Review: Shari Sushi Lounge

For Valentine's Day, Errol took me to an awesome sushi place, Shari Sushi Lounge. I went on my flight to Orlando all dressed up for dinner and we went straight there. The picture above is a screen shot of their website, with a picture of where we were in the restaurant. We were on the second floor, and it felt like a private area. It was quieter and more romantic - not to say the commotion downstairs wouldn't be enjoyable too! 

Errol and I are self-proclaimed sushi snobs. We've been to so many sushi places and prefer raw, raw, raw fish. So when we sat down and perused the menu, we were pleased to see this place doesn't have California roll or Philadelphia roll. All rolls were considered "Specialty". 

We started out with Toro Tartare: 

Toro Tartare: Fatty tuna chopped with scallions and smelt roe atop a crispy tortilla chip, with black flying fish roe, Shari spicy mayo and shaved tempura shallots

 Then the Beauty and the Beast Roll:

Beauty and the Beast Roll: Two-in-one roll with: half tuna, avocado, asparagus, and spicy tobiko roe, and half eel, cucumber, asparagus and wasabi roe

And the grand finale was the Sushi Sashimi Moriawase: Combination of nigiri and sashimi selected by the Chef, served with fresh Japanese wasabi and imported soy sauce.

Errol and I have had numerous plates of nigiri/sashimi. It's always a combination of great pieces of escolar, salmon, and tuna; plus fake crab and disgusting shrimp (and I love shrimp). Since it's "Chef's choice" we can never dictate that what we really want is just the good stuff (of course). So we devised a plan to say that one of us has a shellfish allergy so we can't have shrimp or [fake] crab.

We did it this time, and our waitress said, "Don't worry there's no shrimp or crab." We literally raised our eyebrows. But oooooh man when our platter came out we were knocked out of our seats. It was the most amazing presentation we had ever seen.

Pieces of nigiri on one section of the plate as if they were swimming in water.

Then an ice boat on the other side with THICK pieces of sashimi. 1) ice boat?! and 2) these were the thickest pieces of sashimi I've ever had. The ice boat served to keep the sashimi nice and cold.

Then the martini glass had a rose bud made of pieces of white fish and surrounded by slices of strawberries. This was an AMAZING presentation!

To round out the flavors was a specially imported Japanese soy sauce (in the shot glass). It was saltier (and I normally use reduced-sodium) but when you taste it, the flavor is just fuller. It's hard to explain but it wasn't about the salt, but able the breadth of flavor.

My Valentine!

No shellfish in sight :)

Errol and I took our sweet time to finish every last bit of our dinner. It was our first dinner together since the beginning of January, so it really was a lovely time for numerous reasons. I was definitely spoiled by this dinner and loved every minute of it.

Summer Travels: The Final Vacation - Orlando and Melbourne, FL

The last vacation of the summer was a compilation of trips and experiences that are so substantial, they must be in separate posts! Within 10 days, I was in Orlando, Gainesville, and Melbourne, FL; Atlantic Ocean; and Nassau, Bahamas. 

Prior to the trip I spent 2 weeks alone in my apartment, cooking, working, and trying to stay busy. It was the first test to Errol and my long distance relationship, which actually went a lot more smoothly with the use of a webcam (no, that's not supposed to be dirty).  The webcam helped a lot with keeping the relationship exactly the same, feeling like we were still together. In fact, I find talking on the phone now to be pretty annoying. Although, hopefully that will change once Errol gets an iPhone! 

The day of my flight finally came, and luckily one of my friends dropped me off at 8AM. It was a nonstop flight and I arrived in Orlando at noon, giving Errol and I plenty of time to reunite! Straight from the airport, we went to lunch at a Thai restaurant. One of the great things about our relationship is that we love culture. Thai food is one of our favorites! 

After lunch, I met his roommate, and we hung out for a while. This was also opening weekend of Dark Knight Rises, and we bought tickets to see it in IMAX with my best friend from high school and her boyfriend. Phew, that movie was mind-blowing, right? It is just so unfortunate that it will always be remembered for the horrific shooting in Colorado.

After the movie, we all went to Taverna Opa for dinner. I would recommend EVERYONE to go there at least once in their lives. It's not just delicious food, but an experience! It is meant to have the party feel of Greece, so there are napkins thrown everywhere, waiters screaming "Opa!", belly dancers, and people dancing on the tables (yes, it is allowed, and frankly highly encouraged!) 

Another night, I met a few more of Errol's classmates and we went for a walk around Lake Eola. It's a beautiful place downtown, and the fountain in the middle resembles the Bellagio fountain in Las Vegas. There is music playing with lights and fountains that correspond to the tune. 

Overall, the first few days in Orlando were great! The last task before going home was to pick up the food for my parents' 25th wedding anniversary! Shown below is the food order, and all of the delicious Filipino trays of food that would feed over 80 people! 

The party was great, and filled with lots of people I hadn't seen in a long time. It was a wonderful celebration of my parents' silver wedding anniversary. I hope someday to make it that long too!