In Japanese

Ramen Koika: More Ramen on Robson Street

May 14, 2018

Ramen Koika has opened another location on Robson street to join all the other Ramen shops on the same street. It has taken over the previous location of Hapa Izakaya. We came to check out a bunch of their appetizers as well as a few of their ramen dishes.

Interior

The interior is large and there are lots of tables for small to large groups compared to their Davie street location.

Minions Dice

Minions Dice has 4 pieces of deep fried tofu with their special sauce and green onions. It came piping hot and it’s a good small bite to go with ramen.

Golden Scallop Fry

An order comes with 3 pieces of the deep fried scallops in a panko crust. It is then topped with teriyaki sauce.

Takoyaki Balls

The takoyaki pieces have octopus in the centre and then topped with mayo and takoyaki sauce.

Puri-Puri Ebi

You will get 4 pieces of the deep fried panko breaded jumbo shrimp with tartar sauce, sesame and parsley. Crisp when eaten right away or else it gets a bit soggy if you wait too long.

Coco Karaage

This has their house deep fried boneless chicken with a spicy sauce and sesame seeds. It was a bit spicy and a tad sweet.

Creamy Croquette

Inside the croquette is corn, onion, mashed potato, and mozzarella cheese. 3 pieces per order.

Pork gyoza

You get 5 pieces to the order. It has juicy pork on the inside and crisp on one side.

Pork Bao

The pork bao has shredded pork, marinated onion, green onion with their special sauce with mayo inside this bao. I didn’t particularly like this as it was too saucy.

Veggie Triple Black Garlic Ramen

In this ramen, you will find tofu, egg, bean sprouts, spinach, bamboo shoots, green onion, roasted seaweed, and the triple black garlic oil served with their thin noodle. A good option if you don’t want any meat. The garlic is is very delicious.

Triple Black Garlic Ramen

This is their regular ramen with cha-shu, spinach, egg, bamboo shoots, roasted seaweed, green onion, garlic chips and the triple black garlic oil. The cha-chu was fatty and delicious. The amount of garlic was fragrant and I enjoyed it. I would have wished for a little bit more broth.

Chicken Tamago Ramen

If you love chicken, you will find 2 eggs, garlic chips, bamboo shoots, green onions and the chicken broth with thin noodles. The chicken broth was rich and delicious.

King’s Seafood Ramen

The King’s Seafood Ramen is a beauty and you can get this from mild to spicy. There is blue crab, clams, green mussels, cabbage, black tree fungus, onion, red pepper, green pepper, Thai chili, bean sprouts and sprinkled with more red pepper. If you love spice and seafood, this would be good for you.

Kimchi Ramen

This has the base of chicken broth and it also has shredded pork, kimchi, mushroom, spring onion, onion, cabbage and green onion. You can get this mild or spicy.

Queen’s Ramen

Queen’s ramen has carrot, cabbage, mushroom, green onions, spring onions, bean sprouts, and the chicken broth can be mild or spicy. We had it spicy and it was pretty darn spicy.

Sapporo Miso Ramen

Stir-fried ground pork, bean sprout, green onion, and corn in the noodles and pork broth.

Tonkotsu Shio Ramen

There is chashu, bamboo shoots, roasted seaweed, green onion, spinach, and bean sprouts with the thin noodles and the pork broth.

Final Thoughts

It’s good to have Ramen Koika join this street as they have a large variety of pork and chicken broth ramen with the ability to have spicy or mild broth. My favourite of all the ramen options us the triple black garlic since I love garlic.

Address:
1479 Robson St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
https://www.ramenkoika.com/

In Happy Hour

Jinya Ramen Bar: Suntory Toki Highballs, Appetizers and Noodles

May 10, 2018

Jinya Ramen Bar on Robson celebrates its 1 year anniversary with a gift to themselves, and their customers by proxy, the first Suntory Toki Highball Machine in Canada! What in the world is a highball machine? You can think of it as Japanese whisky cocktails on tap. While we were at the birthday bash, we also got a peek at their appetizer menu.

Dropping in around the time of their 3 to 5 pm happy hour of $5 Sapporos, $4 craft beer and now the $5 Suntory Toki highball, the place was already humming. By the time we left around 7:00 pm the wait was already around 20 minutes for a seat. As expected from one of the most popular ramen joints in town.

I would liken the Suntory Toki highball to the gin and tonic version of whisky. Bubbly and light kind of a cool breeze freshness; while still having a bit of that warmth of a whisky that lingers inside even after you’ve taken a sip. The soda that is mixed with it is said to be extra carbonated so that it breaks up the fragrance of the drink better.

When you think of Japanese whisky you might think of Suntory’s Yamazaki single malt or Hibiki, a blended whisky, the latter of which I often seen behind the bars in Vancouver; and Lost in Translation. Toki is the newest edition to the line and crafted with the intention of being mixed. We were luckily seated next to some very experienced bartenders at the event and got to hear their insights. From an industry perspective, Suntory Toki is very acceptable price wise. Perhaps this factor combined with the rising popularity of Japanese whisky, we could see more Japanese whisky cocktails at our favourite lounges.

With the drinks, we were served a selection of small bites. Jinya’s appetizers are interesting as they have a bunch of options that aren’t typical izakaya options but still have a distinctly Japanese flair.

Soft shell crab bun

The most curious of the bunch is the soft shell crab bun. It’s a whole soft shell crab deep fried and dressed in a sweet and sour sauce. To round off the crunch, avocado, baby leaf spinach and spicy mayonnaise give it even more dimension. All in a steam bun wrapper.

