Monthly Archives: July 2013

Green Leaf Sushi

Green Leaf Sushi on UrbanspoonOne of my friend had been mentioning that Green Leaf was a good Japanese restaurant. Then one night after dining at Sake Maki on Broadway, we walked by it and thought we should come here next time.

It’s a small Korean run sushi restaurant. Interesting decor on the right hand side with a lot of antiques. There is a hidden small section for one table for a group. The chef has memorable hair. It reminds me of those ancient Chinese men who would have their hair very long and braided in the back.

idearabbit-greenleaf8idearabbit-greenleafidearabbit-greenleaf16idearabbit-greenleaf10idearabbit-greenleaf11idearabbit-greenleaf13idearabbit-greenleaf4

The restaurant seems clean but wasn’t new. It doesn’t have that ‘it’s completely renovated’ feel somehow. The server didn’t say anything about the specials on the blackboards until we noticed after we had ordered.

However, on the second time we went there and had a closer look, the menu said that dynamite roll + gyoza combo was $8, while the ‘Today’s Special’ said it was usually $10, and it was on special for $8. Scam? I guess if you weren’t looking carefully, you’d feel you were getting a deal, when you in fact weren’t.

For the first time, we didn’t know what to  expect, so I ordered a Negirtoro roll, Tuna Takaki, Gyoza. idearabbit-greenleaf2The Gyoza came out fried. It tasted very good, but as someone who tries to eat a little healthier, I guess this isn’t the best way to eat gyoza.

idearabbit-greenleaf5The Tuna Takaki was really good!! Melted in your mouth, and although I would have like more ponzu sauce, it was very fresh and light. Negitoro was satisfactory.

idearabbit-greenleaf3Every time you dine in, you also get a complimentary “House Roll”. It’s not real sushi…it’s like Vietnamese style sushi fusion. Lol. I find the sauce a bit too strong, so not a huge fan. *UPDATE: we’ve been back many times since, and they no longer serve this complimentary roll.

I would totally recommend this restaurant! It’s got a nice home comfy feel. Nothing fancy, but the quality of the food is very good. Presentation and freshness is great. My company loved it so much, it’s likely become his favourite Japanese restaurant, so we’ve gone back to it many times. If you go during peak hours, be prepared to wait, or take a stroll through Kits while waiting for your table.

*UPDATE: not sure why, but whenever we sit by the kitchen area, my eyes start hurting and watery, as if the kitchen was cutting up a lot of onions. Sheepie gets it too sometimes, though milder. Anyone else get this?

 

idearabbit-greenleaf6

Negitoro roll

idearabbit-greenleaf7

idearabbit-greenleaf9

idearabbit-greenleaf12

Negitoro with 2 smoked salmon, 2 house rolls, masago and tamago

idearabbit-greenleafsushi20

More Updates

You can obviously tell we go back often to Green Leaf with all of the updates. Our recent visit surprised us with a bit of change in the table and seats, but even more with an additional menu.

idearabbit-greenleafsushi51 idearabbit-greenleafsushi52 I had to try out the Salmon Aburi Oshi Sushi $12. It was super soft and oily (but in a good way). Mmmm….love aburi oshi sushi… now I love Green Leaf even more! idearabbit-greenleafsushi50

Piggy joined us :) Enjoying his sushi

idearabbit-greenleafsushi53Our friends ordered the Assorted Sushi Combo $18 which has 8 pieces of nigiri sushi, Tuna roll and Salmon roll. Presentation was great on a nice wooden board and placed nicely. I only had a piece of the tuna roll, but it was fresh and good.

They also ordered the Ebi Aburi Oshi Sushi (sorry, no pic!), and had a piece. This one had a Western flavour with a slice of black olive and creamy mayo and cheese. Still, very good.

As usual, Sheepie ordered the combo: Appetizer Tuna and Salmon Sashimi (4 pieces) with Dynamite roll and miso soup $13. Sheepie was disappointed in his combo as the portion was considerably less than before. It was a combo he always ordered, so he knew well. Not sure if this was just this occasion, or if they really did change the portion for the dish. (we went back again, and it was the smaller portion, so I guess that’s their standard size now…) Luckily, the taste had not gone down hill.

Service is good and they’ve hired more staff to accommodate the demand.

We’ll be back :)

Food Taste: carrotcarrotcarrotcarrot   Price for Value: carrotcarrotcarrotcarrot

Atmosphere: carrotcarrotcarrot    Service: carrotcarrotcarrotcarrot
Location: carrotcarrotcarrot

John Chow’s Seminar

I had heard John Chow’s name from time to time as the biggest blogger and thought it would be interesting in finding out more.
So through a business network group on meetup.com, I went to an event where he was speaking on how to earn big bucks. Entry fee was $5.

