Review
Decided to give Fish Market a second try. I really had high hopes.
Well, it resulted in a 40 minute wait for our food, and “meh” cuts of fish in my chirashi. I was pretty disappointed. I was really hoping that maybe the first time we went, the restaurant was simply having an off-day. Guess I was wrong.
This is just an addendum to my Boston sushi rant… Pretty disheartened at the moment.
One afternoon, Jonathan and I were strolling and browsing through Mercado Antón Martin when we stumbled across YokaLoka. We are obsessed with sushi, but we were in Madrid. And in Madrid, you eat like the Spanish, not the Japanese. After a few minutes of convincing (Jonathan: We’ll just have a few pieces, it’s kind of like tapas, right?), I caved in. After all, it was the first sushi restaurant we had seen so far, and how good can sushi be in Madrid?
Boy, was I wrong. The sake was amazing - it was extremely high quality, and the best part, you could easily taste that it was fresh! I guess that’s the great thing about being located in a fish market in the Iberian peninsula, fresh seafood all the time. Since we ordered the sake (I’m all about the salmon), we had to order the anago too (Jonathan’s all about the eel).
I’m not a huge anago connoisseur, but according to Jonathan, it was great. If you can get his picky approval on eel, then you’ve really done something right.
Unfortunately, there were slight downsides to everything else but the fish - the rice was not properly cooled, the pieces wobbly shaped, and the nori ripped like a 5 year-old. But the Japanese YokaLoka ladies were so kind - they tried to speak English with us, served us complimentary drinks, and even green tea chocolates! It’s hard to come by such hospitality at dining establishments, especially in Madrid.
If you’re a tourist in Madrid, you probably shouldn’t eat a full meal here. After all, you’re in Spain! But if you’re a local, and you just can’t resist some good sushi, YokaLoka is a stop you need to make.
They point to the fish to clarify that “toro” is not bull, “jajajajaja”.
Jonathan excited for sushi!
Dinner for Two @ Soul de Cuba in Honolulu, Hawai’i
The dinner for two includes appetizers, salad, two entree selections, and dessert. Pictured here are the appetizers (papa rellena, croquetas de jaiba, and plantains) and the entrees (lechon asado and ropa viejo: shredded pork and braised beef in red sauce). The portions are HUGE and we had leftovers for 2 more meals. Desserts aren’t the best, but everything else was great. If you’re looking for a date night location, this would be perfect.
*Sorry for the bad lighting; didn’t want to use flash and be obnoxious.
Loco moco and tasty chicken plate @ The Alley Restaurant at Aiea Bowl in Aiea, Hawai’i
Very good - highly recommend if you’re looking for local Hawaiian cuisine. The restaurant is a bit hard to find because it’s on the third level of the shopping/parking complex, and surprisingly, it’s the bowling alley restaurant.