Restaurant: Nan Chuu Japanese Izakaya 南廚
Cuisine: Japanese/Tapas
Last visited: January 3, 2012
Location: Richmond, BC (Richmond Central)
Address: 1160-8391 Alexandra Rd
Train: Lansdowne Station Northbound
Price Range: $10-20+

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: FMF Must Try!

Food: 3.5 - 4
Service: 2.5
Ambiance: 3
Overall: 3.5
Additional comments:

• Gyoza King Group
• Japanese chefs
• Izakaya/tapas
• Traditional menu
• Authentic
• Very casual
• Good for sharing
• Ramen available
• Reasonably priced
• Beer/cocktails/wine
• Reservations recommended
• Mon-Sat 5:30pm – 1am (often later)
• Sunday 5:30pm-11:30pm
• Closed Wednesday

**Recommendations: Negi Chashu, Salmon Nanban, Saba Shioyaki, Gyoza, Tori Karaage, Deep Fried Oysters

Nan Chuu is part of the Gyoza King Group which also owns Gyo-O in Richmond and Chicco Cafe and Gyoza King in downtown Vancouver, BC. They used to own G-Men Ramen in Richmond too, but due to rent issues they recently closed shop. It was quite a shocker since G-Men Ramen was always busy with line ups, but the ramen menu is now being served at Nan Chuu.

I think the owners of Gyoza King are actually Chinese, but the food at all their restaurants are prepared authentically by Japanese chefs. Each of their restaurants are very different, and not like how each Guu or Hapa Izakaya is different. Each Gyoza King Group restaurant specializes in a specific category of Japanese cuisine like ramen (G-Men), seafood/sashimi (Gyo-O), Japanese desserts (Chicco Cafe), traditional izakaya (Nan Chuu) and fusion izakaya (Gyoza King). I’ve tried all of their restaurants and generally I do like them. Of course I can’t clump them all together, but so far I haven’t had a bad experience.

Located on Richmond’s famous “eating street”, Alexandra Road, is Nan Chuu Japanese Izakaya. I’ve been waiting ages to try this place and after several unsuccessful attempts and unforeseen closures it is finally reopen. It was closed the whole summer for apparent renovations, but I’m not sure what has really changed besides the signage.

The restaurant is really long and narrow with a small bar, some tight booths and group dining in the back. At first glace it really took on that traditional Japanese izakaya feel, but it wasn’t until later that it felt a bit enclosed. The on again and off again quirky jazz music alternating with the at times working silence just didn’t seem as lively or ideal for this style of dining.

Izakayas are Japanese pubs, so they’re supposed to be casual and fun watering holes for people to drink and eat tapas until wee hours. In the context of Vancouver they’re usually quite glorified and pricey, but it wasn’t the case here. The menu makes it one of the more traditional izakayas I’ve been to so far with reasonable prices and portions.

The food isn’t fancy or creative, so it might not be as exciting or interesting, but it is simple and authentic. Guu with Garlic is also great, but the menu items are more fusion and modern. If I forget about authenticity and focus on what I like, I personally like Suika, but overall izakaya is one of my favourite styles of dining and I like a lot of them. There are way more than the few I mentioned and generally the izakaya scene is solid in Metro Vancouver.

On the table:

Asahi Black

• $5
• A good izakaya place should have an extensive and affordable drink list featuring beer, cocktails and sake.
• I’m not a beer drinker, but you should drink beer with izakaya. It’s like having champagne on New Years.
• Izakaya food is more or less catered for it.

Goma-Ae - 2.5/6 (Okay-Good)

• Spinach salad in sesame sauce $3.50
• I almost always order goma-ae. This one is considered cheap.
• The spinach was very watery and that affected the sesame sauce and made it runny, so overall it was too wet.
• The sesame sauce was house made with freshly toasted sesame seeds, but it was on the salty side and I have a high tolerance for salt already.
• I prefer a bit more sweet salty balance and more sesame seeds and flavour.

Seafood & Avocado Salad – 3.5/6 (Good-Very good)

• Shoyu dressing $11.95
• This was a huge salad and it was enough for 4.
• The romaine leaves were cut in huge pieces so it was really messy to eat. I would have preferred the standard mixed greens, but this was fine.
• It came with a good amount of ahi tuna, salmon sashimi, a few pieces of scallop sashimi, and 6 wedges of avocado sprinkled with tobiko.
• It was pretty standard with some shredded daikon and a few julienne red bell peppers.
• The shoyu dressing was sweet, salty and tangy, but it tasted like shoyu-ponzu (citrus) dressing.
• The other dressing was a sweet Japanese mayo, but it wasn’t that tangy and usually that sauce would taste like Thousand Island dressing.
• I prefer the sashimi salad at Guu with Garlic or even better at Hapa Izakaya with the deep fried prawn heads (see here).

**____ Negi Chashu – 5.5/6 (Excellent!)

• BBQ pork slice, and thin cut green onion $7.50
• It was simple, but still something I wouldn’t be able to make at home.
• It was almost like a BBQ pork salad that was served room temperature. It was my kind of salad.
• The pork was the BBQ pork used for their ramen and it was incredibly tender and flavourful and not too salty.
• The pork was on the leaner side and it wasn’t juicy, but not dry or chewy either.
• The fatty parts of the pork were all chopped up, not gelatinous and practically unnoticeable. They came across as creamy bits mixed with BBQ pork slices.
• The spicy raw green onions helped cut the grease, but it wasn’t even greasy. It just lightened up the dish.
• It was all lightly dressed in a sweet soy sauce (shoyu?) mixed with sesame oil, which was really strong and aromatic.
• I just wish this had crispy garlic bits on top for more texture, but at least there was a refreshing crunch of onions.

Takoyaki – 3.5/6 (Good-Very good)

• Grilled octopus balls 4 pcs $3.75, 8 pcs $7
• These were a bit smaller than normal and about the size of golf balls.
• They were generously sauced with sweet Japanese mayo and sweet and tangy Takoyaki sauce.
• It was topped with bonito flakes which is standard.

• These are rich one biters and basically lightly grilled balls of creamy fluffy Japanese pancake batter.
• They were melt in your mouth, pillowy and creamy, but not potatoey or floury.
• Each one is stuffed with a little piece of octopus tentacle.
• Authentically there should be some flavour of pickled ginger or green onion, but this one had none and I missed that.
• They are lighter than croquettes and great as hot snacks.
• Nan Chuu’s sister restaurant Gyo-O Japanese Restaurant (also in Richmond) used to make a stellar takoyaki, but I haven’t had them in a while.

**Saba Shioyaki – 4/6 (Very good)

• Grilled mackerel $6.75
• I always get Black Cod/Sablefish, but it wasn’t on the menu, however it’s not in season anyways.
• For mackerel, it actually didn’t taste that fishy and I really enjoyed this. I do like mackerel though.
• This was a very traditional version of a saba shioyaki and it was very good, but I was hoping for more robata (grill) aromatics/flavour.
• The skin was crispy, but I prefer it a bit more charred.
• It was marinated in sake and soy sauce, but it wasn’t too salty at all.
• The meat was incredibly juicy, moist and tender and it was almost flaking like cod.
• The juices were leaking onto the plate and it was likely one of the juiciest mackerel I’ve had.
• It was traditionally served with grated radish and lemon and overall this was very good.
• I prefer the Grilled “Saba” Mackerel from Guu with Garlic (see here), but that version is fusion.

**Gyoza – 4.5/6 (Very good-Excellent)

• $5.25
• The gyoza is signature to the restaurant brand, so it’s almost a must try.
• As a gyoza, it was better than most gyoza, but it was still just a gyoza.
• They were house made and fried pretty perfectly with nice crispy bottoms. However I think they sat a bit before serving because they weren’t as crispy as they looked.

• The skins were nice and thin and not too chewy or doughy and they were stuffed with a good quality pork mixture and big pieces of chives.
• The pork was lightly seasoned with soy, tender and moist, but not super juicy either.
• It wasn’t strong with sesame oil or ginger and they tasted a bit better than normal, but I wouldn’t guess it was their signature.
• They have more varieties of gyoza at their downtown restaurant Gyoza King – see here.

Ebi Mayo – 2/6 (Okay)

• 6 pcs Deep fried fresh tiger prawns dipped in mayo sauce $6.50
• This is one of the favourites here, but unfortunately I didn’t get it.
• They came out quite soggy and the batter was really thick and doughy.
• They were heavily sauced with sweet Japanese mayo and I missed a chili kick and spice.
• As a non spicy ebi mayo, usually the mayo would still have a bit of a tang to it, but this one had no tang either.
• It was just super intense with mayo and the prawn was crunchy, but hidden by the heavy batter.
• I prefer the ones at Hapa Izakaya – see here.

Deep Fried Oysters – 4/6 (Very good)

• $7.50
• It was what it was, but they did a great job with them!
• I’m not keen on cooked oysters, but I’ll eat them.
• These were medium sized, plump, and juicy and perfect as is or for a Po Boy Sandwich.
• They were crunchy and panko crusted and fried until golden brown.
• They weren’t even that oily for being deep fried and the white paper they sat on wasn’t clear at the end.
• The dipping sauces were sweet Japanese mayo and Tonkatsu sauce (Japanese style BBQ sauce with Worcestershire kick).
• A squeeze of lemon and dip of each sauce was the best way to enjoy these.
• They kind of reminded me of the deep fried oysters from Rodney’s Oyster Bar in Yaletown, and I remember liking those too.

**Salmon Nanban – 5.5/6 (Excellent!)

• Deep fried salmon marinated in “nanban” vinaigrette with onions and carrots $4.50
• This was likely my favourite dish of the night.
• It was a big portion for the price and it was the daily special.
• It was about 7-8 pieces of boneless salmon and they had a soggy skin due to the sauce.
• I wish they removed the skins and deep fried them separately and sprinkled them on top.
• The salmon pieces were slightly dry, but after you dip them in the delicious vinaigrette it was easily forgotten.
• The Nanban sauce was amazing enough to forgive the slight dryness.
• Nanban sauce is made with rice wine vinegar, mirin, soy, sugar, Worcestershire, boiled radish/konbu seaweed and a bit of chili so it has depth and it’s not just regular vinaigrette. This one didn’t taste spicy though.
• It was super citrusy, tangy and salty and intense with lots of flavour and it just made the dish pop and come alive. I was drinking it alone! (Dying of thirst after)
• It was a juicy dish and the crunch of raw spicy onions was refreshing and made it like a salad.
• The Chicken Nanban at Miku Restaurant is my favourite “Nanban” dish, but this is a serious competitor!

Assorted Sashimi – 4/6 (Very good)

• Fresh tuna tataki, salmon & scallop sashimi $12.50
• This isn’t a place for sashimi so the selection is very limited, but I needed a break from the fried stuff.
• For not specializing in sashimi it was a bit more pricey, but the quality was actually pretty good and I liked it.
• The salmon was surprisingly buttery and good.
• The scallops were fresh and sweet and topped with tobiko.
• The tuna tataki (ahi tuna) had a salt and pepper crust, but it wasn’t done that well.
• The tuna was good tuna though, but it seemed more like ahi tuna than tuna tataki.
• My favourite tuna tataki so far is from Suika – see Tuna Tataki or Taka’s Take-Out – see Peppered Tuna Tataki.

Beef Yukke – 3/6 (Good)

• Fresh beef sashimi marinated in yukke sauce topped with quail egg $7.50
• This was best eaten immediately. No surprise there.
• It’s Japanese beef tartar, but it didn’t look appetizing.
• I have no problems with beef sashimi, but the way this one looked was a bit unsettling.
• It actually looked like raw ground beef ready to be made into patties and I thought it would be cut into mini cubes or slices.
• Mixed together it was better, but it was all quite slimy and texturally acquired.
• There were a few pine nuts which helped, and the spicy onions broke things up a bit, but that was about it.
• The yukke sauce is a predominantly sweet and syrupy garlic soy sauce with sesame oil and it absorbed into the meat well.
• It should have been served with crostini, prawn crackers, or lotus chips because it was a bit repetitive and excessive alone.
• I’ve tried their Salmon Yukke at the Gyoza King location and Guu does one as well – see Salmon Yuke. If you want to be even more adventurous try the Salmon with 7 Friends from Guu with Otokomae. (That was totally an unintended play on words)

Dessert – There was only ice cream ($3) so I passed. It wasn’t homemade or anything, so I just had dessert at home.

Miku Restaurant – Aburi Salmon Oshi Sushi

2011 Follow Me Foodie Favourites & Yearblog

Happy New Year! Welcome to my Follow Me Foodie Favourites & Best of 2011! This is a recap and yearbook/yearblog of the BEST Follow Me Foodie (FMF) Food and FMF Foodie Moments in 2011.

I wrote a Follow Me Foodie Favourites & Best of 2010, so I decided to do another one this year. I don’t even know where to start. It’s been a crazy year, and I’m so grateful for everything that has happened with this blog. I’ve loved every minute of it (even the parts where it hurt to laugh because I was so full) and I’m so happy to have shared these delicious moments with you. Thank you for following me foodie and cheers to another year of gastronomic indulgence!

NOTE: IT’S NOT NECESSARILY “THE BEST“, BECAUSE FOOD IS PERSONAL AND I CAN ONLY DISCOVER SO MUCH IN A YEAR. THESE ARE JUST SOME WORTH MENTIONING IN MY BOOKS… OR BLOG? BLOG. IT’S MORE OF A 2011 RECAP/SUMMARY. ALL EXPERIENCES ARE FROM 2011 ONLY.

Top 20 BEST ASIAN/FUSION Restaurant Dishes & Food in Vancouver:

Suika – Beef Short Rib

Being in Vancouver, we’re spoiled by great Asian/Asian Fusion cuisine, so I decided to make it a separate category. Vancouver dominates and excels when it comes to Asian/Asian fusion cuisine.

Listed in no particular order. Based on the menu item, not the restaurant.

1. Suika – Beef Short Rib

2. Aki Japanese Restaurant – Black Cod (Sable Fish)

3. Pho Tam – House Special Pho

4. Wing Kee – Fresh Steamed Scallops with Vermicelli and Garlic

5. Dan Japanese – Tuna Chili Sashimi

6. Wang’s Beef Noodle House – Beef Brisket Noodle

7. Kirin Seafood Restaurant – Black Cod Braised with Squash and Roasted Pork Belly

8. Jade Seafood Restaurant – Steamed Mushroom Dumpling

9. Rainflower Restaurant – Pan Fried Tiger Prawns with Basil

10. Tokyo Joe’s Sushi Factory – Volcano Roll

11. Empire Chinese Cuisine – Alaskan King Crab Dinner – 4 ways

12. Red Star Seafood – Dungeness Crab with Wild Rice

13. Motomachi Shokudo – Bamboo-Charcoal Dark Miso Ramen

14. Tokachi Japanese – Tuna Gomaae

15. Empire Chinese Cuisine – Deep Fried Alaskan King Crab Knuckles

16. Ichiro Japanese – Dragon Roll

17. Delicious Cuisine – Deep Fried Shrimp with Salted Egg Yolk

18. Hapa Izakaya (Kistilano) – Salmon Shooter

19. Suhang Restaurant – Steamed Soup Buns with Pork Filling (XLB)

20. Jade Seafood Restaurant – Jade Smoked Grandpa Chicken

Honorary Mentions from 2010 list: Miku Restaurant – Aburi Salmon Oshi Sushi, Top Gun J & C Restaurant – Baked BBQ Pork Bun, Hakkaido Ramen Santouka – Toroniku Shio Ramen

See “Follow Me Foodie Best of 2010 Asian/Fusion Dishes” here.

See the full “Follow Me Foodie Best of 2011″ here.

