Wa's sushi

When I go to Calgary, I usually visit Towa or El's for the biggest and best maki rolls.  On a recent trip, I decided to hit up Urbanspoon to see what was close by me.  Wa's popped up and the promise of authentic sushi drew me in.

Wa's is a cute little sushi place that has a strange sun room where there's additional seating.  It's far away from the sushi bar but it's well lit with natural lighting.  Since I was there early, I didn't have to worry about reservations but the restaurant was already close to full.

I realize that when you're hungry, going for sushi will lead to uncontrolled ordering!  Wa's has a lot to choose from and definitely, a lot of traditional eats that you normally wouldn't find in a sushi restaurant (think natto!)

Spicy tuna with avocado

Baked scallop

Scallop sushi, Salmon sushi, Negitoro roll, Dynamite roll

Chirashi - we were going to order the special Chirashi (which comes with sweet shrimp) but because they did not have sweet shrimp that day, the waitress helpfully suggested that we go with the regular chirashi - because it was a 'better deal' :)

Chawanmushi

I think this was a special tuna roll - which red tuna, tuna, and negitoro

Ikura don

Price wise - it wasn't cheap but it doesn't cost too much.  Probably average price for going out for sushi.  Budget around $25-$30 per person.

Service - really attentive and helpful.

Taste - fresh fish, delicious appetizers, and great selection on the menu.

If you're in Calgary and need a new sushi place to try out, go to Wa's!

Wa's Japanese Restaurant 

1721 Centre Street North, Calgary, AB

BCD Tofu House

Great food doesn't necessarily need to come at a great cost. In LA, food comes fast and cheap if you know where to look. BCD Tofu house on Wilshire (K-town) serves up hot bubbling soon tofu (Sundubu jjigae) with sizzling pots of steamed rice (scooped in mere seconds right before your eyes) and a dizzying array of banchan. Another bonus? The restaurant is opened 24hours!

Right after you order, the waiter efficiently puts down 4 bowls, banchan (most interestingly, a whole fried fish)

Assortment of Banchan

There's no need to scoop your own rice ~ the waiters there are super quick in spinning the hot stone pot and perfectly scooping out your bowl of rice.

freshly steamed rice, still moist!

Immediately afterwards, the waiter returns with some hot water and pours it into the remaining rice that's still cooking in the stone pot.

hot water poured into the hot stone bowl ~ will later turn into a bowl of porridge

When your soon tofu arrives, it almost looks like a bubbling pot of lava! It's super hot (which is the perfect time to crack to egg in) The texture oof the tofu is amazingly soft and silky and blends so well with the spicy kbroth and the sticky rice.

bubbling pot of soon tofu

You have a choice of ordering an assortment of different Korean dishes but dthe spicy pork is worth a try. You can also get Bibimbap, Bulgogi, and for the more adventurous, raw crab!

Spicy bbq pork

don't forget to crack an egg into your soon tofu!

At lunch, the portions are a bit smaller but the prices are beyond reasonable ~ between $8-$11 for a set meal that includes rice, soon tofu, and your main dish. If you are a small eater, you can always just opt for a soon tofu with rice.

For supper, the prices go up to around $15-$16, which is still incredibly reasonable for the amount of food that you get!

There are multiple BCD tofu house locations in SoCal but definitely drop by the one in K-town for better food and better service!