A small gem making food to perfection!

A couple of weeks ago I went to celebrate mother's day or at least my daughter invited her mommy to eat at Kichi which is a sushi restaurant in a small town called Gouda. Gouda is famous for its cheese and syrupwafels and hopefully a good sushi restaurant. My wife has been here before and told me this sushi is the best she tasted so far in the netherlands so I guess we set the bar high then and my expections high aswell. With good faith and an empty stomache I stepped inside this restaurant....

Before this restaurant came here I went to this shop before as it was a dutch, average, lunchroom first and before that it was a recordstore as far as I can remember. Now it is a small but cozy restaurant with a warm atmosphere. The decoration looks nice with the right color combination and a bit in the mood for mothers day with all the cute balloons everywhere. We got a very warm welcome by the owners and talked a bit, as my wife has met them before and soon we were brought to our table. We received the menu and started looking at those awesome seafood candy I had to prepare for.

The menu (dutch and english!) has a great variety of all types of sushi you want to have, in the nigiri section I saw new ones like the Ark Shell nigiri and the flying fish row. To my delight they had the lowfat tuna and yellowtail tuna nigiri and of course I had to order those. The rest of the nigiri assortiment is carefully chosen and not standard. If you love nigiri then you love the variety Kichi has to offer.

For Uramaki they had a special one with Spider crab and scallops. Besides these there was a uramaki with tempura and advocado, hmmm sounds very interesting so I ordered all 3 to try it out. Temaki sushi was also good represented but didnt have choices I never had before. Of course they have sashimi as it won't be a good sushi restaurant if they didnt and it is very handy how to let you order. You can order be sorts like tuna, shrimp, salmon, scallops etc. but you can also take a mix of a big or small sashimi platter. The small one contains 6 different sashimi, 3 slices each. The big mix has 9 different sashimi, 3 slices each. We ordered the small mix as we ordered a whole fleet of sushi already and  this was good start of the evening and now we had to wait for the food. Oh, worth mentioning is is that Kichi offers a stack of side-dishes such as noodles (different kinds), misosoup, yakitori and plenty more. This time I focus more on the sushi though.

The service is excellent and keep you update about the progress which is nice, ordering drinks goes fast too and nice to see they serve a good amount of japanese beer. While waiting we talked a bit to the owner who told us they have been trained by a japanese chef so there I suddenly understand why wife was so hyped about this restaurant and it's sushi. First they served our starter which was marinated eel in sweet sauce and sesame on top of a bowl of rice. Now I had this in Japan and I don't know how they did it but it tasted exactly how I tasted it when I was in Japan in 2014 at a small restaurant in Kyoto near the geisha district Gion. The eel was cooked to perfection, seasoning was stunning and complimented the eel without over-doing it! Damn, this promise to be a great dinner!

After a nice 10 minutes the first sushi platter (you can choose your sushi per piece or some come per 8 pieces) and the presentation is good, The sushi looks appealing and invites you to eat. I took a little bit of soysauce, not to much as i want to taste the sushi, grabbed gently the first sushi, maguro (tuna) and prepared myself for some awesome sushi....

The first sushi I had tasted so fresh, the tuna was so clean and fresh, not too cold but good temperature. After eating some picked ginger I tasted the salmon, the crab, eel and Ark shell sushi and I was totally mindblown but in a good way! This was really the best sushi I have ever tasted in The Netherlands! Every sushi is so flavourful, the sushi rice was perfectly sweet and if it accidently touches soysauce it doesnt fall apart. Truly every sushi we ordered (about 20 different) tasted great, fresh and flavourful and made you very happy. The Ark shell sushi tasted great although it is a bit chewy but for this kind of seafood it supposed to be like this. The scallop and spider crab uramaki was very light in taste but complimented the rest of the sushi assortiment we have. Also tried the tempura with advocado uramaki which tasted nice and feels weird at first to taste rice and then fried shrimp. The way they seasoned the shrimp in the batter was nicely done and tasted a bit like honey.

Although we ate a lot of sushi we weren't full at all which was a good thing and it ment they put the right amount on each sushi, not too much and not too little. Every sushi was the same size and the slice of fish was bigger than the rice which means they are very royal with their portion and in Japan this also means the cook is generous towards the customers and like them to eat good sushi.