Restaurant: Guu With Otokomae
Cuisine: Japanese/Fusion/Tapas/Izakaya/Sashimi
Last visited: August 23, 2011
Location: Vancouver, BC (Downtown)
Address: 375 Water Street (Upstairs)
Price Range: $20-30 (Average bill $25 without drinks)

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 4.5-5
Service: 3
Ambiance: 3.5
Overall: 5
Additional comments:

• Since 2003
• 5 locations in Vancouver (each different)
• Japanese owned/operated
• Japanese izakaya/tapas
• Creative/fusion items
• Fresh sheets
• Seasonal menus
• Very busy/popular
• Energetic/lively
• Local & tourist favourite
• Award winning
• Affordable Japanese tapas
• Cocktail/bar
• Sun – Thu 5pm – 11:30pm
• Fri – Sat 5pm – 12am
• Guu with Garlic
• Guu on Thurlow
• Guu Aberdeen

**Recommendations: Maguro with 5 Colour Sauce, Japanese Style Ahi Tuna Steak, BBQ Kalbi, and Hot Stone Bowl Sweets. I’ve had the Kimchi Udon and Grilled Black Cod at other Guu locations and I enjoyed those as well. I strongly recommend ordering things one at a time because the food comes out fast and the tables are small.

“Otokomae literally means handsome man or true man in physically and mentally.
Guu with handsome man?
The concept behind its name is a better customer service with attractive contemporary tapas than “authentic” Izakaya.” (Photo and quote from Guu).

Guu has six locations in Metro Vancouver, and two in Toronto, but each location features a different menu and theme. I’ve only tried four of their locations so far, Guu with Garlic on Robson, Guu at Aberdeen, the original location Guu on Thurlow, and now this one in Gastown downtown Vancouver, BC. It’s not really fair to compare them all, but if I had to choose my favourite location, I think this is it because it suited my tastes best.

The Guu restaurants are a solid choice in general, although it’s not my favourite izakaya in the city. I prefer Kingyo or Hapa Izakaya more, but I do find the Guu restaurants to be the most affordable and the best value if you’re craving izakaya. However there’s now Suika, and that’s definitely one of my new favourites for casual Japanese izakaya.

Guu with Otokomae is a popular restaurant that locals and tourists flock to, and although this location isn’t as “traditional izakaya” as their others, it’s still well liked by Japanese locals. The menu is a bit more catered to Western tastes and perhaps a “Gastown crowd”, but I thoroughly enjoyed the menu, presentation, service, and overall experience.

I find it kind of random that they emphasize “better customer service” at this location though. I think better service is something all restaurants should strive for despite the location. If a Cactus Club or a Glowbal Group restaurant clearly emphasized better service at one location, I don’t think people would be as forgiving. Being that Guu is a Japanese owned and operated restaurant, they can say and do almost anything and get away with it because we’ll find it charming instead of offensive… or call it a “lost in translation” thing.

Anyways the food was great and less adventurous in ingredients, but perhaps a bit more “fusion” and creative in flavours. It’s a lively and energetic space, although crowded, and I did find the tables small, so I strongly suggest ordering a couple things at a time because even at their peak hours, the food comes out really fast and at once.

If you want a more authentic Japanese izakaya experience try Guu with Garlic or Guu on Thurlow. The items don’t come out as pretty, and it is more of a drinking hole type of atmosphere, but they do represent authentic izakaya well.

On the table:

Spinach and Sesame – 3.5/6

• Blanched spinach dressed with black sesame sauce $3
• I love goma-ae, and for $3 this is cheaper than most goma-ae offered at any Japanese restaurant.
• It’s a traditional salad, but they switched it up with house made black sesame dressing instead of the usual white.
• For the Guu location that’s supposed to be focused on presentation, I wasn’t expecting this!
• It didn’t look appetizing, but I was still really excited about this tower and puddle of black mud. At least it looked different!

• It was smothered with lots of goma-ae sauce, which was textured, but not thick or creamy.
• As much as I love a saucy goma-ae, this one was really salty and I have a high tolerance for salt too.
• It was made with lots of finely ground black sesame seeds and it was more sesame in flavour than it was peanutty.
• The sesame seeds weren’t over toasted and bitter, but it was heavy on the tamari (Japanese soy sauce).
• If it wasn’t so salty I would give it a 4.5/6.

**Maguro with 5 Colour Sauce – 4.5/6

• Chopped tuna and avocado with teriyaki, wasabi, mango, cucumber and yuzu pepper sauce topped with green onions, crispy wonton and bean sprouts $6.30
• I loved the dessert like presentation!
• This was very creamy and heavy with sauces and mayo, so you have to be okay with that to appreciate this.
• It was almost like a mashed pate of tuna and it was definitely creamed instead of chopped so the texture was smooth throughout.
• It was a deceivingly indulgent mash with pureed fatty tuna, buttery avocado and likely added mayo, so the additional 5 sauces just made it ultra rich.
• I lost the avocado and I wish it was more of a distinct layer rather than creamed into the tuna. I could taste more tuna than avocado though.
• The sauces really made this dish and I could taste each sauce even when eaten all at once and mixed together.
• Each sauce had a distinct and obvious flavour.
• It was equally sweet with mango as it was salty with teriyaki, tangy from the yuzu, spicy from the pepper sauce and a nice kick of wasabi mayo. It was incredibly well balanced.
• The wonton chips, green onions and alfalfa spouts (not bean sprouts) didn’t do much in adding crunchy texture because everything else was just so creamy that the crunchy aspect was outweighed.
• Since it was more of a spread, I think it should be served with lotus chips or crostini, or you can just order the Lotus Chips from their regular menu.

Salmon with 7 Friends – 3.5/6

• Diced wild sockeye salmon with otokomae’s miso and garlic sauce, natto (fermented soy bean), pickled cucumber, pickled daikon, garlic chips, crispy wonton, green onions, diced cucumber, and fresh egg yolk, served with roasted seaweed. Mix together and wrap in seaweed $7.90
• Another visually pleasing and colourful dish, but it is acquired and recommended for people who can tolerate natto.
• The portion was quite generous, but I would want to share this with 4 people. It was interesting to try, but I didn’t really want more than 1 or 2.

• They mix it at your table and it was served with 8 square sheets of seaweed and you ate it like a lettuce wrap.
• Due to the natto (fermented soy bean), this is an acquired dish in terms of flavour and certainly texture.
• Natto beans are a bit smoky and bitter and they come in a coating that is extremely slimy, stringy, sticky, slippery, and gluey, and the texture in your mouth is very similar to snot… I can’t put it in any other way. I actually don’t mind it, but it took me a few times to get used to it.
• This was a very slimy wrap, but there was a lot of crunchy textures and pickled flavours to break up the sliminess, but it was still predominantly slimy.
• The slime gets all over your lips and it gets sticky, but it goes away easily.
• The sockeye salmon gets lost in the mixture which was a bit of a waste, but there was an equal portion of each component.
• The natto was still the most dominant followed by the tangy pickled vegetables and then crispy garlic chips.
• The egg just enhanced the sliminess and I actually could have used less natto and maybe shrimp crackers instead of seaweed.
• The seaweed just gets slimy and soggy when it’s wet and I had enough slime already.
• It was honest to the menu description and different to try, but it’s not something I’d order again even though I do like the ingredients.

Nikuzyaga Croquette – 2/6

• Deep fried panko-breaded mashed potatoes with stewed beef, carrots, onions served with tonkatsu sauce $4
• This was the only disappointing thing, but because they were only $4 it wasn’t heart breaking.
• I love croquettes, but I find them such a hit and miss at Guu.
• I expected a much creamier and fluid stuffing and more presence of stewed beef.
• I thought it would be saucier, but there was hardly any beef or “stew” aspect at all.
• It was mainly just roughly mashed Russet potatoes, which were a bit dry.
• There were a few carrots, onions, celery and a couple shredded strands of beef, but it was closer to fries.
• It was a very starchy croquette and they were nicely battered with panko and fried golden brown, but the only real flavour was from the Tonkatsu dipping sauce.
• Tonkatsu sauce is almost like a Japanese BBQ sauce and it’s very bold, sharp and tangy with a Worcestershire like kick at the end.
• I tried the Sato Imo (taro and potato croquettes) at Guu with Garlic and they didn’t work, but the Pumpkin Croquette and Deep Fried Japanese Sweet Potato & Cheese Croquette from Guu Aberdeen were good!

**Japanese Style Tuna Steak – 5/6

• Sweetened garlic soy sauce marinated sashimi-grade ahi tuna steak topped with garlic chips and green onions. Only available medium rare. $8.50
• This is one of the popular favourites and I love ahi tuna steaks, so I loved this.
• It wasn’t anything I haven’t tried from other Japanese restaurants though, so it wasn’t particularly special, but still very good and reasonably priced for the portion.
• The steak was served with a green salad, but it was more of a ‘big plate’ than a salad.

• It was just a very well marinated ahi tuna steak that was treated with proper technique and execution.
• The sweet and salty garlic soy sauce marinade absorbed throughout the steak and into the core so it wasn’t bright pink in colour.
• It was perfectly seasoned, slightly smoky, in between buttery and steak like in texture due to the marinade which can “cook” the ahi tuna like ceviche.
• It had no crust, but it was topped with plenty of nutty crispy garlic chips which is almost everyone’s favourite!
• The flavours are familiar and typical of Japanese cuisine so it wasn’t anything new, but it was still an excellent dish.

**BBQ Kalbi – 5/6

• Garlic ginger sauce marinated boneless beef short ribs and vegetable skewers $8.80
• This is another popular favourite.
• If you’re more of a carnivore try this, and if you prefer seafood go for the ahi tuna steak. I found them equally as good.
• I could have used more of a Japanese twist because it was hard not to compare it to traditional Korean Kalbi short ribs, which are delicious!

• Similar to the ahi tuna steak, this wasn’t anything new in terms of flavour if you’re familiar with Korean cuisine, or any Asian cuisine for that matter.
• The cubes of beef seemed like steak rather than pieces of short rib.
• They were very tender and marinated to the core, and they weren’t as saucy, glazed, sweet or oily as most Kalbi ribs can be.
• They didn’t melt in your mouth, but it was quite juicy and definitely not chewy.
• I wish they were more charred and smoky from the grilling process, but they almost seemed sauteed and then grilled upon order.
• It was a garlicky, sweet and salty marinade, but not gingery and it was slightly tangy as well from perhaps some ponzu mixed in with the soy sauce.
• It had a light seasoning of salt and freshly cracked black pepper which gave it a little heat, and overall it was simple, but well made and enjoyable.
• There were some grilled spicy semi-cooked crunchy onions and some meaty mushrooms too.

**Hot Stone Bowl Sweets – 5.5/6

• French baguette, custard sauce, coconut ice cream, in a hot stone bowl $6.50
• This is the Gastown Guu’s signature dessert and you’d be crazy to not order it. You better order it!
• It’s visually exciting and it reminded me of the Sizzling Brownie I had at Bombay Se or a sweet version of a Korean bibimbap!
• Not only do I love ice cream and hot and cold desserts, but I love coconut.
• This was a big dessert and it came with about 9 slices of baguette, so it’s quite carb heavy.
• The only thing I didn’t like was the baguette. The pieces weren’t toasted, and they were very chewy and tough.
• They probably didn’t want the bread to get soggy, but even after they were soaked in the melted ice cream and sizzling custard they were still tough.
• I would have preferred big chunks of toasted soft and fluffy sweet Asian bread, brioche or even Texas style toast.
• The coconut ice cream surprisingly didn’t melt that fast and there was shredded dried coconut throughout the ice cream so it had that slightly crunchy texture.
• It was a bit chocolatey too from the chocolate sauce and a bit tangy from the raspberry coulis, but it wasn’t too sweet, although I’d gladly trade both for pineapples and almonds. I know it’s not even a close trade… but imagine how much better this dessert could get.
• The custard sauce was amazing because it was made with coconut milk instead of cream! It was more aromatic, but the melted ice cream kept it thin so it never got too thick or creamy.
• The custard would cook along the sides of the hot bowl and it turned into little bits of scrambled silky egg pudding reminiscent of creme brulee. Along with the coconut ice cream and bread it was a magnificent dessert!
• It was almost like a French toast with ice cream… if the bread was better it would be hands down a 6/6!

Frozen Grapes – A signature Kingyo move that seems to be making its way to Guu, but I’m fine with it!

Restaurant: Ichiro Japanese
Cuisine: Japanese/Sushi/Sashimi
Last visited: July 18, 2011
Location: Richmond, BC (Steveston Village)
Address: 12011 2nd Ave
Price Range:

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 5
Service: 2.5
Ambiance: 3
Overall: 4.5
Additional comments:

• Japanese owned/operated
• Authentic Japanese
• Some fusion rolls
• Extensive menu
• Fresh sashimi
• Sushi bar
• Neighbourhood favourite
• Popular to Japanese locals
• Hidden gem
• Moderately priced
• Family friendly
• Lunch/Dinner set meals
• Free parking at rear
• Accepts Interac/Visa
• Mon-Sun Lunch 11:30am-2pm
• Mon-Sun Dinner 5-10pm
• Also own Takeya Sushi (more casual/cheaper)

**Recommendations: Oyako Don (Chicken & Egg on Rice), Dragon Roll, Nigiri, Sashimi, Saikyo Yaki, Dino Egg

It only opened in 2006, but you would think it’s one of those historical restaurants that have withstood the test of time in Steveston Village. It’s developed a loyal clientele of people who appreciate traditional Japanese food made with traditional Japanese techniques. It is a neighbourhood favourite, and although it may come off as “touristy”, it’s legit and I’d highly recommend it. It is a solid choice for Japanese food prepared by Japanese people in Richmond, BC. Mind you, non-Japanese people can make great sushi as well, but I just find it a rare case in the context of Richmond.

If I’m in Richmond and I’m looking for traditional, and not izakaya, I will likely go to Seto Sushi Japanese Restaurant or Kiriri Japanese Cuisine & Sushi Bar. I now have another option. Ichiro Japanese is slightly pricier, but they put a little bit more care and presentation into their food, and the atmosphere is nicer, so it’s justified.

They also opened Takeya Sushi, which is their more casual and affordable Japanese restaurant only offering rolls, sushi and a small selection of sashimi. I haven’t been there yet, but I hear great things, and I would hope the quality would be similar despite the difference in cost and ambiance.

Upon entrance and absorbing the crowd I couldn’t help but to think that it was a tourist trap, but there was a good mix of the Steveston born and raised diners including Japanese families and halfers. Yes, I am stereotyping, big time, but I think it’s a little natural to access the standards for authenticity of a restaurant by those dining in it. Nonetheless, the food spoke for itself and the skills of the Japanese chefs didn’t come unnoticed.

The menu is extensive and they offer everything from rolls, sushi, sashimi, rice, noodles, izakaya type dishes and robata. Although it is a traditional Japanese restaurant there is a fair share of fusion rolls and creative house specialties. Ichiro’s strength is in the rolls, sushi, sashimi and more traditional offerings, and it’s not an izakaya restaurant, but they don’t do a bad job with those items either.

For the size of the menu, I was surprised that all the items I ordered were upstanding. There wasn’t much hit and miss as everything delivered as promised. Although nothing blew me away as a “must try”, nothing was disappointing and I would make no complaints to come again. The ingredients are fresh, seasonal and good quality, and there’s a good sense of value if you consider the area and complete experience. Being so close to the water, a lot of their sashimi is extremely fresh as well, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Ichiro especially if you’re in the area.

On the table:

Ebi Gyoza – 4/6

• Pan fried prawn, pork, and vegetable dumpling $10.50
• This is one of the house favourites and most popular items, so of course I had to try it.
• They’re good, but I think they should offer 4 for $8.
• It comes on a sizzling hot plate and they’re very fresh and obviously served very hot.
• They could be crispier and leaving them on the hot plate didn’t do anything.
• The value is in the ingredients and execution more so than the flavour, which is likely one you’re familiar with if you’re not a stranger to Japanese gyoza.

• The inside is stuffed with a entire fresh prawn and home made gyoza pork stuffing with chives and it’s all wrapped around a thin home made dumpling skin.
• The prawn was tender with a nice crunch and it was equal amount of both pork and prawn.
• I found them very oily though, and they’re a bit bland without the sauce. The pork stuffing is seasoned, but the gyozas are just much better with the sauce.
• It was a tangy, citrusy ponzu soy sauce with lots of aromatic sesame oil and a bit of chili oil for spice. It helped cut the grease a little and went perfect with the gyoza.
• It’s not particularly amazing or unique, but the highlight is that they included the entire prawn and it made each gyoza worth it.

Steveston Roll – 4.5/6

• Sweet shrimp, salmon, tuna, cucumber, wrapped with salmon $12.50
• The roll is small, as it should be when prepared authentically, however I still find it quite pricey considering you won’t be full off of just this roll.
• This was good, but not particularly interesting or different.
• I see its value in its traditional preparation, well flavoured and moist rice, and extremely fresh sashimi used to make it.
• The ingredients were all sliced julienne which made for a delicately textured roll.
• Each ingredient was well portioned and I could taste each layer, except for the salmon sashimi which was a bit light in colour and hidden in flavour.
• It almost came across as all tuna if it wasn’t for the smoked salmon placed on top to give it that salmon flavour.
• I got the creaminess of the sweet shrimp, which I almost thought was scallop, and then a nice crunch from the crisp cucumber and saltier tobiko.
• It was a good roll with fresh ingredients, but I probably wouldn’t order it again, although I enjoyed it.

**Dragon Roll - 5.5/6

• Imitation crab, asparagus, avocado, wrapped with BBQ eel $14.95
• I saw this being prepared and there’s no way I could have left without ordering it.
• They give you a generous amount of unagi and it’s possible to get full off this one roll, so I think it’s worth the price, unlike the Steveston Roll.
• Since the “Dragon Roll” isn’t an authentic Japanese roll, everyone has their own version of it.
• I’m used to my Dragon Rolls being a bit sweeter and saucier, but this is more traditional and simple in execution and definitely the most unagi I’ve ever gotten in one.
• The antennae was made from deep fried soba noodles and the eyes were sunflower seeds.

• The major winning factor of this Dragon Roll is that the unagi (eel) is placed on top of the roll, and not inside the roll. This is quality and value.
• Many places will have the smoked salmon and avocado thinly sliced on top with the battered and deep fried unagi stuffed inside.
• Instead, this one did offer crab which actually didn’t even taste artificial. It was a good quality artificial crab meat and it was juicy with barely any mayo. It was good!
• The lack of sauce is the more traditional method of preparing it, so I didn’t mind since it was the style. On the other hand, I do like the sweet unagi glaze, so I like it when there is more of that.
• The unagi (eel) was very thick, meaty, tender, yet firm, and definitely the most dominant flavour in the roll. It was fat like a steak.
• I was hoping that the skin of the eel would be barbequed and crispy with a charcoal flavour, but instead it was thick and chewy. (I don’t think robata is really their specialty here.)
• Overall the roll is excellent with flavourful and moist rice.
• If this Dragon Roll had tobiko, a little bit more avocado, some smoked salmon, and a little more unagi sauce and a crispy skin, it would have been the best Dragon Roll ever.
• It did need a little wasabi and soy sauce for dipping though, unlike the Dragon Roll at Octopus Garden, which is also excellent, but for different reasons.

**Sushi/Nigiri - 5/6

• Salmon (Sockeye Salmon) $2, Salmon Toro (Fatty Salmon Belly) $2.75, Hamachi (Yellowtail) $3, Tamago (Egg) $2
• Considering the freshness of their sashimi and extensive selection, it’s a waste not to order nigiri here.
• It’s simple and basic, and my appreciation for nigiri only grew in the last year. Once you have excellent nigiri, it no longer seems like the boring choice that fills you up on rice.
• The sushi rice here is moist, sticky and a bit sweet with good vinegar and a good ratio to the sashimi, but I do like the flavour of it better at Kiriri Japanese Cuisine & Sushi Bar.

Salmon (Sockeye Salmon) Nigiri – 5/6

• $2
• The salmon quality was great, but not the best I’ve had it. It was fresh, and the cutting technique was good, but the flavour just didn’t taste as rich for some reason.
• Each fish is different though, so it just depends on the fish that’s being cut that day.
• I’d still order this again.

Salmon Toro (Fatty Salmon Belly) Nigiri - 4/6

• $2.75
• For what it was, it was probably perfect here 5/6, but just in terms of what I thought of its flavour is a 3.5/6.
• I prefer salmon belly cooked and I find it a cut that needs heat to showcase its flavour unlike tuna toro (tuna belly), which is better as sashimi.
• This was actually my first time trying salmon toro sashimi, it’s very rare to have it on a menu, so I had to try this exotic specialty.
• It’s not as juicy, rich or oily as tuna belly, and it’s firmer and more crunchy.
• The cutting technique was brilliant and exposed its flavours, but overall tuna toro is better.
• I did order tuna toro as well, but they ran out that day.

Hamachi (Yellowtail) Nigiri - 3/6

• $3
• This was probably the most average the meal got.
• I wasn’t a fan of the hamachi quality here and I found it a bit dull in flavour and a bit firm and chewy rather than creamy.
• I’ve never really experienced hamachi of this texture and colour so it was unexpected and I didn’t prefer it.

**Tamago (Egg) – 5/6

• $2
• It’s my classic tamago. The true testament of a Japanese restaurant, and my must order item when I go for traditional Japanese food.
• It was sweet, but not overly sweet, perfectly cooked, tender, soft, and moist, and well layered.
• It could have been fluffier and juicer and I wanted to taste more dashi stock, but there was dashi in it, and it was still great.
• For now. I will still stand by the tamago at Aki Japanese Restaurant – see here.

**Saikyo Yaki – 4.5/6

• Marinated and grilled cod $13.50
• It’s another one of my must order items when I’m at a Japanese restaurant. I love sable fish in general, but I especially like the Japanese method of preparing it.
• This was slightly pricey, as it normally is, but they did a great job with it and the piece was a decent size.
• It was incredibly well marinated and infused throughout with sake, Saikyo miso, and mirin.
• It wasn’t as salty as simple miso paste and it didn’t overpower the natural flavours of the fish. It was slightly on the sweeter side because they used Saikyo miso and not just miso paste.
• The fish was incredibly flaky, juicy, moist, slippery, silky smooth, buttery and oily with great texture and flavour.
• Although the marinade was spot on, and the fish was delicious, the skin wasn’t crispy and I couldn’t taste any smokiness that’s supposed to come from the grilling (robata) process. Again, as I mentioned in the Dragon Roll, I don’t think robata is their specialty here.
• The best version of this is still the Black Cod at Aki Japanese Restaurant – see here. Aki does specialize in robata, but the sashimi isn’t as great as Ichiro.

**Oyako Don Noodle Combo – 4.5/6

• Chicken & Egg on Rice. Includes small noodle soup – udon or soba $10.95 (Lunch time, dine in only)
• This wasn’t my order, but it’s a lunch time special and fair for the price.
• The portion and quality is good and it’s made upon order.

• **Oyako Don (Chicken & Egg on Rice) – 4.5/6
• This is the most popular donburi you can order and I enjoyed it more than the soba noodles.
• It’s a simple comfort food usually for kids and it’s basically a chicken and onion omelette served over rice with a sweet and savoury broth or sauce poured over top.
• It’s not something I would usually order, but I had a few bites, and based on that, I would order it again. It was traditional and made well for what it is.

• It had a fair amount of boneless skinless chicken thighs that were moist, juicy and tender.
• I was hoping for a much thicker layer of egg though.
• The egg was incredibly fluffy, soft, silky and creamy and made with a good amount of dashi, which is a home made Japanese stock.
• It was savoury and a bit sweet with the caramelized soft onions and a good amount of savoury soy sauce to balance out that sweetness.
• The flavour was good, and a bit teriyaki like, and the rice was moist and not soggy or too wet from the dashi broth.
• I would have liked some green onions too, but this was fine.
• I was hoping for premium quality Japanese rice, but it’s still fine here.

• Soba (Thin Green Noodle Soup) – 2.5/6
• It’s hard to find good soba noodles and these were just okay.
• They were likely the dried kind as you can rarely find them home made.
• It was served hot, but they were a bit overcooked and too soft.
• The soup was savoury and spicy, but it was just your typical soba noodles in broth.

Zuke Rice Noodle Combo – n/a

• Assorted sashimi with ginger soy sauce and rice. Includes small noodle soup – udon or soba $11.95 (Lunch time only)

• Ichiro Zuke – n/a
• Assorted sashimi marinated in ginger soy sauce (a la carte $7.50 and bigger portion)
• I had a piece of salmon so I can’t speak for the whole thing, but the sauce was well balanced with ginger and soy sauce and perhaps a bit of citrusy ponzu sauce.
• The sashimi was fresh and the pieces were cut quite small and most of it was salmon and tuna, and maybe a few scraps of ika (squid).

• Udon - n/a
• I didn’t get to try the udon, but there were no complaints.

Doraemon – 2.5/6

• Red bean paste in sponge cake tempura with fruit sauce and your choice of ice cream (mango, green tea, vanilla) $6.50
• Any pastry deep fried and topped with ice cream is usually a friend of mine, except when there’s red bean… I’d rather have a waffle or custard filled pancake so I’m biased.

• The pancake was one of those premade store bought prepackaged Japanese pancakes stuffed with red bean, so they’re not very fluffy although still soft.
• The tempura batter was very crispy and light and I loved the texture it brought to the pancake. It wasn’t greasy or soggy either.
• The red bean was pasty and not too sweet, but I just really don’t like red bean. The filling never got hot either.
• The pancake is nothing special, but the highlight was having it made tempura and of course topped with ice cream.

**Dino Egg – 4.5/6

• Crispy deep fried ice cream with fruit sauce $6.50
• For deep fried ice cream this was an excellent version of it.
• I have a feeling it might be those premade Mario’s Gelati gelato dessert bombs, but I’m not too sure.
• It tasted like ice cream instead of gelato and the outside tasted like vanilla instead of coconut, but the inside was mango, just like Mario’s version. Whatever it was, it was deep fried and good though.
• The outside was very crispy and crunchy with a thick cornflake batter that didn’t slip off the ice cream. The batter was good alone and the ice cream wasn’t melted.
• Under the cornflake batter was another thin flour batter so it was almost extra crispy with a soft and thin donut like bread layer in between.
• It’s served with whipped cream and raspberry jam and I’d probably order this again.

Restaurant: Yuji’s Japanese Tapas
Cuisine: Japanese/Izakaya/Fusion/Sushi/Tapas
Last visited: July 6, 2011
Location: Vancouver, BC (Kitsilano)
Address: 2059 W 4th Ave
Price Range: $20-30+ (Closer to $30)

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 3
Service: 2
Ambiance: 4
Overall: 3
Additional comments:

• Open for 8 years
• Closing Saturday July 9, 11
• Chef Yuji
• Japanese owned/operated
• Japanese fusion
• Extensive menu
• Sushi bar
• Creative & original sushi
• Euro-Asian tapas
• Neighbourhood favourite
• Sophisticated
• Moderately priced
• Award winning
• Tues-Thurs : 5pm – 10:30pm
• Friday 5pm – 11pm
• Saturday: 5pm – 11pm

**Recommendations: Panko Sesame Fried Six-Hour Braised Beef Tongue. The rest of my recs are good if you’re going, but the value isn’t really there: Big Eye Tuna Carpaccio White Truffle Olive Oil, Seared Albacore Tuna with Sesame Seeds and Breaded Prosciutto Wrapped Camembert Cheese Deep Fried. People love the Sweet Potato Tempura Sticks and they were good, but not mind blowing for me.

I’m going to make this short and sweet. Who am I kidding? Nothing on Follow Me Foodie is ever short… I hope sweet though… well actually my posts are not always sweet, but my desserts usually are!

I came here for dinner yesterday and discovered that it was closing this coming Saturday July 9, so being the obsessed food blogger that I am, I had to get this post up immediately. I have to tell you guys about it if you want to try it before it closes! (It’s 5am as I edit this, please cope with me).

After 8 years, the award winning Yuji’s Japanese Tapas is closing its doors. I know this upsets many of you as it does have a strong following of loyal customers. I’ve been here a couple times in the past, but it’s been a while for me. Honestly I remember it being better, or maybe I’m just too spoiled with all the new izakaya places that have popped up – *ahem* Suika. It’s only fair to compare with what’s available now because if you can’t keep up with your competition then what’s the point on staying open? On the other hand I think Yuji has proven his success and is just retiring, so I’ll leave that question open ended as we see the doors to Yuji’s close forever.

I don’t want to be a prima donna (and I’m not), but I’m actually pretty annoyed with the service. We were two people and we ordered enough for 4-6 and they refused to give us a bigger table so I almost had dishes on my lap. They ended up slowing down the flow of our order, so dinner just took even longer than if we had a bigger table. If it was Friday or Saturday I’d understand, but I was staring at 2 empty tables of 4 right beside us for the hour and fourty-ish minutes we were there. I was choked, but I guess it doesn’t matter anymore.

Anyways my point is to show you what I had, and if there’s anything you care to try, or have one last and final time, then you better go before this Saturday. Be warned though, I’m not sure if Chef Yuji has gone on “vacation mode” already, but some items were incredibly overpriced and not well executed. I didn’t see the value in a lots of things and I almost ordered the entire tapas menu and I wasn’t that full. I know I eat a lot, but still, just see for yourself what’s on the table…

On the table:

Goma-ae – 2/6

• $5
• I find this sickly overpriced for goma-ae, but it was recommended and I love goma-ae.
• This was made with watercress instead of spinach and I actually liked the change. It was crunchier and almost more refreshing than spinach.
• It was very lightly coated with a house made sesame dressing.
• The dressing was made with finely grated sesame, but very mild and a bit thick in taste. It was creamy and nutty, but one tone. For sesame sauce it was a milder goma-ae dressing.

**Big Eye Tuna Carpaccio White Truffle Olive Oil – 5/6

• $20
• This was excellent, but it is expensive. It’s Big Eye Tuna AND White Truffle Oil though, so it’s expected.
• The slices are thin, but there’s a decent amount, although the plate is very small.
• The tuna was fresh and the whole dish tasted like ultra tender beef drizzled with sweet and tangy balsamic vinegar with a dash of citrusy ponzu, the aroma of truffle oil, and hint of freshly cracked black pepper.
• It’s topped with crispy deep fried capers which almost came off as mildly salty and nutty garlic chips. The juicy salty sharp edge on the capers was taken off from the frying.
• The truffle oil was mild, but I got the aroma of it and it was there.
• It was simple, as something made with such high quality ingredients should be, but I needed more black pepper and deep fried capers.
• It had a simple olive oil and balsamic dressed salad in the centre.

Maguro Mari-ne – 4/6

• Fresh albacore tuna chunks marinated in three bowls of spicy, sesame, and yuzu citrus sauce $9
• Each shot glass came with 3 cubes of albacore tuna.
• The tuna is fresh and creamy, but I wish the glasses were larger because the top pieces weren’t marinated as well and the sauce was all at the bottom.
• Spicy – 5/6
  
• My favourite was this one, which I’m sure represents their spicy tuna marinade, so anything spicy tuna is probably good too.
• It’s a bold and almost creamy sauce. I’ve had ones similar to it before, but it’s still a great house made sauce.
• It’s initially sweet, strong with aromatic sesame oil and then mixed with what I think is Korean soybean chili pepper paste (Gochujang), so the heat comes at the end and gives a nice kick.
• It’s very sweet and salty at first and then a very flavourful spicy – not just hot.
• Sesame - 4/6
• It was the goma-ae sauce but mixed with Japanese soy sauce.
• It was a very smoky and nutty sauce with very finely ground sesame seeds and sesame oil.
• It had a nice saltiness from the soy sauce, but you had to let it soak a while to absorb that saltiness or it was just smoky from the toasted sesame flavours.
• Yuzu Citrus Sauce - 3/6
• It was just tangy yuzu sauce and I could taste the licorice aroma yuzu has.
• It was good, but the most obvious of the three.

**Seared Albacore Tuna with Sesame Seeds – 4/6

• Seared albacore tuna with sesame seeds on ponzu mustard mayo sauce $9
• It was great, but I really think it should have been served on a bed of shredded daikon for $9.
• The tuna was very well crusted with tightly packed white and black sesame seeds and I loved that.
• I know this sounds kind of odd, but both my dining partner and I thought it tasted like a hot dog. That was totally due to the mustard aspect.

Excuse the poor photo but there was no room on the table… read intro.

• I think this was another reason why it tasted like a hot dog. The tuna was a bit overcooked and past “seared” so it was almost like pork and not as tender.
• The flavours were well assembled though and it was soaked in citrusy ponzu sauce and the Dijon mustard mayo gave it the creamy boldness and added kick it needed.
• It came with a lot of pieces, but very small, and the price is alright, but still… it needs the bed of daikon salad.

Yuji’s California Salad Roll – 3/6

• Crab cake, avocado, lettuce, cucumber and tobiko with wasabi mayo wrapped in rice paper $7.50
• They used real crab so I found the price was okay, but it was one Vietnamese salad roll cut into 4 pieces.
• It was basically a carb-free California roll.
• It was really good and instead of the typical vermicelli noodles it was real flaked crab with only a bit of mayo.
• I loved the tobiko which gave it a nice crunch with the lettuce, and together with the creamy avocado it had good texture.
• It was wrapped quite loosely though and they were quite soft.
• The sauce was the spicy tuna sauce again. It was sweet initially, quite salty and aromatic with sesame oil and then it had that Korean soybean chili pepper paste (Gochujang) spiciness to it. The roll was best with this sauce.
• The other sauce tasted like Teriyaki sauce.

Beef Tataki - 3/6

• Tender beef, thinly sliced and lightly seared accompanied by a shredded Fuji apple and ponzu citrus sauce $8
• The amount of slices were fair, but very small, and it almost tasted like flank steak. The steak was actually a bit chewy.

• What inspired me to order this was the Fuji apple twist. I actually liked the Fuji compared to the Granny Smith because the ponzu was tangy enough as is. The Fuji brought a sweetness.
• The apples were barely julienne and I expected cleaner cutting techniques from a restaurant of this style. I was almost eating them separately from the beef because they weren’t sliced finely enough and well incorporated.
• I liked the nutty garlic chips and the ponzu was just regular tangy ponzu sauce.
• It’s good, but could have been better and maybe not as special as I expected.

**Sweet Potato Tempura Sticks – 4/6

• Served with tartar, soy ginger, and spicy tomato sauce. One of Yuji’s most popular dishes. $7.50
• I swear these have been the house favourite since it opened!
• They’re great, but I also think it’s because of the clientele that just enjoys tempura “fries”.
• It’s also the item with the best value and if you don’t order this, it’s hard to get full.
• It’s a generous amount of thick cut sweet potato wedges (not yams) battered in a puffy tempura flour batter. The batter isn’t actually that thin, but it’s puffy, quite crispy and well seasoned.
• The inside is a very tender, soft and creamy sweet potato and they are good, but filling.
• Soy Ginger – It was a bit jelly-ish with an apparent ginger flavour. It was sweet and salty and almost like Teriyaki sauce mixed with garlic paste and pureed ginger. The ginger wasn’t spicy and there aren’t bits of ginger in it either.
• Tartar – It tasted like curry mayo, but it’s not spicy or that tangy for “tartar” sauce for that matter. It’s the best of the 3 dips for me.
• Spicy Tomato Sauce – It tasted like Ketchup. I didn’t find it spicy at all.
• It came after, but I actually like the Yam & Unagi Tempura Sticks at Gyo-O Kaisen Shokudo Japanese Restaurant better. I like variety and it’s served similar with three sauces.

Creamy Ebi Asparagus Spring Roll – 1/6

• Prawn, asparagus and bechamel sauce wrapped in spring roll paper deep fried $7.50
• This was expensive and small! It was so overpriced and not worth it at all.
• The inside was filled with 1/4 of a julienne asparagus stem which obviously got overcooked and soggy in the deep frying process.
• The prawn was very tiny and a bit overcooked and it tasted fishy, not in a fresh way either.
• The bechamel sauce was thick and creamy, but it had no flavour so it just added a rich texture.
• The roll was crispy, but still chewy because it was almost all wrapper and barely any filling.
• The side of Dijon mustard mayo and Tonkatsu sauce (Japanese BBQ sauce) for dipping just didn’t do anything, especially with the bechamel already inside.
• I can’t say I appreciate the random shrimp chips as garnish, although good.

Grilled Sable Fish (Black Cod) – 2/6

• Sable fish marinated in miso, sake & mirin, grilled to perfection $9
• I pretty much always order this and this was probably one of the most overpriced and smallest grilled sable fish I’ve ordered at a Japanese restaurant.
• It was incredibly thin and I think it was cut in half. The fish was juicy, moist and buttery as it always is, but just way too thin.
• It was decently savoury, but I didn’t taste much infused miso marinade and there was no smokiness or depth from the robata process.
• The skin was crispy at times and soggy at others.
• It was served with a side of miso sauce which was very thick, creamy and concentrated with miso paste. I liked it, but it’s salty.
• The Grilled Sable Fish at Hapa Izakaya – see here, or Guu – see here is better, and the best and most authentic for me is at Aki Japanese – see here.

Breaded Prosciutto Wrapped Camembert Cheese Deep Fried – 4/6

• $9.50
• This is as good as “bacon” wrapped deep fried cheese can get… which is pretty amazing! There’s nothing to it, but it’s still good.
• It was served with two random pieces of creamy and tangy mayo dressed cooked cauliflower.
• I would have preferred something to accompany this because it was so rich and indulgent that I wanted to spread it over something or I wanted the pieces to be a bit smaller.
• I had two of these. It felt good at the time, but not so great after. Still worth it.

• It was crusted with a very crunchy and crispy Panko batter and the inside was a chunk of ooey gooey ultra creamy, buttery rich, melt in your mouth Camembert cheese, which is almost like a stronger more pungent brie.
• It was quite salty from the prosciutto, but delicious with the sweet raspberry coulis. What I didn’t like was that the coulis was not fresh and quite artificial and sweet in flavour. I almost thought it was Smuckers syrup.
• The dish actually reminded me of an appetizer I had at Pair Bistro – see Comox Valley Fried Camembert.

**Panko Sesame Fried Six-Hour Braised Beef Tongue – 5/6

• $9.50
• This was easily my favourite and most memorable dish of the night.
• It was unique, creative, great presentation, and I’ve never seen it anywhere else yet.
• It was so cute! Using the wooden pestle you self-grind the toasted white sesame seeds in the bamboo mortar.
• It was almost like a panko and black and white sesame crusted beef brisket meatball.
• If you’ve never had tongue before (wow that sounds bad), but if you’ve never had it, it tastes like ultra tender, gelatinous free beef. In this case it tasted like lean beef brisket and you would never guess it was tongue if you didn’t know. I pretty much guarantee it.

• You dip the crispy cubes of beef in the black saucer which is filled with Tonkatsu sauce (tangy Japanese BBQ sauce with a kick) and then roll it in the toasted sesame seeds you self-grind.
• I loved it! It was aromatic, nutty, and the beef was incredibly tender and melt in your mouth, as it should be for being braised for SIX hours!
• On the other hand the meat was quite dry and without the thick and bold Tonkatsu sauce it would have been pretty bland, but nutty from the sesame crust. If it was juicy I would have given it 6/6.
• This is pretty much the only item that I will actually miss a lot.

**Prosciutto Roll – 3.5/6

• Cream Cheese mango rolled in rice and encased in Italian prosciutto. Pesto & sweet soy sauce. $8
• This is their most popular roll and most creative too. It’s also the smallest and priciest.
• It sounded better on the menu and it came out kind of plain and could have been better executed with better pesto and prosciutto wrapped all around. For $8 I think it’s a fair request.
• The sweet mango got lost even though it was ripe and I could see it.
• I think it would be better with cantaloupe to give an added crunch because the whole thing was quite soft and creamy.
• I could taste the salty bite of prosciutto and then the cream cheese was quite strong and rich.
• The pesto was very weak and minimal and I couldn’t taste it at all. It was some sort of herb puree with olive oil.
• The drizzle of sweet soy sauce brought the sweet aspect out more than the mango did. For me, with prosciutto, a sweet balsamic reduction would be better.
• It was pretty rice heavy, but the rice was moist and flavourful and a bit on the sweeter side. The sushi rice is solid here though.

Toro Sashimi – 3/6

• $15
• $15 for very small pieces of toro was not cool. They were sliced very small and thin although the quality was quite good.
• They came out chilled and they were a bit firm, but after a couple minutes its oils started to release and it became juicy, buttery and delicious.
• The cutting technique was good, but way too small and few for $15.
• I wouldn’t say Yuji’s is a place for sashimi, not that it’s not good, but it’s just overpriced.

Dessert

The dessert at Yuji’s was a Green Tea Creme Brulee with Ice Cream and then a selection of Green Tea, Vanilla, and Black Sesame ice cream. I wasn’t too inspired and I’ve had their Green Tea Creme Brulee before so I decided to head across the street to Scoop! for frozen yogurt! See my post for Scoop! here.

To my surprise Scoop! (across the street from Yuji’s) was offering two new summer flavours: Coconut and Passionfruit. I got a matcha and coconut fro-yo mix and I didn’t realize until now, but my toppings look almost exactly the same as the one I had last time – see here.

Restaurant: Suika
Cuisine: Japanese/Izakaya/Fusion/Eclectic/Tapas
Last visited: June 12, 2011
Location: Vancouver, BC (Fairview)
Address: 1626 West Broadway
Price Range: $10-20, 20-30+

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 5
Service: 4
Ambiance: 4
Overall: 5
Additional comments:

• Funky fusion Japanese tapas
• Opened by Kingyo Group
• Casual version of Kingyo
• Casual dining
• Extensive menu
• Daily fresh sheet
• Modern/lively atmosphere
• Sushi bar
• Affordable izakaya
• Group dining
• Good for drinks/snacks
• Vegetarian friendly
• Extensive drink list
• Sun-Thur: 5:30pm-12am
• Fri-Sat: 5:30pm-1am

**Recommendations: Deluxe “Suika” Box, Lightly Smoked Tuna Tataki, Negitoro Tartar, Beef Short Rib, Aburi “Shime-Saba” Sushi, Negitoro Battera, Matcha Brulee

Finally! Finally there is an option for relatively affordable izakaya in Vancouver that isn’t any of the Guu‘s. Don’t get me wrong, Guu is “Guu‘d”, but just not all the time. To be honest I actually prefer Suika to Guu and it’s only slightly pricier. If I take into consideration menu, price, quality and flavour I’d choose Suika. Parking is also easier since it’s out of the downtown core too!

Suika has easily made it as one of my favourite izakaya restaurants in Vancouver and I’ve only been here once, but it totally impressed me. The only thing they’re missing is a restaurant website, but otherwise I’m a happy girl and I got dessert!

Izakaya has been popular for years in Vancouver now and I don’t know why it carries the stigma of being so trendy, posh, and “fancy”. In Japan izakayas are watering holes and here they’re so damn expensive, which totally sucks in my opinion because I love izakaya! I love izakaya a lot, because I love Japanese fusion and share plates, but I find outside of dim sum, it’s a very costly way of dining. Yes, I probably order more than most people, but hey, variety is the spice of life!

When Hapa Izakaya opened up their higher end restaurant Hapa Umi, Kingyo did the opposite. Suika opened earlier this year by the people who opened the high end award winning izakaya restaurant Kingyo. It’s really a bit ironic that one of Vancouver’s priciest izakaya restaurants has opened up one of Vancouver’s more affordable izakaya restaurants. Being a fan of Kingyo, I was very excited!

The menu is huge with lots of variety and the food is top notch for the most part. It’s not cheap, but it’s reasonably priced for izakaya especially compared to what’s out there now. It’s solid izakaya, good value, and the menu descriptions are random and entertaining (just like they are at most Japanese restaurants) and I can’t wait to come back.

The set up is really nice and modern too and the prices don’t speak of the atmosphere which I love. Maybe I just ordered the right items, but I thoroughly enjoyed my experience here and I can’t wait to see it win awards in the casual Japanese restaurant category. I even think the food is as good if not even better than Kingyo at times, and Kingyo is already a favourite of mine in Vancouver.

I know I’m making bold statements, but I believe in this place and I just hope they don’t change. I’m passionate about their philosophy and concept and hope that it trends faster than cake-pops. Okay, seriously, I think I’ve gushed enough, so grab your phone, book a table here and call me to join you! Kampai!

On the table:

**Deluxe “Suika” Box - 4/6

• Deluxe appetizer box (nine kinds) It’s like a jewelery box… gorgeous! $10
• Gorgeous it was! This is a must try. I can feel your excitement from my picture too!
• It’s such a bargain and it gives you a sample of everything. It’s enough for 2 people as a shared appetizer.
• I loved the description and it really is like a foodie’s jewelery box! A bunch of one bite samples is heaven for me.
• More than half the items are available a la carte as an appetizer in some form.
• It’s not like everything was amazing and there’s some really simple dishes in it, but for $1.10/item who cares? It’s good and well worth it.

Top row: Toast with Lobster Cream Cheese (left) Cold Tofu with Homemade Chili Oil (right)

• It was just Melba crackers topped with a bit of imitation lobster meat mixed with regular cream cheese.
• It was cubes of tofu topped with a mildly spicy and sweet chili sauce, aromatic sesame oil and some green onion.

Bottom row: Iceberg Lettuce with Sesame Dressing (left) Tomato Kimchi (right)

• It was a couple leaves of iceberg lettuce with some sweet and slightly tangy Japanese sesame salad dressing.
• The Tomato Kimchi is available a la carte and I liked it. It’s Kimchi marinated tomato with Chinese chives and cilantro oil. It’s fresh slices of juicy plump tomato in sweet and slightly spicy kimchi sauce. I could taste sesame oil and it’s very savoury and sweet and tasted like a summery kimchi salsa with the raw tomato. It’s simple, but I’d consider ordering it a la carte.

Top row: Cold Tofu with Homemade Chili Oil (left, description above) Egg Pudding (right)

• I loved chawan-mushi (steamed egg pudding) and this was a small sample, but it’s available a la carte. The sample only has a small piece of chicken, but if you order it a la carte it comes with a variety of seafood in it too. It’s a savoury pudding and it’s smooth and silky like tofu and had a gel liquid on top. It was quite good, mildly salty and I could taste the dashi broth used to make it. I liked the salmon roe garnish too.

Bottom row: Tomato Kimchi (left, description above) Mackerel Sashimi (right)

• Seared cured mackerel sashimi with grainy mustard seed and soy dressing. This is my second favourite in the box. This is delicious, savoury and well marinated with a kick of mustard and if you like this I’d strongly suggest the Aburi “Shime-Saba” Sushi, which I also ordered. See below.

Bottom row: Lotus Root Kinpira (left) Tuna Tataki (right)

• The Lotus Root Kinpira is available a la carte and it’s stir-fried lotus root seasoned with fresh Shichimi spice. It’s crunchy, quite smoky, slightly spicy and a bit bitter. The lotus root is supposed to be sauteed and simmered and I have a feeling it might be better a la carte.

Bottom row: Tuna Tataki (left) Negitoro Tartar (right)

• The Tuna Tataki is available as an appetizer a la carte and I’d recommend it a la carte because it doesn’t do it justice as a sample. It’s still very good, but even better a la carte. This was my favourite in the “jewelery” or “foodie” box.
• The negitoro tartar is also available as an appetizer a la carte and the sample will leave you wanting more. This was my 3rd favourite in the box and I write about it below as I ordered it a la carte too.

Ton-Jiru Soup – 3/6

• Pork & root vegetables in specially blended miso broth scented with sake kasu $3
• It tasted like a richer miso soup broth, but it wasn’t as thick as a miso ramen pork broth.
• There were bits of fish in it as well and it was good for what it was.

**Lightly Smoked Tuna Tataki - 5/6

• With homemade chili oil on a bed of sliced onion topped with scallions $6
• It was cubes of tuna rather than slices and I loved it! The sauce is one of the best parts.
• I think it was roughly crusted with crushed Japanese rice crackers and for sure with some almonds and sesame seeds too. I could have used more almonds, but I loved the crunchy texture it brought.
• The home made chili oil is amazing. It’s sweet initially and then mildly spicy with lots of sesame oil and perhaps a little ponzu for some tang.
• I loved the buttery creamy tuna with crispy nutty bits and the freshness from the red, white and green onions kept it light.
• The tuna didn’t taste smoky, but the sauce really made it aromatic with perhaps some Shichimi spice (Japanese pepper) as well and it would be good on anything.

Chinese Poutine - 3/6

• French fries topped with spicy ground pork sauce, mozzarella, chili oil, sansho, and minced cilantro $6.80
• This is from their fresh sheet menu.
• It’s didn’t taste bad, but I just wouldn’t order it again and for fries I found a bit pricey.
• It tastes like sweet and spicy “ma po tofu” sauce or Chinese pork ragu made with soy sauce, chili sauce and sesame oil.
• It was almost like Asian chili fries without the beans.
• It was stringy and cheesy with lots of melted cheese and great sauce, but the sauce wasn’t anything I haven’t had before.
• The fries were decently crispy, but quite soft from all the sauce and they weren’t anything particularly special, so overall it was what it was.
• They do offer a “French Fritz” tossed with blended spices served with blue cheese and dried shrimp dip for $4.50 which I’d be curious to try though.

**Negitoro Tartar – 3.5/6

• Home made kimchi sauce marinated chopped tuna topped with scallions served with garlic butter toast.  $6.80 Add extra toast $1.
• This is from their fresh sheet menu.
• There wasn’t a whole lot of chopped tuna and the green onions were raw and served on top for you to mix yourself.
• The negitoro tartar is delicious but I just wasn’t a fan of the garlic butter toast, which was a bit too thick and I couldn’t taste the garlic butter.
• The tartar was melt in your mouth creamy and well marinated, but I would have preferred crunchy crostini so I could taste more of the tartar.
• The kimchi marinade was delicious and not really tangy like traditional kimchi flavouring, but more savoury and aromatic.
• The marinade was made with a good amount of gochujang, which is a savoury thick Korean hot pepper paste made from fermented soy beans.
• It’s very potent sauce and a little goes a long way (in terms of savouriness, not spice) and it was well balanced with sesame oil and the perfect amount of flavourful heat, but it wasn’t that spicy.

My Ebi Mayo - 1.5/6

• Deep fried cilantro battered Tiger Prawns with chili mayo $7.80
• It was a great value with 5 large Tiger Prawns, but it wasn’t very good.
• This is the only thing that was disappointing and it’s because the batter was really thick and not crunchy or crispy.
• The batter was a heavy chewy flour batter, but the prawn was crunchy and tender.
• The sauce was a very basic chili mayo and it was heavy with the mayo. I expected more from the sauce because ebi mayo is so creative at izakaya restaurants now.
• I prefer the Ebi Mayo from Hapa Izakaya – see here.

Grilled Sable Fish – 4.5/6

• Grilled Miso Marinated Sable Fish $9.80
• I always order this. This was actually quite pricey for the size, and even for sable fish, but it’s authentically executed and very good.
• It had a very crispy skin and it was smoky and perfectly infused with miso marinade.
• It was juicy, flaky and tender and served authentically with the grated radish and lime on the side.
• I was surprised it didn’t have the miso sauce drizzled over top. That’s the “modern” way to serve it and it’s quite common to see at Japanese Izakaya places.
• This was a traditional Gindara Saikyo Miso, but the best version of it I’ve had is at Aki Japanese – see here.

Ma-Po Rice Cake – 3/6

• Deep fried rice cake with spicy ground pork sauce dusted with Sansho (Japanese pepper) $6.80
• The sauce was the same sauce on the “Chinese Poutine” I ordered above, in which case I would go for this over the fries since it’s a bit more different.
• The deep fried rice cakes were actually mochi cakes and they were house made and incredibly soft.
• It’s not common to find freshly made mochi in Vancouver, so I saw value in this, although not everyone likes mochi. I do though and it’s rare to see it served savoury.
• It wasn’t battered, but it was lightly deep fried so it had a crispy exterior and then the mochi was very soft, chewy, stretchy, sticky and almost like a marshmallow or gummy, but not sweet. It’s rather neutral since it’s made with rice flour.
• I wish it was in smaller pieces instead of 2 big chunks though so it would be easier to enjoy. Mochi is better in smaller portions too.
• It was a sweet and spicy “ma po tofu” sauce or Chinese pork ragu made with soy sauce, chili sauce and sesame oil.
• It was an interesting concept and the mochi was a nice play on the tofu, but having it in smaller cubes with some scallions, shiitakes or fermented black beans would have been better. It was just a bit plain otherwise.

**Kakuni Bibimbap - 4/6

• Stewed pork belly, sweet dried shrimp & scallions on rice served in a hot stone bowl. HOT HOT HOT! $8.80
• It’s a big portion and I think it’s worth the price although I could use more ingredients, especially the pork belly.
• If you like this, I strongly suggest the Kakuni at Guu with Garlic as well – see here.

It’s mixed at your table, and I suggest letting it sit for 7 minutes until the rice crisps up along the hot stone bowl.

• This was winning in flavour, except I wanted more pork belly because there wasn’t that much after it was all mixed together.
• I couldn’t really taste the sweet dried shrimp, but it was almost pureed and in a paste before it was mixed so you can’t really see the shrimps to begin with.
• The pork was incredibly tender, not chewy or gelatinous, and melt in your mouth creamy. It had a sweetness and at times it was a bit dry, but I still loved it.
• The rice was a bit sweet from I guess the paste and also what I think is Teriyaki sauce and a bit of pork belly stew poured over top.
• It was savoury a bit nutty and slightly spicy and the rice was a good quality chewy sushi rice too.

**Beef Short Rib - 6/6

• Fried and tossed with sweet balsamic, blanched spinach on the side. Like sweet and sour pork without the pork! $14
• This was amazing! Oh god I’m drooling just thinking about it again. It’s a must try.
• It wasn’t served with blanched spinach though and I wouldn’t compare it to sweet and sour pork. It’s way better.
• It’s hearty, indulgent Japanese comfort food and I wanted it over wasabi mashed potatoes.
• It was extremely tender, buttery, and juicy beef and it had a crispy charred bark from the sweet syrupy thick glaze.
• There was minimal fat, but the fat it had just melted in your mouth like cream.
• It was a very bold and heavily sauced, and the flavours just stuck like glue to the short rib.
• It was sweet and a bit tangy, and it must have been a very reduced sweet balsamic glaze.
• It was on the sweeter side and it was almost rich with Teriyaki or Oyster sauce flavours.
• It was syrupy and sticky and just coated your lips like honey, yet its flavours didn’t overwhelm the short rib itself.
• I ditched the knife and just used my fork to shred away at this with minimal effort. The meat melted right off the bone.

**Aburi “Shime-Saba” Sushi - 5/6

• Seared cured mackerel pressed sushi served with mustard soy dressing $12
• I’m very specific with aburi sushi especially after being spoiled by the ones offered at Miku Restaurant. Even after that, this was still impressive and I would order it again for sure!
• It was a very generous amount of saba (mackerel) sashimi which is a naturally fishy tasting fish.
• There was almost more fish than sushi rice, and I didn’t mind at all even if it’s not the proper ratio for pressed sushi.
• If you like pickled herring with grainy mustard you’ll like this.
• The fishiness was a bit intensified with the aburi (searing) process which just released the fish’s natural oils and the raw onion on top helped cut through its strong flavour.
• It was very smoky and then tangy and the fish was even juicy and creamy.
• There was enough mustard soy dressing which gave it a good tang and savoury punch and there was also a shiso leaf underneath to take the fishy edge of the saba.
• It was very aromatic with lots of dynamic flavours and it came together so well with a pickled mustard flavour.
• It had great balance and texture and the shiso leaf added that intense licorice and minty flavour that made the pressed sushi very unique.
• Traditionally pressed saba sushi will always have the shiso leaf (see here), but the mustard soy dressing was the creative addition that worked incredibly well.

**Negitoro Battera - 4.5/6

• Pressed sushi with tuna belly, scallions, avocado & sesame topped with home-made soy dressing & seaweed sauce $9.80
• I loved this too and it was almost an innovative take on a California roll meets Negitoro roll executed in pressed sushi form.
• It was a creamy pressed sushi that just melted in your mouth and the sauce was a melted seaweed sauce which I’ve had at Morimoto Napa in Napa Valley – see here.
• If it’s going to be fusion anyways I would have loved some crushed rice crackers, crispy millet or crunchy shredded daikon on top for some crunchy texture.
• The seaweed sauce is a bit slimy and it was tangy as well. It wasn’t that savoury though and I wish it was.
• There was also a sweet and tangy ponzu sesame oil sauce served over top and it was almost like a tangy plum sauce. It really needed this sauce because the melted seaweed sauce didn’t carry enough savoury or sweet flavour on its own.
• Underneath was a Shiso leaf which was quite noticeable and it gave it that minty licorice aroma. I didn’t mind the Shiso leaf, but I didn’t find it needed it either.
• The avocado is quite masked and I wanted more of it, but it did make for a creamier texture.
• The seaweed sauce was very creative and I’ve never seen it being offered in Vancouver yet. I’d order this again too.

**Matcha Brulee - 5/6

• Frozen Matcha creme brulee with fresh whipped cream and red bean sauce $4.80
• It looks like it has a crust, but that’s only an imprint of an accidental knife cut. Thank god the initial cut was too small because this was delicious and I wanted more.
• It was almost like a frozen matcha creme brulee popsicle bar meets a semifreddo, but completely frozen of course.
• The texture was similar to Indian kulfi ice cream and it’s almost a bit starchier and powdery tasting on the tongue.
• It was a bit icy, creamy and thick with matcha powder flavour, but not bitter either.
• It’s refreshing and has great texture with the crispy caramelized brulee sugar crust.
• I didn’t even mind the red bean sauce which was lightly sweetened and so faint with red bean that it didn’t bother me at all. I pretty much despise red bean.
• I loved this and would certainly order it again.
• It was a delicious way to complete a very satisfying meal.

Frozen Grapes - The signature Kingyo “mint” and perfect ending.

Restaurant: Kimura Sushi & Japanese Restaurant
Cuisine: Japanese/Sushi/Sashimi/Fusion
Last visited: May 29, 2011
Location: Vancouver, BC (Renfrew-Collingwood)
Address: 3883 Rupert Street
Price Range: $10-20, $20-30+

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 4.5
Service: 4
Ambiance: 3
Overall: 4
Additional comments:

• Kimura – Visit/Review 1 – Omakase Lunch
• Japanese owned/operated
• Chef Itsuroku Kimura
• Local favourite
• Busy/popular on weekends
• Popular for Omakase
• Affordable
• Authentic & funky Japanese
• Sushi/Sashimi
• Hidden gem
• Visa/MC/Interac
• Set lunch/dinner specials available
• Lunch Mon-Sun 11:30am-2:30pm
• Dinner Mon-Thurs 5:30pm-9:30pm
• Dinner Fri-Sat 5:30am-10pm
• Sunday closes at 5:30pm

**Recommendations: Omakase (Chef’s tasting menu) and request the oyster shooter with quail’s egg, chawanmushi and tamago on the side, and spare rib and quail karaage. The conch was also great and the spicy tuna sashimi on crispy rice is supposed to be a hit. Try the “Japanese Spumone” for dessert.

The first time I dined at Kimura was for omakase lunch – see here, and this time was for dinner. As I mentioned in my previous post omakase is the way to go here. “Omakase” is pretty much “up to you” or “chef’s choice”, and Kimura is known for his great omakase. Part of the reason is because it’s really good, and the other part of the reason is because the value is excellent. Not only does he offer several courses, but he offers omakase menus starting at $30 which is almost unheard of. On this occasion I came with Sherman and friends for the $50 omakase dinner menu, which generally didn’t disappoint.

My only issue is that there is some overlap in either dishes or flavours and when he gets busy it starts to feel a bit “mass produced” and he leaves out some details. Comparing my $30 lunch omakase to this $50 dinner omakase I had a few similar things, which is understandable, but through the courses the flavours tend to repeat themselves too. It is very good, but I feel like it’s the same sauce that gets drizzled over everything, but at least it’s a great sauce. “Multi-purpose sauce” I like to call it. I know chef and owner Kimura is responsive to requests though, so next time I would just give him a heads up of what I’ve already had. Part of the fun in omakase is the surprise, so I just wanted to be more surprised.

Compared to my last omakase experience at Octopus’ Garden I personally like that one better. It is a bit more high end and it’s more traditional, but I do see more value in Kimura if I look at it in terms of price, portion and overall experience.

Kimura is funky with his food style as well as music tastes as I listened to random Nintendo music and loud Jazz beats throughout the night. It’s a quirky place and if you get a chance it’s best to sit at the bar where you can see him in action. The service is friendly, but not as knowledgeable about the food, but overall it’s still a solid experience for omakase. I almost guarantee most people will be rolling out of here too.

As I was leaving another diner pointed out the mini piles of salt Kimura puts at the front entrance. I’m not sure exactly what the reason is, but it’s a superstitious initiative and I think it’s to shoo away bad spirits and bring good luck. At least that’s usually the case with most Asian rituals of this nature. He sweeps the piles of salt and replaces them daily. This little tidbit just adds to the overall quirkiness Kimura has and it looks like it’s working as omakase dinner reservations are highly recommended.

On the table:

Organic Arugula & Baby Spinach Salad – 3/6

• My omakase lunch here also started with almost the same salad which is quite standard, but this time he didn’t add the crispy millet, which was my favourite part – see here.
• It was a mix of spinach and arugula leaves and it was well dressed with a light olive oil vinaigrette.
• It’s well seasoned with freshly cracked black pepper and salty shavings of Parmesan cheese and it was actually quite peppery this time.
  

Assorted Appetizers

• Freshly shucked oysters, tempura smelt, goma-ae, sesame crusted conch, Japanese kaboocha squash, lotus root, ankimo (Monkfish liver) with berry sauce, and oyster shooter with quail’s egg.
• I had pretty much the exact same assorted appetizer plate last time for lunch – see here. This could be one of the “standards” on the omakase menu.
• I would have appreciated some daikon, Japanese pickle or shiso leaf as a palate cleanser to serve along side though.
• Goma-ae - 1/6
  • I hope this isn’t representable of his actual goma-ae. It was plain spinach with no sesame dressing or flavour of any sort, just like last time. If anything it was a bit sweet this time.
• Japanese Kaboocha Squash & Lotus Root – 3/6
  • It was simple vegetables to balance out all the cholesterol rich appetizers.
  • Everything else was quite heavily seasoned so this was a nice break.
  • They were well marinated in a sweet glaze.
  • The squash was creamy and soft and the lotus root was crunchy, yet tender.

• Tempura Smelt - 4/6
  • It’s house pickled and cured and it was understandably fishy, salty and lemony and a bit sweet.
  • It was jerky like rather than crispy, but also quite juicy from the sweet soy citrus marinade.
  • He didn’t top it off with the pickled onion this time either.
• Freshly Shucked Oyster – 3/6
  • It was fresh and pre-treated with that multi-purpose sweetened soy sauce he uses.
• **Oyster Shooter with Quail’s Egg – 5.5/6
  • This was amazing! You just mix it all together before shooting it.
  • I had this last time and I still loved it, however I enjoy the Uni (Sea Urchin) Shooter at Octopus’ Garden a bit more.
  • It’s incredibly aromatic and so full of flavour and it really did wake up your entire palate.
  • It was silky smooth, creamy, very savoury, slight sweet, nutty from hot sesame oil and also quite tangy from perhaps some mirin and ponzu vinaigrette.
  • It went down very easily and then you had the raw oyster at the bottom which left a nice briny finish.
  • This time it was stronger with the sake and maybe because it was dinner time!

• **Sesame Crusted Conch – 5/6
  • The conch was beautiful. It was meaty, tender, firm, with a nice chew and it was well marinated and crusted with toasted sesame seeds.
  • It was aromatic from sesame oil and also slightly sweet as well as savoury from some soy which was likely used on the Tempura Smelt too.
• Ankimo (Monkfish Liver) with Berry Sauce – 5/6
  • I had this last time too, but this time there was a bit too much jam so it overwhelmed the ankimo.
  • Ankimo is the foie gras of the sea and it’s considered a Japanese delicacy.
  • If you’ve never tried it, it’s a good starting point here because it’s just one slice.
  • This was a very contemporary way to serve it too and there was some French inspiration.
  • It was served with a strawberry jelly reduced with some Cognac.
  • It added a nice sweetness to the creamy seafood pate and it actually masked the fishy sardine flavour I’ve experience with ankimo before.
  • It was almost like having fruit with foie gras, so it worked better than I thought and had a sweet and savoury balance. I wanted to spread it over a crostini.
  • The traditional Japanese way of eating it can be seen here at Manzo Japanese.

Assorted Sashimi – 4/6

• Tako (octopus), kanpachi (Amberjack), red tuna, hamachi (Yellowtail), ebi (Spot Prawn) and uni (sea urchin) creation, and deep fried Spot Prawn head.
• It was well presented, and the variety was decent, the fish was quite fresh and the knife skills were clean.
• A few items were pre-treated which was a bit unusual for a sashimi platter, since it should showcase freshness; however it was Kimura in style to do it.

• Tako – The octopus was marinaded in a lemony olive oil dressing with black pepper and it tasted like the salad dressing used for the salad. It was a bit chewy and I thought it would be more tender with the acid breaking it down a bit.
• Red Tuna – The tuna was fresh, cut well and great quality.
• Hamachi – The Yellowtail was meaty, buttery and creamy.

• Kanpacahi - The Amberjack was cut very small, but I liked the slits he cut on top to expose more of its flavour. This one tasted like it was marinated in lemon dressing as well. I would prefer no dressing in this case because I just wanted to taste the freshness of the fish without any enhancer.

• Ebi (BC Spot Prawn) and  Uni (Sea Urchin) with Salmon Roe and Nori
  • This was my favourite on the platter.
  • It had great texture and flavour and I just wish it was served on a Chinese spoon because the roe was hard to pick up and eat with everything else.
  • It was creamy, rich, slimy, buttery and salty from the potent uni, slippery from the BC Spot Prawn and then bursts of juicy salty pops of salmon roe in between.
  • It was a world of fresh and raw seafood flavours and if anything I just wanted some tobiko for added crunch and to break up the naturally slimy textures.
• Wasabi – I do wish it was fresh wasabi, but this one is the paste and it’s not very strong.

• Deep Fried Prawn Head - This was over-fried and too oily. It was crunchy, but the tomalley had dried out so there was nothing to suck out, which is kind of the best part.

**Spare Rib & Quail Karaage – 5/6

• So here comes Kimura’s homemade “multi-purpose” sweet soy sauce that I saw for the next 3 courses. It’s a great sauce, but variety would be nice.
• The “multi-purpose sauce” isn’t as bold or sweet as Teriyaki, but it’s not as salty as regular soy sauce either. There must be mirin and perhaps some ponzu in it.
• In omakase the dishes should go from light to heavy, so I wish this came after the salmon too.
• The spare rib was baked and roasted and fall off the bone tender, but it was slightly dry. There was enough syrupy sauce to mask it and it was still delicious regardless. It had a fantastic crispy charred and sweetened glazed bark too. It was very meaty and well marinated in that sweet Teriyaki like multi purpose soy sauce he uses.
• The quail karaage had a very crispy skin and it didn’t seem deep fried, but roasted or grilled instead. It was incredibly tender and moist and well marinated in the same “multi-purpose” sauce with perhaps some mirin before hand.
• The Yukon Gold potatoes were buttery with skins that just popped off and the Shisito pepper tastes like a slightly bitter green bell pepper meets a zucchini or okra. It’s tender a bit slimy in the middle, smoky, and not spicy at all.
• This was my favourite “main” for the omakase.

Grilled Atlantic Salmon and Scallop – 3.5/6

• It was served with a tangy lemon butter sauce in addition with that “multi-purpose” sweet soy sauce used in the prior spare rib course (as well as for many other things).
• It was also topped with a tomato cucumber relish, but overall the sauce tasted like a sake lime zest miso vinaigrette to me.
• There was some Mexican fusion, but there wasn’t enough of this tomato cucumber relish to finish the salmon with so it didn’t make a significant enough of an impact.
• I wasn’t a fan of the scallop though. I couldn’t even tell if the underside was seared and it was tender and buttery and dressed in an olive oil. I prefer both sides to be pan seared.

The salmon was cooked a bit inconsistent and out of 5 pieces only one of them was cooked medium rare. The others were a bit too cooked and a bit drier, but not dry. It was flaky with a decently crispy skin and nice citrus tang throughout.

Yakiniku Style Kobe Beef – 4.5/6

• This is the grilled meat portion of the omakase. 
• I must say it was generous to see Kobe beef considering we already had uni, oysters, sashimi, prawns, salmon, ribs and quail. This is only a $50 menu to!
• This tasted very Korean to me.
• It was a gingery soy and garlic sweetened “multi-purpose” sauce (seen in the other dishes) and I could taste a bit of sesame oil as well.
• The beef was somewhat tender, but still a bit chewy and cooked all the way through which was surprising. It was marinated well enough to be tenderized though.
• It didn’t taste like it was from the robata grill and just seemed pan fried.
• There was a strong ginger aroma, but it wasn’t spicy although I could taste the grated ginger being infused throughout the sauce.

Miso Soup with Clams - 3/6

• Personally I prefer the soup to come earlier on for omakase, but I still appreciated it as a course after the heavier meats.
• It was steaming hot miso soup served with 2 tender clams and there was no fresh kelp or tofu, but the broth was still good.

Assorted Nigiri - 3.5/6

• What I love is that he lets you select your own nigiri, which is great considering the price doesn’t change!
• I chose uni, hamachi, ebi, toro, and unagi. What I didn’t like was that 4 other exotic sashimi listed on the menu were not available.
• Another thing, is that I’m just not really a fan of the nigiri here and I felt the same way last time – see here.
• The rice is just a bit bland and dry and then all of it is brushed with that “multi-purpose” sweetened soy sauce he loves. Great sauce, but I’d rather have it served on the side for nigiri and I just wanted a break from it.
• The nigiri is served authentically with a little wasabi underneath and the sauce is not as salty as regular soy and a bit sweet too.
• If it’s fresh enough I would usually prefer just the wasabi, although his house made sauce is better than regular soy sauce for sashimi.

Unagi (Eel) Nigiri – 4/6

• I liked that the cooked eel was served on a separate plate.
• It was melt in your mouth grilled eel with a sweet unagi (eel) sauce glaze on top.
• It was a rich sweet creamy bite, but I wish a bit crispier with the skin.

Deep Fried Prawn Heads - 3/6

• These were from the ebi nigiri we ordered so he saved the heads, deep fried them and served them separately.
• I love deep fried BC Spot Prawn heads and these ones were done a bit better than the ones on the assorted sashimi platter.
• The oil was looking a bit old so they were a bit dark and there wasn’t much tomalley to suck out.
• It wasn’t necessarily over fried and they were crispy but I think it just needed an oil change.

Tamago - 3.5/6

• I always order tamago, but this time wasn’t as good as the last time when I had it fresh – see here. Tomago shouldn’t be fresh and hot, but the flavour was better last time.
• On the other hand last time he did brush that sweet soy glaze on top of it before serving it, so that explains it. However it’s the dashi that was muted.
• It’s was cooked perfectly decently fluffy with nice layers of egg, but it wasn’t as sweet or as juicy as last time.
• My favourite is the one from Aki Japanese.
• This is a bit picky, but I wish he served it with the grated radish and a little soy drizzled on top, which is traditional.

Dessert – 5/6

• I’m quite certain, the dessert is 99% of the time your choice of green tea, mango or black sesame ice cream.
• I decided to get all three. Japanese Spumone anyone? It was delicious!
• The flavours work fine all together and why wouldn’t they? They’re all aromatic Asian flavours and it’s not uncommon to see any 2 combination of each flavour in other Asian desserts, so why not all 3? This is very “me” though.
• If you’re not as adventurous, the mango is the sweetest and the most flavourful was the black sesame.

Cranberry Lemon Pound Cake – 4/6

• This was a bonus! I had no idea Kimura baked, and I don’t know why he wouldn’t serve this for dessert.
• It was a standard moist cranberry lemon pound cake that tasted like it was from a good supermarket bakery… but he said home made, and I liked it regardless.

Restaurant: Kimura Sushi & Japanese Restaurant
Cuisine: Japanese/Sushi/Sashimi/Fusion
Last visited: April 18, 2011
Location: Vancouver, BC (Renfrew-Collingwood)
Address: 3883 Rupert Street
Price Range: $10-20, $20-30+

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 4.5
Service: 4
Ambiance: 3
Overall: 4
Additional comments:

• Japanese owned/operated
• Chef Itsuroku Kimura
• Local favourite
• Busy/popular on weekends
• Popular for Omakase
• Affordable
• Authentic & funky Japanese
• Sushi/Sashimi
• Hidden gem
• Visa/MC/Interac
• Set lunch/dinner specials available
• Lunch Mon-Sun 11:30am-2:30pm
• Dinner Mon-Thurs 5:30pm-9:30pm
• Dinner Fri-Sat 5:30am-10pm
• Sunday closes at 5:30pm
• Kimura – Visit/Review 1 – Omakase Dinner

**Recommendations: Omakase (Chef’s tasting menu) and request the oyster shooter with quail’s egg, chawanmushi and tamago on the side, and spare rib and quail karaage. The conch was also great and the spicy tuna sashimi on crispy rice is supposed to be a hit. Try the “Japanese Spumone” for dessert.

The outside is very unassuming and it looks like a regular Japanese restaurant surrounded by a couple dodgy businesses. I would consider it somewhat of a hidden gem as it’s a tiny operation with food that speaks greater than its location and ambiance. I must say that the man behind the sushi bar is quite the character and one of the main reasons people come. Besides his passion for cooking, and lively personality, he apparently also plays Jazz music quite loudly throughout the day, although I have yet to experience this charming quirk.

Chef Itsuroku Kimura has worked and owned Japanese restaurants in Japan, Shanghai, Mexico City and Los Angeles, so his creations are funky with global influences drawing from all those areas. It’s not a modern izakaya place although he could probably turn it into one if he wanted to.

Even though he is traditionally trained, I actually found the strengths in his innovative offerings rather than his sashimi and sushi, which is opposite of what I’ve been experiencing of the late – see Kiriri Japanese, and the more traditional Tokachi Japanese & Sushi Hachi.

Kimura Sushi & Japanese Cuisine in Vancouver, BC is quickly becoming a favourite for Omakase (Chef’s tasting menu). It’s the way to dine here. Of course allergies and special requests will be handled accordingly, but it’s best if you’re not picky. Omakase is usually a pretty pricey way of dining, but Kimura makes it more than affordable with Omakase menus starting at $30+/person. The value is definitely there and of course prices will range accordingly with ingredients used. If you see anything that I ordered that you might want to try, you can certainly request it and he’ll do his best to cater or replicate.

It’s really a unique experience, especially if you’ve never tried it, and even better if you sit up at the bar and watch Chef Kimura execute all his dishes. I ended up doing that for my last two dishes and it was great. It was more personal and it was fun chatting with Chef Kimura as I nodded my head pretending to understand every word he was saying. He has a youthful spirit that exudes into the food he creates. Although I didn’t find it amazing omakase (I like Octopus’ Garden omakase better), it was solid and enjoyable and I would come again. He discovered later that my tastes were more adventurous and told me that if I told him beforehand he would have pushed the line farther… so I definitely made a mental note for next time! (I actually did come back, but didn’t get to tell him, but here’s my Kimura omakase dinner post.)

On the table:

Organic Arugula & Baby Spinach Salad – 4/6

• It was a mix of spinach and arugula leaves and it was well dressed with a light olive oil vinaigrette.
• It’s well seasoned with freshly cracked black pepper and salty shavings of Parmesan cheese.
  
• What made it unique was that he tossed it with millet! It’s a whole grain that tastes like mini round pearls of Rice Krispy cereal and they added a great crispy crunch without getting soggy. It’s a cost effective method as opposed to nuts.
• For something so basic, it was quite enjoyable thanks to the millet which added great texture.

Assorted Appetizers

• Freshly shucked oyster, tempura smelt, goma-ae, sesame crusted conch, Japanese kaboocha squash, lotus root, ankimo (Monkfish liver) and oyster shooter with quail’s egg.
• It was a nice variety of ingredients with a good selection of seafood.
• I would have appreciated some daikon, Japanese pickle or shiso leaf as a palate cleanser to serve along side though.
• Tempura Smelt - 4/6
  • I’m quite sure it was house pickled and cured and it was understandably fishy, nice and salty with a refreshing crunch of pickled onion on top. It wasn’t really crispy though.
• Goma-ae - 1/6
  • I hope this isn’t representable of his actual goma-ae. It was plain spinach with no sesame dressing or flavour of any sort.
• **Sesame Crusted Conch – 5/6
  • The conch was beautiful. It was meaty, tender, firm, with a nice chew and it was well marinated and crusted with toasted sesame seeds. It was aromatic from sesame oil and also slightly sweet as well as savoury.

• **Oyster Shooter with Quail’s Egg – 6/6
  • This was amazing! You just mix it all together before shooting it.
  • It’s something you enjoy through the nose as well… don’t snort it, but smell it!
  • It was incredibly aromatic and so full of flavour and it really did wake up your entire palate.
  • It was silky smooth, creamy, very savoury, slight sweet, nutty from hot sesame oil and also quite tangy from perhaps some mirin and ponzu vinaigrette.
  • I also got some sake notes especially at the end, but for the most part it was was savoury and tangy.
  • It went down very easily and then you had the raw oyster at the bottom which left a nice briny finish.
  • I thoroughly enjoyed this unique concoction.
• Ankimo (Monkfish Liver) – 5/6
  • Ankimo is the foie gras of the sea and it’s considered a Japanese delicacy.
  • If you’ve never tried it, it’s a good starting point here because it’s just one slice.
  • This was a very contemporary way to serve it too and there was some French inspiration.
  • It was served with a strawberry jelly reduced with some Cognac.
  • It added a nice sweetness to the creamy seafood pate and it actually masked the fishy sardine flavour I’ve experience with ankimo before.
  • It was almost like having fruit with foie gras, so it worked better than I thought and had a sweet and savoury balance. I wanted to spread it over a crostini.
  • The traditional Japanese way of eating it can be seen here at Manzo Japanese.
• Japanese Kaboocha Squash & Lotus Root – 3/6
  • It was simple vegetables to balance out all the cholesterol rich appetizers.
  • Everything else was quite heavily seasoned so this was a nice break.
  • They were well marinated in a sweet glaze.
  • The squash was creamy and soft and the lotus root was crunchy, yet tender.
• Freshly Shucked Oyster – 3/6
  • It was fresh, but just the standard Fanny Bay (I think).

Grilled Beef Tenderloin Skewer & BBQ Conch with Soup – 3.5/6

• The beef tenderloin had a really unusual texture and it was almost pasty and grainy. It almost seemed like a thick coating of sweet and savoury paste and it was actually a marinade of pureed mango, papaya and I think Teriyaki sauce. It was also served with a sweet Teriyaki glaze which I only needed for the conch.
• I kind of wish I knew it was a  fruit marinade because it was throwing me off a bit.
• The tenderloin itself was incredibly soft and tender, but I do wish there was some clue of mango and papaya being used even if it was just as a garnish.
• It wasn’t necessarily sweet, but it was almost creamy and a bit mushy and the texture was interesting.
• The BBQ conch was smoky and sweet from the Teriyaki glaze and it had a nice firm chew but was still tender.
• There was some conch broth served in the shell, but I found it slightly bitter.

**Chawanmushi (Japanese Steamed Egg Custard) – 5.5/6

• This is popular here and I’d request it although it’s usually standard with any of his omakase menus.
• If there were more ingredients, this would possibly be the best chawamushi I’ve had in Vancouver to date.
• The texture and flavour was definitely superior to most, but I just wanted more ingredients.

• It’s a hot savoury silky custard pudding and it’s a traditional Japanese comfort food.
• The top layer was almost a layer of savoury sweet creamy gel and it held incredible flavour of sweet mushrooms and lots of savoury dashi stock and perhaps some added soy sauce.
• The soup was delicious and it was something you didn’t want to end.
• There was only 2 very small pieces of chicken, a small piece of shrimp, and a couple slices of Shiitake mushrooms. None of it overcooked which is great, but I prefer them with more ingredients like scallops, Enoki mushrooms and a variety of other things which isn’t hard to come by – see the ones at Koto Izakaya Sushi & Robata, Manzo Japanese or Seto Sushi.

Grilled Miso Black Cod - 4/6

• I actually made a request for this because it was one of the specials of the day so I figured it was quite fresh… or they were trying to get rid of it, but I hope not.
• I always order sablefish anyways and this one was quite good, but not the best I’ve had.
• The cod was moist and juicy, like sablefish normally is, and it had a wonderfully sweet and savoury flavour from being marinated with miso and sake.
• It was decently smoky and nicely charred on the outside, but the smokiness wasn’t infused throughout like the sablefish at Aki Japanese is.
• I think it was also grilled with olive oil because it was quite silky in flavour and oily before even biting into it.
• There was a also some freshly cracked black pepper on it which was unusual for robata.
• Again he used millet (mini rice crispy like whole grain cereal) that give nice crunch and texture to the overall dish.

• The skin was deconstructed, smoky and well seasoned, but it wasn’t really crispy despite the way it looked.
• I loved the toasted buttery cashews he included and cashews help with digestion so it served a purpose to be on the plate.
• The butteriness of the cashew was also suitable with the sablefish and surprisingly not over indulgent since it as only a few pieces.
• The vegetables were tender and well seasoned and it was served with a dollop of grainy whole grain Dijon mustard on the side.

I requested tamago and I actually got to watch him make it upon order. It’s a time consuming process and I felt kind of bad, but by the end it was a huge rectangular block of impressive Japanese omelette.

**Tamago – 5/6

• It’s my usual order of tamago, a Japanese style omelette, which traditionally represents the true test of how good a Japanese restaurant is supposed to be.
• The tamago was delicious! Of course it helped that I got it fresh off the skillet, piping hot, but it was quite well made.
• It was a bright orange colour and I don’t know if he was using more egg yolks or if the eggs were just organic.
• It looks a bit overcooked, but it wasn’t, although I wouldn’t have minded a bit less cooked.
• It’s was decently fluffy with nice layers of egg and it was very juicy and well flavoured with well made dashi broth.
• It was sweet and savoury with every layer retaining liquid. It’s almost a juicy savoury omelette.
• My favourite is the one from Aki Japanese, but this is a close second for sure.
• The authentic Japanese way of enjoying tamago is eating it with grated radish and a little soy drizzled on top.
• The omelette was flavourful enough on its own, but the daikon enhanced the juiciness the omelette had.

Toro Nigiri (Tuna Belly Sushi) – 3.5/6

• It was very good because it was toro, but the sashimi itself wasn’t the best of quality.
• It was fresh and oily, but the flavour wasn’t as fresh as I’m used to and the sashimi was a bit thin and flimsy.
• I think it was scraped rather than cut from the belly as the knife skills were very rough around the edges. Even for a scraped one I would prefer the one from Kiriri Japanese – see here.
• It’s served authentically with a little fresh wasabi underneath and I wasn’t a fan of the sushi rice which seemed a bit bland.
• He brushes the top with a little house made soy sauce glaze which is not as salty as regular soy and a bit sweet too.
• If it’s fresh enough I would usually prefer just the wasabi, although his house made sauce is better than regular soy sauce for sashimi.

Hamachi Nigiri (Yellowtail Tuna Sushi) – 3.5/6

• The best Hamachi sashimi and nigiri I’ve had to date was at Tokachi Japanese (see here) and since then nothing tastes the same. 
• The knife skills were better and the hamachi was good, but lacked a bit of flavour. Perhaps it was just the fish he had that day.
• Again the rice isn’t that great here, which surprised me because it looks like a place that would nail it. It’s just a bit under seasoned and maybe even a bit dry.

Japanese Green Tea (Matcha) Ice Cream – 3/6

• All omakase orders come with dessert which is your choice of Matcha, black sesame, or mango ice cream.
• It was just standard store bought ice cream, but it was good. I was quite tempted to ask him to panko crust it and deep fry it though. Next time!

Restaurant: Guu
Cuisine: Japanese/Izakaya/Fusion/Tapas
Last visited: April 17, 2011
Location: Vancouver, BC (Robson Street/West End/Downtown)
Address: 838 Thurlow Street
Price Range: $10-20 (Average bill $25 without drinks)

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 3-3.5
Service: 3.5
Ambiance: 4
Overall: 4
Additional comments:

• The original Guu location
• Japanese owned and operated
• 6 locations – different menus
• Great for drinking
• Japanese Izakaya/tapas
• Daily fresh sheet
• Fresh sashimi
• Busy/popular
• Local favourite
• Lively atmosphere
• Named “Best Casual Japanese”
• Lunch Mon-Sat 11:40am – 1:40pm
• Dinner Mon – Sat 5:30pm – 12:30am
• Sun 5:30pm – 12am
• Guu with Garlic
• Guu Aberdeen

**Recommendations: Tako Wasabi, Salmon Yukke, Kakuni, Beef Tataki, Grilled Mackerel, Kimchi Udon, BBQ Eel & Season Mushroom “Rice Gratin”

“This is a short trip to Tokyo.
Don’t worry about things in your life.
Get drunk and have fun! Our friendly staffs will help you to forget everything!” – Guu

I get a kick out of their quotes! They’re great! So there are now five locations for Guu in Metro Vancouver and even one in Toronto. Each one has a different concept and slightly different menu, so I can always expect something new. The quote above represents their Thurlow restaurant, which is the first and original Guu location and where it all began.

Although each location offers a different theme, I do feel that I’m holding onto what Guu used to be, which is a bit better than what it is now. I do still really like Guu, but I feel they’re not trying as hard, or I’m eating at the wrong location, or there are just so many izakaya options in Metro Vancouver now that standards have gone up. Regardless, I hate going into a restaurant I like, having high expectations for it, and then coming out unsatisfied, and that’s what happened here.

It was only about a month ago that I dined at Guu with Garlic on Robson, so I don’t know if my visits were too close, but the menus were almost the same and I wasn’t really inspired by anything being offered at this location. The fresh sheet didn’t even sound too appealing for my tastes and it just seemed to lack creativity, variety, and even flavour. For some reason everything I tried on this occasion was on the blander side and fell flat.

Guu also recently won “Best Casual Japanese” at the Vancouver Restaurant Awards hosted by Vancouver Magazine this year, and it is considered a local favourite. The atmosphere is casual and energetic and representable of the authentic izakaya places in Japan, so I do appreciate the ambiance. The food is also good, as I’m a huge fan of izakaya anyways, except for the fact that it a method of dining that adds up quickly. Guu Izakaya is one of the most affordable izakaya options in Metro Vancouver though, so it wins in the “best value” cateogry for me, but just not necessarily best food.

On the table:

**Salmon Yuke – 4/6

• Chopped salmon with garlic sauce, green onion and pine nuts $4.80
• I really wish I didn’t have the original version to compare to, but it used to be so much better!
• The Salmon Yuke used to look like this, until they downgraded it into what it is now. It still tastes very good, relative to everything else, but it’s not nearly as good as it was before.
• There were only 2 lonely pine nuts and they served it like this for every order. I watched. C’mon! Downgrade to a more affordable nut in that case!
• You mix the quail’s egg with the cubes of chopped salmon sashimi and mix it all together. You spoon it into the prawn chips and it’s delicious!
• The big cubes of salmon sashimi isn’t the greatest quality, but when it’s all super saucy in a sweet and savoury garlic marinade it doesn’t really matter.
• The ‘salmon tartare’ ends up being creamy and a bit rich and jelly like from the raw quail’s egg, so the prawn chip gives it a nice contrasting crunch.
• I loved the concept, but they could do so much more with it and I prefer the Salmon Yuke at Gyoza King, although alm0st double the price, and I still do like the prawn chips.
• Totally different, but similar in style is the Tuna Avo Salsa Dip I love at Hapa Izakaya – Kitsilano.
• Another one is the Sashimi Wrap at Charcoal Sushi & BBQ Restaurant which is also very good, but pricey.

Gyu Tan – 3/6

• Grilled beef tongue with salt and green onion $4.80
• I had the same order of Gyu Tan at Guu with Garlic, but it was well seasoned and the green onion sauce was better there. On the other hand the beef tongue wasn’t tender at either location.
• If you’ve never had beef tongue it should taste like really tender and soft beef if well executed.
• This one is sliced thin, but it was bland and a bit chewy and not as tender as it should be.
• It was also a tad too oily and it needed more garlic in the toppings to cut through the grease.

**BBQ Eel & Seasonal Mushroom “Rice Gratin” – 4/6

• $7.80
• This is a Japanese style casserole and it was delicious. Great savoury and sweet flavours and a generous portion.
• They’re pre-made and pre-cooked and just baked upon order and served piping hot.
• It’s melted cheese on soy sauce marinated sushi rice, so the rice is moist and flavourful alone.
• I really enjoyed this and the only thing is that I wish the cheesy “gratin” crust was crispy. Some Panko crumbs in the topping would be nice to make it extra crispy too.
• It was cooked with some sauteed Button, Oyster and Shiitake mushrooms, but there wasn’t much. They added sweetness, texture and flavour to the rice and of course went perfectly with the melted cheese.
• There were about 2-3 large pieces of eel on top of the rice which was tender, sweet and moist.
• It was covered with a generous amount of ooey gooey stringy Cheddar and Mozzarella cheese mix, so it tasted like a cheesy tuna casserole.
• It was drizzled with a sweet unagi (eel) sauce and topped with bonito flakes, shredded nori and fresh green onion to cut through the grease a bit.
• It was savoury, sweet, cheesy, indulgent, rich and very flavourful. There was a lot of rice and it could have used more ingredients, but I still liked it regardless.

Ton Toro – 3/6

• Grilled pork cheek & yuzu ponzu $6.20
• The pork cheek was really oily and again very bland and I only had a couple pieces, and then gave up.
• It needed lots of the yuzu ponzu sauce to not only give it flavour, but to cut the grease.
• It was quite tender, with a springy resistance, but for Ton Toro (which can either be cheek, belly, or any other fatty parts of meat) I prefer the one at Gyoza King a bit more – see here.
• The sauce was a very tangy citrus vinaigrette and I really liked it, but it’s just a bit boring, although suited the description.

Gin Dara – 3.5/6

• Miso marinated Black Cod with Miso mayo $8.50
• I love sablefish and I almost always order it even though it’s the easiest fish to make. It’s so oily and buttery that’s it’s 99% always good.
• The miso mayo was really thick, tangy and sweet and it was really different from the miso mayo on the same Gin Dara at Guu with Garlic. This one was stronger and creamier.
• They also didn’t serve it with the minced daikon salad which is quite standard. They even did it at Guu with Garlic.
• The sablefish was buttery, naturally oily, moist, juicy and marinated in miso and sake which made it a bit sweeter.
• The skin was not crispy at all which was disappointing since that’s one of the best parts.
• There were some bones in the fish which I won’t ding them for, but they shouldn’t be there.
• I say it all the time, but once you have the sablefish at Aki Japanese, a more traditional version though, it changes everything.

**Kimchi Udon – 4/6

• Udon with spicy cod roe, soy sauce, butter, kimchi, and green onion $7.80
• I enjoyed this very much. It was a somewhat creamy and sticky stir-fried udon with cod roe that coated each noodle giving it a salty fishy after taste and flavour.
• The noodles were chewy and tender and the cod roe isn’t crunchy since it’s cooked, but it did give the udon a unique texture that was almost like a smooth yet grainy soft paste.
• The kimchi wasn’t fermented/pickled enough so it was spicy, but not tangy. It did serve its purpose after it was mixed into the udon though giving it some crunch and spice.
• It wasn’t a dry fried noodle, but it wasn’t saucy either even given the added butter and soy sauce. The butter comes unnoticed and it’s not greasy or anything.
• It was moist (probably from the butter), mildly spicy (only from the kimchi), fishy in flavour and the salty shredded nori and fresh green onions made for a nice topping.
• It was a good portion with good flavour, although quite simple.
• My favourite is the Mentaiko Udon at Alpha Global Sushi & Bar which is a more traditional Japanese version that also uses cod roe and udon.

Grilled Salmon Head with Salt – 3.5/6

• $4
• This was delicious, but again it was really bland and under seasoned. I also wish it was crispy, charred and smoky from the grilling process.
• On the other hand, it was cooked for just the right amount of time and the salmon was incredibly buttery, moist and even juicy.
• The salmon head normally has tons of flavour, but the meat was so flaky and tender and juicy like a sablefish. It’s one of the moistest salmons I’ve had to date.
• The salmon cheek is the best part, so go for that. The cheek of any fish is actually the best part though.
• It was huge too and I think more than reasonably priced. Despite it being bland, I’d order it again.

Grilled Chicken Wings with Japanese Pepper – 2.5/6

• $5.90 Half order: $2.95 (I don’t know why they only offered this in 1/2 order)
• I could see the Japanese Pepper and seasoning, but it was still under seasoned and somewhat boring.
• The chicken was chewy and the skin wasn’t crispy or char grilled in flavour or texture.
• It had a mild spicy heat at the end from the chili pepper seasoning, but it wasn’t anything special.

Pan Fried Pork Intestine w/Spicy Garlic Sauce – 1/6

• $5.80
• Eek! I’m not an intestine fan.
• It’s just way too pungent and gamey for me and the smell makes me want to pass out more than durian does.
• I still ate a piece and it tastes like what it smells like. I describe the smell as the release of a pig’s hormone when he knows he’s about to die
• It’s super chewy and gelatinous but the sauce was quite tasty; but it’s just a garlic soy teriyaki like sauce with some sesame oil and seeds.
• It was served with some spicy sauce on the side, but nothing could mask the super gamey smell and flavour that is certainly acquired, and not for me.

Restaurant: Hapa Izakaya
Cuisine: Japanese/Izakaya/Fusion
Last visited: March 23, 2011
Location: Vancouver, BC (Kitsilano)
Address: 1516 Yew Street
Price Range: $20-30+

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 4-4.5
Service: n/a
Ambiance: 5
Overall: 4.5
Additional comments:

• Since 2003
• 3 locations in Vancouver
• Hapa Izakaya – Yaletown post
• Hapa Izakaya – Robson post
• Hapa Umi
• Creative Japanese fusion tapas
• Japanese chefs
• One of Vancouver’s 1st Izakaya restaurants
• Voted best Japanese
• Local favourite
• Busy/Very popular to locals/tourists
• Casual, but trendy & posh
• Restaurant/Bar/Lounge
• Daily fresh sheets/Seasonal menu
• Omakase menu available
• Special Sushi Saturday menus
• Great for drinks & tapas
• Imported beer/wine
• Heated patio
• Ocean Wise

Business Hours

• Sun-Thurs. 5pm-12am
• Fri-Sat. 5pm-1am

**Recommendations: Plum wine, Tuna Avo Salsa Dip, Sashimi Salad, Gindara, Cho Wagyu, Gindara, Green Tea Mille-Feuille with Mango Ice Cream

Yay! Happy for Hapa! I always get excited when I know I’m going for dinner at Hapa Izakaya! But then again I get excited if I’m going for izakaya period. It’s one of my favourite cuisines, and I’m a huge fan of fusion when it comes to Japanese food. I just think the concept works the best with Japanese food out of all the Asian cuisines.

Hapa Izakaya is definitely one of the most popular and even one of the first Japanese izakaya restaurants to open in Metro Vancouver, BC. Along with Guu, the two dominate the Vancouver izakaya scene and they seem to be unstoppable. It’s one of the “higher end” izakaya places and it’s still a major hot spot for any occasion. With modern fusion Japanese tapas, pretty staff, and an ultra sexy feel, it’s no doubt that it’s a formula for success and late night dining.

There are 3 Hapa Izakaya locations in Vancouver, and although I’ve been to this one on a few occasions it has taken me a while to finally blog about it. All 3 locations are unique to the area they’re located in and offer the standard menu as well as a daily fresh sheet that varies at each one. The original Hapa Izakaya on Robson is the biggest one and I think it’s probably my favourite, followed by the very posh Hapa Izakaya in Yaletown, and then this discrete neighbourhood Hapa Izakaya in Kitsilano. The menus change so frequently that’s it’s not really fair to compare, but I just find the fresh sheets at the Robson and Yaletown locations have impressed me more than this one.

This photo was near the end of the night, otherwise the place is always packed.

On this occasion Sherman and I were invited for a menu sampling that was to determine what we wanted to feature at Vancouver’s 1st Foodie Feast. By the way, thank you so much to all who attended the foodie fundraiser for The Greater Vancouver Food Bank! Sherman and I did hand select Hapa Izakaya to be one of our featured restaurants of the evening and we’re happy to support establishments with food we believe in. After all, there’s no difference from giving them a positive post on our blogs, and of course, our opinions will always be honest with our intentions disclosed. There are no expectations from Hapa Izakaya and photos are thanks to Sherman.

For two people, we made a more than respectable dent in the menu and I can’t wait to share with you what’s…

On the table:

**Plum Wine (Umeshu) – 6/6

• Dangerous. SO dangerous.
• I’ve had Umeshu before, but maybe I just forgot how good it was. It’s incredibly smooth and light like Soju and it tastes like candy!
• It’s sweet, crisp, fruity and refreshing, but not as sweet as dessert wine or ice wine at all. It’s an anytime drink… I’d wake up to one.
• I could even use some shiso leaves and a squeeze of lime for fun and “sophisticated” flavour.

Salmon Shooter – 5/6

• This was a chef’s special. I think it’s available on the omakase menu.
• You mix it up with a chopstick before shooting it.
• This was delicious! It was a savoury shot of salmon sashimi with green onions, seaweed, sushi rice, dashi (Japanese squid broth) topped with salmon roe and micro shiso.
• It was a liquid form of deconstructed sushi and it reminded me of a cold Japanese style sashimi congee.
• It was fresh and the broth was savoury, tangy and intense in flavour.
• It was almost silky going down (sounds so bad) and then there were bursts of salty cod roe that enhanced the savoury seafood flavour of the dashi.

Scallop Tartar – 3.5/6

• Fresh Qualicum Bay scallops with homemade bacon bits in a Japanese mustard mayo sauce. Served with wonton chips.
• This was a sample for us to try, but it’s $8.50 on the regular menu.
• The scallops were tender and it was nice and creamy with smoky and salty bites of bacon and a nice spicy mustardy mayo sauce that was almost like Dijon or horseradish.
• I loved the creamy topping and crispy won ton chip contrast, and it was good, but a bit forgettable.

Goma-ae – 4/6

• Green beans and spinach topped with feta cheese with house made sesame sauce $4.95
• This goma-ae came in 2 portions: green bean goma-ae with feta and then the standard spinach goma-ae.
• The sesame sauce actually tasted like there was hoisin sauce in it and it was quite bold for a sesame sauce. It reminded me of the hoisin and peanut sauce used for fresh Vietnamese salad spring rolls.
• It wasn’t very granular in texture but I did see some freshly ground sesame seeds.
• I was hoping for more of a ground sesame flavour and it wasn’t my favourite goma-ae, although well sauced.
• The green beans were cooked perfectly and super crunchy! I loved the salty bites of feta which was topped off with the Hoisin like sesame goma-ae sauce, so it was a new idea.
• The green beans worked really well and it tasted like a contemporary Asian salad with the sweet nutty sauce and salty feta cheese, except it was a bit hard to eat since the sauce was at the bottom and the cheese was sprinkled on top.

Aburi Gindara Sashimi – 3/6

• Seared Sable fish sashimi $8.95
• This was my first time trying sable fish sashimi. It doesn’t show up on a menu often, but luckily it was being offered on their daily fresh sheet.
• Hapa does the aburi searing at your table side, but my favourite place for aburi sushi is Miku Restaurant which actually specializes in the technique.
• The aburi technique is lightly searing the sashimi and it’s usually topped with creative sauces if it’s being served as sushi. However in this case it was aburi sashimi so there was no sauce and the focus was on the fish.
• Usually when used for aburi, the sashimi won’t be as fresh and that’s why it’s usually torched and topped with sauce.

• I actually wasn’t a fan of sable fish sashimi. I found it to be a waste of the fish and in theory it already didn’t make too much sense.
• Sable fish is such a fatty fish that it requires cooking in order to appreciate all its natural juices and oils, which are limited when it’s only being seared.
• It was still buttery, but the flavours are so much more developed when it’s cooked. The searing gave it a very mild smoky flavour and warmth, but it didn’t do much else.
• It came with a ponzu citrus dipping sauce, but the sable fish flavour was actually lost in the context of sashimi.

**Tuna Avo Salsa Dip – 5/6

• Ahi tuna, avocado, tomato, onion with plantain chip $7.95
• This is one of the items we chose to feature at Vancouver Foodie Feast. The cooking methods were limited at the selected venue, so we wanted to feature something practical, tasty, yet representable of Hapa Izakaya.
• This was Japanese meets Mexican meets West Coast meets Jamaican and it was fantastic in concept and flavour!
• You mix it altogether into a dip before enjoying.

• It was a sweet, savoury and tangy guacamole with salty crispy seaweed, fresh ahi tuna, crunchy onions, juicy tomato and a lovely honey-like tangy sesame oil soy sauce. It was actually a Korean sauce and I think it was Kochujang, and it was delicious giving it the savoury flavour it needed.
• It was creamy, yet fresh from the veggies, had texture from the ahi tuna which was well balanced with a tangy zing to brighten all the flavours up.
• I just wanted to top it with mango and lay it over a bed of sushi rice! On the other hand the plantain chips were even better!
• I loved the crunchiness of the plantain chips (not sweet), and it’s so much better than tortilla or wonton chips.
• The creamy and crunchy contrast was delicious and it was fusion done perfectly.

Fish & Chips Roll – 2.5/6

• Halibut tempura, greens, crispy potato, tartar sauce $7.95
• Not known for sushi although they offer a lot of rolls at this location. I like to try something from each section of the menu and originally I had ordered the Dungeness crab roll, but they had ran out. This seemed like the next most “different” sushi roll.
• It didn’t taste like fish and chips to me and it was pretty dry and required more sauce. The execution wasn’t great and a bit sloppy.
• Hearing fish and chips I expected a very crispy crunch, but there was not much crunch and the halibut got lost and a bit dried out even given its naturally dry characteristics.
• I loved the crispiness of the crispy potato shreds on top and the tartar sauce was tangy with a slight heat, but as a unit it didn’t do much.
• There was slightly too much rice that was a bit dry and sticky as well and that didn’t help the dry halibut.
• There was a little bit of Japanese pickle in the roll, but it did fall flat overall and it sounded more exciting than it was. I wouldn’t have guessed it was a “fish & chips roll”.

**Sashimi Salad – 5/6

• Mixed sashimi with a soy herb dressing on a bed of organic greens $11.80
• This is my favourite sashimi salad to date.
• It’s fresh with a nice variety of sashimi with 2 pieces of everything and it’s quite big, and not only because of the massive salad bowl it came in.
• What makes it so much better than anywhere else is the deep fried prawn heads, which are amazing. You can eat the full thing and it’s crunchy from head to toe… err neck?
• Deep friend prawn heads taste like deep fried shrimp meat balls and they’re delicious. The brains and guts just cook and taste like pureed prawn ball stuffing. It’s nice and savoury and lightly battered and well seasoned with a pungent shrimpy flavour.
• The sashimi included salmon, seared tuna, hamachi, scallop and prawn tails.
• The dressing was a tangy soy vinaigrette with a hint of ponzu, but I actually like the sashimi plum vinaigrette at Guu better – see Guu’s Sashimi Salad.

Salmon Croquette – 2/6

• Sockeye salmon, shiitake mushrooms in a dashi risotto topped with oba mayo $6.95
• I love croquettes and I loved Hapa Robson’s Crab Croquette, but unfortunately this did not deliver as well.

• I couldn’t taste any Shiitake mushrooms and the couple I saw were the tiniest little specs.
• They were quite mushy rather than creamy and the rice didn’t taste like arborio rice and the texture was just lost.
• I could taste some salmon and the outside was lightly breaded and crispy, but I lost the Parmesan flavour and it just seemed sticky rather than velvety.
• The dipping sauce tasted like a tangy aioli, and it was home made, but still didn’t do much for the croquette.

**Gindara – 4.5/6

• Miso-sake marinated sablefish baked to perfection $10.50
• This is one of the favourites, but being that it’s sable fish, it’ll almost always a favourite for me anywhere.
• I admit, it’s done very well here and I order sable fish almost anytime it’s offered on a Japanese menu.
• The miso mayo dressing served on the side is a modern thing, but the best authentic Miso Gindara I’ve had is from Aki Japanese – see here.
• I ordered this at Hapa Robson before (see here), but I actually enjoyed it more here and found the miso mayo less salty, although still pretty salty.
• The skin was crispy, smoky and well charred and the meat was juicy, flaky in chunks, moist and well marinated with miso and sake, but not too salty or overwhelming.
• I enjoyed this much more than the sable fish sashimi, although a bit incomparable. I just find the superior qualities of sable fish are showcased much better in the context of it being grilled.

Hapa Antipasto – 3.5/6

• House made duck ham, pork ham & smoked cheese $8.95
• They forgot the smoked cheese and I didn’t realize until after.
• The house made duck ham was smoked and served with pink peppercorn. The fat was somewhat tender and a bit chewy at times without a crispy skin, but I did like the infused smoky flavour in contrast with the somewhat fruity aromatic pink peppercorn that delivers a sweet berry heat.
• The cured pork loin ham was quite good with a hint of black pepper in the nose more so than in the taste. It was served with hot mustard wasabi, which was a nice contrast with the saltiness of the ham.
• Overall the dish took a decent amount of time to prepare, but I found it fell short as an “antipasto”. The slices were quite thin and small although moist and tender, but it just seemed a bit boring losing its “wow” factor.

Renkon Gyoza – 3.5/6

• Minced pork sandwiched between slices of lotus root $8.95
• These gyoza are originally a Taiwanese thing, but Hapa Izakaya has made them popular to the mass market and now some people often associate it as a Japanese invention.
• I tried the eggplant gyoza at Hapa Robson, and the zucchini gyoza at the Hapa Yaletown location and the zucchini ones are my favourite thus far.
• I find these vary a lot depending on who’s preparing them.
• These ones were well executed, lightly battered, very crispy with flavourful moist meat stuffing that was slightly gingery with minced chives. It tastes exactly like gyoza stuffing, but instead it’s sandwiched between 2 thin slices of lotus root.
• I really love lotus root, but in this case it didn’t do much for flavour. It added an extra fibrous crunch, similar to a raw potato, and the juicier zucchini version just worked better.
• It was served with tangy malted vinegar for dipping, and they were good, but the lotus root just didn’t work as well as I was expecting.

**Cho Wagyu – 5/6

• Self seared Japanese premium beef with garlic chips, green onion and ponzu sauce $10.95
• Was it pricey? Yes, but the quality of ingredients were there. Was it delicious? Absolutely!
• It comes with a side of garlic chips and green onions and I ate it like a taco by searing the beef for 2 seconds on each side, folding the ingredients into it and then dipping it in the ponzu sauce.

• You do the searing yourself on the hot stone provided. You could eat it raw, but it does require some searing to activate those fat enzymes and flavour they contain.
• After filling the slices with the nutty crunchy garlic chips and fresh green onions and dipping it into the tangy sauce, it was simply amazing.
• Alone the beef was already tender and buttery, but the garlic chips, onions and sauce did make it taste better in my opinion. It gave it added texture and dimension and it was like a bite of really strong flavours when eaten altogether, yet it didn’t overpower the Wagyu beef.

**Duck Potato – 5/6

• Panfried fingerling potato with duck leg confit $7.95
• One whiff of this dish going by and you won’t be able to resist ordering one. That’s what happened to me. Not to mention “duck confit” is music to my ears.
• There’s a lot of roasted, baked and pan-fried fingerling and nugget potatoes, but about 6 slices of duck which was the fantastic part.
• I was a bit surprised to see the duck come pre sliced though and there wasn’t any skin.
• The duck just melted in your mouth with barely any chewing and the texture was almost like tofu it was so tender.
• It was cooked in soy sauce and olive oil and served on a hot plate, but the iron plate itself was coated with a layer of oil and it got too oily and a bit overwhelming.
• I loved the crispy garlic chips and added savoury seaweed and fresh green onions with the duck.
• The crispy shredded seaweed acted as salt to the cured duck confit and I loved the different levels of savouriness.
• The flavour tasted much more complex than what it actually was, and I can’t get over how fork tender, or even spoon tender, the duck meat was.

Chiffon Roll Cake – 3.5/6

• Chestnut Chocolate cream on top of Earl Gray roll cake $5.50
• This cake was extremely light, soft and fluffy and not that sweet at all.
• I couldn’t taste the chocolate at all, but I could definitely taste the aromatic Earl Gray which was delicious.
• I love the Chinese chestnut cake and I actually like that chestnut puree better, as this one lacked comparable flavour and texture.
• I did get the Earl Gray flavour the most out of everything, and I could taste the chestnut when I ate it separately.
• Overall it was just the standard chiffon roll cake that you would find at a Chinese bakery though, except again I like the Chinese chestnut fruit cakes better.
• Miku Restaurant has a wonderful Chocolate Chestnut Slice that’s a lot more sweet and Westernized, and Saint Germain Bakery does a very good Chinese version chestnut cake – see here, and Janice Bakery, Pine House, La Patisserie and others do good ones as well.

Chocolate Lava - 4/6

• Melted chocolate inside of the warm chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream $6
• It was good, but as good as a lava cake would usually be.
• It wasn’t too sweet and it wasn’t chewy or brownie like, but soft and fluffy like a standard chocolate cake meets chiffon cake.
• It was moist with a semi crispy outside, but still not like a brownie.
• The inside was filled with molten chocolate that was almost fudge like, and it didn’t really come oozing out like some of the ones I’ve had before.

House made Ice Cream – 4/6

• Ask for flavours & availability $5
• The ice cream is quite good, but the best ice cream from a Japanese restaurant I’ve had thus far is from Zest Japanese Cuisine – see here.
• Mango – the mango was delicious and made with real mangoes. It was like frozen fruit puree in ice cream form. I strongly recommend ordering this with the green tea mille-feuille.
  
• Chocolate & Rum Raisin – this was good, not necessarily creamy, but also quite a standard chocolate rum raisin ice cream. The raisins were plump which were nice and it wasn’t overly sweet. I could taste a hint of rum and I think they soaked the raisins in it.

**Green Tea Mille-Feuille – 5/6

• Green tea custard $5.50
• This was my favourite dessert from the platter. It’s bigger if you order it separately.
• The green tea was nice and sweet, thick and creamy and just full of flavour.
• It tasted like there was white chocolate melted into it to give it that smooth sweet texture and flavour and there actually was no bitterness from the matcha powder.
• It was richer and better than the green tea creme brulee custards I’ve had. This was almost a green tea pastry cream. Amazing.
• The sheets of flaky pastry were crispy and it was great contrast with the creamy thick custard.
• Tasty Twist: I strongly recommend eating this with the home made mango ice cream. The green tea mille-feuille, as good as it was, can be a bit subtle at times and that mango ice cream just added that something extra… which was freaking delicious.