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Dine & Dash: Hi Lunch Box

This article was published on October 11, 2013 and may be out of date. To maintain our historical record, The Cascade does not update or remove outdated articles.

By Sasha Moedt (The Cascade) – Email

Print Edition: October 9, 2013

Kristacher-flickr

31962 South Fraser Way, Abbotsford

Hours: 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Prices: Up to $11.95 for lunch boxes, $16.95 for dinner boxes

As soon as I walked in, my first thought was that Hi Lunch Box is the kind of place I could eat in at. The decorations weren’t overly tacky (in the way sushi places can be), the music was pleasant and quiet, and the seating was fairly private for such a small establishment – screens are set up right between tables. Hi Lunch Box definitely knows how to do homey. Not fancy, not a dive, but just a place you can be comfortable in. It is even located in the same building as a laundromat, and I thought I could smell a whiff of detergent now and then – home sweet home.

When a sushi place serves complementary edamame, it’s a good sign. It was heated up nicely – this shouldn’t be difficult for some restaurants, but sometimes I get bowls of edamame with pockets of still partially-frozen areas.

Prices aren’t awesome – are they ever at sushi places? But spending under $15 for a celebratory lunch isn’t a bad deal. I always order a California roll, miso, sunomono, maybe some tempura, and then something a little more exciting and new. This time I ordered a “Rock & Roll” – a roll from the special roll menu that has deep fried smoked salmon, shrimp, crab meat, avocado, and cucumber. I shared with my friend, and we had more than enough of our fill.

The miso ($1.50) and sunomono ($3.95) came out first. I like my miso with lots of tofu and rich broth; Hi Lunch Box definitely lived up to my expectations. While I’d recommend going for miso as a starter, I can’t say the same for the sunomono. Sonomono is made with sugar and rice vinegar – it should be very vinegary. This sunomono hadn’t marinated well, and it tasted sickly-sweet and pretty unpleasant.

The California roll ($3.25) was good; the center filling was creamier than usual, which I found interesting. The portions were nothing to complain about; Hi Lunch Box doesn’t skimp. I ordered yam tempura ($6.95) and there was more than enough to share. It was hot and crisp, not quite as light as I’d like, but not terribly heavy or soggy either.

The Rock & Roll was a six out of 10 on the scale of special rolls. The smoked salmon took over the flavor a bit too much, and it was very meaty. I enjoyed the sauce overtop, though, and the rolls were stuffed with flavor and filling. I’d be very interested in trying Hi Lunch Box’s other special rolls.

Our server was a little shy, but not so much so that she left us waiting for her. I was there for a birthday lunch with a friend, and I opened my gift fairly early on – two nice bottles of liqueur (Bols and Sourpuss). The server seemed pretty cool with letting us have those bottles out in the open. I wonder what she would have done if we’d tried to pour ourselves a drink!

All in all, a thumbs up for Hi Lunch Box for nice atmosphere, moderate prices, and hefty portions.

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