Crispy chick peas

The crispy chick peas are fried and tossed in spicy curry salt. Extremely light and not at all greasy.

Brussel sprout tempura

Their brussel sprout tempura, similar to the chick peas, is not at all greasy but still comes with the satisfying crunch. Made with white truffle oil, and cut into small pieces to be covered in flavour and tempura batter. This is not a humble brussel sprout but a glamorous barely-vegetable.

Salmon Poké Tacos

Their salmon poke tacos use a fried gyoza wrapper as the shell. A nice way to round out the meal if you are craving something like sashimi.

Creamy Vegan Ramen

When the happy hour event ended, we got in line to be seated again. It’s hard to come to Jinya and leave without having ramen. As their restaurant signage says “no ramen no life”. This time around we opted for the creamy vegan with a side of Takoyaki.

Takoyaki

I was pleasantly surprised to find Jinya’s takoyaki is served on a bed of eggy tartar sauce. Usually a do-no-wrong kind of snack almost no matter where you order it, it’s rare to see something new done with it. Traditionally a street food, takoyaki is a piece of octopus wrapped in a hot ball of batter and brushed with a sweet and salty sauce.

Address:
541 Robson Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://jinya-ramenbar.com/

In Hawaii

Ramen Nakamura: Over Hyped Oxtail Ramen in Honolulu

April 30, 2018

Ramen Nakamura is known for their oxtail ramen. We came right in the morning when they opened to avoid any line ups, plus we were up early due to the time difference. When you look on the internet, a lot of people say their oxtail ramen is really good, so we came to see if it live up the the hype.

Interior

There isn’t a lot of space inside, but most of the seating is around the counter.

Oxtail ramen

We ordered the combo and it comes with gyoza and fried rice. 3 items for $23, which was a bit pricey in our opinion since ramen shouldn’t be so expensive. Nonetheless, it does use oxtail, so that isn’t a cheap ingredient.

There is a good amount of oxtail in the bowl. The oxtail was tough and wasn’t fall off the bone as anticipated. It didn’t retain much of the broths flavour and needed a bit of effort to take the meat off. There was also quite a bit of harder fat around some pieces as you can see in the photo. The broth was light and packed full of vegetables that it didn’t compliment the oxtail very well.

I think it would have been better if it was a richer spicier dish, but the both of us though this dish was over hyped. We couldn’t order this again.

Gyoza

The gyoza were pan-fried and comes with 3 pieces for the combo. They tasted ok, but didn’t wow us. A pretty standard gyoza.

Fried Rice

The fried rice came in a mound and was good with bits of pork, egg, and green onions.

Hakata Tonkotu Ramen

This bowl of ramen was a lot better in my opinion. It was slightly milky but it could have had more depth of flavour. It was cheaper too at $11.50.

Final Thoughts

There was definitely too much hype with their oxtail ramen. It could have been better executed and the flavours and tenderness were missing. I wouldn’t come back as there are other good ramen restaurants in Waikiki like Hokkaido Ramen Santouka.

We Rate Ramen Nakamura:

Address:
2141 Kalakaua Ave #1, Honolulu, HI

In Cafe

Musubi Cafe Iyasume in Waikiki: Spam Musubi, Poke and Rice Bowls

April 29, 2018

Musubi Cafe Iyasume is one of the top restaurants to eat in Waikiki. Located under the Aqua Pacific Monarch Hotel is this little cafe serving up musubi, a popular snack and lunch food in Hawaii. It is made up of a slice of Spam on top of rice, wrapped with seaweed. It is inexpensive and tastes great. It’s hard to find good musubi in North America, so when visiting Hawaii, this is a must have.

Interior

The cafe is narrow. One side is the area to order and the other half is seating. There isn’t too many seats but it looked like most people were taking to go. We came here twice on our trip and the first time we ate in the shop and then the last one was back at the hotel. Both times it wasn’t too busy here are we came in the evening around dinner time.

Ordering

When you put in your order, you get an electronic device that buzzes when your order is ready. Then you know when your food is ready.

Spam Musubi

The classic spam musubi has spam with a teriyaki glaze with rice and seaweed. Even with the big mound of rice, the saltiness of the spam and teriyaki sauce work well with all that rice. The texture and heat of the rice was spot on.

Eel, egg, shiso leaf and spam musubi

This is one of the more deluxe musubi was delectable toppings. I loved the eel as it had a great flavour and melts in your mouth.

Bacon, egg, avocado, and spam musubi

Mmmmm bacon. The avocado adds a creamy texture to the musubi, but this makes for a great breakfast.

If you’re out and about, you can grab them to go as it’s all wrapped up in plastic wrap.

Ahi Poke Bowl

The Ahi Poke Bowl is made of tuna, sesame oil, soy sauce, onion and a bed of rice. I thought it was pretty good and not overly marinated. It is a tad salty, so you’ll need to eat it with a bite of rice.

Mini Eel Bowl

The mini bowls are a good size. It has rice, sauce, two pieces of eel, and one piece of tamago. I really enjoyed it.

Final Thoughts

You’ll definitely want to come here for the musubi, but don’t forget about their other items on the menu. If you want something small as well, try their mini bowls. The eel bowls, curry bowls, and poke are good too.

We Rate Musubi Cafe:

Address:
2427 Kuhio Ave, Honolulu, HI

Website:
https://www.facebook.com/musubicafeiyasume/

In French

Kosoo Restaurant: French and Korean Fusion Cuisine in Vancouver

April 15, 2018

Kosoo Resaurant is a fusion restaurant using typical Korean and Japanese ingredients with French cooking techniques. A very interesting flavour combination but can work well together. The restaurant is located by Cardero and Robson Street in the West End of Downtown Vancouver. They are open for lunch and dinner.

