacks. I only been to O cup once and it was because they allowed us to bring our dogs in. I liked their salt & pepper chicken but disliked their winter melon drink. So I wasn't too fond to try it again but it was the only choice besides the Dessert House, where I REFUSE to go after getting some very bad service from them. So O Cup it was.

Again, my friend was on a diet so she was really craving junk food, so we ordered french fries. These are reminiscent of McDonald's fries. But they are freshly made and unsalted. So healthier than McDonald's?  

This was my choice. I love curry fish balls. Actually I love ordering curry items from these kind of snack shops as they are always spicy. I can't seem to find the proper mix yet so I can  only have my fill of spicy curry in restaurants. The fish balls are bouncy and the curry was the perfect spiciness for me.  

Salt & pepper chicken 

After I came back from Taipei, I been craving their salt & pepper chicken. Since my friend told me this was run by a Taiwanese owner. I figured they would make authentic salt & pepper chicken. The coating was crispy and the chicken was juicy. However, it was on the chunky side so the meat and breading proportion was off. In Taipei, the salt and pepper chicken are smaller, like popcorn  chicken size. But we found that dipping the chicken in the curry sauce was a very good alternate.

Honey aloe drink (hot)

I think it was honey aloe? This was my friend's order and I didn't try it. But she said it was really good. I like that they provide a small plate of aloe chunks on the side.

Kumquat tea (hot)

Okay, after drinking this kumquat tea my opinion of O Cup's drinks has changed dramatically. Their winter melon drink is basically just sugar water so I really disliked it. But this kumquat tea is probably the best I had. It had slices of a citrus and dried plums floating in the cup. I have no idea what the citrus is, but it isn't the right look for a kumquat. It is a nice tart drink. I don't remember much of a kumquat note, but more of a plum. Which I liked because I always stick dried plums in hot water ever since I was young. This is probably my favourite out of all the kumquat tea I had in Chinatown. It tasted more natural and less artificial flavouring than the others.

I do apologize for not remembering all of the names and prices of the dishes. I will try to remember for next time!