New Audi commercial filmed in Campbell River

 This Audi commercial caught my eye immediately, I recognized the landscape and surprise surprise - they are driving on the Gold River Highway! Parts of Strathcona Park and upper Campbell Lake can be seen in the background. Filming took about 4 days. Very cool!

 

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Nori Japanese Restaurant (Nanaimo)

The Island Fever Roll (top) & the Strawberry Crunch Roll

 I LOVE sushi. Yes I do. Seafood rolls, tempura rolls, veggie rolls, inside out rolls, cones, nigiri or maki - I love it all. It's time to talk about the highly acclaimed Nori Japanese Restaurant. This sophisticated japanese restaurant boasts the best sushi in town!

 As soon as you enter the doors of Nori, you are immediately greeted by the chefs - who are very warm and friendly. You have the option of sitting at a table or sitting up at the sushi bar and interacting with the chefs, either way you are in for a treat. I have never had bad service at Nori and always appreciate the complimentary dishes the chefs usually send out. 

A Spicy Miso Soup

 I always start out with a miso soup. If you dig miso soup and can handle some spice, try the Spicy Miso Soup ($2) - rich flavour, abundant stock and perfect spicyness for the heat lover. 

Kanisake Tempure (Crab & Salmon)

    
  
   
    We also tried the Kanisake Tempura ($5.99) which was salmon and crab tempura drizzled with a delicable sweet soy sauce. 

Of course we had to order a couple rolls to complete the meal, finally deciding on a couple of special maki rolls; the Island Fever Roll ($10.99) and the Strawberry Crunch Roll ($12.99).

Everything arrived in a timely manner, even though it was 6pm and the place was stuffed like a can of sardines. The staff has always been efficient and friendly - as well as very attentive.

The Island Fever Roll is probably my favourite roll so far (haven't tried the whole menu, yet) it is topped with seared tuna, masago (eggs) and smoked salmon. The inside contains tempura spicy prawn and avocado. Fresh, delicious and flavourful - heck you don't even need soy sauce for this one! I love to taste the combination of flavours so I usually opted out of using soy sauce anyways.

Island Fever Roll in all it's glory

  Next up was the Strawberry Crunch Roll, a panko breaded crab roll that looks absolutely scrumptious. Topped with strawberries and scallions and drizzled with a honey mustard and unagi sauce - this roll had an amazing texture on the pallate with the crunch of the panko and the sweetness of the sauce and strawberries. A fantastic concoction that will please even the first time sushi eater. No overpowering flavours here, just straight up sweet crunch! 

The glorious Strawberry Crunch Roll

 I have dined at Nori Japanese more times than I can count and I have always had a great experience. Seems they have all their ducks in a row when it comes to food quality, service, decor/atmosphere and (the most important in my opinion) customer service. They make you feel like they WANT you there and if you like sushi, you DO want to be there! They were voted "Best Japanese Restaurant" in Nanaimo during the 2012 TripAdvisor awards for a reason!

Nori Japanese Restaurant is located at 203-6750 Island Hwy North Nanaimo

You can also check them out on Facebook 

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Vancouver Island Parks: Colliery Dam Park (Nanaimo)

Beautiful Colliery Dam on a Spring Day

  
 Colliery Dam Park is a popular location for fishing, swimming and walking/hiking in the South end of Nanaimo. These dams have a rare link to Nanaimo's coal mining history. Built in 1910-11 by the Western Fuel Company to supply water for coal washing and for use by miner's, mules and horses in the mines. It soon had a secondary purpose, homes near the pipeline were allowed to tap into it for domestic purposes and this water was carried to most of the homes in South Harewood. Although no longer fulfilling these domestic purposes, the park has become well-loved as a fresh water swimming area, an off-leash park (the upper portion of the loop and only between 6am-10am and after 4pm) and slightly over 2.5 kms of trails loops through dense wooded sections of the 28 hectare park. 

 On May 14th the City of Nanaimo had a news release announcing the immediate removal of the lower and middle dams. The plan is as follows:

Early June - staff will release the tender for the removal of both dams 
July - dam removal is planned to begin in accordance with summer low water flow rates and Department of Fisheries and Oceans fish protection requirements
Summer 2013 through Spring 2014 - commence the design and approval process to build replacement dams 
Summer 2014 - construction begins on new dams

During this time trails and pathways may be closed and inaccessible. Be sure to read the signs and exercise caution if you are venturing into this area. 

  The Colliery Dam Preservation Society is a group dedicated to both the preservation of the Colliery Dam Park and safety concerns regarding the dams. They have been very proactive in rallying the community of Harewood to the pros of keeping Colliery Dam Lakes intact. 

 My thoughts? I spent many summers swimming in Colliery Dam. I walk Colliery Dam Park daily, I live close to Sixth St (below the dam) and I love the community feel the park has. If the BC Dam Safety Branch requires the City of Nanaimo to remove the dams due to safety issues, it is what it is. These are 100 year old structures and since I am not a structual engineer I am in no place to say whether these dams could just be repaired/fixed up to standard instead of a complete rebuild. I do understand the feelings of many citizens that believe City Council has not been forthright with information, having watched all the Council meetings it would seem as though many of the "costs" of rebuilding/fixing were simply guesstimated. It will be interesting to see how much rebuilding the dams will cost and whether the citizens of Nanaimo are prepared to spend money on it. Renaturalization could be a messy process, but in the end it will always be parkland. I will be following this story closely over the next year....

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