Interior

There are a good amount of tables inside for small to large groups. If you’re in a large group, its best to make a reservation in advance for big groups.

Kosoo Set Menu

The best deal on their menu is their lunch course set for minimum 2 people. It’s a lot of food, but for $15 per person, it’s very good. It comes with:

Oyster
Mushroom salad
Bibimbob balls
Kosoo Taco
Japchae
Sweet and spicy assorted sashimi salad
24 hour pork belly, miso marinated pork belly with salad and pickle
Mackerel
Beef Soy Bean Paste Soup
Kimchi
Matcha Creme Brûlée

Caprese

This beautiful dish has tomatoes, mozzarella, basil and a bed of pesto sauce. Very good way to start off the meal, but isn’t what you would normally think would be on the menu.

Tartare Sampler

The sampler comes with beef, tuna and salmon tartare. A good way to taste all three tartares on the menu. I really enjoyed it.

Toro Sashimi

Toro is the deliciously fatty portion of the tuna belly. It’s rich fat content gives it a melt in your mouth texture. The toro is wrapped up in a rose. Just unravel it and eat it with some wasabi and soy sauce.

Gomae

This dish has sauteed spinach sitting a top of a sesame seed dressing. It’s a little bit Japanese and a little bit Korean.

Spicy Tuna Roll

On the base is a California roll topped with seared tuna and jalapeños drizzled with spicy mayo and their secret sauce.

Unagi Roll

This also has a base of California roll but has variations of eel (unagi) and avocado.

For both the rolls, I thought it was ok. Nothing special, but if you’re here and craving sushi, you have options here.

Cheese Chicken Galbi

This is one of their signature dishes and it’s quite popular. It has chicken galbi in the centre with veggies. On the side, there is corn with yam puree and mozzarella cheese.

Tomato Mussel Stew

It has fresh mussels in a broth of Korean spices, prawns and other aromatics. I didn’t really like the taste of the dish as it was salty, fishy and sour all at the same time.

Gambas

This dish has extra virgin olive oil, garlic mussels and prawns. Mussels were on the small side.

Spicy Popeye Gyoza

The crispy gyozas have a spinach cream cheese and prawn inside the crispy wrap.

Drinks

There is beer, wine, cake, soju, and other spirits on the menu. They have recently added Sangria to their menu. They have a Red Wine Bloody Berry and White Wine Fresh Citrus sangrias.

Good for a hot Summer’s day. Fruity, refreshing and sweet.

Final Thoughts

Overall, a unique concept that fuses a variety of cuisines but is predominantly Korean. Their best dishes are those signature dishes like the cheese chicken galbi.

Address:
832 Cardero Street, Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.kosoorestaurant.ca/

In Four Beakers

Restaurant Yugo: French and Japanese Fusion on Main Street

April 11, 2018

Restaurant Yugo just opened up on Main Street serving up a fusion of Japanese and French cuisine. If you’re a fan of their sister restaurant – Kitchen by Yugo on Denman Street, you’ll enjoy this too. I came after work with a few friends for dinner to chat over food and drinks.

Interior

The space is beautiful and seats small to large groups. They have a portion of the restaurant for reservations and some saved for walk-ins. We loved the atmosphere and the service from their staff.

Drinks

We had to start off the weekend with some drinks, so I got an Asahi Super Dry beer. I enjoy refreshing beer to go with this type of cuisine. My friends went with their Osamanthus cocktail which has tangerine peel infused gin, honey, osmanthus and lemon juice. They loved this cocktail and would highly recommend it.

Spicy Fish Tartar

This appetizer has crispy cheese sushi rice cake on the bottom, topped with avocado, spicy fish tartar, tobiko and green onions. On the plate is also quail egg and unagi sauce. You take the quail egg and drape the egg yolk all over the tartar. A fun appetizer to share and start off this dinner.

Gindara

This dish has a beautifully grilled black cod marinated in maple syrup and soy sauce. It is then served with fried soba noodles, kale and yuzu foam. The black cod has delicate and well balanced with the salty soy sauce and sweet maple.

Scallops Risotto

This dish has Hokkaido scallops, black truffle, mushrooms, ikura honey ricotta, bonito flakes and fried leeks. This is one of the most popular dishes to get here and it lives up to that reputation. So good and so comforting.

Sakura Cheese Cake

This 4 layer cake is perfect for the spring as the cherry blossoms are blooming around town. There is cherry blossom jam and green tea cookie crumbs. It is sweet and subtle sakura flavour.

Matcha Mille Crepes

Layers of paper-thin matcha crepes with red beans in the middle. It is then topped with more matcha powder on top. I really liked this dessert as crepes are awesome and when you turn that into a cake with whipped cream, its a good thing.

Homemade Ice Cream

Two scoops of ice cream all dressed up. If you’re looking for something simple, this is an option.

Final Thoughts

Overall, we were all pleasantly surprised with the combination of Japanese and French flavours. It’s a great addition to the area where there isn’t this style of food. Dinner is slightly more expensive, but they are also open for lunch too with cheaper options.

We Rate Restaurant Yugo:

Address:
4265 Main St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://restaurantyugo.com/

In Chelsea

Morimoto New York: Lunch and Sushi Sets

March 10, 2018

During my 2nd trip to New York City, I had to come back again to eat from their lunch menu. I had an awesome time a few years ago, so I had to bring my friends. I’ve been to Morimoto Asia in Orlando, but it was more like Americanized Asian food.

