Random Thursday {August 30}

We're introducing a new section in the blog called "Random Thursday." It will feature anything under Riyadh's sun. Remember when we said we take a lot of photos? Well, I do! And I have a lot of random photos of things (food, places, stuff, etc) on my phone. I want to share them with you every Thursday. Who knows, someone out there needs whatever it is I'm featuring? Haha. It will also serve as a filler entry for the week because I rarely write entries on a Thursday, when every one, including your Pink Tarha ladies, are sleeping until the wee hours of the afternoon morning.

This cute polka dot pattern came from Kitsch Cupcakes' box. If you haven't seen a Kitsch's box for their cupcakes, it's long and filled with this pretty pattern. It's interesting enough to serve as a wallpaper for your phone. Or just something nice to look at.

I was browsing the aisles of Whites Pharmacy in Riyadh Gallery when I saw this ermn, "Virginity Soap" from YC. If you look closely at the list of effects it promises, there's "tightening". I have no idea how it can do that! Haha.

I saw this very pretty wall photo in IKEA last Eid holiday. It's so dainty! Perfect for your white or light pink walls. It's priced at SR39. I was tempted to buy it for my room's re-decoration plan but I have other ideas for my white, empty wall. ;)

Ate in Sushi Yoshi for the nth time last Eid with Eyecandy and our friend Jamila. Can't resist ordering something with octopus, because I haven't had anything with octopus in Sushi Yoshi. Ever. So, this octopus gyunkan was my choice. It wasn't great tasting or anything. Just ordinary. I love the spicy sauce though. If I could take home a jar of it, I'll be the happiest girl ever, and I promise to eat my green salad all the time.

This is the best mug ever... because it speaks of what happened (still happening) to my money here in the city. Hahaha. Oh, and yes, it's literally just 1/2 of a mug (shaped like half moon). Available in Camel Corner for SR10.

Want more colors in your life? This lush chair is a quilt of colors! So loud and vibrant, perfect for your boring living room. I would have bought this if I still have space for it in my room... and if I have SR2000+ in my wallet. Too bad, my wallet, like my wall, is empty. Available in Home Centre, King Abdullah Road.

Yesterday afternoon, it was drizzling. It's the first sign of "rain" in the desert since summer started. I was telling the ladies that it took 5 months' worth of evaporated water for the clouds to deliver because there's little water in Saudi Arabia's surface. The drizzle was short but it produced this very nice vision in the sky. Took this at an intersection in Takhassosi Street going to Mecca Road.

So there's our first Random Thursday. Anything caught your attention? I couldn't move on from that Virginity soap. Someone tell me it works! Hahaha. So funny.

Sushi for the Adventurous

Whenever the Pink Tarha Ladies go to Faisaliah Mall, I never fail to order sushis, sashimis, and makis from Samurai. The other PT Ladies and I love Japanese food (probably the biggest understatement I'll say this year)... especially the fresh, succulent salmon sashimi. Just writing this entry makes me drool over the pinkish fish flesh. Yum, yum!

I will never get tired of Samurai but I noticed a modern establishment at the end of Tahalia street one night. The neon orange and green interior is hard to miss especially with the floor to ceiling glass windows. At first I thought it was one of those "bar"-type restaurants which will entice you with their sleek and incandescent decor only to disappoint with the bland, overpriced food they serve (and the obvious lack of wines and cocktails for a bar, blah). But with its name, it obviously doesn't serve the usual Italian or Middle Eastern fare. My interest has been piqued by Sushi Yoshi since then and I did not rest until I ate and conquered.

Sushi Yoshi is sushi at its best variety. (If you visit their website, please prepare your shades to prevent eye strain. Just lookin' out for yah!) If I were to eat expensive sushis, then I'll eat them at Sushi Yoshi instead of lining up in hotel buffets.... because yeah, Sushi Yoshi's prices are a bit steep compared to Samurai but the wide array of choices make up for it. It's not just your simple "sushi." It even has a "legend!"

Legend has it that during the olden times, there was a father from Japan named "Sushi Yoshi" who loved to eat raw fish and whose sons were named Ura Maki Son (the shy one), Hoso Maki Son (the naughty one), Sashimi Son (the fresh one), Sushi Son (the nice one), Ura Maki Son (the funky one), Futo Maki Son (the nosiy one), Temaki Son (the serious one), Yo Man Son (the hot one), and Rebel Son (the weird one). Meet the family, complete with drawings, at Sushi Yoshi's website. Favorite ko si Futo Maki Son. Ang kyuuut! O diba, may story pa talaga!

And the story ends there, LOL, but the dining experience is just commencing...

Traditional meets modern.

We were greeted with a modern zen-styled interior design which mixes funky neon colors and sophisticated black. The black faux leather chairs caught my attention in an instant! The bamboo partitions were out of place but I'm thinking it's an ode to the bamboo mat used in making sushis. Haha. There's ample lighting everywhere and it's good to admire the Porsche display room across the street because of the glass walls. Not that you'll have lots of time to gawk at the cars there because you'll be pretty busy once they hand you the menu!

Picking from the main course menu is easy because there's only a handful of items to try but the sushi/maki/sashimi menu is mind-boggling. We spent an entire salat (prayer time) perusing the menu, making decisions, and changing our minds. By the time the resto opened again, the lights came out of their stupor, and the waiter is by our side ready to take our orders, we're still not decided what to eat. Aaaahh, the good and bad of having so many choices!

We finally had our picks dahil nahiya na kami kay kuya waiter na antagal nang nakatayo sa tabi namin at naguguluhan na rin:

Kani Soup, SR20
Crab meat, miso paste, spring onion, wakame (edible seaweed)

Shrimp Tempura, SR26 There's a *cough, healthier, cough* version of vegetable tempura at SR10.

Beef teriyaki, SR45 You have an option between beef or chicken.

The soup is so-so, just enough to prepare the palate for the main courses. The ebi tempura has the perfect light crispy breading- not too thick and not too thin. We can actually taste the shrimp inside! Even the tempura sauce is right. The teriyaki though is too sweet.

Our board of sushis:

The beautiful fare.

Lady in Pink, SR24 (from the Rebel Son list) freshly cut salmon, tongarashi* tobico wrapped with rice and crab
Exotica, SR27 (from the Yoshi Maki Son list) Crab sticks, shrimp, salmon, avocado, and tobico (flying fish caviar) Dynamite Roll, SR26 (from the Rebel Son list) Freshly cut salmon, wasabi, salmon skin, tongarashi (Japanese spice), Japanese mayo, and dynamite spicy sauce

The dainty Lady in Pink.

The board of sushis... they're heavenly! We definitely made the right choices! The Dynamite Roll is the bomb! The chopped salmon laden with mayonnaise is creamy. The dynamite spicy sauce adds a tolerable amount of heat. It didn't set my tongue on fire but it sure did tickle my tastebuds (watusi lang eh, LOL). I personally love this one. My friends loved the Lady in Pink; it's crab goodness to the nth level. And the Exotica, while not true to its name because the ingredients are not really exotic, is sweet and refreshing (mainly because we chose to replace the avocado with mango).

If you'll go crazy deciding what to get, then go for the platters. I would have loved to get the Just Salmon platter! The reason my friends and I decided to forego these is that we're fickle-minded we want to try the weird combinations. I'll definitely be back to sample the gyudon beef and the other kinds of sushis... especially the one with the melted cheese (Melted Roll). Thinking about it makes my mouth water. Craving for 'em now!

What's really cute is the take-out boxes displayed in the corner.

Japanese to-go!

Oops, don't go just yet. Sushi Yoshi has a stall which caters to unusual Japanese products too.

Drinks and Kitkat in apple vinegar, green tea, assorted, and lemon vinegar flavor. Whoah!

Dare to try?

I cannot read the labels on some of the drinks so I'm doubtful of the contents and the effects. LOL. But I'm familiar with UCC so I guess that pretty much tastes the same as the ones in their uber expensive cafe/resto in the Philippines (which I visited only once). I decided to try the apple vinegar-flavored KitKat to test if curiosity will really kill this cat.

Kitkat in Apple Vinegar flavor.

It is a white Kitkat and it tastes, hmn, like white Kitkat. But at the end, I eventually tasted the vinegar punch. The aftertaste was odd (not insanely mind-blowing "WTH is this?!" moment) but nostalgic because the over-all taste reminds me of a childhood chocolate/candy I'm trying to remember until now. I can't seem to get a hold of its name. Waaah.

Pepsi White?!

Anyway, I'll try the Pepsi White next time. The Philippines had the blue or red Pepsi but white?! Japan has white Pepsi?! Wow! Lord help my tummy.

SUSHI YOSHI
Tahalia St. corner Dabab St.
Riyadh, KSA
Tel No. 8120055