Next up was the sashimi as my wife loves sashimi and the presentation was again delightful and works on the tastebuds. The sashimi tasted very fresh, clean and had the good temperature. The mix was just good and we tasted shrimp, scallops, eal, mackrol, salmon and crab. The sashimi was very light and tempted us to order more. Because we became a bit full we ordered some last sushi to complete the dinner, I ordered the sea urchin and some more yellowtail tuna. Both tasted good but the sea urchin had a heavy flavour compared to the other sushi. Although it tasted good I feel this is one sushi you have to love to appreciate it. If you don't like fishy, heavy irony flavour, stay away from the sea urchin. Although this version is super done as I tasted a sea urchin sushi in Beijing which was totally disgusting!

My bar for sushi was set very high as I was one of the few foodbloggers in The Netherlands who had the priviledge to eat at Jiro's restaurant in Ginza. Yes, the Michelin star restaurant which is really the best in the world and a recommendation for any serious foodies! If you didn't hear about Jiro then first of all shame on you and secondly go watch his documentary ''Jiro: Dream of sushi'' as you will see and hear about this master chef and his life to become the best in the world. Now back to Kichi because the review is about this restaurant and I can be short: This is the absolute number one sushi restaurant in The Netherlands, the fish is freshly bought every day, nothing is frozen, the flavours of every piece of sushi, sashimi is about that perfection, that how they call it in Japan: Umami.

This is a true gem you don't find anywhere and offers excellent service, perfect atmosphere accompanied by the best sushi you can find. To all foodies I can only say, go to eat here asap! And if you want a piece of this sushi perfection but are in a hurry, don't worry as they also do take away! Oh and the price? Very reasonable especially as you compare it with other sushi restaurants. Leave them on the side though as here you need be, Kichi offers the best sushi in town. Enough said!

Website: http://www.kichi.nl/
Price: 30-50 euro a la carte per person

Lebanese delight

The day before yesterday I was in Heathrow International Airport to catch a flight to Amsterdam. During those long waiting hours I decided to get some snack and especially not your typically britisch/european snack but from a cuisine I didnt try before. After some searching I found a Lebanese bistro/canteen named Comptoir Libanais.

Now I am honest to say I have never eaten at a Libanese bistro/restaurant place before so I just had to try it out to see what hidden gems it had to offer. Because I already had something to eat it needed to be light yet flavourful and i had to eat it on the go as I would like to catch my flight and dont want to have my name yelled through the speakers of the airport so everyone noticed I took my time yet delaying my own flight. My choice this time was a kind of pancake with a filling of chicken, sweet pickles, lebanese herbs and dressing, what they called a Chicken Koufa wrap or whatever that lady was calling it. The picture looked good and the description left me curious so after waiting for 5 minutes I got my fresh from the plate, piping hot, in a bag and I was really good to go!

The pancake was filled with Lebanese style goodness and my first bite was one in which you feel that this is comfort food! Although you feel its light on one hand, on the other hand it makes you feel nice and why is that? Well its because of the refreshing dressing which is mildly sweet but has a nice kick with the more heavier flavor of the mixture of herbs and the chicken is tender not chewy at all. The chicken was cooked to perfection. If you are at Heathrow and need a quick snack without grabbing the horrible MacDonalds or so-so burger type foods, go to this place! The staff is friendly, its not so crowdy place and the menu is not so big but offers a variety of Lebanese food. This is a hidden gem which doesn't give you the feeling you are in an airport ordering that so called yammy yammy dish but in fact is average.... Oh and while I wanna wrap this up a small extra tip: Order a nice lebanese drink while you're at it, it wont dissapoint you!

A taste of Japan in The Netherlands

After a long, long time I was able to have more free time to pick up my desire to write about good food, fine restaurants and my overall experience. I have been travelling to various of countries since 2011 and i will try to start again with reviews from restaurants in my blog here.

Yesterday was such a day which gave me a reminder about writing about my love of good food, wherever I am. Yesterday I was at a tournament playing games and after a few hours I won my fare share of prizes. And of course like every hard working person, you get hungry. And a couple of times i had the idea to get some good sushi but it needs to be close to the venue. Eventually my craving for sushi led me to a restaurant in Rotterdam called Sushi Qube.