Morimoto New York is my favourite so far, thus why I’m coming back again.

Interior

The interior is very nice and luxurious like you’re dining in a white tent because of the drapery.

The focal point of the dining room is their glass display in the middle of the room all lit up.

It’s so shiny and mesmerizing that you have to touch it.

Lunch menu

The lunch sets are a really good deal compared to their regular menu. You get pretty full off each box. I was eying the other table to see what they ordered before making my choice.

Uni Don

The uni don is an absolute stunner. It has grilled freshwater eel over a bed of sushi rice with cucumbers and green onions. It comes with a variety of pickles, green salad, and miso soup.

A very complete meal and I enjoyed every single bite. One of my favourite meals on this New York trip.

Angry Chicken

The angry chicken lunch set has shiso-cucumber pickles, citrus yogurt, and a roasted chili-miso sauce. It also comes with a variety of pickles, green salad, rice and miso soup.

The Washroom

Go to their washroom, it’s so beautiful like a piece of art. Very high tech and cleans your butt too.

We Rate Morimoto New York:

Address:
88 10th Ave, New York

Website:
http://www.morimotonyc.com/

In Bakery

Mr Osmad: Japanese Souffle Cheesecake in Vancouver

March 8, 2018

Mr. Osmad Souffle Cheesecake is located in Damso restaurant on Bute Street near Robson Street. Osmad is Damso backwards.

They bake the Japanese Souffle Cheesecakes in-house everyday in 30 minute batches, so grab them before they’re gone or else you have to wait 30 minutes for the next batch to be done.

When we got here on a weekend, we only needed to wait about 10 minutes, so we patiently waited. If you don’t want to wait around, it’s best to order it ahead of time.

I got mine for take out so I could bring it home to enjoy. It is 6 inches in diameter and costs $9.52.

It’s best to eat it on the same day. You can either have it at room temperature or heat it up slightly. I wouldn’t suggest keeping it until the next day as it can get a bit dry. The texture and moisture was ok, but isn’t my favourite.

So far there isn’t a lot of places to buy this in Vancouver, so if you’re craving for Japanese Souffle Cheesecake, check out Mr. Osmad.

We Rate Mr. Osmad:

Address:
770 Bute St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
https://mrosmad.com/

In Downtown

Ancora Waterfront Dining & Patio: Pescatarian Tasting Menu

February 21, 2018

Ancora Waterfront Dining & Patio just released their Pescatarian Tasting menu from February 19 till March 31. The menu has 5 Peruvian-Japanese fusion dishes by executive chef Ricardo Valverde.

I personally love tasting menus as it gives you a glimpse into the chef mind and see more creativity than on a regular menu. Plus, the ingredients that go into the dishes are fresh and in season. Plus, you might discover a new favourite dish.

Pisco Sour is the national drink of Peru and we got a little taste before the meal.

Amuse

This taster has lobster bisque, coconut espuma and crispy quinoa. This had a strong and flavourful lobster taste. A good way to kick off this pescatarian menu.

Causa Mixta

This has a selection of shell fish like scallops, white fish, shrimp, and mussels. There is also yam, nori and acevichado sauce.

This is paired with Seastar Stella Maris 2014 from Pender Island, BC. It is a blend of Gewürztraminer and Pinot Gris.

Matane shrimp risotto

This dish has cauliflower, hazelnuts, preserved lemon and thyme. The dish was delicious and the texture was very nice. The hazelnut was an interesting element added to the dish but I loved it. The preserved lemon added a good amount of tanginess and the thyme and lemon flavouring went well together. All the flavours in this dish really complimented each other.

This is paired with the Prima Volta Chardonnay 2015 from the Okanagan Valley.

Aji panca glazed sablefish

The sablefish is paired with quinoa crackling, kale gomae, and smoked potato puree on daikon. The sablefish was cooked perfectly and the flakiness it was melt in your mouth. I enjoyed every bite of this dish.

This is paired with the Kettle Valley Reserve Pinot Noir 2013 from Okanagan Valley.

Picarones

Picarones are like a lighter version of a donut.

This is a Peruvian classic with pecans, fig syrup and Lucuma ice cream which tasted like delicious gingerbread. The flavours tied well together and was a joy to finish the meal on this sweet note.

This is paired with the Late Harvest Sperling 2014 from the Okanagan Valley. Great to see all the local BC wines paired with the menu picked by their sommelier team.

Final Thoughts

For $59 per person or $99 with wine pairings, it’s a good price and you will be leaving satisfied.

Address:
1600 Howe St #2, Vancouver, BC

Website:
https://www.ancoradining.com

In French

Lunch at Kitchen by Yugo in Downtown Vancouver

January 22, 2018

Kitchen by Yugo is located on Denman and Robson specializing in French and Japanese Fusion cuisine. I’ve heard lots about this place and I decided to come with a friend for lunch as it’s interesting how they will marry these two types of cuisines together.

Interior

The interior is nice with seating mostly on the left side and a kitchen and bar on the other.

Lunch Menu

Fish Miso Soup

This was the soup of the day and it was delicious, It has a piece of scallop and fish on the rim of the bowl. The miso soup had good depth of flavour. Highly recommended.

Pressed Aburi

This is pressed sushi with chef’s choice of assorted flame seared fish. It comes with 6 pieces and some fried veggie chips. My friend thought it was meh when you compare it to the other places in town that make similar aburi sushi.