The room was packed with about 100 people, all eager to learn more. I thought that people generated money through the ads on their blogs, but I was very wrong. I learned more about emails, newsletters, and most importantly, affiliate programs. That was what got you more money, not a penny for 1000 impression of ads.

The problem was how to get people to sign up for your newsletter through your blog. I seem to get people following my RSS feed, but no one is giving their email address for me to send out my newsletters to, making it extremely difficult. He suggested giving readers an incentive to sign up – for example, he offers his ebook free of download if you sign up to his newsletters. I could give out my illustrated ebook out for those who sign up, but then I run into technical issues of setting that up. It’s not as easy as John Chow keeps saying – he said ‘oh you can get this all set up over a weekend’. Right…

idearabbit-johnchow

However, I did learn some useful tips. If you see that he’s going to give a speech, I highly recommend going see John Chow! Likely showing off his new gift from one of the big brands ;)

Air Transat Service and Food

So my trip to Germany begins – with Air Transat food! lol :D

I’ve heard some bad reviews about Air Transat from people, but I haven’t had a problem with them. Back in May of 2008 I flew from Vancouver to London, then from Paris back to Vancouver for $660 – taxes and fees all included! Just ridiculous how cheap they were. It was a promo, and so glad I took it. My parents flew out from Calgary on the same dates and they paid much more than $1000 each with Air Canada.

idearabbit-airtransat

Bye bye Vancouver!!

I hear that the storage above the passengers are flimsy and can fall down. So far, I’ve never seen that, so can’t say much about it. People say that the seats are too small, and not enough leg room. Being a really skinny Asian, I haven’t had any problems. I haven’t really noticed it either. My German company did complain he seemed cramped.

idearabbit-airtransat2

Cool spaceship-like future club-like lights!

For this trip, for the first time in my life, I was seated at the very very back of the plane. There seemed to be less seats, and more room. Both ways, we had the aisle seats. One the way to connecting city Calgary, we were able to seat ourselves by the window and check out the view. Once we couldn’t see anything, we were busy playing games on the tablets attached to the seats.

One the way back, there were even more space and I was able to take up 2 seats and curl up for a little rest.

Many complain about the food – the quantity and quality. For me, it was perfect. I haven’t flown with Air Canada in ages, but growing up, I always found the meals to be too big. When I don’t move much, and very stressed (yes, I have plane-phobia), I don’t have much appetite. I do keep reminding myself to hydrate myself often since I’m dehydrated on land most of the time.

idearabbit-airtransat3

Chicken tray

On our way to Germany, I had the pasta with chicken in cream sauce. It came with some vinegar salad, bun, and a sweet snack. The main dish was something like out of those frozen meals you can buy and put it in the microwave. But what do you expect? You’re flying for less than $900 roundtrip in May! I told me complaining company if he’d rather pay $1500 with Air Canada for some ‘better’ food. When I got back to work, my Hong Kong coworker said “I don’t care about the food, you’re just flying to your destination. You’re not going on the plane to dine.” I completely agree. I would rather save $500 on my plane and use it to dine at my destination – and $500 can go a long way (if you don’t dine at some fancy restaurant that costs that much in one dining!).

idearabbit-airtransat4

Beef tray

However, on the return flight, it was a bit disappointing. By the time the flight attendants came to the very last portion of the plane, they were out of choices. They only had beef left. I was actually ok with that since I was thinking of getting the beef this time to try it out. Again, nothing spectacular, but I’m just more worried about the plane landing safely back home lol.Travel Around the Globe with our Special Flight Deals! Save an Extra C$15* with Promo Code GLOBE15. Hurry!

For breakfast, it looked like the flight attendants were pulling carts of baguettes. I was kind of hoping we would get them – something fresh and light. However, they ran out, and the last 7 or 8 rows had a slice of pizza in sealed plastic. Ah! I am not a fan of pizza – except ones that Sheepie can make from scratch :)

In conclusion, well, don’t expect too much from the food. You’re getting a super good deal for the flight, and if you’re flying to Europe, I highly recommend flying with Air Transat! They usually don’t need promos – their prices are always good and hard to beat! The service is pretty good, although Sheepie complained about the terrible German translations on flight…lol. Check in was hassle free – online check in is available in Vancouver, so we didn’t have to line up to check in our luggage! That was really good cuz we nearly had a heart attack when we saw the line up for regular check in (where we first started to line up cuz we weren’t too sure). In Germany, online check in wasn’t available, but the actual line up was very short for luggage, so no problem!

If I can fly from point A to B safely without too much turbulence for a great price, that’s all that matters to me :P (yes I do have extreme fear of flying…lol)

Service:      Cost:

Atmosphere:     Cleanliness: