BubbleFish

There's a new sushi place in Chinatown called Bubblefish (909 Arch Street). Of course, I had to check it out. 

I like the ambience of the place. It could pass as a fancy cafe with its' cozy setting and numerous drink options. Yet, with the same decor, dim lighting, and decent food offerings, it can be suited for a nice lunch or a romantic dinner. Check out the picture of the restaurant below. What do you think?

Bubblefish

For a drink, I got one of the specials, Very Mango. It was basically a mango smoothie topped with chunks of mango. The name of the drink really described it. It was very rich in mango. I couldn't tell if this smooth was made from frozen mangos or fresh mangos but nonetheless it was very refreshing and delicious. 

Very Mango

For food, I got the eel over rice. So, apparently, there were two types of eel on the menu. From what the waitress explained. The difference was one was marinated and the other one was more grilled and had a salt water taste. I have had the marinated eel at other places before so to be safe I got the marinated eel. I was afraid the other eel would be too fishy for me.  The order had a great presentation. The dish came in a nice big bowl. The sushi rice was thinly packed on the bowl with a leaf underneath it and topped with the eel, sauce, sesame seeds, and some garnish (shredded imitation crabmeat, eggs, and shredded seaweed).  Although, it looked pretty I was not impressed with the taste. The eel and sauce actually tasted like the frozen marinated eel I have bought from the supermarket. In some Asian supermarkets, there are frozen marinated eels available and all you have to do is heat up the frozen food to eat it. The freshness of the eel to me was questionable. Also, I thought it needed more rice for the amount of eel and sauce they gave. However, I liked how the sesame seed complimented the rice and eel. Overall, I think I paid for the presentation more than the quality. 

Eel over Rice

Lastly, we ordered Green Tea Shaved Ice for dessert. The shaved iced come with tendered red beans and condensed milk. I like the texture. It was somewhat gooey yet you can still taste some of the thinly shaved ice. I wonder what they added to created that consistency...maybe they used cream. The red beans went well with the green tea flavor. I liked this more than the eel rice. 

Green Tea Shaved Ice with Red Beans

Overall, I like the drink the best. I am not sure if I would come back for the food, but I would definitely come back to try other drinks on the menu:)