House Bento

The house bento comes with 4 small dishes and served with rice. This seems to be quite popular item to order as you get to try a variety of items.

The items are:

Grilled Salmon with miso
Cauliflower Karaage
Tuna Tataki
Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Lardons and Onions

The flavours of the bento box is more on the Japanese side beside. The salmon was delicate and the miso paste on top paired well. Usually I see this combination on black cod, but salmon was good too.

The roasted brussel sprouts were more on the heavier side taking on the French influences. Tasty but was a bit of the odd dish out as the others were more delicate in flavours.

The tuna tataki was great. Nicely seared on all sides with some veggies and ponzu sauce.

The deep-fried cauliflower was a nice touch to compliment the meal with added textures and crunch.

Final Thoughts

Being to pull off French and Japanese fusion is pretty hard and I applaud the chefs for finding the balance as the styles are very different. Japanese is simple and delicate where French is most heavy and rich. Somewhat polar opposites.

We Rate Kitchen By Yugo:

Address:
792 Denman St, Vancouver

Website:
http://restaurantyugo.com/

In Downtown

Black Rice Izakaya: Winter Menu

December 29, 2017

Black Rice Izakaya in Vancouver is always trying to have seasonal items on the menu to keep items fresh and also cater to the tastebuds for the winter months. They have released 6 new dishes for the cold winter season.

Interior

There is a lot of space for groups of 2s and 4s, if you have a larger group, best to get a reservation so you don’t have to wait during peak hours.

Hamaguri Dobin Mushi

This has Hamaguri, water, salt, pepper string and yuzu peel. It is a very comforting broth that is peppery and ends with the citrus yuzu peel.

Goma Tuna

You have chunks of the tuna marinated in delicious sauce. Then a crisp rice cake on top. There is also a cucumber cup filled with uni. I liked this dish as it has nice clean flavours.

Kichi Scallop Motoyaki

In the shell is kimchi, chopped bell pepper, butter and cheese. A rich dish due to the butter and cheese, but cooked kimchi is very comforting in the winter months.

Neapolitan Spaghetti

There is soba noodle, tomato sauce, ketchup, bacon, sausage, onion and egg. I found it a touch too sweet, but some people at the table really enjoyed it.

Kimchi Nabe

A hot warming hot pot that is kept warm by the fame under it. It’s not too spicy at all. I find that some kimchi is better is soups where its flavours can really shine through.

Terikayi Wagyu Steak

This sizzling plate has Teriyaki glazed US wagyu beef from Snake River Farms, Monterey Jack and mozzarella cheese with mashed potatoes. It’s cooked till a medium rare for the quality of meat to shine through.

Sake Drinks

Of course it’s not winter without some delicious sake cocktails to go with the meal. With the winter, there is lots to celebrate around the table during the holidays. They have a lot of options on their beverage menu.

Beer

If you’re like me, I enjoy beer more than sake for the crisp bubbly taste. There is Sapporo and Asahi on top, but I usually gravitate towards Sapporo.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the new items are good additiona to the menu to give customer more options during the winter. I didn’t love all the dishes as I prefer more of a clean taste to my food, but I did like the Hamaguri Dobin Mushi and Goma Tuna.

We Rate Black Rice Izakaya:

Address:
782 Cambie St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.blackrice.ca/

In Japanese

Ichikame Shokudo: Ramen in Vancouver

December 17, 2017

There’s a new ramen shop in town called Ichikame Shokudo located in South Vancouver. I was invited to give their ramen and other dishes a try. I was pretty excited to try this place and we can never have too many ramen shops in Vancouver. Especially in this area, it needs more food options.

Interior

The space isn’t too large, but is good for groups of 2 or 4. They can accommodate larger groups, but go early or later in the evening.

Complimentary tea

As we sat down, they gave us some hot tea as we browsed through the menu.

Shio Ramen

The broth is very light and not rich at all. It’s definitely a different style that personally didn’t attract my taste buds. It lacks the depth of flavour. If you’re looking for something that has a cleaner taste, this is it.

Spicy Ramen

I was hoping this would have a better kick of flavour, but it was still a bit bland and needed more heat and depth. Their ramen eggs are good and the chashu is not bad either.

Kimchi Cheese Ramen

This has a spicy ramen base with veggies, kimchi, and topped with seared cheese on top. This was a very interesting combination and strays a bit from tradition ramen flavours.

Italian Tomato Ramen

This ramen has a tomato base soup with fried chicken, cheese and mixed greens. The soup base is very comforting as it reminds me of tomato soup from my childhood. The fried chicken in the broth made the exterior soggy, so it would have been better on the side.

Pork Belly Samurai Rock

It has braised pork belly, green onions, sesame and pickled radish, egg, on top of rice in this hot stone bowl. The pork belly as nice and torched with a good amount of fat. The portion size is good for an individual.

Katsu Cheese Curry

On top of the bed of rice is curry, katsu, greens, cheese, seaweed and nori.

Beef Cheese Curry

The beef, cheese and veggies in this hot stone bowl. All three were decent but I preferred the other 2.

Pork Yakisoba

Served on this hot skillet with all the yakisoba and pork on top.

Vege Mountain

This huge bowl of cabbage was awesome. Nicely seasoned and a great item to share. I love cabbage, so I had a lot of this and took the leftovers home. For the price, this portion is generous.

Prawn & Cheese Gyoza

The gyoza comes with 6 pieces per order. These gyozas are topped with prawns and the cheese sizzles on the hot plate. It does take some time too cool down.

Spicy Cheese Gyoza

Somewhat similar to the other gyoza. With both of them, I wished the gyoza were more crisp especially when it comes on a hot plate.

Takoyaki

It comes with six pieces per order. A nice snack to share with the table.

Agedashi Tofu

It is presented in a bamboo steamer and comes with 4 pieces. Garnished with nori and bonito flakes similar to other dishes. This tasted ok, but nothing special.

Veggie Croquettes

4 pieces per order and it is crunchy on the outside and savoury on the inside.

Chicken Karaage

One of my favourite appetizers! Crispy, moist and delicious. A great item to pair with your meal.

Yukikaze Freeze

They have partnered up with a local company – 77k Freeze to create their Yukikaze Freeze. There are 7 different flavours and I tried the Wasabi Chocolate as it was pretty unique. With this particular flavour, it was chocolate with dried wasabi sprinkled around, so it wasn’t as intense as I would have imagined.

Freeze Drink

There are 9 different freeze drinks and they also have frozen iced tea drinks too.

Final Thoughts

A lot of the dishes were pretty average. Nothing really stood out to me that I must return for. If you’re in the area and you’re craving a bowl of ramen and don’t want to travel far, this is a good option in South Vancouver.

We Rate Ichikame Shokudo:

Address:
6956 Victoria Dr, Vancouver

Website:
http://ichikameshokudo.com/

In Four Beakers

Sushi Bar Maumi: Reservation Only Omakase

November 2, 2017

Sushi Bar Maumi is located on Davie Street in Vancouver and specializes in nigiri sushi for his omakase menu. Reservations are required, so they will not take walk-ins. Omakase is $75 per person and if you want to order more, you can do so after the 10 pieces.

They try to give customers an authentic and memorable sushi bar experience. Since there are only 2 seatings per evening with 10 seats each. There are a few rules you need to follow in order to have a good time with other guests. Make sure you read their website in it’s entirety.

It’s definitely not cheap, but it’s an experience watching Chef Maumi Ozaki create each piece of nigiri and eating such delicious simple flavours. Just make sure you follow his rules.

Green Tea

As we sat down for our 6pm seating, we were given a pot of green tea to sip on through out our meal. Since I am a tea guzzler, they did refill everyone’s pots during the evening.

Suzuki – Japanese Sea Bass

The first piece was suzuki nigiri, which is a Japanese Sea Bass. It has a good mouthfeel and chef puts a brush of sauce on top for added flavour.

Surume Ika – Japanese Flying Squid

Ika is usually tough, but the chef cuts it slightly with a criss-cross to break apart the connective tissue. The sauce that is brushed on top collects in these slots and holds a good amount of flavour.

Aji – Japanese Horse Mackerel

The flesh is more pinkish compared to the others. It is topped with ginger and scallions. It has a delicate and sweet flavour.

Kuruma Ebi – Japanese Tiger Prawn

One of the more expensive nigiri at Maumi, if you want more, it will cost you $18 per piece. The head is removed to be used in the miso soup later in the evening. It is sweet and full of umami taste.

Shima Aji – Stripped Jack

The flesh is more white and milder in flavour. Still a good piece of nigiri.

Hokkaido Bafun Uni – Sea Urchin

The uni is harvested at peak season and it topped with a small bit of ginger. The uni is sweet, briny, and creamy.

Miso Soup

Up next was miso soup made with the prawn heads. It came pipping hot, but very delicious soup which was so warming.

Nama Hotate – Fresh Scallop

The scallop was sliced thinly and draped on top of the sushi rice. Fresh, subtly sweet and has a soft texture.

Medium Fatty Bluefin Tuna marinated in special soy sauce

This was a joy to eat. So damn good!

Saba – Mackerel

One of my favourites as it has firm flesh and its rich and fatty with yummy flavours.

Anago – BBQ Sea Eel

This was the last item of our omakase was the anago. It was nice an hot covered in this delicious sauce.

Hon Maguro O-Toro – Fatty Bluefin Tuna

Almost everyone ordered this at the end. It will cost you $12 per piece but you have to try it once. It’s really good and it melts in your mouth.

Sanma – Pike Mackerel

We ordered this because everyone else did as well. They seem to know what they were ordering, so we followed along. It was fatty and rich similar to saba. This is served with ginger and scallions on top.

Ikura – Salmon Roe

This is like little dragon balls. The roe are salty and it’s fun to pop them in your mouth.

Tamago

This is handmade egg omelette with fish, prawns, mountain potato and dashi. It had a sweet finish to the taste and served cold.

Final Thoughts

This was a fun experience to eat at a sushi bar served by Chef Maumi Ozaki. The food is great, but we did have to order a few more pieces after the omakase to get full. You have to be a fan of nigiri to fully enjoy the experience. One person dining just ate the fish on top and left all their rice. Our bill between us was over $200, so you need to be here for a special occasion.

We Rate Sushi Bar Maumi:

Address:
1226 Bute St, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.sushibarmaumi.ca/

In Event

Hapa Izakaya: Taste of Yaletown 2017

October 16, 2017

Taste of Yaletown is back for it’s 13th year, a popular community-based event that invites the public to try a variety of dishes from 26 restaurants in the Yaletown area from now till October 27th. Chefs create a 3 course menu themed around pairing and sharing at prices of $25, $35, and $45.

Hapa Izakaya is participating again with a $25 set menu where you can choose 3 different dishes. They specialize in modern Japanese cuisine and all their dishes are easily sharable. It’s a fun spot to hang out with friends and have a few bites and drinks.

First Course

Beef Tataki

The AAA beef slices are thin and lightly seared. It is topped with soy barbecue sauce, garlic chips, onion, and green onions.

Ahi Tuna Yukke

This has ahi tuna tartare, quail egg, pine nuts, shiso, and crispy seaweed for wrapping. The tuna is very fresh and delicious when mixed with the quail egg.

Agebidashi Vegetables

This dish has eggplant, shishito peppers and daikon radish in a soy-mirin vegan dashi.

Second Course

Chicken Nanban

fried chicken thigh, daikon tartar sauce

Crispy Panko-Fried Scallops

fried scallops, jalapeno mango mayo, lotus root chips

Foil Grilled Tofu and Mushrooms

The mushrooms and tofu is marinated in vegan dashi with yuzu cooked in foil.

Third Course

Hambagu Steak

This dish has ground AAA Angus beef, minced daikon, ponzu, shiso, and garlic chips on a skillet. The steak was so juicy that when I just into it, the juices just shot out from the inside.

Aburi Saba Sushi

This dish has 8 pieces of the torched pressed mackerel sushi with sansho pepper. One of my favourite items.

Vegetable Poke Bowl

This bowl has avocado, beets, butternut squash, inari tofu strips, sweet soy dressing, and sushi rice. It was an interesting dish for those who love vegetables. A good option for vegetarians who still want to enjoy the menu.

Drinks

Drinks aren’t included in the set menu, but it’s a good addition to the meal. Some of the drink we had with our meal were:

Virgin Hello Kitty: Strawberry purée, Calpico, soda
Enter the Dragon: Bacardi Oakheart, dragon fruit, agave syrup, lime, ginger beer
Large Sake
Red Dragons

Final Thoughts

If you’re coming here with a few friends, I would suggest getting a few of the set menus and ordering different dishes to share with everyone. The choices on the menu caters to those who are vegetarians and those who aren’t. I like Hapa Izakaya for a good night out on the town with friends.

We Rate Hapa Izakaya:

Address:
1193 Hamilton St, Vancouver

Website:
http://hapaizakaya.com/

In Burnaby Central

Jinya Ramen Bar: Open at Metropolis at Metrotown in Burnaby

September 11, 2017

Jinya Ramen Bar has finally opened in Burnaby outside Metropolis at Metrotown. It’s been under construction for a while, but we are so happy they have opened their doors for a soft opening. Finally, I don’t have to always travel Downtown to get a taste of Jinya. They are a popular Ramen chain restaurant and they have 3 locations in Vancouver so far.

Interior

The space is gorgeous and is similar to the look of the Downtown location in Vancouver. It’s sleek, modern, and hip. They were extremely busy despite the empty seats. Our group of 5 waited 1.5 hours to get seated. Luckily, they have an electronic system through Yelp where it tells you how many tables are in front of you. We ended up going shopping to kill the time.

Chef’s Special: Karaage Chicken Ramen

This has a chicken broth topped with crispy chicken dressed in chili sauce, green onion, bamboo shoots, seasoned egg, nori dried seaweed. It is served with thin noodles but you can always ask for thicker noodles.

Spicy Creamy Vegan Ramen

This vegetable broth is amazing, I personally think it’s one of the best. It also has tofu, onion, green onion, spinach, crispy onion, garlic chips, garlic oil, chili oil, and sesame seeds. It is served with thick noodles instead of the thinner ones.

Pork Chashu

To go with the vegan ramen, I added a side of pork chashu. I put it into the bottom of the bowl and let the broth heat it up and man, was it melt in your mouth delicious!

Jinya Tonkotsu Black

This is one of the most popular flavours. It has a pork broth base with pork chashu, kikurage, green onion, nori dried seaweed, seasoned egg, garlic chips, garlic oil, fried onion, and a spicy sauce. It is served with thin noodles.

Premium Tonkotsu White

This has a mix of pork and chicken broth and served with pork chashu, kikurage, green onion, half seasoned egg, fried onion, and spicy sauce. This is served with thin noodles. My friend got this without the spicy sauce since she doesn’t like anything too spicy.

Sauces

At the table, there are a few sauces that you can add to your meal – seasoning suace, gyoza sauce and hot sauce.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I enjoyed the ramen here. The waits can be long, but you can always go shopping at the mall until you table is ready. The space is really nice and you’ll love the ramen. My personal top favourite ramen flavours are – Tonkotsu Black and Spicy Creamy Vegan ramen.

We Rate Jinya Ramen Bar:

Address:
4575 Central Blvd, Burnaby

Website:
https://jinya-ramenbar.com/

In Four Beakers

Rajio Japanese Public House: Osaka-Style Japanese Izakaya in Vancouver

September 10, 2017

It’s been 3 years since my last visit to Rajio Japanese Public House and I remember a lot of great nights here but I’m glad I’ve come back for more of their Osaka-style dishes.

Interior

The interior is fun and gives you a mix of traditional and modern feels. The space isn’t very large, but there are a decent number of tables.

Rajio’s Famous Fruit Punch

Their cute punch is served in a fresh watermelon or pineapple. Great for the Summer or what you need a smile on your face.

You cab have it with alcohol or without to customize your experience.

Beer

My favourite beverage to pair with Japanese food is beer as it helps cut the grease off some fried items. Plus, I love how light and refreshing it is.

Craft Ginger Ale

They have their original ginger ale recipe with freshly grated ginger, lime, lemon, and sweet brown sugar. It’s definitely different than the ginger ale at the stores since it has an extra kick of ginger balanced by the brown sugar.

