Izumi Sushi

I used to love Tokyo Gardens when they were still there, and one day I found out that it has closed down and a new sushi place has opened up in their spot, I was a little hesitant on eating there. So flash forward a year later, I decided that me and Hubby should make a trip and test it out of course. Plus, we just started pre-natal classes and it was at Southport AHS, so we decided to make a dinner date out of it. 

On entering the restaurant, we noticed that it was definitely brighter then what it used to be in there. I loved how they redecorated it, though it was a little weird when you look up at the ceiling and realized that there is a mirror right above you. I guess it would be easy to creep other patrons if you were into that. =)

Service was quite fast and efficient. Our waitress was super nice and explained all their rolls as she brought them out. Though I would like to say it was a little weird getting my rolls first before the appetizers. 

We came on a Wed night and their special was cheap pricing on their special rolls. Score! So we decided to try their Rainbow Roll. I was pretty impressed by this one, as their crab mixture was really creamy and had tons of great flavours. Each piece had a different topping, so smoked salmon, shrimp, avocado and tuna. There was one that has some kind of green veggie like thing on there that I was not too impressed with.

We ordered two appetizers. First was the Mentai Calamari. Honestly, this was pretty good calamari. It was super lightly battered and the squid was melt in your mouth goodness. I like how they had it on a bed of salad with this lemony taste to it. Definitely a must have if you come here. 

Next up was Smoked Salmon and Spicy Salmon rolls. Personally, I didn't like either of these rolls. My Hubby makes better smoked salmon rolls at home. Something about it didn't taste right to me. The spicy salmon rolls were alright. Nothing special.

Appetizer two was Baked Oysters. Okay, it's been a long while since I had it, and Tokyo Gardens made amazing baked oysters. So I kind of had high expectations for this. It was a let down. It was more cream and cheese then oysters. I don't think there was an oyster in there. I was quite sad to be honest. 

Last speciality roll that we ordered was the Spicy Bomb. I have to say these rolls were huge! I have to say about Izumi rolls is they don't cheap out on the fish at all. Hubby says this roll was quite yummy. 

All in all, I would definitely come back for their speciality rolls on Wed night. Portions were bigger then most sushi places for sure. If I was in the area, I would drop by here to eat, either then that, I wouldn't make the trip from the deep south. 

Sea. Fish n'Chips

So it was a cold Saturday afternoon and I was starving as usual (being pregnant means hungry all the time), I decided to bug hubby to grab some food before we went grocery shopping. Now I have driven by this place many times in the past two years, but have never dropped in. Thinking it was a take out only kind of place, we bundled on up and headed out for some of the most amazing fish and chips I ever had.

Upon entering the restaurant, I realized that it is a take out and had sit in dining as well. The waitress was super friendly and we were seated right away. Now we got here about 3:30 in the afternoon and by the time we left an hour later, this place was filling up fast.

Taking a look at the menu I realized that they served alot of amazing sounding seafood dishes besides fish and chips. Now since we were only here to eat a quick bite as we had dinner plans already, me and the Hubby decided to share everything.

I am in love with chowder, so we had to have some. Seafood Towne Chowdah was amazingly rich and creamy, without being too heavy, and just chocked full of fish and veggies. It came with a side of garlic toast that was just amazing when you dipped it into the chowder. We got the bowl to share and let me tell you, it was a HUGE bowl. I actually am drooling a bit as I am reliving this chowder moment. Definitely amazing, and definitely will be going back for this.

Our second dish that we ordered, was the Jaws plate. We choose cod as our fish, and it came with 2 prawns, 2 scallops, 2 oysters and of course, some chips! There were three different sauces that came with it, one was kind of a lemon mayo dip, and the other was more sweet and sour, plum sauce kind of taste and the third was unknown to us, that we couldn't figure out. I found the batter around the cod was perfect. It was crunchy and crispy and the fish was super tender. The batter for the oysters however, was a little too much, where there was more batter then oyster. I know not all places are going to give you big huge honking oyster, but I felt kind of sick just eating so much batter that I could not enjoy it. It was alot better with the scallops and prawns though.

All in all, this place is amazing and me and hubby will be coming back again for sure to sample the rest of the menu. I still can't believe it took us two years to finally eat here.