I went to Sushi Qube some years ago and I hoped the quality is still the same. Sushi Qube uses the All You Can Eat formula at a price of a bit more than 20 euro. (in the weekend is a bit more expensive) You can go crazy on the various sushi, noodle dishes and a fleet of side dishes. The waitress was welcoming and showed me to my table, I felt relaxed right away and the mood was set for hopefully a good dinner. The atmosphere is just right, nowhere spectular and also nowhere sober and old-fashion. Its a good atmosphere to enjoy good food and it has an almost living room kind of vibe.

After getting my first drink I decided to choose the first round of dishes. Every round has a maximum of 5 dishes in a total of 5 rounds. Trust me, the amount is just right. I choose 5 pieces of sushi varied from a spicy tuna Temaki or a maguro (tuna) nigiri sushi. Now I knew the sushi would be fresh as it is prepared the moment you order. Also the owner went to Japan for several years and studied the art of sushi making from a famous sushi chef. So i had the feeling I was in for a treat.... Alright, my first pieces were served really quickly, again the employees are great and efficient! First i went with the maguro nigiri sushi and as soon as I began eating it I tasted the freshness of the tuna, the creamy texture which made the tuna melt in my mouth. The rice was the right temperature and flavour was spot on! This moment lasted untill the fifth piece of sushi was finished.



The next round I ordered some more sushi and decided to go for some shrimp tempura aswell to help me go to the warmer dishes on round 3. Sushi Qube likes to put new sushi items on the menu and this time it was grilled salmon nigiri and a mango/aloe maki sushi and of course I had to try it out. The mango/aloe mix on top of sushi rice is awesome and gives a fresh kick which was needed on this warm summer day in Rotterdam. The grilled salmon was just right and you still taste the fatty salmon and it taste a little heavy with the sushi rice but this is how its ment to be so no problem there.



Ok now the 3th round for me and I ordered a duck dish with pineapple, unagi (eel) temaki sushi and a set of inside out roll of spicy tuna. Yeah, I am crazy for tuna since I first ate it in Japan.... Also I ordered shrimp in a spicy onion sauce. First up was the unage temaki which was good with all the vegitables but the eel was a bit too tough to make it a good bite. A small thing but important when it comes to eating any sushi. Overall was this temaki flavourful so still a good piece for the sushi lover. When I finished the duck/pineapple dish was ready and with my chopsticks i could get a piece of pineapple and slice of duck at the same time. My advice is to make the slices a bit smaller or thinner. Otherwise even the most experienced chopstick user has issues and the dish misses its goal as both ingredients cant be the hero of the dish.

The second last round I only ordered some crab sushi, springrolls and yaki udon noodles. The dishes are delicate and light so now I didnt feel full. The crab on the nigiri sushi was creamy, a bit salty but together with the sushi rice it became a great bite. The springrolls taste how you expect, crunchy and again fresh vegetables and even bits of tofu so a nice little treat on the side. The udon noodles were next on my eating journey here at Sushi Qube and they prepared it just right, crunchy but not too much it feels the noodles are burned. I can recommend the chef to use a bit less salt, These noodles was great and makes me feel I was at a street food market in Osaka ordering the one of many noodles-to-go dishes. Last round had arrived and to make sure I am not too full I ordered some noodle soup and, because I couldnt resist, two tuna sushi as a final compliment on a amazing dinner. And it was as the soup was light, the broth was clear and flavourful, the noodles were firm but not too chewy.

Well, I was satisfied and had a great dinner overall, the service is excellent, quick and know how to make you feel welcome. The dishes were perfect and you feel and taste the owner and the chefs know how to prepare sushi and the various other dishes they offer. Sushi Qube focus more on sushi and tempura while other AYCE restaurants offer more meat dishes. So many times I tasted the food and closed my eyes making my feel I was back in Japan again. Sushi Qube is probably the best sushi restaurant with an AYCE formula I have been so far! If you love japanese food, good variety of sushi, a sushi love perse, Sushi Qube is the only restaurant to go to. Parking Space is available and for free behind the restaurant. If you go by public transport its about 2 minutes from Central Station of Rotterdam.

Website: www.sushiqube.nl/
Price: Between 20-30 euro per serving