Super Rib Steak

This $38 hug 2lb beef rib steak comes with sharp wasabi and a garlic soy sauce. I’ve always ordered their huge steaks before and they are a joy to eat. It is best to be shared among the table. Super tender and medium rare.

Modern Yaki

This is a featured dish, so it’s not on their permanent menu. It is a combination of Osaka Okonomiyaki and Yakisoba. I liked the concept, but the execution wasn’t ideal. As the dish cooled off, the okonomiyaki portion of it peeled off from the yakisoba hiding underneath. It was also quite rich and heavy compared to some other items that we had.

“Uni Bonara” Sea Urchin Carbonara

This was delicious item with the creamy udon paired with the fresh uni and the ikura. I enjoyed it and it was a good twist on an udon dish.

Y Mommy’s Assorted Oden

I love oden as it’s a warm bowl of comfort. There were so many items in this bowl with a bit of karashi, which is a spicy mustard. Put a little bit in as it really transforms the broth. Add more if you love the stingy wasabi-like feeling.

Chef’s Choice Sashimi

You can choose between 7 or 9 different types of sashimi chosen by the chef. It changes seasonally, but you can always ask ahead what you’ll get.

Hot Stone Crab Bibimbap

In the hot stone bibimbap bowl, there is snowcrab, crab miso, ikura, julienned omelet, shiso and scallions with a drizzle of their original sauce and a bit of ginger.

Kushikatsu

These skewers are Rajio’s signature skewers from Osaka. We got an assorted set with a mix of veggies and meat. One of my favourites are the shiitake mushroom, lotus root and eggplant.

Aburi Shime-Saba Sushi

There is delicious cured mackerel with Hokkaido kelp and vinegar is lightly seared and drizzled with a sesame mustard soy. Delicious and I love the taste of mackerel.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the atmosphere at Rajio is lively and fun. The food at Rajio is solid except for a few small misses in certain dishes.

We Rate Rajio:

Address:
3763 W. 10th Ave.
Vancouver, BC

Facebook:
http://www.rajiopublichouse.com/

In Downtown

Yui Japanese Bistro: Chefs Reg and Ping introduces new menu

August 1, 2017

Yui Japanese Bistro is launching new items on their menu this month and we were invited to give these items a try. I love dining here as its like a secret hidden gem in Downtown. They hide inside a business building on West Georgia Street and Bute Street. Chefs Reg and Ping are the faces behind these awesome creations and they put their own creative twist to each dish.

Yui Tart

The Yui Tart is made with layers of tuna with garlic dill sauce, salmon flakes, chef special sauce, tempura bites, imitation crab meat, cucumber, flying fish roe, and of course it’s torched on top. The dill stands out in this dish but it matches well with the salmon and tuna. Plus, anything with the torched sauce it magical.

Tai Oshi

This has tai, sesame leaf, crispy shiitake, red pepper thread, and the Chef special spicy sauce. I really enjoyed it as it has just enough to slightly tingle the tongue, not that spicy at all. The ingredients meld amazingly.

Smoke salmon delight

This roll has tuna, chopped jalapeño, avocado, smoke salmon, wasabi mayo, mango salsa, and alfalfa sprout. The jalapeño and the mango salsa counteract and essentially cancel each other out. It was a decent roll, but I felt like it was a bit basic compared to the flavour profile of the other dishes here.

Aburi tuna nigiri

They start off by searing the tuna on a super hot grill. Then they slice it up super thin, then top it off with wasabi and pickle sweet onion on top. A good combination of the ingredients, simple but really helps the tuna shine.

Aburi tai

This nigiri has tai and then topped with a strawberry salsa on top. I thought it was ok as I didn’t like the sweetness from the strawberry. I don’t really like savoury food with any sweetness.

Salmon Oshi

This is a staple item on the menu and it’s a must order item. Highly recommended as the salmon, special sauce, pepper and jalapeño melt in your mouth. Best thing ever.

Final Thoughts

Their menu is expanding and it’s great to see that. The food is great and I love the cozy atmosphere. It reminds me of dining in Japan as they have great hidden restaurants in random parts of the city.

We Rate Yui Japanese Bistro:

Address:
1185 W Georgia St, Unit 102, Vancouver

Website:
http://eatatyui.com/

In Downtown

Pokerrito is open on Hornby Street: Review

July 25, 2017

Pokerrito has opened their second location on Hornby and Nelson. They serve up Hawaiian poké with a Japanese twist in burritos, bowls, and salads. I was watching Wonder Woman with friends and we needed quick bite to eat before the show. We love eating on this street since so many other restaurants have popped up in this area.

Interior

The space is larger than their original Dunsmuir location. It has a similar look as well. All that matters is the food right? As long as both locations are consistent.

Poké Bowls

Hawaiian Classic has marinated ahi tuna green onion, romaine lettuce, lemon, seaweed salad, and sesame seeds. It was supposed to have edible flowers in it, but I guess they ran out of them. Instead, they put sprouts on top. I got it as a bowl with a salad base. I really prefer this combination without all the other toppings as you can really appreciate the marinated ahi tuna without other strong conflicting flavours. When I usually customize my poké bowls in the past, I would load it with anything that would make bowl worth it.

Final Thoughts

Overall, it’s good to see they are expanding, but there is another poké shop located right next door, so it should be interesting competition. All my other friends ordered poke bowls with a mix of rice and salad as the base. Then, they added their favourite toppings. Love how it’s highly customizable for all taste buds.

We Rate Pokerrito:

Website:
http://www.pokerrito.ca/

Address:
991 Hornby Street, Vancouver

Website: http://www.pokerrito.ca/